Shadow Slave

'Fast… too fast…'

Caster was moving with astonishing speed, his figure turning into a blur. His Flaw was a cruel one, but the power of the Aspect Ability he possessed was also incredible.

In fact, Sunny had never met anyone with an Ability as powerful as this, with the exception of himself and Nephis. Even the greatest warriors on the Forgotten Shore would have had no chance against it. Gemma, Effie, Seishan… all of them would have been easily killed by the deadly scion of the Han Li clan.

Perhaps only Harus could have fought him to a draw.

But even then, Sunny wasn't sure. Not only did Caster possess a terrifying Ability, but he was also one of the most skilled swordsmen of their generation. He also had a whole arsenal of Memories hidden away inside his soul. Surely, he had a way to fight while blinded.

…That's why Sunny did not waste any time trying to destroy the Memory lantern illuminating their surroundings. Instead, he just trusted his sword, and met Caster's attack with his own.

Two swords collided in the air, and in the next moment, Caster flew past Sunny and slowed down, eventually coming to a stop. A drop of blood fell off the tip of his jian.

Sunny staggered.

'Curse you…'

The sleeve of the Puppeteer's Shroud was torn, and there was a shallow cut on his shoulder. He had managed to deflect the strike aimed at his heart, but wasn't fast enough to avoid being wounded after all.

On Caster's face, there was a dark expression. Looking at Sunny, who was still alive, he grimaced and spat:

"Not bad. This is going to be entertaining, at least."

Hidden behind the mask, Sunny grinned.

"Oh, yeah. I'm having a lot of fun myself, thanks."

Of course, that was a lie.

only person to defeat Nephis. Granted, all of them had been much weaker back then. Neph also had not used her Aspect Ability, while Sunny

yet, he was incomparably slower. In terms of pure physical ability, Sunny had no

fight against Caster. He

year ago, Nephis had been in a similar situation, and yet almost defeated her swift enemy. She had anticipated Caster's moves instead of

to possess an intricate understanding of the underlying laws of combat and a true mastery

and instincts. His mind had entered into the state of

him a chance

jerked the Midnight Shard sideways, blocking the ghostly

'Up…'

later, the Legacy brought down his sword in a downward slash, aiming at Sunny's head. However, it was

'Thrust at the neck…'

length of the tachi and biting Sunny in the shoulder. This time, the leather pauldron

instantly, Caster pulled the jian back and then immediately thrust it forward, aiming to cut the enemy's throat. The Midnight Shard awkwardly pushed the gleaming blade

'Damn it!'

to concentrate on nothing but defense. Dozens of strikes rained on him in a span of a couple of seconds, filling the echoing expanse of the

of training, hundreds of battles, countless hours spent gaining insight into the inner workings of swordsmanship... Caster had done all of that, too, and then some. And

somehow, Sunny was still alive. Not only was he alive, he wasn't even seriously injured…

sword instead, then whipped his

however, a ghostly

powerful hit of the jian. Sunny barely managed to save his arm

him a contemptuous glance, Caster

I was there when Changing

and lashed out with the austere tachi, buying himself a moment to

it slipped

it with a fearsome thrust of his sword. Caster easily dodged the stiletto, deflected the tachi, and kicked

a fraction of a second, he

opportunity, turning into a blur as he lunged forward. The gleaming jian flashed through the air,