Shadow Slave

The enemy was in front of her, kneeling, and momentarily vulnerable.

Who knew how long that vulnerability would last? The demon would most likely regain his bearing a heartbeat later.

Everything inside Rain screamed for her to attack, to throw her body forward and slay the abomination before that happened. After all, she could not be sure that there would be another chance later.

Adrenalin flooded her bloodstream, and her heart thundered feverishly. Her pupils widened, her mind drowning in excitement, fear, and frenetic urgency.

But, at the same time, the memory of the teacher's arrogant voice rang in her ears:

«Bruise? What do you mean, it will leave a bruise? Listen, disciple… you should be grateful to your kind and gentle teacher for educating you so tenderly! The last time I made such a mistake, I was stepped on by a mountain. Not that left a bruise!»

It was the mark of a skilled warrior to keep a cool head in the middle of the fiercest of battles, And so, she suppressed her excitement, ignored her fear, and cast away her sense of urgency.

«Don't be greedy… greed will get you killed. It is a sin, and only those strong enough to bear the consequences have the right to be sinful… Rain did not abandon her caution and attacked calmly.»

The tip of her black sword slid into the seam of the Huntsman's breastplate, plunging deep into his side.

This time, there was very little resistance. Unlike her javelin, the dark tachi pierced the demon's flesh almost effortlessly.

But instead of leaning into the thrust or twisting the blade to wreak more damage, Rain immediately pulled it back and jumped away.

And just in time.

Although the Huntsman seemed momentarily dazed, and his weapon had been destroyed, his fist was already tearing the air with stunning speed. If Rain had been a split second too slow to disengage, her head would have been turned into bloody pulp. As it was, she had enough time to block with the dark tachi, and received the harrowing blow on its blade.

She was thrown backward like a rag doll. Which was the intended outcome. If Rain had been stubborn and tried to stand her ground, her body would have received the bulk of the impact. But by allowing her to be carried away, she dissipated the force greatly.

…It still hurt like hell.

It felt like every bone in her body was about to burst.

But they didn't.

Rain was tossed back into the shallow water once again and skidded in the mud. The ley water washed away her sweat and numbed the pulsing pain in her side, which felt almost pleasant.

need to

her a little longer to gather

starting to pull her down, Rain groaned and rolled onto her

rose into a high stance, sending drops

did I

black sword created by her teacher was even sharper, deadlier, and much more frightening than she had imagined. If the Huntsman had been a human, he would have been

demon from the retinue of an ancient titan that had

even though the wound Rain had delivered him was ghastly, it

something equally important,

destroyed his axe,

up, Rain stared at

seams of his scorched armor. The bestial snout

«Come on…»

than strong and ferocious enough to tear her apart with

However…

not simple abominations. These towering, armored warriors

learned that secret from talking to the Awakened who had ventured into the forest and faced its fearsome overlord. Instead, it was something that everyone in Ravenheart knew… that she had known from

in the Song Domain. More than that, detailed Information about the surviving abominations was provided by the

decoration. It hinted at his true nature… because

was a rabid beast living in each of them, and when the ancient warriors faced a

she had been fighting so desperately did

was destroyed and

that was Rain's best

of there, in front of her, the kneeling Huntsman let out a husky growl. His limbs flinched,

grew

it. His spine bent, and dark fur suddenly

tore through the metal of

The transformation had started.

painful. It was also deeply frightening — not only because Rain knew that the unleashed beast would easily rip her to shreds and devour her, but simply because watching something human-like

mattered to her,

the Chalice Knights took some time to happen. Even if it was just a couple of seconds… in a battle, those seconds were

stake her

reverberated across the burning