It was hard to tell if Astrid was really worried about the situation she was in.
However, she was in fact having a hard time navigating through the increasing count of monsters. There were all kinds of sizes blocking her view and halting her advances, but they all seemed to move sluggishly and predictably to her. To Equinox, it was like she was a flower in a pond, while the monsters were stones being thrown in attempts to sink that flower— her movements were too fluid and graceful just to conclude with her brutally rolling her huge sword into the sides of the unfortunate creatures.
Camille could hardly keep up. He was all around the forest, tossing the poor Seer Equinox away right before Astrid could run him through a couple of trees, then summon the Seer to his side when Astrid switches target.
"Tch! You darn glow stick!" Camille cursed, summoning the Seer to his side when the man suddenly twisted his body to strap himself onto Camille's back.
"How much do you want me?!" Ikky yelled.
"What?"
"How much... blergh... do you want me.. My stomach ish don't feel too... good."
"The hell?!" Camille started to panic at the thought of this weird guy about to puke on his body.
With force, he ripped Ikky off himself and flung the man away for the last time. Unfortunately for him, Astrid had already gotten close enough to thwack him into the distance with her blade.
Astrid suddenly disappeared and then appeared to hold her sword in front of her face, blocking Camille's punch. She had been subjected to his teleportation ability.
"Why do you hinder me, Timofey?" Astrid asked, pushing him back."
Camille showed a look of surprise, but then he chuckled lightly in understanding."Of course you were able to figure it out, you witch."
He dusted his body clean. "Not even I know the essence of this man's Virtues, but I'm sure you do. Which is why you could tell us apart.
And as for why I am standing in your way right now, I'm afraid if I revealed it, you would want to kill me as well."
Astrid struck her blade into the ground, standing straight. "If you had really feared my wrath, you would not be here in the first place. Don't tell me you decided to act like a real emissary of the heavens and save that Seer, rather than be just a fore-seer of calamities you truly are."
Timofey snickered at Astrid's definition of a Prophet. Turning to his side to find the man Astrid had been chasing, he realised the strange person was now alone in the middle of the hoard of monsters, fighting for his life.
Astrid's blade made a heavy slicing sound in the air, forcing Timofey's attention back at her.
"I am done with these games. If you continue to stand in my way of delivering justice, then I will deliver it to you as well."
A jagged line ran down from Timofey's head according to Astrid's swing, and a rift opened right at the back of his head, knocking the vile creatures out of their home.
———
It took Equinox quite a while to figure out what the Night Chant was about. Even now he thought that the prophecy of that virtue did not have much to do with what it was capable of. At most, it attempted to explain the Virtuous name that had come about as a result of that Virtue.
What he had discovered in essence was that the Night chant allows him to use conquered curses as a blessings. As Yaga had explained it, the Virtue rewrites those harsh curses and cries he would hear just moments before he is hit by a curse, and turn those words into chants that as long as he recites in his head, would offer him protection.
"This feels awkward." Ikky said. "I gotta keep repeating these words, while trying to focus on the battle right in front of my eyes."
"If you say it constantly, the chants will become second nature to you, so you'll be able to split your focus more efficiently." Yaga added.
Equinox leapt back, avoiding the hug of a fat sleazy-eyed green creature. Another of these goblins ran at him from behind, however Ikky's feet quickly left the ground as he did a back flip, landing right on that goblin's face before jumping off it, spinning his body mid air to dodge a round blob creature that had bounced up to swallow him.
His spinning body rolled even faster, his floating grainy charm forming something like the phantom of a drill around him. The limbs of the unfortunate creatures caught in front of the drill were shredded, leaving them screaming in agony.
Ikky landed with his palms on the ground and his legs in the air. Pressing down on his hand, he pushed himself into one of the crying monsters, his legs smashing into the creature's head like an unbreakable spear.
Again, not giving the monsters time to react between his different actions, his movements flowed into another attack. He stretched out his arm, the grainy charm spinning around a small dagger he'd summoned from his talisman. The wrapped up dagger burst right through a goblin's chest, the charm forming a tether to the knife and Ikky's hand as he pulled himself and the goblin closer.
The tether disappeared, and soon it was Ikky's fist clenching to smash into the head of the unfortunate creature like a hammer.
Ikky's movements were too refined and precise for someone of his background with zero battle training, while his charm allowed him to incorporate different weapons as fighting styles. These mindless creatures stood no chance.
The curse of paralysis was the second ever curse forced onto Ikky. That curse made it so that he would have no control over his own body. And when Ikky pushed too hard to move his own muscles, the results he achieved were far from his expectations.
Any curse would give Equinox an unfair disadvantage in battle, the curse of paralysis was even more so. However, this only allowed the blessing that seemingly countered it, equally as powerful.
With the Blessing of the Night Chant against the paralysis curse, Equinox would have full control over his body— so much control that he could perform complicated actions with the mere thought of it. His every action would be like that of a person controlling a puppet with the most minimal effort to make that puppet perform the wildest stunts.
Alas, how the requirements for this Virtue made it too complicated.
One stutter of the Chant caused his Virtue to immediately deactivate, making him stumble into the mouth of a werewolf.
Ikky cried out in pain as the creature bit down on his arm like a rabid dog. Clenching his fist, he proceeded to bash the wolf's head with the power of a heavy mallet. When the beast let go, he straightened his palm and dug his fingers into the creature's neck before ripping out its throat and smashing its head in again.
These monsters seemed quite sentient as their eyes shone at the bloody scene. But they were perverted themselves, so it brought them more joy than fear.
———
"According to Gefyra's report, Nox was only a timid outcast and Equinox had never injured anything other than the wild spirits he hunted to eat..." The young looking Lord of the Sumeru lotus read out loud.
"One becomes a different person after experiencing power. However, it could be that Equinox had simply just maintained his former clarity even in the face of evil spirits— the ability to distinguish the humans from animals he can cut open." Dharma added, lying ever so relaxed on her slanted chair.
"I hope you are right about that 'clarity', Dharma." Karma said. "Because the last time we let a young soul with no repulsion from taking life, run around as she pleased, she grew up to become something only prayers could subjugate."
Dharma laughed. "Come on, old friend. Little excitements for what will happen in the far future are all we have to pass the time. Nevertheless, hell itself could not shake humanity, what more can an orphan child accomplish."