Shadow Slave

Sunny had never stopped fighting, sharpening his mastery of combat to a sublime level. He had already been one of the most seasoned warriors of humanity four years ago... mostly because very few had it as rough as he had it on the Forgotten Shore and in the Antarctic Center.

But the last four years had not been easy on him, either. Crossing the Hollow Mountains alone had given him more battle experience than most Awakened would receive in their lifetime. So, now, he had a solid reason to be supremely confident in his ability.

That said, there was a difference between fighting Nightmare Creatures and fighting humans. Sunny had mostly been doing the former recently, so the latter... he was a bit rusty.

As the Fire Keepers surrounded him, Sunny observed them silently.

Now that they were Masters, each possessed one additional Aspect Ability. Gorn not only had four arms, but also expanded in size, towering above the floor at almost three meters in height. Gantry seemed to have augmented his body, somehow... making it more durable? More nimble? Or simply more powerful?

He was going to find out shortly.

Erlas, meanwhile, was enhancing the physical state of each member of the cohort. His powers had been mainly focused on endurance and stamina before... what about now?

Sid was bound to do something unpredictable, as well.

Shim, Shakti, and Kaor all possessed non-combat Aspect, so guessing their powers was of less importance. Still... they could be full of surprises.

There were the Memories the Fire Keepers wielded to consider, as well.

'Ah...'

Sunny felt a pang of regret for setting such strict restrictions for himself. But, still... he was looking forward to it.

A real clash of skill, cunning, and competence.

He had missed it a lot.

"What are you waiting for?"

Before the echo of his cold voice had time to disappear, the Fire Keepers attacked. The two archers opened the battle, instantly letting two arrows loose. They were showing decorum, too — since it was a friendly duel, his opponents refrained from using truly destructive Memories inside the Citadel.

Sunny did not augment himself with any of his three shadows. Being a Transcendent already gave him a great advantage as far as physical prowess and the intricacy of essence control went, so it was unnecessary.

Shifting slightly, he dodged both arrows with the minimum effort. One seemed to possess a homing enchantment, turning sharply to strike him in the back, but was tossed aside by the flat of the black odachi's blade.

moment, the melee fighters of the Ascended cohort were already upon him. They coordinate their

'Perfect teamwork.'

Gorn and Gantry, who wielded longer weapons and had a wider reach, attacked from behind them

a ceiling to a numerical advantage, since space was limited and only a few people could target a single opponent simultaneously... but by using this simple formation, the Fire Keepers effortlessly increased that

four attacks that came from different directions

of the enemy weapons, deflecting Shim's spear and Gantry's heavy axe in the process. Using

he lashed out

in the dark

'Interesting...'

Fire Keepers... had not wasted these four years, either. He

they were being repeatedly sent to death, but stubbornly refused to die. As a result, their lethality reached chilling

gap between Saints and Masters was already

a challenging adversary. Especially

he had chosen to only use a single battle style against them... Morgan's own battle style, to be precise. The sharp, deadly, and ruthless technique she used was representative of how warriors of Valor fought —not even becoming one with their weapons, but instead treating themselves as

So, it wasn't easy.

It was exhilarating, though.

'Damnation. More!'

Ascended Abilities of his enemies revealed

still managed to evade, block, or deflect all their attacks in the most efficient and economical manner. He didn't make any big moves, using the least amount of

all the while, he was studying how the Fire

battle styles and their teamwork like

when that puzzle

of the

***

shadow. Swift, elusive, and insidious, he moved across the black marble of the great hall with stunning speed and flawless precision, effortlessly deflecting the rain of blows that the Fire

was supposed to be if not unwieldy, then at least less maneuverable than a shorter blade... and yet, the odachi was always exactly where it

Instead... it was pure foresight and pure skill, both sharpened and tempered

the movements of the Lord of Shadows

Keepers, who had gone through countless battles by her side, fought well. They fought bravely.

had guessed the result of the duel almost

the battle shifted. The Lord of Shadows, who had been defending against the barrage of attacks, suddenly abandoned all pretenses of defense. Instead, he easily shrugged off a squall of steel and moved through it, attacking

as if

hissed like a snake as it cut

split second later, Sid's shield was pushed aside, and her breastplate caved as the young woman toppled with a short yelp. Gantry was struck by the pommel of the odachi almost at the same moment, swaying once before falling down. By the time his back hit the floor, Gorn