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 collided

Almost immediately, the silver longsword lashed out again, appearing from an unexpected

each strike. It was as though he was being hit by a hurricane of adamantine sledgehammers, each hit making his bones

how is she that

strong? How was she so fast? How

It didn't make sense.

doubled by the augmentation of the

was more powerful than him, tremendously so. She was more like a Nightmare Creature than a human; her movements were fast as lightning, her strength was terrifying, and her technique was flawless, leaving him no

have been that powerful. It

yet, somehow,

'Impossible, impossible…'

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

very wrong

own physical enhancement. From what he had observed during her battle against Gunlaug, it was roughly the same or

grown much stronger between

But how?

Midnight Shard might have already been if not destroyed, then at least severely damaged. In

missing Sunny's face by a few millimeters… or so he thought before sensing warm drops rolling down

little bit to the right, and he would have

deflected the sword away, preventing Nephis from slicing his neck with a reverse cut, and leaned forward in an attempt to ram her with his

sidestepped around Sunny and brought her weapon down, forcing him to block from a disadvantageous position and stagger

'Curse it!'

clash must have looked furious and morbidly beautiful. Both moved with incredible speed and possessed ferocious strength, both were skilled and experienced, forged into formidable killers by hundreds

and shadows, while the other was

somewhere else, invisible to the naked eye. This fight

to excel as a fighter, one had to master both

was her own