Changing Star stood in the grand hall of the bright castle. She was eyeing the leader of the hunters, Gemma, who stood on the steps leading to the empty throne with a hidden malice.
Today the castle would come to know the fury of The Immortal Flame.
Effie said that she would only join her hunting party as a pathfinder if they proved their strength. Nephis knew that Effie was trying to make a deterrent. Perhaps it would have worked on anyone else, but she was different.
Nothing was enough to stop her.
Especially after the bitter argument with Sunny, she really didn't feel like playing around.
When she heard what one of the pathfinders — Andel — did to Cassie, she could barely contain her fury. But even that would die down in the cruel embrace of her flaw. That didn't matter, though. She was still going to chop the Pathfinder's head off and bring it to the huntress.
It was especially fortuitous hearing about the "alleged" crimes of Andel. Challenging him would be easier.
Gemma raised his hand and spoke.
"Did I hear that right? One of you want to invoke the right of challenge?"
Her face remained unchanged.
"I do."
The calmness behind her voice was sharp, almost as if she didn't know the meaning behind those words. Yet she did. She just didn't care.
The confused frown on Gemma's face deepened.
"Do you know what that means? Little girl?"
She stared at him with those cold, striking gray eyes, as if she were peering into the deepest depths of Gemma's soul. Then she repeated:
"I do."
The leader of the Hunters sighed.
"Listen here… everyone can indeed invoke the right of challen-."
"I don't care."
Gemma's expression shifted, his frown softening into indifference. From what she knew about psychology, he no longer felt concerned for her, instead becoming uncaring after her rude gesture. However, that knowledge couldn't truly be trusted. Human emotions went much deeper than that, after all. Yet, she still didn't care.
"Fine, then. Who do you want to accuse?"
"Andel," she said, her indifferent tone unchanging. The calmness behind her eyes, voice, and posture was suffocating, as if nothing other than her mattered.
Gemma blinked. A scowl crossed his face.
"I am the leader of both Hunters and Pathfinders. Any crime they commit while performing their duties is, by proxy, my crime. I will be the one to answer for it. Are you ready to challenge me?"
"I'm not here to accuse him of crimes committed during his duties. I am here to accuse him of theft and sexual assault. But if you want to, I can chop off your head instead… or perhaps I should leave that for another time."
Hearing this, the scowl on Gemma's face deepened. He furrowed his brows, but restrained himself.
"Don't get too cocky, girl. As long as you are a sleeper, you can never defeat me. So, what exactly did my Pathfinder do?"
Nephis scoffed.
"He lost a significant amount of soul shards while gambling, but refused to pay. That is stealing. He touched my friend, Cassia." She pointed to Cassie, who was standing next to her, and continued. "Even after she continuously told him she wasn't interested. Both of these were done during his private time, and you have nothing to do with it."
Gemma stared at her with a bewildered look. She remained silent for a moment. Glancing at one of the guards, he spoke:
"Go and bring Andel here. Tell that bastard that after he kills this girl, he and I will have a long conversation about his life choices. He has been getting on my nerves, especially after that incident from last week."
He glanced at Nephis and continued.
"And you. Just prepare for battle… and death. Oh right. Tell us your name at least. What is it? That way, you will be remembered."
Nephis shook her head.
"My name doesn't matter. For now, it doesn't."
Gemma blinked.
"Suit yourself."
Nephis didn't react. Summoning her armor. The countless shining sparks took shape as they formed the incandescent steel plating over the black seaweed. On her chest, the symbol of seven radiant stars.
"Th- that symbol!"
"It's the starlight crest!"
"The crest of the seven!"
Many people seemed to be familiar with the Starlight Legion and its crest. However, she didn't react to their commotion. Neither did Sunny nor Cassie. They just followed her orders to stay silent and look virtuous.
Soon, the pathfinder was led into the hall. He threw her a dark look and walked forward to the base of the steps. Then, he stopped and bowed, showing respect to his leader.
"I'm here."
Gemma stared at him with an irritated expression.
"You know why I summoned you?"
Andel smirked.
"Someone wants to challenge me? Good… I've been craving some blood recently. This will be quite fun."
Gemma laughed.
"Fun? Fun, is it? Well, if you lacked excitement in your life, why didn't you just tell me? Go finish off that girl, and I'll show you what real fun is."
With that, he gestured to the guards so the fight could begin.
Her companions beside her were led into the crowd by the guards. The challenged pathfinder stepped onto the stage, a set of armor manifesting on his body, with a crude blade falling into his hand.