Shadow Slave

Effie was having a hard time standing her ground against the giant centipede... in fact, she was barely holding on. Even though a furious barrage of bullets, enchanted arrows, and magical projectiles was raining on the ghastly carapace of skulls, the abomination did not seem slowed down at all. Its massive body moved with dire speed, thousands of scythe-like legs tearing up the ground with each motion.

The difference in size between the Tyrant and the fearless huntress was just too big. Effie's only saving grace was that her body, despite being hundreds of times smaller than that of the ghastly centipede, seemed to contain truly astounding strength.

She was incredibly swift and agile, as well, dashing around with stunning speed to dodge the crushing blows of the monstrous creature. Above everything else, the huntress was all but invulnerable - her innate resilience was reinforced by two Aspect Abilities, and then strengthened by a Transcendent armor on top of that.

She had received several glancing blows from the abomination, which would have turned almost any other Master into a broken corpse. Effie, however, was able to shake them off and continue to fight.

...Of course, there was no such thing as true invulnerability. The huntress was fine for now, but she was still dancing with death.

The round shield she wielded possessed an enchantment called [Indomitable], which functioned similar to Sunny's own [Feather of Truth] and allowed Effie to change its weight at will. Her spear was not able to deal serious wounds to the Tyrant, but its strikes must have stung - Sunny saw the creature recoiling after the huntress managed to land a solid blow.

...All that allowed Raised by Wolves to tie down the Skull Centipede, at least for a short while.

However, it did not mean that she would win.

It took all Effie had to simply match the menace of the Corrupted Tyrant's massive body - all her Abilities, all her skill, and all her powerful Memories - while the abomination had not revealed any of its powers yet.

Once it did, the situation would inevitably change.

And that moment... had already come.

watched, Effie managed to push the centipede back once again. The shockwave of the impact threw her back, as well - the huntress slid through the dirt, leaving two grooves in it. Her spear shot down, piercing the ground and

lunging forward, ready to deliver another strike... however, the Tyrant seemed to

appalling head, the branches of the dead trees growing from the carapace of skulls swinging in the wind. Sunny's eyes widened slightly as he felt a sudden chill run down his

though the wind that brushed against the skeletal branches

on itself... and then began to grow, devouring the fabric of reality itself. It seemed as if an abyssal gate was starting to open in the air

'Crap!'

nothing good was going to happen if the circle of darkness was allowed to finish

with inconceivable speed. It streaked

boom resounded, followed by the sound

Kai had arrived.

of them an important role. Sunny was responsible for luring the Tyrant to the ambush site and creating an obstacle

stall the centipede - and, more importantly, distract it. But it was Kai who was the key to

harrowing powers. To prevent it from happening and reduce the Skull Centipede to a mere giant beast, the trees growing from its head had

his time, waiting for an opportune moment. Then, the archer plunged down, burning his essence and using

his attack, using that speed to close the trap they had set. The flaming comet was Kai himself, and he held a slender, shining saber in his

crossed the creature's head, something flashed, and then a loud explosion boomed,

split second later, Kai fell into the river. His speed was still so tremendous that he slid across the surface of the water without plunging into it - and only slowed down after being pushed

of the dead trees crowning it was completely shattered, its trunk exploding into thousands of sharp splinters. The circle of darkness collapsed and disappeared

out a

'It worked...'

maw, letting out a