Kill the Sun

The two of them looked at Nick with furrowed brows.

"What way?" the Left Arm asked.

The Champion threw a quick glance at the Left Arm.

"One of my abilities," Nick said.

"You're a Late Demon," the Champion said. "I don't think your ability is enough to be useful against the Envious Researcher."

'He immediately wants to dismiss me. As expected, he doesn't want to fight the Envious Researcher. Even if I give him a way and prove that it works, he will make the mission fail due to another random reason.'

'I'm risking a lot here by exposing part of my ability. I just hope the Left Arm has a good plan.'

"It works," Nick said. "It is the reason why Lust died. When Lust died, I was only an Early Demon, and it still worked perfectly. Now, I'm a Late Demon. I'm 70% sure it works on the Envious Researcher, but if I become a Peak Demon, I'm 95% sure it will work."

"I'm fine with these odds," the Left Arm said. "It worked on Lust while you were much weaker."

"Lust was only a Peak Fallen," the Champion said. "The Envious Researcher is a Mid Adversary, at least. There is a gigantic gap in power. Nobody has ever even seen the Envious Researcher."

"Julian," the Left Arm said, "why don't you tell us how this ability works?"

'I'm risking a lot here,' Nick thought with some anxiety. 'I hope she knows what she's doing.'

"I can sense Specters," Nick said.

The Champion's brows furrowed. "Explain in more detail."

"More precisely, I can sense Specter Zephyx. I can't sense Specters directly, but I can sense when they are producing Zephyx. I can see the Zephyx traveling through the air and can pinpoint the location of a Specter due to that."

"While the Envious Researcher is most likely the penultimate Specter when it comes to staying hidden, I don't think it can affect its surroundings to keep its Zephyx generation secret. As long as the Envious Researcher is producing Zephyx, I'm certain that I can pinpoint its location."

The Champion furrowed his brows, and Nick could tell that he was troubled.

While the Champion was the strongest human, he was probably not much older than Nick. He might even be younger.

'If I am already able to tell what he is thinking to such a degree, he's probably an open book to the Left Arm.'

"Can you prove that it will work on the Envious Researcher?" the Champion asked.

"No, but I can tell you how I sensed Lust," Nick said. "Lust didn't come out from hiding before the Right Arm attacked. If it did that, I would be dead. I am only alive because the Right Arm struck it before it could attack me. That means I had ample time to transmit its location with my slow voice transmission, which would be impossible during a battle." Ṙ𝓪ŊồBЁṤ

"After all, Lust could kill me faster than I could speak a couple of words via voice transmission."

"When I left one of the cities, I could sense a significant amount of Zephyx being generated deep beneath my feet. Based on the angle and volume, I could tell that a powerful Fallen was around ten kilometers beneath me."

"I transmitted the approximate location to the Right Arm, and the Right Arm would have hit Lust if it hadn't seen my Barrier activate. Luckily, the Right Arm was much more powerful than Lust and managed to kill it in a couple more strikes."

"That's how I sensed Lust, and I am certain that it also works on the Envious Researcher," Nick explained.

The Champion furrowed his brows.

"Does that work on humans as well?" he asked.

'I'm not about to give you an opportunity to put me to the test,' Nick thought.

"No, it only works on Specters," he answered. "Human Zephyx is fundamentally different."

"Can you sense the Specters in this building?" he asked.

"How would he even be able to do that?" the Left Arm interjected. "They are in Containment Units."

Nick nodded. "Precisely. The Specter Zephyx is being intercepted by the Containment Units. As long as the Envious Researcher is not in a Containment Unit,I can sense it."

The Left Arm nodded and looked at the Champion. "I think it's worth a try. Julian has already managed to lure two Corruptors out. Even if we believe that there is a chance he may fail, I believe his track record deserves a bit of our trust."

The Left Arm and Nick were essentially ganging up on the Champion of Light, but they had to make it seem like they were not doing that.

The Champion didn't say anything for a while and just looked down with furrowed brows.

"We can try, but sensing it is not the only issue," he said.

'Of course,' Nick thought sarcastically.

"The Envious Researcher is extremely powerful, and while I can try my best, I have not had this power for too long. The Sun might have chosen me as its Champion against the Specters, but I am also just human."

Nick was reminded of the time the Champion had proclaimed that the Sun wasn't the enemy.

'Seems like he's coming from a different angle. Instead of keeping his origins secret like the old Champion, he went with the angle that the Sun is actually not humanity's enemy.'

"I know," the Left Arm said with a nod. "I've worked with the former Champion for a long time, and when he had still been in his prime, his power was unmatched."

"While he couldn't kill Death, he was powerful enough to hold it at bay on his own before he became old."

The Left Arm sighed, which made Nick raise an eyebrow.

This was a rare show of emotion from the Left Arm.

"The Champion I knew probably would have been able to deal with the Envious Researcher, as long as he could sense it."

Then, a feeling of longing appeared in the Left Arm's eyes.

"He was so powerful."

"Alas…"

Then, she sighed again.

'What is she trying to do?' Nick thought.

But when he looked at the Champion, he became surprised.

'Is that jealousy in his eyes?'

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