Everyone grew quiet. Even Gemma seemed to be slightly stunned by that proclamation. The only person to not react to it at all was Caster, who had entered the grand hall a bit earlier and was now standing by one of the walls, watching Nephis with a complex expression.
Her full name was shocking to hear for two entirely different, but equally earth-shattering reasons.
Firstly, she had called herself not by a human name, but by a True one. In the entire history of human civilization, only a handful of Awakened had managed to earn a True Name in their First Nightmare. Needless to say, none of them was among the thousand Sleepers currently trapped on the Forgotten Shore.
Even Gunlaug himself did not have one.
But Nephis did.
...And Sunny too, of course, but no one had to know that.
Secondly, she had announced herself to be a Legacy, and not just any Legacy at that, but one from the legendary Immortal Flame clan. A clan that had been responsible for propelling the entire human species forward not once, but twice — first by helping conquer the Second Nightmare, then the Third.
A combination of these facts was enough to set off a metaphorical explosion in the middle of the Dark City. If this was true, then she could be considered to be an almost messianic existence here on the Forgotten Shore.
Suddenly, the calmness with which she dared to challenge a fearsome Pathfinder to a battle to the death did not seem that strange.
The dazed looks in the eyes of all the Sleepers gathered in the grand hall had slowly begun to give place to a subtle, tentative, weak glow.
It was as though a tiny seed of hope was suddenly planted in the dead soil of their lightless, forlorn souls.
Either by accident or on purpose, Nephis chose that exact moment to summon her armor. Numerous sparks of light surrounded her in a whirlpool of soft radiance, and when they were gone, a striking black and white armor had appeared on her graceful body.
Everyone's eyes were immediately glued to the symbol on its breastplate. On it, seven shining stars were intricately engraved into the strange white metal.
"Th—that symbol!"
"It's Starlight Crest!"
"The crest of the Seven!"
Just like Sunny, many of the inhabitants of the Bright Castle were familiar with the symbol of the seven stars. Not only was it carved into the robe of the giant statue standing in front of the impregnable city wall, it was also often depicted in numerous stone carvings decorating the walls of the ancient fortress.
It seemed to represent the seven heroes that had once vowed to vanquish the darkness consuming this cursed land… and lead its people back into the light.
Sunny felt cold sweat running down his spine.
'What… what is she doing? Is it all a coincidence, or did Nephis plan everything? Does she not understand how these fools will react to such theatrics? If they get the wrong idea and start running their mouths about how she is some sort of a heavenly savior, Gunlaug will soon come knocking on our doors!'
What did Neph say? Just follow her lead and try to look virtuous?
Sunny stared at her back, stumped. How would he even do that? There had never been a single drop of virtue in his entire body!
Meanwhile, Gemma had finally managed to compose himself and threw an evaluating look at Changing Star. If there had been nothing but neglect and disregard in his eyes before, now there was a hint of dark wariness in them.
Slowly, the leader of Hunters smiled.
"Ah. In that case, nice to meet you. I must say, it's a very impressive name you have there. Makes one wonder where it came from."
The implication behind these words was easy to understand. Gemma was insinuating that Nephis was lying.
It seemed as though this insinuation had removed a veil from everyone's eyes. Most people quickly lost their wistful expressions, once again looking at her either somberly or with dark anticipation. Only now, there were also hints of mocking disdain on some of their faces.
…And yet, several of them were still staring at her with expressions full of hesitant, timid faith.
Changing Star did not react to any of that in any way. She simply remained calm and indifferent.
As though she existed slightly apart from the dirt and despair of this world.
Soon, Andel the Pathfinder was led into the grand hall.
***
The Pathfinder was of average height and solid build, with menacing blue eyes and a sharp jaw. His head was shaved on the sides, with the remaining hair weaved into a short braid. He appeared to be slightly older than the rest of the Sleepers gathered in the grand hall, with the exception of Gemma himself. Andel was probably around twenty-four years old.
