Shadow Slave

A Great Beast...

Killing a Great Beast could pose no trouble at all, or all the trouble in the world. Beings of that Rank were more than mere creatures - each of them possessed a mythical power, reality itself coming undone under the pressure of their existence.

When Nephis had been a Master, a single Great abomination was like a cataclysm...

Now, Nephis was a cataclysm herself.

Igniting the flames of her soul, she shone with pure radiance and met the eerie golem with the full strength of a Transcendent Titan. Pain washed over her, bringing the world into focus. Everything was stark and clear in the world of pain, ready to surrender to her will.

Except for the Lord of Shadows.

The black blade of her sword met the diamond mace of the Nightmare Creature, deflecting it and dissipating its force. An impact that would have produced a devastating shockwave was suffocated, its destructive potential disappearing without a trace.

The golem was fast - faster than Nephis. But she knew its movement well. They were lacking insight and intent, almost entirely without refinement. Because of that, the creature wasted precious moments, while she wasted none.

A split second later, the tip of her blade burrowed into the red moss, aiming to destroy one of the golem's shoulder joints.

The sword the Lord of Shadows had given her was supposed to be equal to a Transcendent weapon and a potent one, at that. Cutting the flesh of a Great abomination would have been hard, but not impossible. Still, Nephis did not hope to break the golem's stone carapace, and aimed at a weak point, instead.

She already knew that the creature would not be able to avoid her strike.

That was Neph's power. She could not predict the future, like Cassie could, and did not possess an Aspect Ability that would allow her to read the enemy's mind. However, she knew the laws of combat - knew them intimately, instinctually, and comprehensively. From the philosophy of combat to how the atoms interacted with each other to form a steel blade, she knew it all.

So, she did not have to see the future. Knowing the laws of combat, she could simply tell what movements her enemy could perform, was most likely to perform, and would perform in any given situation.

of being a master at combat. The hard part... was actually dictating the situation to make the enemy

achieve that, she had to know the enemy as

Her blade bypassed the stone carapace, but

she was now open

terrible speed... and was pushed aside by the odachi of the Lord of Shadows. Not only had he protected Nephis, but he

time, she aimed for the golem's

side with the Shadow

from their duel. However, what had stunned her the most was how excellent he was at supporting a partner in a battle, and

Too excellent, maybe.

person would have trouble cooperating with others. But

had really come alive, fighting by her side with effortless ease, The Lord of Shadow seemed to anticipate her every move,

oddly attuned to his style of combat. She didn't have to put any effort into acting in unison with him, as if it was something

unity, often training and going into battle together. And yet, she felt more

shadows - shadows never existed on their own, after all. It

golem's eye, sinking deeply. That did not kill the Great Beast, but it did seem to slow it down a little. Just to

not. The flowers,

[Break the armor.]

vascular system. But constructs

"Aim for the breastplate!"

the tough flesh of the abomination, concentrating instead on the cracked armor of the stone golem. She even sacrificed some of her physical augmentation to enhance the black sword instead -

laster for a dozen seconds, and by the end of it, and entire swath of the jungle was completely overturned. Nephis and her aloof guide rained a barrage of blows on the breastplate of the Great Beast,

tough time of fighting the

exploded in a rain of

whispered into her ear, its voice

slain a Great Beast,