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Sophia clutched her hands tightly. “But I did know. I knew she had that venom because I helped her transfer its abilities to a vial of Abernathy’s Ichor. I warned her what would happen, how dangerous it was to keep that bottle, and implored her to destroy it. She didn’t listen and told me to keep it a secret. To my shame, I did, and now I have the king’s blood, and the blood of countless knights and soldiers on my hands. Cyrilo said she would take responsibility for anything that happened, but all she’s done is go with the flow, hiding behind lies. Every time I try to talk to her about it, about us facing our sins, she silences me. She did it today, which is why I came to you. I must admit, I’ve lost a great deal of respect for her.

“Actually, it’s meant to mimic the effects of sunlight. UV light is what causes sunburns. Unfortunately, while easy to make, it’s not as effective as you might think. The light is too… artificial. It lacks the potency of real sunlight. I tested it numerous times while in Welindar, always trying to improve it, but it was never more than an irritant to the Profane and their parasites. It didn’t help that the lower-ranked fiends can endure the sunlight in exchange for their lesser strength. Even if it did hurt them, the damage was very minor. It was better to just stick with my regular weapons and magic, though I regret that it wasn’t in working condition when Lupin and I fought Kaisen. Perhaps it would have wounded him. These tralt jewels, on the other hand, are great for absorbing light and energy. Using these, I can capture true sunlight, augment it, and use it whenever I need.”

Now fully powered up, he flew up high above the city where no one could see him, then turned and rocketed straight down, using his wings to augment the speed of his descent. As with his fight against the wolf fiend during the Red Revelry, he adjusted his trajectory at the last moment, curving his descent. His enemy raised his shield, putting everything he had into his defense, but Roc’s power was too great. He kicked the man’s shield with all the magical and kinetic force he could muster, striking like a meteorite. His enemy resisted valiantly, but his footing gave way, and Roc smashed him into the ground, carving a trench through the earth before slamming him against the wall of the arena. Brick and mortar cracked like so many bones, and the man went limp with blood dripping from his mouth.