Chapter 1457 Hunting Stronger Beasts
In the end, Sunny had once again drawn the map of Aletheia's Island on the ground. Only, this time, it was much more detailed. He also knew where most of the truly dangerous Nightmare Creatures would be at any given point... his time map was complete.
The members of the cohort studied it for a while, listening to his explanations. Sunny described the prisoners of the nightmarish island in as much detail as he could, sometimes relying on Cassie to provide the most crucial pieces of information. As the two of them spoke in turns, the faces of their companions grew more and more somber. Eventually, Sunny looked at the map with a dark expression and fell silent for a few moments. When he spoke again, his voice was even:
"Destroying the loop will not be easy. However... it is what comes after we destroy it that is truly dangerous."
He pointed to the map. "We will still be trapped on the island after the loop is broken. And... the rest of its prisoners will be, as well. These terrible Nightmare Creatures, as well as Undying Slaughter and Devouring Beast. But this time, none of us will be revived by the loop, should we die"
Sunny looked at his companions. "Which means that we will have only one attempt to escape this hell alive."
Despite his solemn tone, Effie suddenly chuckled. He threw her an annoyed glance at her, then asked:
"What's so funny?"
She shook her head. "No, nothing. Sorry... but that's how it usually goes, isn't it? If you die, you die. Cassie and you might have been living by a different set of rules recently, but for the rest of us, everything is pretty much how it has always been."
He sighed. 'Well... she's not wrong.'
No matter how much he tried to avoid it, the loop had messed with his perception of life and death. But for Effie, Jet, and Nephis... what he had warned them about was already perfectly natural.
Sunny shrugged. "Well, good. Keep that attitude. In any case, what I meant is that there can't be any mistakes. We will have one day to destroy the loop. On that day, three things need to happen."
As he spoke, the tip of the Sin of Solace traced a few marks on the map:
"The shrine, the lake, and the tower. We must retrieve the enchantment key from the shrine and find something on the bottom of the lake before entering the tower. Once inside, we will be able to achieve our goal. If we do it before the day ends..."
His voice grew somber:
She smiled. "We know their Flaws, don't we? I mean that we should wait for them to grow weak from hunger, then finish the wretches off to make sure that they don't get a chance to escape."
Listening to her, Nephis nodded. Effie looked away, her smile dimming. After a moment of silence, she added quietly:
"I might not be the most useful member of the cohort currently, but I think we should try."
Nephis seemed to share her opinion. "Undying Slaughter and Devouring Beast might die on this island, anyway... but they might also escape the same way we are planning to escape, or through some other means. There won't be a better opportunity for us to strike down two of the Plagues. So, I think we should try, as well."
Cassie remained silent, while Sunny shrugged. "I don't know. I think I'd rather just leave them behind and run the hell away." All attention concentrated on Jet. She did not speak for a while, then asked with a faint grin:
"Aren't you all forgetting something? Effie and I have the same Flaws as those two monsters. If they starve, we'll starve, too."
Sunny hesitated for a few moments, then let out a resentful sight. "That... can be solved. Not a problem."
Soul Reaper glanced at him briefly, then shrugged. "Well, then... I vote we kill ourselves, too."
She blinked a couple of times.
"I mean, kill our future selves. You guys get what I mean, right?"
Sunny let out a stiffled chuckle and nodded.
"Yes... we get it. Let's kill some Plagues, why don't we?"
They spent the rest of the revolution discussing the plan in great detail. Once it was over...
A new revolution started, just like it always did. But this one, hopefully, was going to be their last.