Samael approached Unit 27, stopping beside Cyrene.
—You got here quickly —Samael commented.
After all, the Nightmare had only just begun.
—As soon as I entered the Nightmare, I was already here —Cyrene replied.
At most, ten minutes had passed since the Nightmare began.
There hadn't been enough time to discover much.
—Did you notice anything strange about the Spell when you entered the Nightmare? —Samael asked.
He wanted to confirm whether it had happened only to him or if the others had experienced something similar.
—Aside from the fact that this is an Anomalous Nightmare and we're in the Fall of America... nothing much —Cyrene replied.
Then, a woman approached.
She had long, messy blonde hair, two red horns on top of her head, and three golden scales on one cheek.
There was a badge with three stars on her uniform.
A Master.
One Rank above them.
Even without doing anything, her presence radiated a sense of heat.
There was even a faint smell of something burning in the air.
And, above all, an almost invincible arrogance.
—I talked to the others and managed to gather some information. We only need to hold out for seven days. After that, the evacuation will be complete —she explained.
The other member of the unit, a boy Samael didn't know, broke into a smile.
He had long, light brown hair and looked extremely young.
Perhaps around sixteen.
—If we win, I want to invite you all to try my wife's cooking as a celebration.
"He's already married at that age?"
A sharp pain shot through Samael's head.
His Aspect had answered for him.
A lie.
—Stop lying —the blonde woman scolded him. —You don't even have a girlfriend, let alone a wife.
Everyone burst into laughter at that.
It was strange.
Even in such an oppressive environment, where death seemed to be waiting for them all beyond the walls, they could still laugh.
Perhaps that was precisely why they managed to keep going.
The blonde woman began walking toward the enormous walls.
—Our time is up. Let's go. And I don't want any of you to die.
She glanced back.
—After all, I still haven't found a husband, and I want you all at my wedding.
—Wait, Master Nero! —the boy called out.
He hurried to catch up with her.
Samael and Cyrene began walking as well.
They didn't need to say what they had to do.
It was simple.
Survive.
Seven days.
Seven days in that hell.
Then they could return to the real world.
It wasn't exactly an exciting prospect.
As he walked alongside the two, Samael learned that the boy's name was Noah.
Apparently, he was a compulsive liar.
But his lies didn't seem intended to deceive anyone.
He lied to make others laugh.
To lighten the mood.
To keep people from thinking too much about the possibility of dying.
Nero, on the other hand, seemed to be in her early twenties.
And, from what Samael could gather, she was genuinely looking for a husband because she didn't want to die alone.
A rather peculiar concern for someone about to face an absurd number of Nightmare Creatures.
Finally, they reached the gate.
The enormous metal structures looked as though they had been built by titans.
When they began to open, a deafening sound echoed throughout the city.
And then...
The gates of hell swung open.
On the other side lay a sea of Nightmare Creatures.
Awakened.
Fallen.
And even Corrupted.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Perhaps far more.
All the soldiers began running.
Samael ran alongside them.
Then he felt something flow through his body.
Cyrene had touched him.
Her Aspect was being activated.
Her ability was simple.
Powerful.
And absurdly valuable.
Cyrene could enhance another person's Aspect, granting them a specific boost that varied according to the nature of that Aspect.
And her second ability enhanced that boost even further.
Samael immediately felt the difference.
All his Memories seemed to have grown more powerful.
His Essence began regenerating at a much greater speed.
Even his Armor of Bonds had been strengthened.
It was thanks to that Memory that Samael could maintain his Essence reserves while using his abilities.
Then he charged forward.
Three steps.
Exactly three steps beyond the gate.
An Awakened Nightmare Creature appeared before him.
It was a sturdy, quadrupedal creature, covered in muscles and bearing six horns.
Samael summoned Folly.
The creature lunged.
He parried its attack while throwing himself to the side.
Then he spun around.
His sword came down in a vertical slash.
All the strength of an Awakened at the First Stage of Essence was concentrated into that single strike.
The blade sliced through the creature's neck.
Its head flew through the air.
One strike.
Instant death.
The strength of an Awakened at the First Stage of Essence wielding an Ascended Memory, further enhanced by one of the best support Aspects Samael had ever seen, was simply terrifying.
Even a Fallen Creature would hardly survive a direct hit like that.
