Shadow Slave

As the Cruel Edge started to manifest itself from swirling dark mist and the helmet of the Undying Chain was being summoned into existence, Sunny had a moment to evaluate their chances.

The result… wasn't too good. He didn't know how powerful exactly Mordret was, but the chances that he was considerably stronger than their enemies seemed to be slim enough to be considered non-existent. Otherwise, the banished prince would not have had to rely on his cunning so much.

From how they were positioned and the little details of everyone's gazes, Sunny knew that Welthe was aiming for Mordret, and vice versa. That meant that he was going to have to face Pierce, while Saint and the Serpent would be tasked with holding back the Echoes.

He wasn't too worried for Saint, who was an Ascended and excelled in defense and durability. The Serpent, however, would have to be really careful…

Sunny was most worried about himself, though. He was not going to underestimate Pierce… the man was not only a Master, but also an elite, a knight of the great clan Valor. He was as formidable as he was deadly.

His Aspect made Pierce resistant to all sorts of attacks, as well.

With this in mind, Sunny commanded two shadows to wrap themselves around his body, and reluctantly sent one to Saint. Ascended or not, fighting against eight Echoes was going to test the limits of her ability.

That was all the time he had to prepare.

Long before the Cruel Edge finished weaving itself from mist, the blood-soaked hall of the somber cathedral exploded with violence and motion.

Welthe's eyes suddenly shone with a hypnotic scarlet light, and Mordret staggered as he was dashing forward. A pained groan escaped from his lips, and his movements slowed down considerably. In the next moment, the body of the female sentinel shimmered and disappeared.

terrifying speed, Welthe lunged forward, then spun, her slender saber colliding against something midair. The clashing of blades echoed amid the black stones, and two fissures appeared on the layer of blood covering the floor, as if someone was sliding back, pushed away by the force

a fearsome threat. Although their intelligence couldn't compare

possessed an

Midnight Shard shot forward. The Soul Serpent submerged into the shadows and flowed through them,

lastly, there was

bringing down his longsword with enough force to make the whole hall tremble. Even augmented by two shadows, Sunny was still unable to compete with the Master in terms of physical

received the edge of the enemy's sword on the vambrace of the Undying Chain, angling it in a way that allowed for most of the force to be deflected instead of absorbed, and threw his other hand forward, the ghostly blade of the Moonlight Shard glinting dimly as it appeared out of nowhere, aimed at

off the cheek guard of his helmet, and pushed the hilt of his sword forward, trying to

had not been meant to do any damage, anyway. It just had to buy the Cruel Edge to finally manifest itself into a

And now, it had.

enemy to dodge out of the way and give

the bastard is just

understand some of the Ascended knight's battle techniques. Pierce possessed explosive strength and enough agility to channel it into almost inescapable attacks. His

going to

of soul essence was also on a completely different level. From what Sunny could perceive, the Master was using it with terrifying efficiency, achieving results that he himself couldn't

the core difference between them,

to withstand a few blows from Pierce, and

body beneath the bleak