Lynn stared fixedly at the figure's face. He wanted to see her face beneath the cold Knight Helmet, to see whether what lay hidden beneath that armor was truly what he suspected.
"Zuo Zuo!"
Lynn called out through gritted teeth.
They understood each other without another word.
Dazzling divine radiance burst from Zuo Zuo's blade as it slashed toward her torso.
The figure's combat instincts made her react at once, evading Zuo Zuo's ferocious slash. But in the very instant she dodged, Lynn's right hand seized the opening. A golden hand-blade formed from firstborn power swept toward her head.
Swish-
She dodged the blow by a hair's breadth, keeping Lynn's hand-blade from taking off her head.
But the helmet on her head finally shattered. Long, ash-gray hair spilled down like a waterfall, revealing a familiar, utterly lifeless face as it billowed.
It was just like the first time they had met.
In that dark hall, bound by countless chains, the face of the angel who had slowly appeared before him.
She was his Matriarch, his teacher, and his older sister.
After he had finally stepped out of Wandering Soul Alley, she had been the first deity he encountered in this Dark World who gave him any sense of reassurance, because in people's hearts, angels had always meant salvation and hope.
And now.
That all-too-familiar face appeared before him again.
Her eyes were dead as ash, without the slightest flicker. Beneath the broken armor on her back, Lynn saw two enormous scars, as though her wings had once been cleanly severed, forever robbing her of the symbol of her angelhood.
That last shred of hope.
Finally vanished completely the moment he saw her face.
"Matriarch."
The light in Lynn's eyes withered like falling leaves.
Behind him, atop the shattered city wall,