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.

- the huntress slid through the dirt, leaving two grooves in it. Her spear shot down, piercing the ground and bringing her

deliver another strike... however, the Tyrant seemed to be fed up with

Skull Centipede raised its 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

though the wind that brushed against the skeletal branches

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

'Crap!'

going to happen if the circle of darkness was allowed

somewhere high above with inconceivable speed. It streaked across the battlefield like a flaming comet and crossed paths with

by the sound of shattering

Kai had arrived.

for luring the Tyrant to the ambush site and creating an obstacle for the bone fiends crawling out of the river. Jet was meant to lead the defenders and

it. But it

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

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

now, he delivered 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

the blink of an eye. The streak of light crossed the creature's head, something flashed, and

slid across the surface of the water without plunging into it - and

Centipede, meanwhile, was flung to the side. One of the dead trees crowning it was completely shattered, its trunk exploding

let out a

'It worked...'

opened its maw,