Сүүдэр ба Харанхуй

Augmented by the shadow and with the help of nine hundred fragments that Sunny had collected, the Saint had become incredibly strong. The graceful stone body of the taciturn monster hid incredible power to begin with, and now, it was vastly enhanced.

Holding her shield with both hands, the Shadow delivered a devastating blow at the weakest point of the black blade. The blade, which was pinned between the marble floor and her greave, rang deafeningly… and shattered.

Still mounting the Black Knight, Sunny grinned with vicious joy.

Then, he let go of the dented helmet of the devil and pushed himself off, performing a backward flip and landing nimbly several meters away.

Nephis immediately disengaged, too.

Both of them knew that there was nothing more dangerous than an enemy on the brink of death. With nothing to lose, humans often relinquished any sense of self-preservation and turned berserk, taking their killer with them to the grave.

Nightmare Creatures were much the same, only more terrifying.

Despite the fact that Sunny was sure that the devil's weakness hid in his sword, he wasn't certain what would happen if the blade was actually broken. Hopefully, the Black Knight would just crumble into a pile of steel.

If not… it would be better to be far away when they found out.

As the shards of the black blade rained on the floor and the Stone Saint fell on one knee, a shudder ran through the devil's body. The darkness hiding in the corners of the ruined cathedral suddenly boiled and lunged forward in a wave.

But none of it reached the Black Knight, annihilated by the radiance of Changing Star's intricate white armor.

The devil froze in a twisted pose, his hands powerlessly hanging down, his back bent. The black steel of his armor was… rusting. It was swiftly turning dull brown, its luster gone, its once impregnable surface looking corroded and brittle.

Then, he slowly and laboriously raised his head and turned it slightly to the side. As if staring at the face of the nameless goddess whose statue oversaw the dark hall of the ruined cathedral for thousands of years.

As the devil looked at the goddess, the crimson light of his eyes slowly weakened and dimmed…

…And then, suddenly, exploded into furious red flames.

The rusty armor came apart, exposing the mass of darkness hiding within. The darkness stretched its limbs and rose above the kneeling Shadow, the parts of the armor that floated in it giving the creature a vaguely humanoid shape.

Revealing its true form.

A ghostly colossus made of darkness and rusting steel towered above the taciturn monster like an omen of death, two crimson fires burning furiously in the black depths. Another flame appeared just beneath them, like a twisted mouth made from the flames of hell.

And then, a terrifying roar shook the ancient temple.

Sunny took an involuntary step back, a feeling of dread rising from the depths of his soul. His eyes searched for Nephis and found her standing a few meters behind the Stone Saint. Changing Star was hesitating, looking at the dark apparition with an uncertain expression.

She caught his gaze, lingered for a moment and then nodded, understanding what Sunny wanted to convey without the need for any words. Then, Nephis cautiously backed away, not letting the devil out of her sight.

What was going to happen next was not something a human could survive. Not a Sleeper, at least.

With a harrowing fury, the creature of darkness crashed down on the Shadow. Its hands tore through the air and wrapped around the taciturn monster's neck, then raised the living statue in the air as if her stone body weighed nothing.

The devil brought the Saint high above the marble floor of the ruined cathedral and squeezed her neck, as if trying to strangle her. A net of cracks streaked through the Shadow's armor, bits of stone falling down.

…Through all of it, the emotionless expression on the hauntingly inhuman face of the Saint did not change one bit.

But in her ruby eyes, a hint of a feeling appeared, much stronger than ever before.

…Disdain.

Letting go of the shield, she raised her hands, grasped the vambraces of the rusting armor, and easily shattered them in her grip.

As another roar resounded in the darkness, the taciturn monster fell back to the ground. Landing with nimble grace, she instantly dodged the claws of the apparition, which had bent down to shatter the living statue once and for all. Then, she took a step forward.

The Stone Saint was right beneath the leaning devil now.

As her ruby eyes flashed with ruthlessness, she lunged forward and delivered a crushing blow to his chest. Her gauntlet tore through the breastplate of the rusted armor and sank deep into the living darkness, right where a human heart would have been.

…Or a soul core.

A moment later, the crimson flames burning in the depths of the dark creature exploded into a wave of blinding red light.

…And disappeared.

The dark essence of the devil dissipated like fog, its remnants vanquished by Changing Star's radiance. The pieces of armor fell to the ground in a clangor of steel.

The terrifying devil of the cathedral, the Black Knight, was dead.

Sunny threw his head back and let out an exhilarated, vengeful laugh.

'Die! Die, you bastard! Die and go to hell, forever!'

Oh, revenge tasted so great!

A moment later, the voice of the Spell whispered sweetly into his ear:

[You have slain a Fallen Devil, Forsaken Knight.]

[Your shadow grows stronger.]

Sunny smiled.

'Anything else you want to add? A Memory? An... an Echo?'

However, a moment later, he forgot all about the Spell. A cold shiver ran down his spine.

Because right in front of him, something very strange was happening to the Stone Saint.

Her hand was still raised, frozen in the same position as when she had pierced the heart of the living darkness with her fist.

And in it…

'What the hell is that thing?!'