Yuyui had not withdrawn from Kintar since embracing her earlier. She kept at it, even as they left Amanas and pooled behind Skullius, looking like mice when matched against his size. It broke Yuyui when Kintar began quivering. The presence of the monstrous Divines and Deities a distance away was so sharp that it still poked through Skullius' Null Life Essence, making even the unruly Deputy of the Stark-Soul Order shrink.
…But then again, Yuyui was shrinking too, terrified. The masked man had never inspired this fear in her, and not even Suzamete, a Deity.
It was hard to breathe. It was hard to move. For a moment, the prospect of ever reaching Deadmanland to fight monsters similar to or stronger than this became an absurd notion to the Stars and Troops. Their uselessness was going to force Skullius to do everything on his own, wasn't it? They were only holding him back.
