I was once weak, now look at me

Chapter 32: The Golden Sun that Shines on the Chosen Two

The Lands Between, Liurnia of the Lakes, Moonlight Altar, Early Afternoon

Jaune dodged a reddish-black flaming slash from Alecto, who then followed up by dragging her dagger along the ground into a spinning slash. He blocked the dagger with his Dark Moon Greatsword, despite it being a poor matchup—using this sword against the black dagger was risky, but Jaune needed the practice of fighting with various weapons. He was careful to keep the black blade from touching him, recalling how its flames had once stung him when they hit his aura. Although not as intense as the flames of frenzy, it was enough to keep him on high alert.

Jaune channeled the magic within his greatsword, causing the blade to emit frost as it traveled along the dagger and toward Alecto's arm. Alecto broke away to avoid losing her arm to frostbite, then enveloped the dagger in black flames before leaping into the air for a helmsplitter. Jaune swung his greatsword and fired blasts of moonlight, impacting Alecto and knocking her back. She slid along the ground, now frozen with ice—Jaune had frozen the terrain beforehand to prevent her from gaining footing upon landing. With Alecto unbalanced and distracted, Jaune moved to make the kill. Grabbing his Dark Moon Greatsword with Dominator's Touch, he used his telekinesis to swing the blade over a long distance and cut Alecto in two.

[You received 88000 EXP and 145200 Gold for killing Alecto]

[Level Up! x2]

"I thought you said that these assassins are on your side. Yet all I've seen is them trying to kill me and anyone allied with you," Jaune asked as he put his greatsword away before reviving Alecto.

[Alecto Lv. 5]

Rank: Knight

"They were. But it seems that ever since Alecto was imprisoned, those blasted Two Fingers managed to gain control of them and become their new masters," Ranni spoke from his pocket. With her larger form among the stars searching for her order, Ranni would occasionally move to the smaller doll Jaune possessed to talk with him. He always made sure to keep the smaller doll in his pocket; he didn't want to get another scolding from her about leaving it in his inventory again.

"That would explain all the dead corpses around Blaidd when we found him. It must have been their backup plan if Blaidd failed to carry out his duties," Jaune said, hitting the nail on the head. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but it was reassuring to have a companion to talk to while he traveled. He then refocused on Alecto when she reached into her cloak and pulled out some spirit ashes for him to revive—and he did so without delay.

[Tiche Lv. 1]

Rank: Knight

"Have you heard anything from the shadows you sent out to look for D's brother?" Ranni asked. She had been present when Jaune dispatched a large number of shadow soldiers to find D's brother so he could return the armor and sword to him. It was during that time she learned that Jaune could communicate mentally with his shadows, no matter how far apart they were.

"No," Jaune replied. He has his shadows searching both the Lands Between and the depths below it, but they still haven't found D's brother yet.

"I hope the search bears fruit for you soon," Ranni said before her doll body went lifeless once more. Jaune sighed, put his sword away, and the two shadows merged into his own shadow.

'The only places left he could be in the northern lands or perhaps in Leyndell if he is just as devoted to the Golden Order as his brother,' Jaune thought. While his shadows conducted a continent-wide manhunt, Jaune used the time to explore more of the Moonlight Alter. He gained more dragons and additional magic crystals as he searched and waited for news. He assumed they would have found him by now, but it seemed that locating him was much harder than it appeared. Just as Jaune was about to expand the search further, he received a signal from a shadow that believed they might have found D's brother.