A/N: Here's your bonus chapter, well, at least the one from last week. I still owe you guys one for this week since we hit the goal
Enjoy!
________________________________________________________________
(3rd person POV)
Today was a rather odd day for the inhabitants of the Bright Castle.
They had been herded into the Keep for some sort of event and brought before the Bright Lord and his cabinet, forced to loom near the edges of the grand hall, the center left empty.
Upon his elevated throne, Gunlaug, the Bright Lord, gestured towards the guards stationed by the large wooden door leading into the keep, his loyal servants grasping the large iron rungs and pulling it open.
As the doors scraped against the stone floors, the curious eyes of residents turned towards the commotion, and the sight before them thrust the keep into silence.
Clad in the starlight legion armor, with a white cloak draped over her shoulders, Changing Star walked into the Grand Hall, flanked by her cohort and followed by those who stood under her banner.
Her gray eyes turned upwards, towards the tyrant sitting casually on the throne.
"We have come to invoke the right of challenge."
Gunlaug's guards began to swarm near the base of his throne, their numbers rivaling, if not dwarfing, the army that Nephis had brought with her for this audience.
"Oh? How interesting... And what, Lady Changing Star, would be the reason behind your invocation?"
Leaning forward on his throne, the Bright Lord began to exude a pressure unbefitting of a sleeper, his very existence strangling the souls of every sleeper in the Hall.
Yet, Changing Star remained steadfast.
"We have deemed you unfit for the throne."
The heir of the Immortal flame clan, the daughter of the first saint of humanity, stepped forward and met the gaze of the tyrannical lord of the Bright Castle, her form dripping with imposing grace.
"Gunlaug, before the sleepers of the Dark City, your leadership shall be judged through right of combat."
Changing Star's declaration silenced the Bright Lord, his thoughts hidden behind his gilded mask.
Before long, though, a low, amused laughter echoed in the hall.
"Huuu~ Truly, I have underestimated your boldness, Lady Changing Star."
As the Golden Serpent slowly rose from his throne, Seishan, Gemma, Tessai, and Kido bowed before him, their gesture carrying reverence and loyalty.
The Lord of the Bright Castle descended the marble stairs leading to his throne, the crowd of guards and hunters under his command parting to make way for their king.
"So, Lady Changing Star, are you prepared?"
Gunlaug's tall, imposing form stood confidently before the silver-haired girl, his armor rippling with every one of his gestures.
Nephis shook her head.
"No. I have elected a champion to judge you in my place."
The Bright Lord stiffened.
"Hoh? Does the one issuing the challenge not even have the gall to face me in direct combat? I didn't think you possessed such shamelessness, my Lady."
A cold smile spread across Nephis's face.
"You have wronged many, Bright Lord. I have simply relinquished the right to face you in combat to one who resents you far more than I."
The tyrant turned his gaze towards the entourage Nephis had brought with her.
"And pray tell, who among this crowd bears such resentment for this Lord?"
"Uh, that'd be me!"
The hunters of the outer settlement shifted uncomfortably as a petite sleeper stepped forward.
Radiating an aura of confidence, Sunny stepped before the Bright Lord, his onyx eyes shimmering with a depth that none in the room could grasp.
Needless to say, Gunlaug was quite offended.
"Is this some kind of joke?"
Nephis met his gaze head-on.
"I wouldn't dare joke about a matter as heavy as this."
Equal parts baffled and pissed, the Golden serpent turned his gaze to the porcelain doll standing beside Changing Star.
"You... You bring before me, not a warrior, but your... Boy toy?"
The shadows beneath Sunny's form flickered dangerously, but his expression remained the same.
Nephis didn't respond to Gunlaug's provocation.
The Bright Lord scoffed.
Strolling forward, his golden armor shifting like molten gold, a massive two-handed axe materialized from sparks of white, the barbarish weapon contrasting with the transcendent armor encasing his form.
"I shall claim your head, boy."
A smile spread across Sunny's face as he met the Bright Lord's malice, his eyes flickering dangerously.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
Summoning his weapon, the child of shadows entered the ring of sleepers, hundreds of eyes trained on his lithe figure.
Nephis and the inhabitants of the outer settlement retreated to the walls of the Keep, blending in with the other sleepers.
"I'll relinquish the first move to you."
Gunlaug's tone was mocking, his posture far too relaxed for someone in the middle of a life-or-death battle.
But,
No one thought it was out of place.
After all, to the inhabitants of the Dark City, the Bright Lord was an invincible existence.
His arrogance was earned, or at least, that's what the sleepers thought.
"How polite of you~"
Sunny's form flickered like a mirage, his movements unseen by all.
CLANG
Before the stunned audience, the invincible king was sent flying into a wall.
Unfortunately for Sunny, his strike had merely moved him.
The Bright Lord's transcendent armor remained impregnable.
Pushing himself from the indent he had created, Gunlaug snarled.
"YOU!"
The golden serpent's greaves slammed against the ground as he shot towards the black haired sleeper.
Sunny narrowed his eyes.
Reading the trajectory of his axe, Sunny tilted his body, narrowly avoiding the tyrant's blade.
Shifting his posture slightly, Sunny widened his stance and loosened his grip on the Midnight Shard.
Before the Bright Lord could reset his stance, the Midnight Shard lashed forward with pure force, striking the inner portion of the ruler's knee.
With his form crumbling and his posture destroyed, Gunlaug was left completely open for Sunny's follow-up.
Pivoting on the ball of his foot, Sunny rotated into another strike, this time, however, it was aimed at the Bright Lord's nape.
