Chapter 265 Hateful Shadow
Turning away from the distant wall of the Dark City, Sunny closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and let go of his anger.
He had to keep his head cool, for now. Killing a Fallen Devil was not going to be an easy task. It might even turn out to be his undoing.freēwebnovel.com
...But he was determined to see it done. The debt of blood he owed that creature had to be repaid, no matter what.
Walking over to the fire, Sunny sat down and tried to remember the details of their previous stay on this old, weathered marble arch. What a fun couple of days that had been.
Rather pleasing on the eye, too...
His shadow shook its head dejectedly and turned away.
Soon, Nephis handed him his share of the food. Her culinary skills had improved a lot during these months — despite the fact that there had not been a large variety of ingredients at their disposal. Still, being able to turn the most repulsive of monsters into a delicious meal was something that not everyone was capable of.
'This should be a separate course at the Academy.'
Teacher Julius had taught him how to consume various things in the Dream Realm without ending up poisoned to death, but he had neglected to go in-depth on how to actually make them taste good.
Sinking his teeth into a juicy piece of meat, Sunny forgot about his troubles for a bit and simply enjoyed this rare moment of bliss. Disposing of the meat, he smiled in satisfaction and wiped his hands on the soft fabric of the Puppeteer's Shroud. Then, he glanced at Nephis and asked:
"We should be able to reach the city tomorrow, yes?"
She gave him a nod.
"...If nothing happens."
Sunny thought for a bit, then said in a curious tone:
"Do you think Gunlaug knows that we are coming back?"
Nephis thought for a few moments before replying. Her voice was calm and indifferent.
"Definitely."
Sunny sighed. This was his conclusion as well: back when he had first entered the Bright Castle, he had learned from Caster about a certain Artisan that could track the general location of anyone a person had ever met. This was how Caster knew how many Sleepers of their crop had been sent to the Forgotten Shore.
Even if Gunlaug possessed no other method to learn of their approach, all he had to do was ask that woman.
Sunny shifted a little and asked:
"Should we expect a welcoming party?"
Changing Star shook her head.ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
"I don't think so. There's no need for him to do anything. Gunlaug knows that we will come to him of our own free will… simply because there's nowhere else for us to go."
She fell silent for a while, and then added:
"But most of all, this has never been about killing me or my people. It was always about destroying the ideas I represent. What's the point of crushing me if no one is there to see it? Gunlaug won't do anything without an audience. He had sent Harus to stop us from escaping the stage, but now that we are back on it, there is no need for him to rush the inevitable."
Everyone listened to the conversation with dark expressions. Sunny glanced at them, hesitated for a bit, and asked:
"Are you confident that you can defeat him?"
Nephis stared at the fire. After a while, she simply said:
"Yes."
Hearing that, Sunny smiled sweetly.
"Well, good for you, but I am not. So let's finish our deal before the lot of you get killed by that maniac. Alright?"
A corner of Neph's mouth curled upward.
"You are talking about the Fallen Devil?"
He nodded.
"Yes. The bastard. You promised to help me kill him, remember?"
Meanwhile, Kai was looking at him with a complicated expression. Finally, not able to hold back, he asked:
"Sunny… are you really not going to join us? Don't… don't you see that we only have one chance to escape this place? Not to mention all the lives we can save!"
Sunny shrugged. To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure on that point himself. On one hand, he had no desire of helping Nephis achieve her insane goal. On the other hand, things that she had set in motion were going to happen with or without him.
What was he going to do, hide in his cathedral and wait until there was no one else left alive on the Forgotten Shore?
Some fate that would be…
"Maybe I'll join you, and maybe I won't. Who knows what will happen?"
He fell silent and cast a sideways glance at Cassie.
Actually, at least three people here knew what would happen… more or less.
'It's hard to escape fate.'
"That's not the point though, is it? The point is that you should conclude our deal first and do whatever it is you wish to do later..."
Changing Star faced the two of them and calmly ended that conversation:
"Sure. No problem. We'll go to the cathedral first. A deal is a deal, after all."
Sunny smiled with satisfaction.
Nephis glanced at him and added:
"But, Sunny… how exactly are we supposed to kill a Fallen Devil?"
His smile widened.
"Oh! I'm glad that you asked…"
***
Sunny had been making plans on how exactly to kill the Black Knight for more than half a year now. Prior to leaving the Dark City, he had spent two entire months observing the terrifying fiend and trying to learn everything there was to know about him.
Needless to say, the task of slaying a creature that powerful was not going to be trivial. In fact, it was going to be the hardest battle they had fought yet.
It almost seemed impossible.
But was it, really?
The fight against the Spire Messenger, who had turned to be a Fallen Monster, nearly cost several members of the cohort their lives. They had barely been able to hold off against the creature of its class, and a devil was ten times more dreadful.
However, there was a big difference between the Messenger they had faced and the Black Knight.
That difference was, basically, very simple.
It was that Sunny did not hate the Messenger with all his dark, vindictive heart.
And now, that hate was going to tip the scales in their favor.
Chapter 266 The Devil You Know
At the core of it, things were indeed rather simple. Sunny hated the Black Knight enough to do his due diligence and thus spent an incredible amount of time studying it. He was so motivated to kill the creature that had hurt him that he had even gone so far as to settle in the same old cathedral as the devil.
