Shadow Slave

They could not escape, but they also could not fight the Cursed Tyrant.

In that situation, the only way out Nephis saw was to create a momentary lapse in the Tyrant's concentration.

It was the abomination's profane will that was preventing them from reaching the jungle. If that will was weakened, even for a few moments, a path to freedom would be theirs to take.

Nephis had no hope of killing the evil deity, and no confidence to face it in a prolonged battle. However… she was pretty sure that she could at least hurt it.

She knew pain better than most. She knew how hard it was to keep calm and steady when your body and soul were being blackened by flame. How it felt to burn alive.

Anyone's will would be shaken by that agony.

But her adversary this time was a Cursed Tyrant. Not any flame would be able to hurt it, and her usual attacks were woefully insufficient.

So, she had to give it her all.

…Which required time.

The Lord of Shadows had to buy her that time.

As the pursuing asuras closed in on them, he glanced at her briefly.

Then, he sighed and let go of his black odachi.

The tenebrous sword fell to the ground, but rippled like liquid in the air. She thought that she saw a glimmer of serpentine scales.

A moment later, the odachi turned into a torrent of shadows, and then coalesced into a human form… that of a woman, both her clothes and skin perfectly black, her hair like a waterfall of silken darkness. She was standing with her back to Nephis, so her face was hidden from view. And yet, it felt like the mysterious woman was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

More than that… her presence was that of a Transcendent.

A moment ago, there were two Saints facing the Great Beasts.

Now, there were three.

Pulling another sword out of the darkness, the Lord of Shadows lunged at the ghastly asuras without wasting any time. The black woman followed, moving with dire speed and indescribable grace.

They clashed with the abominations a split second later.

Sadly, Nephis could not observe their battle.

She was reaching into her soul.

The blinding light emanated by her radiant figure grew even more intense, its heat more unbearable, The vines and moss covering the ruins around her turned to ash, revealing ancient stone structures, The weathered stone started to melt.

«It's going to hurt…»

Her goal was to cause the Cursed being pain, but to achieve it, she had to withstand her own share of agony.

As something too harrowing to witness and too appaling to see slowly revealed itself from beneath the collapsing soil, Nephis steeled her will… and ignited her soul.

or activating her Abilities. What she was doing was a derivative skill of her Aspect, something she had always been capable of, but only

burning soul essence, she was burning her very

had done so in Twilight, Nephis was doing it in a much more refined and controlled manner

soul fragments plummeted with dire speed. Each soul fragment she

the terrifying power contained within it reaching a truly chilling

was a wild thing.., it spread in all directions, annihilating everything in Its path. Such

deal a wound to someone as strong as a Cursed Tyrant, however, such a dispersed tool of destruction was sulted poorly. She needed something much more

harrowing agony, Nephis endured the feeling of her soul being burned to ash, and slowly raised

Lord of Shadows and the mysterious Saint he had summoned

shaping them into a verse. Channeling that verse put a terrible strain on her

Name of the Fire to

of the wind to

These two were easier.

The other two…

she

the Name

to greatly enhance the destructive force of

the

most

She smiled darkly.

«…Condemnation!»

of the Cursed deity, the hint to which had been so

to the ancient fiend, and bind the fiend to the

a powerful

so, Nephis called flame and destruction upon the Tyrant, using her own soul

connecting it to the terrible shape of the rising giant many kilometers away. Its arrival was instantaneous. Its passing burned

seemed like a ray of pure white

it apart like a sharp blade. Terrible burns were

just as Nephis was drowning

convulsed, its

harrowing sound shook the world. It was a sound that would drive a mundane person…, no, even an Awakened, a Master, a weaker Saint… mad from simply

Condemnation was screaming.

«R-run!»

her radiance dimming. Her Transformation was dismissed, and she once again turned into a human. The white tunic she had been wearing was singed

summon the

momentarily dazed, paying the price

had told the Lord of Shadows to run, but found herself unable to follow her

her unceremoniously, he dashed away without saying a word. The onyx

I… being

She was stunned.

something like that ever happened to

a hold

cold and arrogant as always. Maybe even a

her eyes for a moment, then summoned the rest

time it weaved itself from sparks of light, the Lord of Shadows let go