Ash kept his distance, his eyes easily piercing through the mist as he observed Changing Star remaining on guard. At the same time, a bit further away, Sunny was also on guard, his eyes trying to discern something in the fog to figure out where an attack might come from.
Ash sighed.
'Why can nothing ever be simple?' he thought, feeling a twinge of frustration.
First, he had stumbled upon the blind girl and made the decision not to kill her, to let her live simply because he wanted to.
Had he truly made the choice not to kill the girl? Or had something influenced him to discard the idea of killing her? Something like fate, perhaps?
Ash could only tilt his head.
Whatever it was, he simply pushed it to the back of his mind. After all, he was only sixteen years old in a dangerous world filled with creatures that wanted to kill him.
'Again, my thoughts drift to where I don't want them to go.' Ash thought, his gaze, filled with hatred, fixed on the Terror. He was sure that thing was a Fallen Terror, not an Awakened one.
'Now, how can I stop these two?' Ash pondered.
He could speak Sunny's True Name, but he preferred not to. He simply didn't want to be tied to anyone, and the advantages wouldn't be beneficial for him.
He already knew things and secrets about this world and didn't want to get more involved than he already was.
Anyway, Sunny wasn't the problem. The main problem was Nephis, this world's version of Mary Sue – strong, determined, with a personality divided into three parts: Goal, Obstacle, and Result. Those three simple words would serve to describe Changing Star in general.
Ash waited a little, and then a little longer, until he finally decided to go for the weakest link.
Running as fast as he could, he lunged at Sunny, who somehow moved his sword just in time to avoid a fatal wound to his body.
"Hi," Ash greeted with a cold smile.
Sunny scowled.
"Do you really plan to kill us?" Sunny asked, beginning an intense sword fight where their weapons clashed with metallic ringing and sparks flew.
Ash deflected Sunny's attack with his sword, landing a punch to his face that sent him flying a few meters. He had gathered many more fragments than Sunny and Nephis, making him currently much stronger.
"Hey, Sunny, nothing personal. Let's talk about this when you're yourself again."
Sunny was about to say something but saw Ash disappear into the mist. A moment later, Nephis arrived where he was, frowning.
"Behind you," Sunny said breathlessly.
Nephis turned at the exact moment. Her sword rose, catching Ash's blade as it descended to decapitate her. The impact sent shockwaves through her arms.
"Well anticipated," Ash murmured, with no trace of surprise.
"You're predictable when you attack from behind," she replied, pushing her sword upward to break contact.
And then it truly began.
They became gray blurs against the white of the mist. Sword against sword, will against will. Nephis attacked with the precision of someone who had trained her whole life for war – clean cuts, lethal thrusts, a lethal choreography. Ash responded with something wilder, more instinctive, but equally effective.
Ting.
CLANG.
Shing.
Wosh.
Sparks flew like miniature fireworks. Their feet kicked up small clouds of dust with every movement.
Ash felt the edge of her sword graze his side, cutting the cloth but not the armor beneath. He responded with a downward strike she blocked, but the force made her step back.
Sunny saw his opportunity.
He lunged from the side, his black tachi describing a deadly diagonal arc. The steel impacted against Ash's back...
...and rebounded uselessly against the fabric of his armor.
Sunny's face twisted in disbelief. His sword was of the third tier, capable of cutting through Fallen Beasts like butter. If he couldn't even scratch that armor...
'It's a whole rank higher.'
Ash didn't even bother to look at him. His attention was completely on Nephis. He spun on himself, his sword tracing an arc she dodged by millimeters, but not enough. The tip of his blade found a weak point in her armor, just under the armpit, and sank in.
Nephis held her breath as the cold steel penetrated her flesh. The wound wasn't deep, but it bled profusely.
Ash withdrew his sword and stepped back, dissolving into the mist.
"Damn it," Sunny hissed, running toward Nephis. "Are you...?"
She was already moving. Pale flames burst from her body, curling around the wound. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air as her face contorted in pain. The wound smoked, closed, healed.
But Ash had already seen enough.
His voice emerged from the mist, projecting from all directions at once.
"Come on, don't be foolish. I don't want to kill you, understand? You're being controlled by the soul tree. That thing is clouding your minds because it fears I'll destroy it."
"Silence," Nephis's voice cut through the air like a blade.
"I can see it in your eyes," Ash continued, ignoring her. "Or well, in yours, Sunny. Changing Star's have always been a bit unsettling, so it's hard to tell."
Sunny clenched his jaw, his fists trembling. Control? Soul tree? Ash's words resonated in his head, but something pushed them back, as if his own mind rejected them.
"You're the one who's confused," he replied, his voice tense. "We..."
"You what?" Ash's voice sounded tired. "Going to kill me? Going to protect that thing? Because let me tell you, when night falls, and that Terror finds a better replacement as a guardian, it will eliminate you and use your souls to create those fruits."
There was a tense moment of silence.
Nephis advanced a step, her silver sword gleaming as it was fed by her flames.
"We don't need your protection." Changing Star's voice was firm and calm, remaining unperturbed.
Ash sighed. A long, heavy sound that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"Fine. I guess I'll stop holding back then."
The mist before them shifted.
Ash emerged walking slowly, his sword resting on his shoulder. His expression was neutral, but his yellow eyes shone with a dangerous and imposing light.
"Night will fall soon," he said, as if commenting on the weather. "And it's best we leave as soon as possible. So..."
He stopped ten meters from them. His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword.
"I guess in the end, it is personal."
Sunny swallowed hard, adjusting his stance. Beside him, Nephis did the same, her inner flames faintly glowing beneath her skin.