Chilling Future

Sunny watched as Dan Heng returned with March in tow… and there wasn't a Seele in sight. As expected, March had probably gotten lost while searching for her, and was then found by Dan Heng.

And so, the four of them — Sunny, Bronya, Dan Heng, and March — sat in a circle as they waited for Seele to return. With a sigh, Sunny contemplated their next course of action.

Now that they knew the weakness of the automatons — the bulkier variants at least — the amount of trouble they would have fighting against the rest of Svarog's legions was drastically decreased.

However, there was still the issue with the mysterious Awakened that had the ability to strengthen the automatons in such a matter. With such a lack of information, Sunny wasn't very comfortable about such an existence.

Sampo had told him that there were only three Awakened within the Underworld: Seele, Natasha, and the sleazy man himself. Assuming that he was telling the truth — which Sunny wasn't sure he was — then this new threat was an outsider, or a complete unknown.

Did someone from the Overworld sneak into the Underworld? Considering the variety of Aspects, it was certainly possible.

But the suspects Aspect seemed to be related to machines. Could they have gotten down here with a Memory, or was their Aspect what they used to transport themselves while they used a Memory to empower the robots?

If it was the latter, then such a Memory would be extraordinarily valuable.

Even with these possibilities, Sunny did not discredit that the unknown Awakened had allies of their own. If there was multiple of them, then any encounter would be extremely dangerous. Not only that, but Sunny didn't know what Rank they were. The worst scenario would be a cohort of Masters, since there would be a large difference in strength assuming they all had combat Aspects.

Sunny didn't think they were a Saint, as such a being was unlikely to be found on Belobog. If there was any, he doubted that they would be able to go unnoticed. After all, Saints exuded a certain presence upon the world.

His thoughts then drifted to the bunny-like girl — Clara. Why was she with Svarog?

As Sunny thought about the girl, he found that a route to get to Svarog was transparently laid down in front of him. If she had any influence on Svarog's decision-making, then there might be a relatively easy way to solve this conflict.

At least, it would be easy for him.

Turning to March — who had a bored expression on her face — Sunny surpressed a smirk.

'Looks like you'll finally be useful.'

Looking further into the future, Sunny thought about how to defeat Cocolia. Since she was a Master, he doubted that she would back down from a fight against a mere five Awakened — assuming that Bronya was willing to fight against her own mother.

As the Supreme Guardian, Sunny wouldn't be surprised if she had a monopoly on powerful Memories, or even Echoes. Not only that, but with a lack of information on her Aspect, they didn't even have an advantage when it came to knowledge.

Sure, Sunny could simply use Saint — who was now an Ascended Demon — and augment her with all his shadows, but was that really going to be enough? Somehow, Sunny felt uneasy about fighting Cocolia. Who knew how many cards she had up her sleeves…

Sunny froze. His golden eyes flickered to a certain grey-haired Overworlder. Sensing his gaze, Bronya's eyes met his own.

'Huh… why didn't I think of this earlier?'

This whole time, the main thing that Sunny had been worried about was the fact that he didn't know what Cocolia was capable of. He had been prepared to get into a fight against her blind, which was much too dangerous. In such an encounter, Sunny would only be able to prepare by strengthening himself.

But now he had the Supreme Guardian's daughter. Although it was possible that Cocolia didn't disclose her secrets to Bronya, the girl must have known something… right?

"Um… do you need something, Sunny?"

Sunny blinked as he realized that everyone was staring at him. Bronya's cheeks were slightly flushed from being looked at so intently.

Feeling somewhat awkward, he replied:

"Your mother."

Nobody moved for a second. Suddenly, Sunny was receiving a horrified look from Bronya, while Dan Heng and March simply looked at each other. It wa alike they were having a silent conversation.

The first to speak was Bronya, who's voice was audibly cracking.

"Wha— No! Even if it was for the sake of Belobog, you absolutely cannot seduce Mother!"

'Huh? Seduce? Me?'

Sunny stared at her in disbelief for a moment, before coughing.