But there was no time to celebrate.
The very next moment, more creatures were upon him.
Beside Samael, Nero had also begun fighting.
And she possessed something extremely rare among Awakened.
A partial transformation.
A massive tail covered in golden scales emerged behind her.
Her hands and legs transformed into claws, also covered in golden scales.
Nero charged forward.
Her claws tore through Awakened and Fallen Creatures as if they were nothing.
Her tail crushed bodies.
Intense flames erupted from her mouth, engulfing a Corrupted Creature.
She was a true killing machine.
She didn't need to rely on Memories.
Her own body was already the most terrifying weapon she possessed.
Her claws were sharper than any Ascended weapon could ever hope to be.
And her flames were so deadly that they could even incinerate a Corrupted Creature if it was careless.
Nero was terrifying.
But among the Awakened, Noah was almost as frightening as she was.
His Aspect was extremely powerful.
Noah possessed the ability to store elements that came into contact with his body.
And any element he stored would begin reproducing itself inside him.
Forever.
His Awakened Ability allowed him to channel those elements.
Cyrene's enhancement had made this ability even more absurd.
Now, Noah could turn the elements he had stored into weapons.
Fire.
Water.
Ice.
Even combinations of them.
Noah unleashed flames at a creature.
Then he sprayed water over the same target.
When the two elements came into contact, their interaction caused the flames to grow even more intense.
But then...
Something white emerged from Noah's body.
A mist.
Samael's eyes widened.
It was...
Nothing.
The very concept of nothingness that could threaten even Saints and Sovereigns.
Of course, Noah didn't actually possess that level of power.
The version his body could produce was merely an area-of-effect debuff.
Even so, it was terrifying.
The Nightmare Creatures caught in the mist began to weaken.
Noah charged forward, his blade slicing through them one after another.
The battle continued.
And continued.
There were so many Nightmare Creatures that no one could afford to hold anything back.
Whenever someone destroyed a creature, dozens more took its place.
Samael finally decided it was time to stop conserving his strength.
He summoned both Fallen Echoes.
The two creatures appeared beside him and immediately began tearing the Nightmare Creatures apart.
Wounds began accumulating across Samael's body.
Even so, there was still no sign of a rotation with another squad.
"I'm going to test that."
Ever since awakening his own Legacy Aspect Ability, Samael hadn't had the opportunity to test it.
He changed his stance.
Then opened his mouth.
And began to sing.
At first, timidly.
But soon, his voice grew steadier.
Without hesitation.
His precise, lethal movements began to change.
They became more fluid.
Freer.
More artistic.
This was his Legacy Aspect Ability.
The Hymn of Freedom.
Samael's Essence began to drain rapidly.
Using two forms of sorcery simultaneously was already extremely costly.
Maintaining them while enhancing his own body consumed even more Essence.
He was lucky that, thanks to Cyrene's enhancement, the Armor of Bonds could barely keep up with the consumption.
Besides, Samael's body was among the least injured on the battlefield.
Folly continued healing his wounds with every kill.
Those two Memories were proving to be an immense help.
Samael began to feel the mystical effects of his Legacy.
Although it was difficult to admit...
His singing and dancing were nowhere near as impressive as those of the person he had seen in his vision.
And the effect was also different from what he had imagined based on the knowledge he had received.
But it worked.
The battle began to change.
Samael could no longer accurately determine the reach of his own blade.
Nor the distance of the creatures' claws.
His Legacy Aspect Ability was disrupting his perception of size and distance.
He looked at a claw.
It seemed enormous.
Then small.
The distance between them was changing, too.
One step seemed like three.
Three seemed like ten.
It was impossible to be certain.
But the same thing was happening to the Nightmare Creatures.
They, too, could no longer properly comprehend distances.
Nor their own sizes.
His Aspect was a wild card.
An ability that made the entire battle unpredictable.
And although it was disadvantageous for Samael...
It was far worse for his enemies.
The Nightmare Creatures were irrational.
And they vastly outnumbered him.
Unable to properly comprehend one another's size or distance, they began striking each other.
Creatures missed their attacks.
Claws pierced the bodies of other creatures.
Some collided violently with one another.
The chaos intensified.
And, for the first time since the battle had begun...
The Nightmare Creatures started killing each other.
All because of the Hymn of Freedom.