Five Reflections surrounded Sunny, each bearing his own image. The towering shadowkin devils looked nothing short of terrifying. Their gaunt, ironclad figures emanated a feeling of profound threat and malice, and their black eyes peered at him with inhuman intensity. It was deeply disturbing.
'Damn... am I that scary?'
He studied the Reflections for a second, trying to determine how powerful they were, exactly.
Sunny could only see one weak Core in the frail body of the old man. It was dim and unremarkable, hinting that he was looking at the priest's own soul… or at least its perfect imitation. It seemed that determining which body the Prince of Nothing possessed in that manner was impossible. His own soul was perfectly hidden.
The Reflections, on the other hand, were different… and quite bizarre. Sunny could see Shadow Cores inside each of the creatures, but despite looking like shadow Devils, none of them were.
All of them were Ascended, but two out of five were mere Beasts. Two more were Monsters, and one was a Demon. Sunny had no idea how the Class progression worked when it came to Reflections, but he suspected that they were less powerful than the Mirror Beast, their elder sibling, had been.
Mirror Beast had lived a much longer life and risen to an Ascended Devil, after all.
…Still, five Ascended Reflections were most likely more than enough to rip him to shreds. Especially considering that each of them was reflecting a wielder of a Divine Aspect.
Sunny looked at Mordret, hesitated, and said somberly:
"Very impressive… but also a bit underwhelming. I guess slaughtering thousands of mundane humans was not very nourishing for your monsters, huh? Now that I see them, I think whatever you did in the north was pretty useless."
The old man looked at him with a dark expression.
"They're still enough to kill you."
Sunny grinned.
"Oh, let's not. You are not going to kill me."
Mordret raised an eyebrow.
"What makes you say that?"
Sitting comfortably on his chair, Sunny shrugged.
"What's the point? I am more useful to you alive. Plus, if you get rid of me, you can say goodbye to all the wonderful Memories I possess. I would have been a bit concerned if you had weeks to torture me into surrendering them… but you don't."
The old man smiled.
"This is a very reasonable answer. However… are you that sure I am a reasonable man, Sunless?"
Sunny wore a thoughtful expression.
"Uh… no? Not really. I'm not sure. In any case, if you cherish your life, then you wouldn't even think about fighting me."
Mordret frowned.
"Is that so? I've already seen all your Memories, and although those strange creatures of yours can't be summoned by my Reflections, I haven't seen them in a while. And you would have already brought them out if you could use them."
Glancing at the towering shadow Devils with apprehension, Sunny lingered for a few moments, and then said:
"Decent points, I must say. Still… none of that really matters, in the grand scheme of things. I could be limbless, deaf, and blind, but I'd still be able to kill you right where you stand."
The old man looked at him with a raised brow, then shook his head and turned around.
"I suggest that you don't move, Sunless. My Reflections won't kill you, but that doesn't mean that they will be gentle. Pain is pain..."
With that, he started climbing the steps leading to the bridge.
Sunny stared at his back, then summoned the Dying Wish.
Memory Enchantments: [Death Wish].
Enchantment Description: [Those who witness the wielder of this Memory are compelled; friends to be inspired, foes to seek the wielder out.]
Already a few steps away, Mordret suddenly slowed down, swayed a little, and then turned around.
His face was tense and full of fury.
"Argh… what…"
He stared at Sunny with madness and bloodlust in his eyes, then grimaced.
"What a... vile Memory. Nice trick, Sunless. But it won't work on me."
The old man smiled then disdain, then suddenly froze. Slowly, a deep scowl appeared on his face.
"But why would you… why would you want me to attack, Sunless? That doesn't make any sense… you know how dangerous I am. Unless, of course…"
His eyes widened.
At the same time, Sunny grinned.
A long distance away, a lone child was sprinting towards the bleeding dragon.