Shadow Slave

At the southern outskirts of the ancient city, the battle between Saint’s legion and the fallen defenders had turned into a vicious slaughter. The shades had conquered several aerial bridges and pushed forward, invading the neighboring stalagmites and attacking the enemy forces resisting other centuriae from the rear.

However, in the process, countless shades had been vanquished, and despite the casualties among the Tainted Saints, the scales of battle shifted in their favor. Especially so because the soldiers of the Jade Titan were not mindless abominations, either. Those of them who defended the stalactites above swiftly shifted their tactics, maneuvering to avoid Absence and his contingent while raining down death and destruction upon the warriors of the Shadow Legion down below.

Before, the shades Saint commanded could raise their shields to protect themselves from the enemy arrows and javelins. But once they engaged the enemy in melee, they couldn’t maintain their turtle-like formations — of course, the archers could not shower them with projectiles, either, since doing so would mean destroying their own comrades.

However, when Saint cut down the enemy champions on the aerial bridges and the defensive lines of the Tainted Saints were breached, dooming them to be wiped out, the forces on the upper layer of the city drew the strings of their bows and unleashed a ruthless barrage, slaying both friend and foe.

Countless Tainted Saints were wiped out by the hail of arrows. Countless shades were vanquished, as well.

However, due to the fact that the defenders of Nether’s magnificent city held a staggering numerical advantage, they could allow themselves to swallow these grievous losses. Saint’s soldiers, on the other hand, were few in number compared to the enemy — so, the loss of each shade was felt much more.

Even the shades of the Great abominations Saint killed could not make up for the staggering casualties caused by the ranged barrage. For a few minutes, the tides of the battle turned against her and her soldiers. Then, however, there was another shift — that was because Saint led her warriors across the conquered stalagmites and used the enchanted elevator platforms to send two of her centuriae up, while the remaining two stayed below to defend the elevators.

Soon, the enemy forces above were pincered between different contingents of the Shadow Legion and besieged from two sides. The situation below, meanwhile, was reversed — the Tainted Saints attacked the remaining centuriae, while the Shadow Saints fought a dogged defensive battle. Sunny managed to contend against the Jade Titan in the center of the city, while on its outskirts, the Tainted Saints were being gradually ground to dust — so, he felt a feeble hope ignite in his heart. It was a hope that they would slay the Great Titan in time...

But, of course, things rarely went according to his hopes.

Just as the battle was reaching a breaking point, Neph’s strained voice resounded in his mind:

“Sunny... I can’t... fight it alone...”

His expression dimmed.

That was what he had been afraid of.

The Jade Titan and the Tainted Saints were fearsome foes, but they were also known. The abyssal horror Nephis faced, meanwhile, was a complete mystery — and more than that, it was far more powerful than even a Great Titan, at least of the Cursed Rank.

It was naive to expect that someone — even Nephis — would be able to defeat it alone. In fact, it was already a miracle that she had been able to contend against the eerie creature long enough for Sunny and Saint to make considerable progress.

Someone had to reinforce her, and there were not a lot of choices — it had to be either the incarnation of Sunny fighting the Jade Titan, or the incarnation of Sunny supporting Saint.

Both choices were a dead end, though.

If Sunny fled from the battle against the Jade Titan and joined Nephis, the abominable colossus would either follow him and put Nephis in even more danger, or rush toward the outskirts of the city to wipe out Saint and her soldiers.

If Sunny abandoned Saint, the situation would turn even worse. She would be robbed of his augmentation, diminishing the ability to slay the Great abominations among the defenders of the city — the balance of the battle would swing in favor of the Tainted Saints, and soon, the legion of shades would be destroyed.

That would allow thousands of Nightmare Creatures to rush to the center of the city, where they would aid the main vessel of the Jade Titan in the battle against Sunny — resulting in his defeat.

Something would have to be sacrificed no matter what he chose — and, more than that, chances were that the fall of one pillar of their forces would cause the rest of them to topple one after another, ending in complete defeat.

‘Damn it all...’

Barely managing to deflect another obliterating blow of the Jade Titan and feeling the stones beneath his feet shift, the colossal stalagmite swaying precariously, Sunny threw a dark gaze at his enemy.

The abominable colossus was just as fearsome and domineering as before, albeit far more battered. His armor was covered by a net of cracks, and ruby dust marred its surface. Even his breastplate was split by a deep fracture, a chilling darkness nestled between its jagged edges.

Despite his fractured state, however, the Jade Titan was far from being defeated — he wasn’t even rattled. His power had diminished because of all the Tainted Saints slain by the Shadow Legion, but it was still terrifying and overflowing, drowning the ancient city like a lightless sea.

Even while channeling Soul Flame, Sunny was weakened and suppressed by that darkness. That was another reason why he had failed to destroy the abominable colossus, suffering countless wounds instead.

The pain washed over his mind, cleansing it of all unnecessary thoughts. It was a dreadful, pure state of being... of perceiving the world. Everything was sharp and clear, devoid of ambiguity and nuance. Everything was as it was, not as he would want it to be. The harsh edges of reality cut him, but they were also revealed in front of him in stark purity.

That was how Nephis saw the world, perhaps, and at the moment, Sunny saw it as well.

And so, he made a decision.

As the Jade Titan thrust his sword forward, the towering figure of his radiant enemy... Dissolved into shadows and disappeared from sight.

In the next moment, however, a dark lightning flashed through the air and crashed into his chest, causing the damaged breastplate to crack and sending the colossus staggering back.

That dark lightning was a round shield forged from stonelike metal — Saint’s shield. It pierced the outer layers of the Jade Titan’s armor, lodging itself in the epicenter of a vast web of cracks.

And before the Jade Titan could regain his balance, Saint herself fell from the darkness above, landing on the shield with a deafening thunderclap.

In the utter darkness that surrounded them, her black sword flashed like a guillotine’s blade.