He looked like a skilled, seasoned, and ruthless fighter. Every Pathfinder was nothing less than an elite among elites, and he was no exception. Even those who hated Andel stared at him with fear and respect, even veneration.
Entering the hall, Andel threw a dark look at Nephis and walked forward to the base of the steps leading to the white throne. There, he stopped and bowed, showing his respect to the leader of Hunters.
"I'm here."
Gemma stared at him with an irritated, contemptuous expression, and then sighed.
"You know why I've summoned you?"
The Pathfinder smirked.
"Some wench wants to challenge me? Good. I was very sad to let Harus have all the fun last time."
Several angry whispers sounded from the crowd, but no one dared to reveal their hatred toward the arrogant murderer openly.
The corner of Gemma's mouth turned downward. He remained silent for some time, and then said in a dangerous tone:
"Fun? Did you say fun? Well, Andel, if you lacked excitement in your life, you should have just told me. How about this? After you kill that girl, I will show you what real fun is."
With that, he gestured to the Guards that the fight could begin. Andel frowned a little, but then turned around with a dark smile on his lips.
Sunny and Cassie were led to the side, where they joined the crowd of spectating Sleepers. By that point, there was a considerable amount of them gathered in the grand hall.
Everyone looked at the fearsome Pathfinder and Nephis with a mix of tension and anticipation. Some were here just to see a macabre show, waiting with excitement for blood to flow. To them, it didn't matter who lived and who died, although none believed that the girl from the outer settlement had any chance of surviving in a duel against the experienced Pathfinder.
Others wanted to see Andel punished for his crimes. But even these people seemed to believe that Neph was doomed to die. They just hoped that she would manage to make the bastard bleed a little before she did.
Perhaps only Sunny, Cassie, and Caster knew that the result of this fight was not as predictable as everyone seemed to think.
Not wasting any time, Andel summoned his weapon and walked toward Changing Star. In his hand, a vicious, crudely forged falchion suddenly gleamed with polished luster, its edge turning sharper than that of a razor.
With a shudder, Sunny realized that not even the Starlight Legion Armor would stop such a blade.
The Pathfinder's movements were soft and deceptive, betraying years of experience in bloody battles against both Nightmare Creatures and humans. The dark smile had never left his lips, and there was bloodlust burning in his eyes. After years spent hunting monsters, he looked like a monster himself.
However, Nephis just stood there calmly and watched him approach, not even trying to summon her sword.
'What is she doing? Trying to mimic Harus?'
When the distance between them shortened to that of only several steps, everyone held their breaths. Suddenly, Andel flourished his cleaver and lunged forward with astonishing, almost inhuman speed. His push was so powerful that dust flew into the air from under the soles of his boots.
Sunny clenched his fists.
'...What is she!'
Just a fraction of a second before the magically enhanced blade cleaved her apart, Nephis suddenly sidestepped the strike and threw her arms into the air, simultaneously summoning her longsword. The ethereal sparks of light passed through the blade of Andel's falchion, forming into silvery steel only on the other side of it.
The Pathfinder's eyes widened.
…Forever.
Without anything separating it from the enemy's flesh, the longsword that had just formed from the thin air behind the falchion bit into his neck, cleanly severing Andel's head from his shoulders.
As blood shot into the air from the Pathfinder's neck, his head rolled on the floor like a macabre ball and stopped near the steps that led to Gunlaug's white throne.
It seemed as though all oxygen was suddenly sucked out of the great hall.
In the deathly silence, Andel's body heavily fell on the white marble.
Everyone was staring at Nephis in utter disbelief — the Sleepers, the Guards, even Gemma.
Honestly, Sunny himself was a bit stunned. Of course, he had suspected that Changing Star might win the duel. But even he did not expect that she would kill an actual Pathfinder, one of the most fearsome warriors in the Bright Castle, with just one strike.
Dismissing her sword with a cold expression on her face, Nephis walked over to the marble steps, picked up the severed head by the hair, and looked up at the leader of the Hunters.
Then, with a well-practiced polite smile, she said:
"...Oh. It was nice to meet you too."
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