Celestina butchered the void creatures, one by one.
A swarm of them... or was.
Her armor, hair, and face were smeared with their blood.
Bodies littered the ground around her, void creatures in various states of death.
At first, it seemed like there would be no end to them. The more she slaughtered, the more they multiplied.
Yet... Celestina never retreated.
Like a silver-haired maiden of death, she moved through the carnage with a smile on her face.
The more she killed, the better she felt.
Each swing of her sword only fueled her hatred for them.
She loathed them, each and every one.
Her blade dripped with their blood until none were left—except for one.
It stood in front of her.
Celestina grew tired of seeing the same abominations the further she ventured into the tunnel.
This one screeched, echoing off the walls.
It spread its black wings wide, trying to imitate her.
No beak, only rows of sharp, needle-like teeth where one should have been, as if torn away like the others.
Its eyes were red where white should be.
She realized as she fought them—these creatures were blind.
They couldn't see, not in the conventional sense.
They had adapted to the darkness, to the faint light of the torches and the darkness of this dungeon.
But Celestina was worse.
The creature's talons dug into the floor as it looked past her at the trail of corpses she'd left behind.
Celestina wondered how the world looked to it.
How did it see without sight?
A smile crept across her lips.
"Why aren't you attacking me like the others?" Her voice was a mocking whisper.
The bird-creature cocked its head, its torn mouth opening with another screech, its teeth clacking together like bones snapping.
Then it flew at her, wings flapping furiously, screeching in rage.
'Did it understand me?'
Celestina didn't waste time. She raised her left palm. What are creatures that dwell in darkness most sensitive to?
A white glow erupted from her hand, flooding the tunnel.
The creature screeched in agony, thrashing in the air, disoriented by the sudden burst.
Celestina charged, sword in hand, and in one swift motion, severed its head.
It fell with a dull thud as blood spurted from its neck.
She barely noticed the blood anymore. She was drenched in it.
Sighing, she scanned the tunnel.
Celestina's eyes widened, her grip tightening on her sword as she whirled around.
Footsteps echoed closer, the torchlight flickering to reveal a familiar face. She froze.
Vergil's features came into focus as he approached slowly, hands raised in a gesture of peace, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Before you get the wrong idea, princess, I only followed you out of curiosity. You were tailing Instructor Benson, and well... I saw the men with him. I hid and watched the whole time as you fought these creatures…"
Celestina exhaled, lowering her sword. She glanced at the carnage around her, then back at Vergil, who still held his hands up.
"For the record, I won't steal your mana cores. You deserve them, seeing as you did all the killing…"
A slight smirk curled her lips as she narrowed her eyes.
"It's also only fair you help me collect them. After all, you let me do all the fighting while using my back as a shield."
Vergil's smile twitched as he lowered his hands, glancing at the pile of bodies with a grimace.
"...There are a lot of bodies. Bloody, dead bodies, princess…"
"Looks like you're wide awake for once. Better hurry if we want to find out what else is down here."
"I'm not asking, Cadet."
Her words were cold, making Vergil shiver. An awkward laugh escaped his lips.
"Right, right... honored to help, princess. Truly."
He muttered something under his breath as he approached one of the corpses, pulling out a dagger from his storage ring and starting to carve out the mana cores.
"Why do I keep getting involved with these great children... Do I have a death wish?"
Celestina smiled at his muttering, then followed his lead, using her sword to extract a core from the body beside her.
It took a while to open the bodies, extract the mana cores, and consume each one. The process was slow and gruesome.
Celestina's hands were slick with blood as she carefully cut into each corpse, her sword slicing through the blackened flesh of the void creatures.
But eventually, Celestina finished.
Naturally, she didn't consume all of them. She handed some to Vergil—not out of kindness, but because they would have been wasted otherwise.
It could be dangerous to consume too many, and she couldn't keep them either. Time wasn't on their side. So, the leftovers went to Vergil.
After that, they walked forward in silence. Neither spoke—there wasn't much to say, and they weren't close enough to have conversations like friends. Eventually, though, they stopped.
Because they had no choice.
Celestina and Vergil stood frozen, staring at what lay ahead.
The torches ended here. Ahead, there was only an abyss, a wall of impenetrable black. Neither of them could see through it.
A shiver ran down Celestina's spine.
'Do we have to walk through this?'
It was unsettling. She wasn't alone—Vergil was with her—but... who or what else might be in there?
Instructor Benson and his men went through this place for a reason...
She hesitated. Should they retreat? Wait? Or go?
There were plenty of options, yet none seemed right.
"...Princess, if you wish to go forward, I'll go with you," Vergil said, his voice tight. "But... I really suggest we just take a nap here and wait."
His face was pale, his eyes glued to the darkness ahead.
It was clear he didn't want to proceed, and Celestina didn't blame him.
They had followed Instructor Benson into the unknown, and what lay ahead seemed even more so.
'Too many damned anomalies...'
"If you both step forward, I'll have to break my promise to Grandmaster Thomas."
Celestina and Vergil whipped around, freezing in place.
Celestina's face paled, her body trembling.
The figure before them stood barely illuminated by the torches—a living shadow, its eyes wide and white.
It had no mouth, yet it stared at them as if it could peer directly into their souls.
"There's no need to frighten children, I suppose."
Then, it disappeared.
In its place, a man appeared—short black hair blending with the tunnels, dark blue eyes. He no longer looked frightening, but Celestina still couldn't move.
The man walked toward them, hands behind his back, calm and confident. His presence reminded Celestina of her father. A king.
Her eyes locked with his.
"Princess Celestina Frost... and," his gaze shifted, landing on Vergil, "Vergil... a little brother of mine, in another way."
Vergil pursed his lips.
'They're brothers...?'
Celestina couldn't make sense of his words.
Standing before them now, the man smiled slightly.
"So young, the both of you... It wasn't supposed to be . We weren't supposed to meet today, and especially not here, but..."
His face darkened, his head tilting slightly as a sigh escaped his lips.
"His presence has ensured that from now on, nothing will go as it should have."
He looked toward the darkness ahead.
"Despite my promise to Grandmaster Thomas not to kill you, neither of you is ready to walk forward. You're not prepared to sacrifice what's needed. Without it, you'll wander in that darkness for the rest of your lives, with no escape."
Celestina felt her throat dry up as she swallowed hard. She didn't know this man—but he knew her.
He knew Thomas, and he had made some kind of promise.
"But even if you do walk forward, it won't matter. Either I or he will take your lives."
She didn't ask him his name or anything else.
It wasn't that he was exerting any pressure or doing anything to frighten them. It was just his... presence.
Celestina couldn't find it in herself to speak, even though she had so many questions.
The man sighed again, then started walking past them. Celestina watched his back as he moved away.
"I wish I could have fought both of you when you were stronger," he said, his voice laced with disappointment.
And just like that, he walked into the darkness, leaving the two of them bewildered and confused.
Vergil, standing beside Celestina, let out a shaky breath.
"Princess... I really suggest we retreat right now. I might've been a Void Streamer once, but I'm retired now... and these are the kinds of messed-up things that make you retire—or die young."
Celestina's grip on her sword tightened as she kept staring at where the man had disappeared into the darkness.
'That man... he's a Saint... why?'
Why would someone like him be here?
"Just what is going on?"