Then, they happened at the same time.
And then, miraculously, his attacks started to come in advance of Changing Star's, even if the difference was barely perceptible.
That was all Sunny needed.
In the terrible crescendo of their merciless duel, blood fell to the cracking stone of the Gateway balcony like crimson rain.
He dashed forward, turning his torso sideways to let the silver longsword miss his chest and rip through his bicep instead. As a blinding wave of pain flooded his mind, Sunny caught Neph's arm with his own.
And then, twisting it, brought his fist on her elbow, shattering it.
As pieces of bloodied bone tore through her skin, Nephis shrieked terribly and made an awkward move, trying to smash him in the head with the flat of her sword. But because it was now only held in one hand, the force and speed of that strike were not as formidable as that of her previous attacks.
Diving under the blade of the silver longsword, Sunny fell to one knee…
And pushed the Midnight Shard forward in a horizontal cut, its blade tearing through Neph's abdomen and exiting in a flood of blood from her back.
Pulled by the inertia of her attack, Nephis made a step forward and came to a sudden stop. As the sword slid from her grip and clattered to the cold stones, she swayed a little.
And then fell heavily to the ground.
The radiance of her skin was slowly fading away.
With his back to her, Sunny stared into the darkness. After a few moments, he closed his eyes and sighed.
'...Over.'
A second or two later, he stood up, turned around, and walked toward the broken figure of the young woman, who was still trying to reach for her sword, blood spilling from her mouth.
As Sunny's shadow fell on Nephis, she gritted her teeth and spat:
"It's… it's not over yet… I still can… I can…"
Ruthlessly throwing the silver longword away with the tip of his boot, Sunny looked at her from above and said in a tired, listless voice:
"You can't. It's over, Neph."
Then, he looked away, at the shining dais of the Gateway. His face was hidden in the shadows.
"You're done."
***
He won.
Looking at the shining Gateway, Sunny tasted that word.
Why was it so bitter? Why was it so painful?
Why wasn't it sweet and joyous?
With a dark grimace, he glanced at Nephis, and then turned away.
What could he say to her that had any meaning? One of them was going to escape this hell, and the other was going to stay. One was victorious, and the other was defeated.
One of them was going to live, and the other was going to die.
Any words he could find would be empty...
But not empty enough to express the hollow sense in his heart.
His feet trembled as he made the first step toward the Gateway.
'...To hell with this!'
Why did his heart have to feel so heavy?! Why wasn't he celebrating?!
He deserved to be saved. He struggled and suffered to get to come this far, enduring countless horrors that would have broken and destroyed anyone else. He bled and fought, clawing his way to this point, never allowing himself to rest or stop growing. He — he! — was the strongest.
He was the last one left standing!
Not the countless Nightmare Creatures of the Forgotten Shore. Not Harus, that damned hunchback. Not Gunlaug, the mighty Bright Lord. Not Caster, the strongest even among other Legacies.
Not even Changing Star, the last daughter of the legendary Immortal Flace clan.
No, it was him. A homeless kid from the outskirt with no place to call his own, someone whom no one had ever expected to survive, let alone thrive in the ruthless embrace of the Nightmare Spell. Whom everyone considered to be below them, an inconsequential nobody with no chance of ever becoming anything else.
Well… he showed them all, had he not?
Gritting his teeth in anger, Sunny made another step.
'To hell with you!'
…Behind him, Nephis had finally abandoned her hopeless attempts to reach her sword. As Sunny walked away, she slowly crawled a few steps, then arduously pushed herself and sat up, leaning on a piece of rubble. The light of the Gateway reflected in her eyes as she watched him go, hunched, seemingly unable to move anymore.
Stepping over a wide crack in the stone that was slowly approaching the shimmering circle of runes, Sunny came to the iron ring.
Now, only one step separated him from freedom.
…But instead of making it, he suddenly froze, looking into the distance with a grim expression on his face.
A second passed by, then another. The Crimson Spire shuddered once again, sending more stone falling down.
As the light of the artificial sun grew so dim that it was almost impossible to see, Sunny swayed a little, then turned around and walked back to Nephis.
Stopping above her, he lingered for a moment, then kneeled, so that their faces were on the same level.
Looking Neph right in the eyes, Sunny raised his hands and clapped several times.
Finally, he said in a terrible, furious voice:
"Congratulations. You almost fooled me…"