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.

all of them had been much weaker back then. Neph also had not used her Aspect Ability,

lethal. And yet, he was incomparably slower. In terms of pure physical ability, Sunny had

against Caster. He had learned

anticipated Caster's moves instead of reacting to them,

course, to achieve such a feat, one had to possess an intricate understanding of the underlying

He had obtained clarity a long time ago, and spent every waking hour sharpening his skill and instincts. His mind had entered into the state of flow, making his perception stark and all-encompassing, his thoughts quicker. His

him a chance

later, Caster attacked again, and Sunny jerked the Midnight Shard sideways, blocking the ghostly green jian

'Up…'

before the two blades collided. A split second later, the Legacy brought down

'Thrust at the neck…'

length of the tachi and biting Sunny in the shoulder. This time, the leather pauldron of his armor held, but

Midnight Shard awkwardly pushed the gleaming blade

'Damn it!'

in a span of a couple of seconds, filling the echoing expanse of the Crimson Spire with the

of training, hundreds of battles, countless hours spent gaining insight into the inner workings of swordsmanship...

was still alive. Not only was he alive, he wasn't even seriously

the blade of Caster's sword instead, then whipped his empty head forward,

however, a ghostly

aside by a powerful hit of the jian. Sunny barely managed

a contemptuous glance, Caster

there when Changing Star

out with the austere

guess it

at the Legacy, then followed it with a fearsome thrust of his sword. Caster easily dodged the stiletto, deflected the tachi,

a second, he was

into a blur as he lunged forward. The gleaming