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\'...Damnation!\'

As Sunny watched with a grim expression, two of the Awakened maidens dragged a girl of about eleven, maybe twelve years of age into the hall, then threw her on the stone floor in front of him.

The girl had a scrawny, juvenile body that did not seem to have touched on the path to maturity yet. Her short, wild hair was of a vibrant red color, almost the same as the torn silk garments she wore. Her skin was pale and white… or at least, it was supposed to be.

Instead, it was blue and black, almost the same color as Sunny\'s own, which had been made to resemble obsidian by the embrace of his shadows. The girl had obviously been often and cruelly beaten, to the point that it was hard to notice a spot free of bruises on her once tender body.

The whites of her eyes were hidden by the cloudy red layer of blood that had burst from ruptured vessels, making the child look like an actual beast. Hitting the floor, the girl remained motionless for a few moments, then let out a long sigh and slowly stood up, lean muscles rolling under her bruised and lacerated skin.

Even though she seemed tall for he age, she was still too small to reach up to Sunny\'s chest.

\'Curse these mad witches…\'

Suddenly full of fury, he glanced at the three Ascended War Maidens with a dark expression, then looked down at the abused child in front of him.

Was this… was this whom he had to kill?

Just a few moments ago, the task seemed so easy…

The girl, meanwhile, finished picking herself from the floor and faced the War Maidens with an insolent, contemptuous expression on her bruised face. With wild flames burning in her eyes, she spat a bit of blood on the floor and then bared her teeth in a feral grin.

"...What now, you old hags? More training? Ah, and here I was just starting to enjoy my daily punishment!"

Despite the rude words and the recalcitrant tone, the girl\'s voice was soft and childishly high, and as the result, what she had meant to sound defiant ended up sounding comical instead. Flustered by that, she gritted her teeth, and then proceeded to make a rude gesture with her hand, as if to better articulate her point.

Sunny\'s heart suddenly grew cold. His flinched slightly, his pupils widening in shock.

\'No… no, no, no…\'

He was already torn about the fact that he would have to kill a child — and this was going to be a battle to the death, whether he wanted to or not. The War Maidens had made it abundantly clear. Showing mercy would be the same as admitting defeat, thus surrendering both his own life and that of Kai to their slaughter.

But when the girl spoke, things took a turn from bad to worse.

Because even if he had not recognized that tone… which he instantly did… Sunny was pretty sure that the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Hope were not in the habit of expressing their meaning with their middle fingers. That was a thing humans in the waking world did.

Which left only one possibility.

The feral child in front of him…

Was Effie.

\'Goddammit!\'

Now, there was no chance at all that he would kill his opponent and follow the ritual set for them by the Maidens. All that stuff about not having to fight the entire sect he had felt relieved about a few minutes ago? Any possibility of that was basically gone!

How were they going to get out of this one?!

He gritted his teeth, a low growl escaping through them. Hearing it, the senior War Maiden smiled coldly, and then stared at Effie:

"No training today, insolent child. Instead, a test. We have guests today, you see… kill them, and I might order your older sisters to feed you today. You have been demanding food, have you not?"

At the mention of food, a somber expression appeared on the girl\'s bruised face. She hesitated for a moment, and then turned around, searching for these guests she was supposed to kill.

Because of how the hall was lit, the figures of everyone who stood near the entrance and along the walls — Saint, Kai, and dozens of War Maidens who were here to witness the challenge — appeared as dark silhouettes. The only one whom she could clearly see was Sunny.

Effie stared at his abdomen for a few moments, confused. Then, she slowly craned her neck, looking higher, and higher, and then higher still. Her face gradually grew paler and paler, until a hint of fear appeared in her eyes.

"Whoa… hey there, big guy…"

She shivered, then glanced back at her teacher.

"Are you joking? I am supposed to kill that monster?!"

The War Maiden shook her head.

"Not a monster. A demon. Why… are you not hungry?"

Effie lingered for a few moments, then asked in a little voice:

"Do I get any weapons, at least?"

The white-haired warrior chuckled cruelly.

"Your fists should be enough. Use your tongue if they\'re not… it has been sharper than a blade lately, after all."

The scrawny girl grimaced, then sighed and clenched her fist, turning to Sunny with hunger and resentment mixing in the bright eyes. Her soft voice resounded in the hall, full of reluctant determination:

"...Alright then… let\'s kill a demon… ah, the things a girl must do to earn a dinner…"

Sunny lowered his sword, staring at her with furious intent.

\'You idiot! It\'s me! Are you going to recognize me or not?!\'

A weave of runes suddenly ignited on the stone floor of the hall, creating a circle around them. There was some sort of a barrier preventing either from escaping now, and outsiders from offering them help… the only ones left inside were Sunny, Effie, and the three War Maidens standing in front of the chalice.

Sunny hissed, trying to get the child to look at him.

\'Crap… the emerald amulet, I better get it right now...\'

He released the hilt of the greatsword with one hand, intending to use it to fish out the amulet from the folds of his kimono.

\'If Effie doesn\'t recognize me, I\'ll have to really fight her until I come up with a plan… luckily, she is just an Awakened. With my three cores and shadow augmentation, it should not be too…\'

Before he could finish the thought, however, the scrawny girl suddenly lunged forward with shocking speed and struck him in the abdomen with her tiny fist.

…The towering four-armed demon folded like a piece of paper, spat a torrent of blood, and was thrown a dozen meters back like a weightless doll.

Crashing into a stone pillar, he sent a net of cracks running through its grey surface and then rolled down to the floor.

Stunned by the tremendous, ridiculous force of that single blow, Sunny tried to push air into his four empty lungs and stared at the little girl with dread.

\'...Right. That is Effie, alright. Curses!\'