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 of his eyes

exploded into furious

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

Revealing its true form.

and rusting steel towered above the taciturn monster like an omen of death, two crimson fires burning furiously in the black depths. Another flame appeared just beneath them, like a

then, a terrifying roar shook

of dread rising from the depths of his soul. His eyes searched for Nephis and found her standing a few meters behind the Stone Saint. Changing Star was hesitating, looking at

then nodded, understanding what Sunny wanted to convey without

going to happen next was not something a human

Shadow. Its hands tore through the air and wrapped around the taciturn monster's neck, then raised the living statue in the

if trying to strangle the her. A net of cracks streaked through the Shadow's armor, bits of

of it, the emotionless expression on the hauntingly inhuman face of the Saint did

ruby eyes, a hint of

…Disdain.

grasped the vambraces of the rusting armor, and

darkness, the taciturn monster fell back to the ground. Landing with nimble grace, she instantly dodged the claws of the apparition,

Stone Saint was right beneath

through

…Or a soul core.

moment later, the crimson flames burning in the depths of the

…And disappeared.

Changing Star's radiance. The pieces of armor fell to the

cathedral,