Shadow Slave

For a few seconds, both of them stood without motion. On Caster's face, shock and disbelief were mixed with fury, indignation… and fear.

Slowly, he raised his head and pierced Sunny with a hateful gaze.

"You scum..."

His voice was trembling with suppressed rage.

'Good. Rage is good. Anything that makes him lose control is g…'

In the next moment, Sunny got hit in the chest and flew back with a pained scream. Although he somehow managed to deflect the tip of the enchanted jian, the Legacy still ended up slamming into him like a speeding train. The blade of his sword pierced the Puppeteer's Shroud once again, slicing Sunny's forearm.

'Godammit!'

This was just unfair. The Shroud was a tier-five Memory of the Awakened Rank. Where did the bastard find a weapon that could cut through it so easily?!

…Well, Sunny more or less knew where. Who was to say that the ghostly green jian wasn't of the same tier, if not higher? Legacy clans had a lot of powerful Memories in their treasuries.

Unlike him.

Hitting the ground in a roll, Sunny dashed to the side and used the pommel of the Midnight Shard to slam Caster's hand away. He barely saved himself from being decapitated.

Shaken, Sunny threw a handful of coral dust into the air and retreated. A moment later, his enemy emerged from the dust like a vengeful demon. The damned jian was once again aimed at his heart.

But…

Caster looked different.

It seemed that Sunny was right on the money with his guess about the proud scion's Flaw and the purpose of the mysterious charm Memory. Before, Caster had already looked slightly older that the other members of the cohort… which was strange, considering that both Effie and Kai were supposed to be the oldest among them. This was what had initially caught Sunny's attention, because back at the Academy, there had been no such difference.

However, now that the crystal sandglass was broken, time seemed to be catching up with the Legacy. If anyone were to see him now, they would have assumed that he was in his late twenties, perhaps even early thirties.

dark skin still

to the left. Once again, he was a fraction of a

'Curses!'

a pained grimace, Sunny dodged, evaded, parried and blocked, continuing to retreat and create distance between himself and Caster.

Why are you running like a

behind the mask and struggling to breathe, Sunny gritted his teeth

"No… reason… in particular…"

physique became even more formidable, his broad shoulders straining the metal of the sturdy scale armor. His temples were grey, and his beard had silver streaks running through it. He looked like the

from one side to another, from low to high, not stopping even for a split second.

was going to cost him

not much worse than

was worse.

furious onslaught. He was stronger and much more resilient, but that was the thing about sharp weapons — they were created to make the amount of force required to kill someone much less demanding. A skilled swordsman that

was a nightmare. If not for the Blood Weave, he would have grown weak and slow from blood loss a long time ago, just

retreat, desperately deflecting one lightning-fast strike after

proud Legacy, he felt a cold

of wrinkles, and his hair and beard were completely grey. There was almost no sign left of the handsome youth

full of power and vigor, though. His fury was still as murderous and scathing as it had been before. His speed,

"Die, mongrel!"

Desperate, Sunny raised his tachi into an awkward semblance of a block. When their swords collided, the

Sunny lost his balance and fell backward, landing on

weathered face, he lunged forward to finish the defenseless

a calm voice

voice he hated, but knew

somewhere behind him, Nephis ordered in a tone that denied

"Back!"

eyes widened. With an expression of utter terror, he spun around and raised his sword, ready to finally face the person he

he saw nothing