It was art—those were the only words Sunny could think of when he saw Cassie buying time. The way she dodged and killed the wooden creatures was a graceful yet unsettling sight. Her movements were immaculate, and her attacks were deadly.
Sunny gulped as he watched the dance Cassie was performing. It all started with two nightmare creatures attacking her from the right and left.
Cassie took a single step toward the two abominations. Just as their claws were about to interlock with her skin, she jumped back. The two claws collided with each other instead. She floated in the air for a moment, then made a single swing with her staff above the monsters' heads. It seemed like a blind, missed hit to Sunny and the Count—until the two wooden heads fell to the ground, followed by their owners' bodies.
Cassie landed gently, letting out a small sigh.
Sunny and the Count were stunned. Their eyes couldn't believe what had just happened. Two different feelings stirred in their hearts—one of respect, the other of lust.
"What an interesting sight! Haha!... Yes, show me more!"
The Count grinned wildly. Sunny wanted to gag at the sight of the Count's creepy, twisted expression, thinking Cassie was blessed in that moment. But the battle was far from over.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL DOING, YOU RUSTY WOODEN BONES? ATTACK HER!"
The Count screamed as the wooden creatures attacked.
---
Cassie ignored the voices. Right now, she was alone in the world—a black abyss full of white cores hurtling toward her. She made a step, raised her staff, and spun. The closest core was gone. She turned her head toward the rusty wooden trunks she heard to her right. She couldn't see them, but she knew the nightmare creatures were her next opponents. She jumped, calculating the distance from the sound and timing her jump perfectly. Her foot landed on something moving. She crouched, grabbing the edge of the wooden being. She wasn't sure if it was a shoulder, a head, or just a random branch, but she grabbed it.
She looked around and spotted four more soul cores rushing toward her. She used the creature she was holding, stabbing her staff beside it, guiding it toward the four cores.
GROWLLL
The creature growled, confirming her theory. The wind caressed her face as she gained speed toward the four targets. But something felt wrong—the pressure from her right was weaker than on her left, meaning something was blocking the air.
"Quiet dancer," Cassie whispered.
A crack and growl came from her right, but she ignored it, jumping off the beast's back when she got close enough to the four white cores. In midair, she spun, making a cross with her staff, sending two slashes toward the cores.
Crack! Prisssh!
The white cores shattered into a million sparkling shards, signaling their death. After her angelic spin, she landed her hand on one of the white cores behind her, gripping it before delivering a powerful kick with her knee. Gravity pulled her down, but she used the falling body's momentum to push herself back into the air. She opened her hand, and the "quiet dancer" (her staff) returned to her grip. She landed gracefully on the ground, making a quick thrust into the floor, sending the nearby soul cores scattering away.
---
Sunny was stunned once more. The moment the two heads hit the floor, yellowish-green liquid splattered everywhere. But what Cassie did next was even more terrifying. She spun like an angel, landing on the nightmare creature's head with a swift and carefree motion. The deadly strike that followed guided the beast into the four human soul cores like a bowling ball striking pins. The swirling spin and the cross-slash cut through the creature's back and human torsos alike. It was insane. The floor was getting dirtier with each move she made, as the so-called blood of the wooden creatures stained her red dress and colored her face and hair with yellowish-green liquid. The creatures tried to bite her, but they failed every time—either she thrust her staff into their bodies, spilling their wooden innards, or she made elegant jumps, using their heads as stepping stones to strike a larger group.
She was insane... and her coordination with her echo was unparalleled.
Sunny knew that for a master and their echo to fight effectively, they needed a strong connection. He remembered his fight at the spiral tower against the six statues of the Seven Heroes—his coordination with Saint was like no other. But Cassie? She and her echo were dancing—a black-winged angel or a white-winged devil. Neither description could fully capture what she looked like. Her echo defended her back, assisted her in her acrobatic movements, and gave her the edge in battle. Cassie had earned Sunny's respect. She was now worthy of being called the one who sold the bastard son of fate...
---
"Agh...hah...hah..."
Cassie clutched her chest as she stood in the center of the hall. Her hair and face were wet with sweat mixed with the blood of the creatures. She looked around to see more white soul cores heading toward her.
'There are too many.'
Even if she tried to attack more or go into full defense and run, she still needed to buy Sunny the five minutes he needed. Cassie took a breath and twirled her staff between her fingers. It was a cool move in her head. Did she look cool now? She didn't know, but obviously, she wasn't doing this just for show... Right? Of course not. Her staff rotation could signal two things to these mindless beasts without fear—challenge and confidence.
'Come...'
She grinned, catching the attention of the old man and Sunny. It was a grin perfect to be called the grin of the dancing devil.
"Haha!... Are you having fun?!... Haha... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL DOING? ATTACK HER!"
The soul cores and the sound of claws scraping the floor combined into a symphonic melody. Cassie did one thing.
'One step to the left.'
She stepped left as a soul core passed by her, tilting her head and spinning around. The core shattered, followed by a growl.
'One step to the right.'
She stepped right, letting her body fall in the same way Sunny had during their dance. She rotated, using her hand for momentum to jump into the air and spin again.
Preeesh prissh splatter
The sound of liquid spurting from the bodies of her targets filled the air. Their growls of pain and the splintering of their wooden bodies became part of the symphony.
In that moment, Cassie focused all her senses on dancing with the demons around her, killing them.
In the end, the only person left standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by wood, blood, and the sound of heavy breathing, was a woman in a bloody red dress, wearing a smile that could make anyone shiver.