Shadow Slave

Augmented by the shadow and with the help of nine hundred fragments that Sunny had collected, the Saint had become incredibly strong. The graceful stone body of the taciturn monster hid incredible power to begin with, and now, it was vastly enhanced.

Holding her shield with both hands, the Shadow delivered a devastating blow at the weakest point of the black blade. The blade, which was pinned between the marble floor and her greave, rang deafeningly… and shattered.

Still mounting the Black Knight, Sunny grinned with vicious joy.

Then, he let go of the dented helmet of the devil and pushed himself off, performing a backward flip and landing nimbly several meters away.

Nephis immediately disengaged, too.

Both of them knew that there nothing was more dangerous than an enemy on the brink of death. With nothing to lose, humans often relinquished any sense of self-preservation and turned berserk, taking their killer with them to the grave.

Nightmare Creatures were much the same, only more terrifying.

Despite the fact that Sunny was sure that the devil's weakness hid in his sword, he wasn't certain what would happen if the blade was actually broken. Hopefully, the Black Knight would just crumble into a pile of steel.

If not… it would be better to be far away when they found out.

As the shards of the black blade rained on the floor and the Stone Saint fell on one knee, a shudder ran through the devil's body. The darkness hiding in the corners of the ruined cathedral suddenly boiled and lunged forward in a wave.

But none of it reached the Black Knight, annihilated by the radiance of Changing Star's intricate white armor.

The devil froze in a twisted pose, his hands powerlessly hanging down, his back bent. The black steel of his armor was… rusting. It was swiftly turning dull brown, its luster gone, its once impregnable surface looking corroded and brittle.

Then, he slowly and laboriously raised his head and turned it slightly to the side. As if staring at the face of the nameless goddess whose statue oversaw the dark hall of the ruined cathedral for thousands of years.

goddess, the crimson light

exploded

within. The darkness stretched its limbs and rose above the kneeling Shadow, the parts of the armor that floated in it giving the creature a

Revealing its true form.

like an omen of death, two crimson fires burning furiously in the black depths. Another flame appeared just beneath them, like

terrifying roar shook

for Nephis and found her standing

gaze, lingered for a moment and then nodded, understanding what Sunny wanted to convey without the need for any words. Then, Nephis cautiously backed away, not letting the devil out

something a human could survive. Not a Sleeper, at

harrowing fury, the creature of darkness crashed down on the Shadow. Its hands tore through the air and wrapped around the taciturn monster's neck, then raised the living statue in the air as if

the ruined cathedral and squeezed her neck, as if trying to strangle the her. A net of cracks

the hauntingly inhuman face of the Saint did not change one

hint of a feeling appeared, much

…Disdain.

she raised her hands, grasped the vambraces of

she instantly dodged the claws of the apparition, which had bent down to shatter the living statue once and for all. Then,

Saint was right beneath the

crushing blow to his chest. Her gauntlet tore through the breastplate of the rusted armor and sank deep into the living darkness, right where a human heart would

…Or a soul core.

later, the crimson flames burning in the depths of the dark creature exploded

…And disappeared.

of the devil dissipated like fog, its remnants vanquished by Changing Star's radiance. The pieces of armor fell

cathedral,