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.

the black stones, and two fissures appeared on the

Echoes attacked. The creatures moved with the frightening precision of soulless machines, coordinating their assault with enough cohesion to make them a fearsome threat. Although their intelligence couldn't compare to actual humans,

of them possessed an Aspect,

their formation like a demon born out of darkness, her kite shield receiving a rain of blows as the Midnight Shard shot forward. The Soul Serpent submerged into the shadows and flowed through them, appearing behind the six advancing Echoes to lunge at the two whose Aspect Abilities allowed them to perform ranged

lastly, there

longsword with enough force to make the whole hall tremble. Even augmented by two shadows, Sunny was still unable to

way that allowed for most of the force to be

cheek guard of his helmet, and

failure of his treacherous blow. It had not been meant to do any damage, anyway. It just had to

And now, it had.

to dodge out of the way and give

is just too

and understand some of the Ascended knight's battle techniques. Pierce possessed explosive strength and enough agility to channel

going to be led into an easy

Sunny could perceive, the Master was using

was the core difference between

really, was the Undying Chain. The transcendent armor was durable enough to withstand a few blows from Pierce, and his high divine affinity only made it stronger. He just had to make sure that he

bleak steel