Shadow Slave

The jungle, which had been like a rustling ocean, was suddenly absolutely quiet. The dead silence that enveloped them was so utter and unnatural that, for a moment, Nephis felt a chill travel across her back despite the sweltering heat.

The horrors of the forgotten ruin were drawing closer.

She frowned slightly, and then dismissed most of her armor. A whirlwind of sparks wreathed her slender figure for a few fleeting moments, and then dissipated without a trace, leaving only a thin white tunic behind.

Free of the suffocating weight of her armor, Nephis inhaled deeply and noticed that the Lord of Shadows was staring at her intently. At least… she thought he was? The darkness nestling in the crack of his visor was just as cold and nebulous as always.

«What… are you doing?»

His voice was emotionless, but she thought she recognized a hint of emotion in it. Confusion, maybe?

Yes, he was probably confused.

She shrugged, enjoying the feeling of her skin breathing, unobstructed by the weight of metal.

«My armor won't withstand a hit from a Great Beast. I'd rather have all the speed and agility I can get, considering the circumstances. That way, I stand the chance of not being hit at all.»

That was true. Her armor was a Supreme Memory of the Second Tier, but after the battle with this… asura… she had judged that it would not protect her from a blow delivered by one of the ancient golems. She could heal her body if it was damaged, but not her armor and once the armor was wrecked and bent out of shape, it would constrict her movements even further.

Now that the presence of the true masters of the ruined city had scared off all the pests populating the jungle, it was better to be fast and nimble.

The other reason Nephis had dismissed her armor was necessity. She was pretty sure that she would be forced to use her Transformation Ability in the upcoming battle… so, she didn't want to burn the Supreme Memory.

would be a shame if it melted into a

once that

that it mattered,

I

of Malice]. One possessed an enchantment that scared off creatures of a lesser Rank than her, the

skin like fine silk. That invisible barrier would not do much against sharp weapons, but it could lessen the impact of blunt ones, like

of

her soul arsenal, but using them was a matter of resource allocation. Relying on Memories too much would drain her essence, which could be better spent on her Aspect and sorcery. She couldn't summon the [Altar of Denial] to lessen the essence consumption, either, since

astonishing number of Memories in the past four years, but most of them had not been worth her essence. Some had gone to the Fire Keepers, and some were sold off to fund them… even with the nominal support of Clan Valor, maintaining a Citadel and

more clandestine affairs, which were handled by Cassie, also demanded a lot of

tried-and-tested Memories, most of them useful in different kinds of situations. She summoned as few as she could in any given battle, relying on her skill and

not seem like someone who relied on Memories a lot, although she wasn't sure if his reasons were the same as hers.

this point, she

Abilities were truly

up pretty well. With an Ability like that and sublime swordsmanship,

tricks he

a dark tide. She remembered the scene of a black giant rising above the bone plain and was

a few moments later, a different kind of creature rose from the darkness. It was entirely black and demonic in appearance, with four mighty arms and a long tail, towering above her at at least three

of chilling, ferocious physical strength and bestial potency. The stonelike armor of the Lord of Shadows shifted, covering the four-armed demon like an onyx carapace, and at the same time,

«…What a fearsome sword.»

the dark demon in front of her,