Shadow Slave

In that moment, hovering on the edge of nothingness, Sunny realized that he was about to die.

He had to struggle against the fog that permeated his mind, slowing down his thoughts and dampening all emotions.

All except for fear.

Despite the fact that his body was broken and his mind was paralyzed, some stubborn part of Sunny was still refusing to give up. He wasn't ready to die. At least not without giving his all to survive.

He was revolted at the thought of giving the world the satisfaction of the win.

That would be so infuriating. Hadn't he told Hero that he was going to survive no matter what, to spite them all?

That's right. He might be a shameless liar, but a promise was still a promise.

But… how was he even supposed to survive? No matter how he looked at it, the situation seemed to be hopeless.

As the scythe slayer approached, its eyes shining menacingly with bloodthirsty crimson light, Sunny tried to pierce through the fog that enveloped his mind. However, his attempts were aimless and weak. It was hard to find purchase in the fog.

He needed an anchor.

Suddenly, a simple thought caught his attention. It was something that he had repeated a thousand times, burning it into his mind.

'Repetition, experience, clarity.'

Clarity…

He remembered what Nephis had taught him. The essence of combat was murder. Any action performed during a battle served only one of two purposes: it was either to kill your enemy or prevent the enemy from killing you.

If he could learn that, he would have enough clarity to master the mind.

Back then, he didn't really understand the profound meaning behind the simple word "clarity" that Nephis had used. But now, with his mind in shambles, he was finally able to grasp it.

The two truths behind the essence and purpose of combat were simple and solid, almost tangible. Even in his half-conscious state, he was able to use them as a stable foundation in the fog. Then, he reformed his mind around this foundation, building it along the stark lines of that truth.

Suddenly, he was able to think again.

What's more, his thoughts were clear and incredibly fast, free of all unnecessary distractions.

This was clarity.

***

at the advancing monster, calmly weighing his

He couldn't move his limbs at all. The shadow still followed his commands, but it

with its help, he wouldn't be able

it, so there was no sense in wasting time considering

immobilized,

left only

scavenger was going to have to be his only tool to

monster was quickly approaching Sunny. Its mandibles moved, viscous saliva flowing down from them in a torrent of transparent mucus. In a flash of lightning, he was able to see and instantly register every spike, every scratch, every abrasion on the creature's

handle of Changing Star's sword was still protruding from

'What an ugly bastard.'

and a mighty body specially designed for mayhem and slaughter, the

majestic… in a

had to look helplessly as the monster closed the distance

rose into the

right into the monster's burning

to hell, you

shot

furious rammed into the monster from the side,

itself with the enemy in a chaotic mess of limbs as they rolled on the ground. Despite the fact that it was smaller and weaker, its crazy assault and complete disregard for its own life were enough

blows. For a moment, the howling of the wind was drowned out

awkwardly under its body, the monster was more than able to repel the sudden attack. With an angry

wounded by Sunny broke off, but the

limbs and slowly stood up. Another deafening screech resounded in the howling darkness of the storm, hurting Sunny's

thought, momentarily lost for

something very unexpected

to finish off the Echo, it had to slightly raise and lean its torso back to account for the loss of a rear leg and keep its balance. At that moment, a bolt of lightning landed right in the

the lightning was immediately attracted to the handle of the sword that was still sticking from its body, aimed at the sky at a slight

of

light, it was thrown to the ground. Whisps of smoke rose from the

monster's chitin, slowly accumulating on the crimson

at all this in

'It's… glowing?'

second, he hoped that the monster was dead. But no, a single strike of lightning was not enough to kill a creature like that. Just a few moments after being electrocuted, the slayer moved,

was in a rather bad shape, it was still alive and full

to stand up. Slowly but surely, it was coming back to its senses. The bone scythes scraped against the rocks, helping it

was

of the longsword, she grimaced as the heat burned her hands. Then, she twisted the blade, making

with her sword. The glowing, white-hot blade caught the creature's arm right below the joint and cleaved through it,

and swatted her away with one of its legs. Nephis was thrown back and rolled on the rocks, losing her