Shadow Slave

As soon as the Carapace Demon froze, distracted by the feigned threat to the great tree, Nephis lunged forward. There was no hesitation, no doubt, not even the slightest pause between the moment her enemy had lowered his defenses and her reckless attack.

Just like Sunny had been utterly focused on observing the monster's movements before, she had been watching and waiting for this exact moment since the beginning of the battle. Changing Star knew that, when the opportunity presents itself, it will only last for a second.

Even that single second almost cost Sunny his life. Nephis wasn't going to waste it.

Her graceful figure flew through the air like an arrow released from a powerful bow, almost leaving afterimages behind. The silver blade of her longsword glimmered, reflecting the light of dawn. The black and white armor seemed to turn into a blur.

She was going all in, rushing at the enemy without leaving herself even the slightest chance to retreat.

'Wh…'

Things were happening too fast for Sunny to form a coherent thought. He could only watch, time slowing down to a crawl, a storm of emotions raging in his mind.

The demon reacted almost immediately, recognizing the threat. But "almost" didn't count on a battlefield. A moment of distraction was all it took to lose everything. That one mistake, no matter how small, had been enough to seal his fate.

…If Nephis was really capable of breaking through the creature's indestructible carapace, that is. Otherwise, it was all for nothing, and they would be the ones dying, instead.

The fearsome giant moved his scythe, trying to slice her apart. The pincer flashed from the other side, threatening to crush her body into pulp. But he was a fraction of a second too late.

Changing Star was just a tiny bit faster.

As she ran, something changed about the cadence of her steps. Sunny couldn't see her face behind the visor of her helmet, but if he could, he would see a grimace of agony contorting Neph's pale face.

In the next moment, a soft white radiance ignited beneath the skin of her hands. However, this time, it didn't stay there. Instead, the white flame flowed outward, into the hilt of the silver sword, and then into its blade.

The sword suddenly turned into a sharp radiant edge, burning with incandescent white light. It shined so brightly that Sunny felt the desire to close his eyes.

capable of reducing anything it touched to ash and sharp enough

enough to cut

used for healing". Back then, he had suspected that this phrase of hers implied that there was more to it. He even marveled at how precious and rare such an Ability would

and destroying. It possessed an enhancing effect similar to his own

An incredible Ability indeed.

understood that Nephis had not tortured herself in vain. All the times she pretended to meditate while enduring the excruciating agony of her Flaw in secret were meant to make this moment possible. To give her enough fortitude to use

The question was… would

enough to break the mighty carapace of the Awakened demon? After all, no matter how incredible the Ability,

about to find

into the air. Her sword flashed forward

the giant's lustrous armor… right at the spot

'Of course!'

had told them about her vision. In that vision, she saw the Carapace Demon being attacked by a terrible creature of the deep dark sea. In the aftermath of

most horrible wound was on his chest, where the armor was torn apart and shattered, revealing the monster's beating heart. With time, all

Except for this one.

this one spot, the armor was secretly weakened. And it was exactly to that spot that Nephis had delivered

creature, because she attacked the only weak spot on his body, the place

metal of the demon's carapace and plunged into his body, unleashing

of light shining through the cracks in his armor. For a moment, the surreal sight

it apart, incinerating

buckled, and he gracelessly fell on

'Wh—wha… We did it?'

trying to pull Nephis into a final embrace. But then, as his body twitched, they fell to the

and jumped back, ready to

was