Shadow Slave

At the last moment, the coral golem moved, disappearing from Sunny's view. A fraction of a second later, it materialized a few steps away, just outside of the Midnight Shard's reach.

'...Bastard!'

It was too late to change the direction of his attack. Pulled forward and down by the inertia, Sunny was forced to finish his downward slash and stumbled, falling to one knee. He found himself in a dangerous position, wide open for an attack and with little ability to maneuver.

The perverse simulacrum of the Lord towered above him, his powerful frame radiating a sense of harrowing strength. On the forehead of the artificial creature, a polished piece of coral shined with intense crimson light.

That light seemed to sap the life from everything it fell upon.

Feeling a sudden weakness permeate his body, Sunny gritted his teeth and dashed to the side. A split second later, the fist of the Lord pierced the air with a cracking sound and shattered the ground, sending a rain of debris flying in every direction.

Twisting his body, Sunny spun and delivered a backhanded blow before his feet even touched the ground. The blade of the tachi scraped against the vambrace of the golem's armor, leaving a dip gash in it.

However, it didn't do a lot of damage.

Landing and sliding back on the coral, Sunny thrust his hand forward and send the Moonlight Shard flying at the golem's face. The creature easily swatted it away with its hand.

By the time it did, however, Sunny was already near, delivering a high thrust with the Midnight Shard. As soon as the Lord moved to deflect the austere blade, he changed the direction of his attack and turned it into a vicious horizontal cut.

Using every last bit of his finesse and prowess, Sunny brought down a rain of strikes on the golem. He was moving with astonishing speed and agility, his attacks and steps seamlessly flowing from one into another. It was as though the whole onslaught was just one fluid, continuous motion.

But no matter how swift and skilled he was, it all turned out to be useless.

The Lord was much faster, stronger, and more powerful. Even though he was temporarily forced to concentrate on nothing but defense, every second that passed spelled doom for Sunny.

Because somewhere behind him, Saint was being slowly destroyed by the six other golems. And as soon as she fell, he was going to die.

"Curse you!"

Pausing for a mere moment, Sunny gave the coral abomination a chance to attack. Its fist shot toward his chest with terrifying speed.

Turning his torso, Sunny avoided the blow and caught the hand of the golem between his body and his arm. This position didn't give him any advantage, because the creature was much stronger than him.

and forced him to let go of the

gave

his second fist, ready to crush

***

above the battlefield, Kai was just moments away from death. He had wounded one of the Messengers, killed another, and

upon him, and there was no

to slow down. With his eyes opened wide in terror, he stared at the swiftly approaching beak of the harrowing creature. No matter how fast Kai was, he knew that this time, he wouldn't be able

only he had one more second! A fraction of a

aware that it was hopeless, Kai changed the direction of his flight. Despite it all,

But it was hopeless.

Until…

something flashed through the air and collided with the black beak of the Messenger, throwing it slightly off course. That

he allowed the beak to pass mere centimeters away from it, crashed into the side of the

its tip aimed at anyone who would dare to attack him, the Quiet Dancer glided through the air, forming a defensive

its inanimate nature, the flying rapier somehow managed to convey the feeling of mean,

the elegant Echo, Kai

'Thank you, Cassie…'

***

the bloodsoaked battlefield, a small hill of monsters was moving and shifting, every horrifying creature in it lusting to taste the flesh of the person

as though

Hope was something that Effie had abandoned long

She didn't need it.

roof over her head, delicious food on her plate, and the thrill of the hunt. The indescribable pleasure of being healthy,

a tiny bit of misguided pride mixed in to spice

like this, not without

under the hill of monsters. It was a furious growl, full of rage, defiance, and a desperate will

bodies of Nightmare Creatures flying

to explode, and then past that, Effie pushed the incredible weight away with her mighty shoulders and emerged from the

her with her bleeding hands. With a ruthless motion, she tore them apart and threw the broken body aside. Her fist flashed through the air, crushing

bestial growl, she spun and fought, killing

to surrender. She was not going to back down. She was not