Shadow Slave

As soon as the sybil fell, it was as though an invisible ripple spread through the darkness of the flooded temple. Sunny did not see anything, nor did he sense the change... but the gnawing feeling of something being subtly wrong with the world was suddenly gone, allowing him to breathe freely.

'Cassie... killed her?'

Stunned, he froze for a split second. The grotesque body of the Defiled plunged into the water and disappeared beneath its dark surface. Sunny had no doubt that the creature would emerge from the restless depths to deliver its furious retribution the next moment... but the moment passed, and it had not.

The glossy black surface remained unbroken.

'She... did.'

Sunny was momentarily astounded. Yes, Nephis had chosen Cassie to face the sybil - but not to slay her. The blind girl had been meant to occupy the Defiled until one or both of them finished wiping out their share of enemies and reached the dais.

When had Cassie become so strong?

Although the sybil had been a Nightmare Creature who relied on her unholy powers more than on her physical might, a Corrupted Tyrant was still a Corrupted Tyrant. Killing an abomination like that was no small feat - quite the opposite, actually - let alone doing it in one strike. How many Masters were there who could boast the same? Were there any, even?

And yet, Cassie had not only killed her but had also made it look effortless.

mix of unease and elation. Had she always been that lethal, or was it

though he did not know one

recovered from his brief reverie, though. The battle was still not over, and

one mistake and a half, thanks to Weaver's forbidden lineage

used the Crown of Twilight to call upon the water once again, and lunged at

he knew that the tide had changed. The Drowned were still just as powerful, sinister, and deadly... but the oppressive burden of the

'Now we're talking...'

was this? What kind of fool would relax when facing a swarm of Corrupted Demons? Even without the

serve, as opposed to being forced into servitude. Usually, Tyrants could

'Don't get arrogant.'

fools. Sunny really

at him from the darkness with enough speed and force to put a projectile shot from a siege engine

that Sunny had almost lost

tentacles enveloped the empty space where he had been standing. Sunny, however, was already somewhere else, his

him, Saint continued her silent slaughter. With nothing holding her back anymore, the graceful knight had turned even more lethal. Unlike Sunny and Fiend, she could not move through shadows, which put her at a dire risk of being surrounded - the Drowned were not much weaker than the taciturn Shadow,

after all, which meant that any battlefield was her domain. Moving with deadly grace and murderous foresight, she controlled not just her sword, but also the very space around her.