Once they arrived at the settlement, Sunny and Nephis watched as the sleepers looked at Uriel with respect, happiness, and devotion as he passed by. The trio themselves received curious glances.
"Lord Uriel," greeted a tall sleeper in his twenties, wearing heavy black armor.
"Ah, Tom, how's everything going?"
"Quite well. We've located the cathedral," the sleeper reported.
"Good, that's great news. And what about your hunting division?"
"We're making good progress, though there was a minor clash with Gunlaug's dogs and their leader, Tessai."
Uriel frowned.
"It didn't escalate further, as Lord Caster intervened before things got worse."
"Good. Thanks for letting me know."
"By the way, who are the new faces?" Tom asked.
"They're my friends. They survived two months in the Labyrinth and arrived yesterday."
Tom's eyes widened as he looked at the three sleepers with respect.
"I'm taking them to saturate their cores now."
Tom nodded.
"Of course."
"See you later, Tom," Uriel said, walking past the sleeper, followed by the trio.
"Hey, what was that about?" Cassie asked, confused.
"That's Tom. He leads a hunting team of 20 sleepers and is one of the strongest in the entire city," Uriel explained.
"And what about the cathedral he mentioned?"
"Oh, that. A Fallen Devil resides there—one I want to kill. It has powers similar to mine, so I need some help with that."
"You're just going to kill a Fallen Devil, just like that?"
"Yep. It's just a Fallen Devil. I've killed worse," Uriel said.
The quartet continued until they reached a large two-story house. Uriel entered, followed by the others.
As they stepped inside, Sunny noticed two rough-looking men stationed at the doors, who opened them without a word.
Upon entering, Sunny's eyes widened at the sight of enormous piles of soul fragments extracted from Nightmare Creatures—easily numbering in the thousands. He cursed inwardly, knowing he couldn't consume them like Cassie and Nephis could.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Start crushing them," Uriel said. "All the sleepers in the settlement have their cores fully saturated. This is just what we bring back from regular hunts."
Nephis didn't hesitate. She began crushing the fragments one after another, with Cassie following suit.
Uriel looked at Sunny.
"Don't you want to saturate your cores?"
Sunny gritted his teeth.
"I do, but I can't."
"You get fragments from killing Nightmare Creatures?" Uriel asked, and Sunny nodded.
"I see. Well, that sucks."
"Tell me about it."
"If you want, you can join me on my nightly hunts. You'll just have to land the killing blow."
"You'd really do that for me?"
"Think of it as a future investment. When you're rich, you can pay me back."
A bitter smirk crossed the slender boy's face.
After a while, the pile of fragments had shrunk considerably. Uriel kept about a hundred fragments for himself to become a Devil, while the rest were exhausted.
"And now what?" Cassie asked.
"Whatever you want. You can join the hunts, relax—do whatever you want. You're not obligated to do anything," Uriel said.
"Follow me. I'll introduce you to the others."
After leaving, Uriel guided the trio to his base on the hill. Upon entering, they headed to the meeting room.
Inside the room, there was a round table with several chairs, three of which were occupied.
"Well, you're finally back," Scarlet said.
"Hello, Scarlet, Caster, Effie," Uriel greeted, looking at the people present.
"Greetings, Lady Nephis, Lady Cassie, and, ah, Sunless," Caster said with an affable smile, bowing slightly.
Nephis nodded without a word.
"Scarlet, let me introduce you to my friends. I met them at the Academy. This is Nephis, Changing Star. Next to her is Cassie, and this is Sunless," Uriel introduced.
"A pleasure. I'm Scarlet," she said respectfully.
"Why did you bring them?" Effie asked, curious.
"I want them to join us. Their strength will be of great help in the future."
Effie looked at the three sleepers before shrugging. Scarlet had no objections, and neither did Caster.
"What do you say?" Uriel asked.
"I'm fine with it," Sunny said.
"I don't have a problem," Cassie added.
"Me neither," Nephis said.
"Then it's official," Uriel declared. "There are free rooms, so take whichever you want."
Uriel began to walk away.
"Where are you going?" Nephis asked.
"To the cathedral. I need to confirm the situation with the Fallen Devil. Want to come?"
"No, I'll stay and explore," Sunny said.
"I'll stay to get settled," Cassie added.
Uriel looked at Nephis.
"I'll go with you," she said, making Uriel raise an eyebrow but say nothing.
"Alright," he replied, leaving the large house on the hill with Nephis. The two headed north in silence.
...
The duo moved silently through the ruins, each lost in their own thoughts.
That was until Nephis broke the silence.
"You owe me eight matches."
Uriel almost stumbled at the blunt way she started the conversation, though given Changing Star's limited social skills, it was to be expected.
"Really?"
Nephis nodded.
"I still haven't beaten you in a fight."
