Nephis stepped forward, the familiar hilt of the dream blade falling in her hand. Andel approached with a wide smirk, not even knowing how little time he had left.
He swung his blade, it meeting hers in a clanger of steel. She parried, forcing her adversary off balance. Now it was her turn.
She swung the dream blade at a blinding speed, cutting off Andel's free arm. Her opponent had already fully saturated his core. Yet to someone like Nephis, who had three cores and had absorbed enough fragments to almost saturate four, it was of no use.
Exasperated gasps sounded in the hall as the leader of the Hunters—Gemma—stared wide-eyed. Her opponent, however, had now realized that his time was coming to an end, the light of absolute dread shining in his bright blue eyes.
They would turn lifeless soon enough. But first, she had to send a message. Changing Star wasn't the type to play with her food, but everyone had to know no one got to touch her friends.
The second slash came unexpectedly, cutting Andel's primary arm. Now, as a man, he was crippled, having lost two limbs. Even if she spared him, even if he didn't bleed out, he would never be the same man ever again. Perhaps doing that would be much crueler; mercy wasn't always kindness, after all, but she had to prove her strength to Effie; the head was needed.
She swung for a third time, cutting the head of her adversary cleanly off the neck. She caught it by the hair, and with the calmest and most aloof voice she could muster, she said:
"I am the Changing Star of the Immortal Flame Clan. Who dares to stop me?"
She looked at Caster—who was in the hall, watching the duel—for a brief moment, almost as if the speech was meant specifically for him. It wasn't. The speech was for those stupid enough to declare themselves her enemy. Unfortunately, he was one of them. So, it might as well have been.
The entire hall exploded into uproar. However, she was already gone.
Sunny and Cassie hurried after her.
The bleeding head in her hand caused a massive commotion in the outer settlement. Rumors of the noble Changing Star battling the villainous pathfinder Andel and delivering justice were already spreading.
It wasn't even evening when they reached Effie's cabin. In front of the door, before they could knock, Effie burst out.
"What is up with all of this commotion?! Can't a girl catch a nap around here?!"
Nephis stared deep into her hazel eyes. She raised her hand holding the severed head.
"What about now, are we strong enough for you?"
Effie looked at it with narrowed eyes, her face darkening.
"Come inside." She said in a grim voice.
***
The next morning, they were preparing to go on a hunt. A small crowd of slum dwellers gathered to see them off, their eyes burning with a strange mix of hope and anguish.
By now, the story of the duel had spread far and wide, growing more exaggerated with each retelling.
They were especially interested in the Starlight Legion armor.
Nephis had just killed someone in cold blood yesterday, and now they were heading into the dark city to hunt monsters. But Sunny knew that the real monster was the one who was brutally murdered yesterday. Humans could be monsters too, much worse than nightmare creatures, at that.
Just when they were about to leave, a sudden hum of voices made them turn around. The slum dwellers turned around, letting a tall young man walk through.
Sunny frowned.
Caster stopped a few meters away and gave Nephis a polite bow.
"Lady Nephis, Huntress Athena, Sunny, Cassia. Good morning to all of you. I, Caster of the Han Li clan, would like to join your party. Would you have me?"
Sunny wanted to deny immediately. He was sure Nephis had threatened him yesterday, but he still wanted to join. Yet it was not his descision.
The crowd fell quiet for a moment, until quiet whispers started rising from the crowd. Nephis raised her hand and spoke:
"If you want."
Their first hunt was surprisingly uneventful.
Guided by a pathfinder like Effie, with Sunny's shadow acting as a stealthy scout, they managed to avoid every creature they couldn't handle, taking care of easy prey without problem.
The party hunted like the three of them had in the labyrinth. Nephis took up the role of the main fighter, distracting the monsters long enough for Sunny to get an quick and sneaky attack in, with Effie and Caster supporting her.
Caster had insisted that he would be a much better fit for the assassin, saying that Sunny would be safer in the back with Cassie. However, Nephis adamantly refused his offers. To the both of them, his logic was sound. But to gain shadow fragments, Sunny needed to be one that finished off the enemy.
Nephis had made a sloppy excuse for him, saying that his aspect was much better suited for sneak attacks.
The flaws with the argument didn't elude the three of them. However, Caster couldn't challenge authority of the party leader, which was Nephis, so he backed off.
After butchering the nightmare creature, they left the scene of battle loaded with the heavy weight of the meat. Before the shadow of the crimson spire fell on the dark city, they were already approaching the base of the hill.
After giving a fair share of food to the pathfinder, Nephis said something unexpected.
"I would like for you guys to entrust me with your part of the meat."
Caster and Cassie agreed immediately, while Sunny looked at her with a grim face. The silent message passed between the two of them, and after Nephis gave him a quick nod, he handed his share over too.
She took a small part of the meat from the whole, and said:
"This will be our rations."
Seeing just how little meat was left for them, Caster asked:
"But lady Nephis, what are you going to use the rest for?"
Nephis looked at him with a sharp gaze, she let the silence linger over them for a moment and then spoke with a expressionless tone:
"What else? I'm going to give it away."