Chapter 2021: End of the Battle


    A similar situation was happening elsewhere on the battlefield.


    There, a vast swath of the sun-bleached bone had been scorched by incinerating flames and turned black. It almost seemed as if it had been on the verge of igniting, angry red sparks and wisps of smoke still escaping from somewhere below.


    The air was heavy with the smell of smoke, and white flames danced here and there on the charred remains of thralls and pilgrims.


    This was where Nephis had fought Seishan, Death Singer, and the five Saints supporting them.


    The battle had been fierce.


    Seishan was powerful, and her power had only grown exponentially on a bloodsoaked battlefield. Death Singer seemed to possess some form of authority over blood, as well, both using it for offense and to boost her sister''s already formidable prowess even further.


    The five Saints that had come to join the Queen''s daughters were not weak in any way, either.


    However, it had all been for naught.


    Once Nephis truly unleashed her flames and burned away the blood that had been spilled upon the ancient bone by the Awakened soldiers, Seishan and Death Singer found themselves at a disadvantage.


    The Saints that had been supposed to slow Changing Star down did everything they were expected to do. Their Aspects worked well together, and they worked especially well against someone like her.


    A carefully designed combination of powerful Memories enveloped the last daughter of the Immortal Flame clan in a net of insidious enchantments.


    The thralls and the pilgrims descended upon her like a plague.


    And yet...


    None of it worked.


    Nephis broke free of the net, withstood the barrage of melee and ranged attacks unleashed by the five Saints, turned the thralls and the pilgrims into ash, and faced the two daughters of Ki Song like a radiant, harrowing spirit of flame.


    Her skill, power, and absolute resolve were overwhelming.


    The Saints of Song were shocked and dismayed.


    Then, a hint of fear entered their hearts.


    Even Death Singer seemed shaken by the ferocious might of Changing Star...


    Only Seishan did not seem that surprised.


    After all, she had witnessed who Nephis was, and what she could do, all the way back on the Forgotten Shore.


    In fact, she understood clearly that Changing Star was holding back her most destructive powers.


    The young man seemed confused, failing to understand the meaning of her words.


    Seishan''s frown, however, deepened slightly.


    Somewhere else on the battlefield...


    Three bleeding corpses were laying on the ground, staring at Saint Jest with empty eye sockets. The old man wiped his bloody hands on the shirt of one of them, then clicked his tongue and crushed the head of the other when the corpse attempted to rise.


    Looking at his once again bloodied hand with a squeamish expression, he shook his head with a wry smile.


    "That girl... still playing house, at her age. Someone should really remind her that dolls are for children."


    With that, he looked up with a wondering look.


    "Oh... right. I should check on Little Mercy and see how he is doing. Today must have been tough on him..."


    Humming a lively melody under his nose, Saint Jest straightened, stretched his back, then picked up his cane and walked away.


    Someplace else...


    A pile of scrap metal slowly unfurled itself and rose from the ground. Fiend was in a terrible shape, his steel body hideously shredded and torn apart so viciously that it resembled an abstract sculpture.


    Fighting the Chain Wyrms had not been an easy fit for him, especially with some of his powers sealed by the shattering of space.


    Raising one of his remaining hands, the ravenous Shadow used a sharp claw to fish a piece of melting glass from between his fangs and stared in the direction where the two remaining Reflections had gone with a hateful expression.


    A few moments later, a sound that resembled the low roar of spreading flame resounded from his fiery maw:


    "Wrrrretches..."


    In that moment, Fiend made a decision.


    He was going to tell on them... to Big Sister!


    Not too far away, Saint retracted her darkness and watched indifferently as her one remaining enemy limped away.


    Serpent, however, was surrounded only by silence.


    Because all of its enemies were dead.


    Just like that, the battle was over.


    But its aftershocks were destined to spread far and wide, shaping many of the things that were to come.