'Oh, so she's the type who doesn't give up even after multiple defeats,' Shade remarked.
"I suppose. But that'll have to wait. There are things I need to do first."
"What kind of things?"
"Well, killing a Fallen Devil, for example."
Nephis frowned slightly but said nothing.
When they arrived at the cathedral after a while, Uriel smiled upon seeing a tall figure.
The man, taller than Uriel, turned his head upon hearing footsteps behind him. A smile spread across his delicate, handsome face.
"Ah, hello, Uriel. I didn't expect you so soon," the young man said in a melodious voice.
His appearance was undoubtedly splendid—reddish-brown hair and captivating green eyes. He wore dazzling armor with a great sense of aesthetics and fashion that suited him perfectly. His face reflected a radiant smile.
This was Kai.
"Ah, hello, Kai," Uriel greeted simply. "Kai, let me introduce you to my friend," he said, glancing at Nephis, who took a step back. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide and glassy.
'Oh, what an interesting reaction.'
"Uh, Uriel, is your friend alright?" Kai asked with concern.
Uriel looked at Nephis.
"She'll be fine in a moment," he said, watching as Nephis remained frozen.
After a few seconds, Uriel was pulled back by Nephis, who spoke in a voice filled with surprise and disbelief.
"Uriel... what is Night doing here?"
"He's my friend. I asked him to keep an eye on the cathedral."
Nephis shook her head.
"No, I mean, what is he doing here?"
Uriel blinked before understanding what she meant.
"Oh, I met him three weeks ago, saved his life. He asked a lot of questions about things he didn't know, and I convinced him to join us."
Nephis shook her head again.
"I don't understand what you're trying to say, Neph... Can you be clearer?"
Nephis stared at Kai as if he were a stranger or a puzzle.
"You don't know who he is?"
"Not really. Is it important?"
"That's Night, you idiot! Nightingale! The Night!" she said, as if that explained everything.
"I still don't get it."
Nephis glanced at Kai, paled even further, and finally whispered:
"He's... simply the best and most famous idol group of the last decade. Three-time Orpheus winners, a hundred consecutive weeks at the top of all charts, six diamond albums. That... Nightingale. That Night. The lead vocalist."
"Oh," Uriel said, blinking before looking at Kai.
"So he's from a band," he said with disinterest, checking Nephis's reaction to his indifference about Kai's identity.
"Hey, Kai, why didn't you tell me you were rich from making songs?" Uriel asked, slightly annoyed—mostly at the fact that he had a friend with deep pockets.
Kai smiled, a little embarrassed.
"I actually told you when you saved me."
Uriel frowned. "Did you really?"
"Yes."
"Well, anyway, Neph, Kai has been trapped here for two years," Uriel said, making Changing Star's eyes widen.
"Two years? But... but the news said Nightingale was just on hiatus for Gale's solo project..."
"I'm afraid not. I've spent all this time here, in the Dark City. I guess my agency had to come up with a cover story. Given the circumstances, they can't even turn things around and release an album. Poor them. You know, technically, I'm not dead or even hollow. Just... asleep."
Uriel blinked—he hadn't understood even half of Kai's words, but Nephis seemed to grasp it.
Nephis nodded timidly.
"Ah, I see." The atmosphere turned a little awkward, so Kai tried to lighten the mood.
"By the way, it's nice to meet another friend of Uriel's. I'm surprised a terrifying monster like him... uh... has so many friends. Your name was?"
"Oh, this is Nephis. Like me, she has a True Name—Changing Star, from the Immortal Flame clan. She's strong, terribly strong, though not enough to beat me in a fight yet."
Uriel watched as Kai paled upon hearing that Nephis was close to Uriel's strength.
"A pleasure to meet you, Lady Nephis. I hope we get along," Kai said with a charming smile.
Nephis turned away to hide the blush on her cheeks.
"Y-yes."
"Alright. Now that introductions are over, Kai, tell me about the Fallen Devil situation."
Kai's expression turned serious as he began explaining the situation and the abilities he had observed the Devil using in fights against other Nightmare Creatures that entered the cathedral.
After Kai finished reporting everything he knew, Uriel nodded.
"We'll attack soon. I still need to prepare."
"Understood," Kai said before literally flying back to the settlement.
Uriel looked at Nephis.
"Well, I'm free now. Do you want to fight now or later?"
Nephis summoned a sword.
"I'll take now."
And so, the two launched themselves at each other, resuming their battle after two full months.
In the end, Uriel won, thanks to his greater combat experience, though he came close to losing this time.
When they returned to the settlement, the nameless sun was disappearing. Uriel bid Nephis goodbye and went to grab something to eat, where he found Sunny eating roasted meat.
"Hey, Sunny, when you're done eating, come with me." The boy looked at Uriel with curious eyes before nodding slightly.