"Er… no, I'm not trying to seduce the Supreme Guardian. How did you even come to that conclusion?!"

Was he surrounded by the mentally ill?

Thinking about it for a moment, Bronya had asked him if he needed something. He felt awkward, so he didn't completely say that he wanted to know about her mother's abilities.

Sunny inwardly frowned. Didn't his Flaw make him say the truth? Did he somehow bypass it because he thought he was telling the truth?

It seemed like his Flaw decided whether or not it was going to work based on which was more inconvenient for Sunny.

"I guess I did word that wrong… what I wanted to know was how she fights. Abilities, Memories… anything that she might use against us."

Sometimes, Sunny felt like some of these conversations were useless. Why did they have to spend a whole minute on the seduction of Bronya's mother?

She sighed in obvious relief.

"I see… well, I suppose I could tell you what I know."

Bronya stayed silent for a moment, formulating her thoughts.

"…As I'm sure you know, as an Ascended, Mother has three Aspect Abilities. Her Dormant Ability is simple: it allows her to create constructs out of ice. I'm not sure how large they can become, but they are very durable. Her Awakened Ability can slow down a person's ability to think — as long as she can hit them with one of her constructs. The main problem is her Ascended Ability…"

Dan Heng stared at Bronya for a second.

"…What does it do?"

Lingering for a moment, Bronya replied.

"The souls of anything that is hit by her ice constructs slowly freezes."

'Hm… that is problematic.'

Her Dormant Ability truly was simple, allowing her to create things out of ice. Although her Awakened Ability seemed to be completely unrelated to ice, it was actually about freezing one's mind. Cocolia's Ascended Ability followed the same concept, allowing her to freeze the soul instead.

In the end, everything came down to not getting hit.

'Easier said than done…'

The Supreme Guardian was a full Rank higher than them. Her physical strength was much larger, and she probably had more experience than any of them. Sure, Sunny and March might be able to keep up with Cocolia physically if they use the full extent of their augmentations, but as a Master, Cocolia's manipulation and quality of Soul Essence was much greater — even if Sunny and Seele beat her in quantity, they might still run out faster.

Even if Sunny had [The War] — which gave him a keen mind on the battlefield — it wouldn't mean much if he got scratched even once. He could use the Mantle of the Underworld to gain some protection against mind and soul attacks, but it was only moderate. If he were to endure mind and soul attacks of the Ascended Rank, Sunny's mere Awakened self would collapse at some point.

Luckily, Sunny had the perfect counter for an enemy with such an ability.

Thinking for a moment, Sunny asked:

"What about Memories? She doesn't have any Echoes, does she?"

Bronya nodded.

"Her outfit is actually an armor Memory of the Ascended Rank. The brooch she wears on her chest is a charm that makes her immune to the cold. As far as I know, she doesn't have any Echoes."

Seeming as if she remembered something, Bronya continued.

"Although she usually uses her constructs as weapons, she might have the Lance of Preservation with her."

At the obvious reference to the path of Qlipoth, the three Trailblazers honed in on the weapon that seemed to be related to the Aeon's path.

'Is that a Memory?'

Bronya shifted slightly at the sudden attention.

"Um… despite it's name, the only thing special about it is the fact that it's indestructible. It also emits some warmth, but that's it. Chances are, Mother will use her Aspect to fight us."

Sunny… was mildly disappointed. Based on March and Dan Heng's expressions, it seemed they shared the same sentiment.

Either way, now that he knew about Cocolia's Memories, he found an obvious weakness.

She wasn't immune to the cold.

If they could do something about her brooch, maybe Cocolia's use of her Aspect would be restricted.

Either way, there was something else Sunny needed to ask.

"Bronya, do you know about her Flaw?"

Her eyes widened for a moment, before a complex look appeared on her face.

"…Not exactly. I have my suspicions, but I don't believe Mother has ever told anyone about it."

Sunny shrugged.

"Then what do you think it is?"

After a short pause, Bronya said:

"If I'm correct, her Flaw is…"