Shadow Slave

2890 Proper Healer

The speed of their advance did not diminish. That was because today, Sunny employed a much more aggressive approach.

His shades were not cautious anymore, and neither were they trying to preserve themselves at all. Instead, they intentionally ignored the blows that rained down upon them in order to deliver the adversary as much harm as possible, as quickly as possible. This complete lack of self-preservation went against most underlying rules of combat and gave them a fearsome advantage against the Deathless… Of course, it came at a cost. The price of this speed was destruction.

And yet, they were not being destroyed. Once a shade received enough damage, the formation of the Shadow Legion would instantly shift, allowing it to fall back and for another shade to take its place. The wounded one, meanwhile, would reach the rear of the formation, where Nephis moved among the shades waiting for their turn to advance.

She would lay her radiant hands on the torn and tattered surface of the returning shade and heal it, allowing the silent warrior to rotate back to the line of battle contact soon.

In that way, the formation of the Shadow Legion continued to revolve, with fresh and nearly uninjured shades constantly attacking the adversary.

‘Look at me, playing the general…’

Who could have thought that he would command an entire army one day, back when he was crawling through the mud with the rest of the grunts in Antarctica? Sunny was glad to see his latest strategy work. However, he knew that it was unlikely to last long.

That was because while Nephis healed the shades, she wasn’t bringing fire and destruction upon the Deathless from the sky. Their focus wasn’t split, and the undead warriors further behind the contact line were not being torn apart and damaged by her flames.

The pressure was going to mount the longer the battle continued, and his best hope was that the increased power of the Shadow Legion would balance out the absence of Neph’s incinerating flames.

But if it did not…

That was alright, as well.

After all, Nephis could always join the battle again. With the Longing Domain in shambles, her power was diminished, not gone. She was still a Supreme Titan and a wielder of a Divine Aspect… she was still a descendant of Sun God. So even in this weakened state, she was a terror to behold. It was just that they needed to find a way to use her powers in the most effective and efficient way. Nephis had almost always fought on the front line — not the most common role for a healer, but also not something that was unheard of. Tonight, they were going to see if she could do just as much damage, or perhaps even more of it, by staying back.

She was in a unique position to do so, after all. Usually, those who would be fighting on the frontline in her place were people — and unlike her, people could not heal their own wounds. So, they died.

Neither the Deathless thralls of Azarax nor Sunny’s shades could die, though. Therefore, Neph could allow herself to stay back without paying a bloody price for it. So far, it was working really well. It was working splendidly, even — so much so that Sunny could not help but wonder just how much more fearsome the Shadow Legion would have been if he were still bonded to Nephis, and could therefore share in the power of her soul flames.

Perhaps he would find out, one day soon. Their small army advanced forward in a devastating storm of violence. Just like during every previous night, the Nightmare Desert was being ravaged by that storm, silently enduring the deafening mayhem of the battle and the inconceivable fury of forces unleashed by each clash.

Saint fought on the left flank of the battle formation, while Slayer fought on the right. The former was just as methodical and indomitable as always, while the latter was just as malevolent and vicious.

No, if anything… Slayer had become even more ruthless than usual.

She had come around a lot ever since Sunny first became her master, but during these weeks in the Nightmare Desert, she slowly returned to her former feral self.

Perhaps the Hell of Ariel reminded her of her days in the Shadow Realm. One was a desolate wasteland of obsidian dunes, while the other was an endless desert of white sand. One was populated by the shadows of the dead, while the other was populated by undying skeletons. It wasn’t difficult to imagine that Slayer felt right at home here in Hell.

The difference, of course, was that now she was of a higher Rank and had regained her Aspect. So, instead of stalking and hunting her prey, Slayer was simply tearing it apart. When needed, she used her bow and arrows. Most of the time, though, she fought by assuming the shapes of the beasts she had once slain — and there seemed to be a myriad of forms she could take, choosing the most lethal one depending on the situation she was in and the enemies she faced.

Sunny, who was notoriously bad at recognizing extinct animals, saw all kinds of harrowing beasts in these last few weeks. Most of them were powerful, mythical creatures of the distant past, of course, but still…

He was almost glad to have been born in the time when most of the planet was a lifeless desert. He couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that humans had survived when all these strange, terrifying creatures were just walking around as if it was no big deal.

Take a mongoose, for example…

“Hey, Shadow.”

Azarax had just finished stomping a skeletal Deathless beast into dust after shattering its skull with his axe, and was now looking ahead with a grim expression.

“I think we are about to feel some agony.”

Sunny did not need to be warned, because he had felt it himself.

Out there in front of them, the dunes were moving as something rose from beneath them, sending rivers of sand flowing down from its enormous form.

But that was not what made him tense. Instead, it was the fact that the world itself was changing. The currents of Will were twisting, as if a vast whirlpool was forming in its boundless, oppressive ocean.

“You just had to open your jaws and say it, didn’t you…”

Sunny’s voice was full of resentment.

The ancient tyrant’s warning was coming true.

It seemed that they had stumbled upon a Sacred foe, after all.