As somber silence settled among the cohort, Effie grimaced.
"The weirdest part is, no one has even seen him come and go. Every time Harus was sent into the outer settlement, we only learned that people were dead in the morning. Doors, locks, and barricades can't seem to stop him, either. Once Harus is ordered to kill you, you just die. It is as though fate itself abandons you."
Caster frowned.
"So are you telling us that we stand no chance?"
The huntress shook her head.
"I'm saying that fighting him right now would be stupid. Not unless we learn how he is able to seemingly turn his victims… no matter how many of them there are… completely powerless."
With that, she glanced at Nephis, who lingered for a moment and then shook her head.
"Our friend in the castle doesn't know either."
Effie grinned.
"Ah, so that mysterious friend of yours is not omniscient after all. Well, in that case, my advice stands. We should run."
At that moment, Sunny finally spoke up:
"But, Effie… can we even run away from him?"
The smile disappeared from her face. Suddenly grim, she hesitated for a while, and then said:
"I know of a way. But… it's going to be dangerous. Very dangerous. However, I don't know how else to shake him off our trail. So you decide, princess."
Neph was silent for a bit, and then simply nodded.
"We will face Harus some other day. Right now, reaching the resting place of the first cohort is the priority."
The unruly huntress exhales, almost as if relieved. Then, she said:
"Then follow me. And prepare yourself…"
***
After that disturbing discussion, Effie changed their course slightly. Instead of moving straight south, they were now traversing the ancient city heading for its eastern border.
Sunny wasn't too familiar with this part of the ruins. During the past few months, he mostly stayed north of the Bright Castle, sometimes venturing northeast. He stayed away from the western areas because they were closer to the Crimson Spire, and had not explored much of the south because it was too far away from his cathedral.
The last time he had been here was on the day of the bloody fight against the Spire Messenger. Back then, they were headed for the ruins of the lighthouse that had once stood near the impregnable wall of the Dark City.
Not that he had a lot of time to observe the surroundings. Pretty much all of his attention was concentrated on Harus, who was following them like a hound.
He didn't like having to stare at the menacing hunchback at all.
'Why don't you go fight some Fallen creature and die, bastard?'
However, Harus seemed to know the ruins just as well as Effie. He somehow avoided the worst creatures on his path while never losing the scent of Changing Star's cohort. At one point, a lone Blood Fiend attacked him from the deep shadows of a dilapidated building. Gunlaug's executioner simply raised a hand and shattered the skull of the Nightmare Creature with one lazy punch.
He didn't even blink.
'Big deal. I… I killed plenty of those, too.'
However, Sunny had to admit that he was deeply unnerved by the power of the murderous hunchback. Maybe because he couldn't get rid of the feeling that by the end of it all, only one of them would remain alive.
And he wasn't sure which one.
Soon, they were nearing the tall expanse of the city wall. Not too far away, the remnant of a giant tower lay broken on its side, stretching far away into the distance. The buildings that the tower had fallen on thousands of years ago were shattered and turned into dust.
The ancient lighthouse might have been proud and magnificent once. Perhaps it had even served as a symbol of the defiant will of the people of the ancient city, burning as a shining beacon in the eternal darkness of the cursed night. But it had fallen a long time ago… just like the people that built it.
At least its ruin remained. The ancient inhabitants of the Dark City had just vanished, not even leaving bones behind.
Sunny sighed.
"Where to now?"
Effie gestured at the massive ruin.
"Inside."
They were currently hiding in a collapsed building near the collapsed tower. This area was populated by an especially vile tribe of monsters, and attracting their attention would spell trouble for the entire cohort.
"Call your shadow back and keep it close. When we enter the lighthouse, we will have to act quick."
Somewhat relieved, Sunny did just that. Not having to look at Harus anymore was a reason for celebration.
Staying low to the ground, the six of them dashed from their hiding spot to the broken lighthouse. Without wasting any time, they found a breach in its wall and climbed inside.
Effie summoned her radiant Memory, bathing the interior of the ruined tower in light. Due to the fact that it was currently lying on its side, they found themselves in a massive, echoing tunnel.
Looking around, Effie found her bearings and led them deeper into the tunnel, extreme tension apparent in her every move. While walking, she began to speak:
"Listen to me very carefully and do as I say. Once we're inside, don't separate from the group. Stay together and keep your weapons at hand. The place we're going to is full of Nightmare Creatures. They're not too strong, but they're… special."
She bit her lip.
"Don't even try to kill them. Just defend yourself and keep moving. If you stop, you'll most probably die. Same thing if you slow down and get yourself surrounded. But if we can preserve our formation… we might survive. I hope."
'You hope? What do you mean, you hope?!'
Before Sunny could voice his outrage, they reached their destination.
Right in front of him, the floor of the tunnel was broken, forming a narrow crevice. It was filled with darkness, leading deep down into the ground… and then deeper still. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see what was at the bottom.
The huntress glanced at him.
"What are you waiting for, doofus? Jump!"
Sunny gulped.
"You want me to jump… into that?"
By his side, Kai sighed and looked down on his freshly cleaned, stylish armor. An expression of pure sadness appeared on his beautiful face.
"Oh, well. Here we go again…"