CLANG
Yet, once again, the deadly edge of the Midnight Shard proved ineffective against Gunlaug's transcendent armor.
The Golden Serpent was ragdolled once more, his armored figure slamming into the stone floor with devastating force.
Sunny's onyx eyes flickered analytically as he realized that mere slashes would prove to be ineffective.
As Gunlaug began to rise from the human-sized crater he had created, Sunny's shadow elongated, the menacing form of Saint stepping out.
Before the Bright Lord could gather his bearings, Sunny augmented himself with his shadow and shot forward, Saint following behind.
An onyx streak flashed behind Gunlaug, and before the Bright Lord could react, he was once again sent flying, though this time, he was on a direct collision course with Sunny's loyal shadow.
As a warrior described by the spell as a [Battle Master], Saint could easily read her master's intent.
Raising her shield, the Stone Saint brutally slammed the obsidian disc into the airborne Gunlaug.
BOOOOM
The impact was devastating, but the transcendent armor had yet to show even the slightest hint of damage.
But to Sunny, destroying the armor had never been the goal.
Rebounding off the ground, the Bright Lord wasn't even able to take a breath before he was sent flying by Saint's onyx boot.
Intercepting Saint's pass, Sunny lowered his stance and pivoted into a heavy upwards swing, sending the Gilded Lord flying towards the ceiling.
BANG
Another human-sized indent was created by the impact.
Gravity began to take hold as the Bright Lord began to fall towards the ground, but before he could, an ebony tendril grasped onto his leg.
Originally, Sunny had planned to finish the fight with a clean strike to the neck, but he had grossly underestimated the toughness of a transcendent armor, and thus, in lieu of the Bright Lords' impregnable defense, he began to play a few cards he originally intended to keep secret.
Inky grasped Gunlaug's form and began to repeatedly slam him into the ground, each impact making the spectators grimace from the brutality.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG
Unsummoning the Midnight Shard, Sunny manifested an ornate bow, one that he had just recently bought from Stev.
Along with the bow, an elegant arrow appeared in Sunny's hands, the arrowhead marred with red, glowing runes.
Nocking the arrow, Sunny recalled Kai's form and copied it, narrowing his stance and drawing back the string.
With one last devastating flick, Inky flung Gunlaug upwards, carving another indent into the ceiling.
Buried deep inside the stone ceiling, it took a few seconds for gravity to pull the Bright Lord back down, but those few seconds were enough for Sunny, a complete novice archer, to take aim.
The arrow hummed as Sunny released it, the glowing red runes shining with an even brighter light as it shot towards the Tyrannical Lord of the Bright Castle.
BWOOOOOOOSH
A crimson flare lit up the hall, a wave of heat washing over the observing sleepers.
The explosion had kicked up a cloud of smoke, but the shining form of the Golden Serpent was still visible.
Alive, but incredibly disoriented, Gunlaug slammed into the ground, his golden armor now bearing signs of damage.
Unfortunately for the Bright Lord, however, Sunny's onslaught had yet to cease.
Before he could even begin to grasp what had just transpired, Gunlaug was once again seized by Inky's ebony tendrils.
Unable to resist the Titan's strength, the Bright Lord was left completely defenseless as Saint and Sunny rushed towards him.
Resummoning the Midnight Shard, Sunny blurred forward and slammed the onyx tachi into the side of Gunlaug's head.
CLANG
As the momentum of the blow knocked the Bright Lord's head to the side, Saint sent a devastating strike towards the other side of the Bright Lord's head, knocking it in the opposite direction.
BANG
The master and his loyal shadow took turns striking the Bright Lord, his head shooting back and forth like a cheap bobble head doll.
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG
At this point, many of the sleepers in the hall had shut their eyes, the combination of the brutal display and the visceral noises overwhelming them.
Fortunately for them, and rather unfortunately for Gunlaug, the beatdown would eventually cease.
The tip of Sunny's blade faltered as he heard the spell whisper in his ear.
[You have slain Dreamer Gunlaug.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
Still in Inky's grasp, the transcendent defense of the Bright Lord began to fade, the golden armor melting off his defeated form.
Before the eyes of all who watched, the visage of the tyrannical ruler of the Bright Castle, the Golden Serpent who sat on the throne, came into view.
The man behind the mask was surprisingly handsome, looking no older than twenty-seven and possessing a short beard with long blond hair.
Blood dribbled down the deceased lord's face, sourced from the hollowed-out cavities of his eyes, his nostrils, and his ears.
Unsummoning Inky, Sunny watched as Gunlaug's corpse unceremoniously dropped to the floor, blood pooling around his head.
Saint took her place beside her master, kneeling as Sunny turned his eyes to the lieutenants of the now dead Serpent, each of their expressions carrying varying degrees of horror and shock.
Sunny let out a sigh and locked eyes with Nephis, who just moments before had been staring blankly at Gunlaug's corpse.
He watched as Changing Star cleared her throat and stepped forward, positioning herself next to him.
Regaining her composure, her gray eyes flickered around the room.
"Do any wish to contest this result?"
__________________________________________________________
(A/N: What'd you guys think of this fight?
I actually had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you guys thought it was good!
Obviously, Sunny is far stronger than he was originally, and he still has a couple of surprises up his sleeve.
I'll keep the note short since it's getting late where I live, so leave a comment, pop a review if you have any critiques (I promise I'll listen), and possibly donate some power stones if you want more chapters (every 50 is a bonus chapter)
Alright, that's about it-
See you guys in the next chapter!)