Shadow Slave

Sunny and Nephis looked at each other, the air practically crackling with tension at the point where their gazes met.

The white flame seeping from Changing Star's wounds suddenly flashed in a furious outburst, closing some of her wounds and making others seem less severe. After that, however, it grew weak and disappeared, retreating back into the furnace of her soul. As a pained grimace contorted the young woman's face, a dim radiance then slowly shined from beneath her ivory skin.

At the same time, the shadow flowed up and wrapped itself around Sunny's body, making it brim with power and vitality. He inhaled deeply and slightly moved, shifting his weight from one leg to another.

'How… how can it end…'

Before the thought could fully form, Sunny ruthlessly destroyed it and banished it from his mind.

This was the last obstacle on his way back to the real world… and the most deadly. Sunny had fought many terrible creatures in the cursed hell of the Forgotten Shore, but none of them were as fearsome and dangerous as Changing Star. This was going to be his hardest battle yet.

To win it, he had to be absolutely clear, absolutely focused. He couldn't allow himself to feel anything, be distracted by anything.

No doubt, no fear. No regret, no compassion.

Only determination. Only resolve.

Only murderous will to prevail.

As dust particles shined in the beams of white light that fell through the broken roof of the ancient chamber… as stark shadows swelled with dark anticipation… Nephis brought the pommel of her sword to her shoulder.

White flames ignited in her eyes.

And then, suddenly, she lunged forward.

'Fast!'

But not fast enough to not give Sunny enough time to react. Raising the Midnight Shard, he dashed forward to block her furious assault… and shuddered, the force of the impact sending a shock through his entire body.

sword had

and then separated. Almost immediately, the silver longsword lashed out again, appearing from an unexpected direction…. and

blocks and deflections into one uninterrupted sequence of swift moves. Despite his best efforts, he reeled slightly after each strike. It was as though he was being hit by a hurricane of adamantine sledgehammers,

how is

was Nephis so strong? How was she

It didn't make sense.

Sunny had fully saturated his core, bringing him to the pinnacle of what a human of his Rank could achieve in terms of physical ability. His power was further doubled by the augmentation of the shadow,

a human; her

that powerful. It was simply

yet, somehow,

'Impossible, impossible…'

side, hoping to exploit the momentary opening in his enemy's defense. However, he was met by the ruthless flash of the silver blade instead. The opening was

is very

powerful than that of his shadow, or something else was at play. However, Sunny didn't think that the radiance emanating from Neph's skin was stronger than his own physical enhancement.

Nephis had grown much

But how?

sword was not burning with the annihilating, incandescent light. If it was, the Midnight Shard might have already

missing Sunny's face by a few millimeters… or so he thought before sensing warm drops rolling down his cheek. A thin cut appeared on it, swelling with

bit to the right, and he

a reverse cut, and leaned forward in an attempt to

Sunny and brought her weapon down, forcing him to

'Curse it!'

speed and possessed ferocious strength, both were skilled and experienced, forged into formidable killers by

darkness and shadows, while the other was

to the naked eye. This fight was

fighter, one

but what really made her devastatingly deadly was