As a result, Sunny had become a singular expert on everything having to do with the Black Knight. He knew his strengths, he knew his weaknesses, the patterns of his behavior…
And, most importantly, he knew what type of unnatural powers the devil possessed.
Unlike Nightmare Creatures of lower ranks, devils had access to bizarre and harrowing powers that were akin to the Aspect Abilities of the Awakened. That was what made them so dangerous, and that was why the fact that Sunny had learned the Black Knight's power was so vital.
Unlike the Spire Messenger, whom they had to fight blind, the cohort was going to go into battle with the Fallen Devil fully aware of what they would face. As such, they could plan, come up with strategies, and make preparations.
Knowing your enemy was half the victory.
The second half was knowing yourself.
The smile disappeared from Sunny's face. Leaning forward, he said:
"The Black Knight is truly a living nightmare. He is as strong, fast, and indestructible as you would imagine a Fallen Devil to be. I've seen countless creatures fall to his sword — no matter their shape, size, rank, or class. He is just too powerful."
Effie giggled.
"You're not really making your case, Sunny. You know that, right?"
He glanced at her and grinned.
"That's not even the worst part. What really makes him an incarnation of death is not his astonishing might, but the darkness that lives in the grand hall of the cathedral and seems to obey him. When wrapped in that darkness, the Black Knight can move fast, unseen, and without making a single sound. His physical traits are vastly enhanced, turning him into an unstoppable engine of slaughter."
Sunny grimaced.
"What's more, any damage done to him is instantly repaired as long as he is surrounded by the darkness. Inside of it, he is basically immortal."
The members of the cohort glanced at each other with dubious expressions. Only Changing Star remained indifferent.
A tentative smile appeared on Sunny's face. Turning to Nephis, he said:
"But that is where you come in, Neph. With your radiant light, that darkness will vanish. Your flames can strip the bastard of his greatest weapon. Without his dark power, the Black Knight is nothing more than a powerful abomination. He will be only slightly more dangerous than a demon of the same rank."
Caster stared at him and said, his voice flat:
"You say it as though a Fallen Demon is an easy enemy to face."
Sunny shook his head.
"No, I am not saying that. I fully understand how hard that fight will be. In fact, I understand it better than any of you. The truth of the matter is that even with the Dawn Shard, our weapons won't be able to wound him. Not because his flesh is too tough, but because he is covered in heavy armor from head to toe. I am not even sure that there is any flesh beneath it, to be honest. There is only one chink in his armor, and that is the visor of the helmet."
The Black Knight had two burning red embers instead of eyes, so Sunny didn't even know if the bastard had a face.
Kai shifted a little and said with uncertainty:
"So the only way to kill him is to hit the crack of the visor? I am… I am not sure that this is possible. On a fixed target, sure. But on a moving one, especially one that fast and deadly… I can't promise that I'll manage that."
The others nodded, expressing their agreement.
Sunny smiled.
"Ah, yes. That would indeed be tough. Luckily, we don't have to."
He paused for a moment, and then revealed the secret that had taken him a long, long time to uncover:
"The truth is, the visor is a trap. It seems like a weak spot, but it's not. The real weakness of the Black Knight is not even protected by the armor."
A dark expression appeared on his face.
"It's his sword."
Indeed, after observing the devil for months, Sunny had come to the conclusion that the secret to destroying the damned thing hid not in finding a way to pierce the bastard's armor, but in destroying his terrifying greatsword.ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
By watching the Black Knight fight against countless Nightmare Creatures, Sunny had been able to notice a curious pattern. Just like the members of the cohort, the abominations who wandered into the cathedral tended to instinctively go for the eyes of its guardian. But the bastard didn't care about those attacks at all.
He did, however, tend to protect his sword against most powerful blows, going so far as to receive them with his body instead of blocking or deflecting them with the obliterating black blade. As if wary of any damage being done to it.
By focusing on this pattern, Sunny had confirmed that the sword was indeed the only thing that the Fallen Devil seemed to be reluctant to put in harm's way.
It was his true weakness.
Nephis tilted her head slightly and echoes his words:
"...His sword?"
Sunny nodded.
"Yes. If we want to kill the Black Knight, we will have to destroy his greatsword. That is the only way."
Effie blinked a couple of times, then glared at him in outrage.
"Is that what you call not being protected by the armor? Of course it's not protected by the armor! Because it's even tougher than the armor, you doofus!"
She shook her head.
"How are we supposed to break a sword fit to be wielded by a Fallen Devil? Huh?"
Sunny smiled.
"Oh, you don't have to. In fact, I insist that you don't. You are there to help me, but no one can kill that bastard except for me. No one, you understand? So, your task will be to hold that fiend off. Leave the sword to me."
The huntress scoffed.
"That's not really an answer. If none of us is strong enough to even come close to breaking such a powerful armament, how are you going to destroy it?"
Sunny stared at her for a bit, then shrugged.
"I am not going to destroy it. Do I look like someone who can destroy it? No, I don't. And I can't."
A dark grin appeared on his lips.
"...But the Stone Saint? I am willing to bet that she can."
She was able to slaughter two Fallen Beasts before even becoming his Shadow. Not that Sunny's own shadow had grown strong with almost a thousand fragments fueling it with power, there were very few things in the Dark City that the Saint couldn't destroy with its help.
So yes, he was willing to bet that she would be able to break the sword of the Black Knight.
In fact, he was going to bet his life on it.