Shadow Slave

Out there on the battlefield, Sid rolled, evading the maw of the grotesque Nightmare Creature she and Felise were fighting. The abomination moved on the edge between the radiance emanated by the human army and the deep darkness that surrounded it, its shape both hulking and indescribably frightening.

The situation had vastly improved after the miraculous flames enveloped the desperate soldiers. Awash in pure light and empowered by its brilliance, they cast their despair away and threw themselves into the battle with renewed vigor. Not only had they become stronger, but their wounds would also heal and disappear without leaving a trace…

It was as if they were immortal.

An immortal army of hundreds of thousands of Awakened — could there be anything more terrifying?

The endless flood of terrifying abominations suddenly did not seem so fearsome anymore. But therein lay the problem… while it felt like the soldiers had become immortal, they had not. They recovered from dire wounds in mere moments, but if a person was outright killed or torn to pieces, even the miraculous flames would not save them.

So, the battle was far from being over, and survival was still not guaranteed.

That was why Sid cursed as she scrambled to evade the lunging Nightmare Creature.

However…

The Nightmare Creature never reached it.

A chilling wind blew across the battlefield, and the shadows moved. In the next moment, the lunging beast slammed into the ground, convulsed, and let out a frightened wail. Something massive was in the darkness behind it, pinning it to the ground, hurting it.

As Sid watched in stunned horror, the colossal abomination was dragged into the darkness in the blink of an eye. Its wail was cut off abruptly.

All she saw out there was a glimpse of a terrifying beak, a mess of gaunt limbs, and a mass of black feathers.

A deep fear that she thought she had forgotten rose from the depths of her heart and grasped it with icy claws.

Looking at Felise,Sid shivered and said, her stunned voice full of disbelief:

”S—Spire Messenger? It was a Spire Messenger?”

What was one of those cursed things doing in Godgrave?

…At the same time, all around the battlefield, the silent legion of shadows descended on the spawns of the scarlet jungle.

A harrowing massacre unlike anything the seasoned warriors of the great armies had seen before began, washing the white bone in blood.

In one corner of the battlefield, Revel was kneeling on the ground, pale and weak from paying the price for having gone against her Flaw to join the battle in daylight. She could barely move…

Before she was swallowed by a towering Great abomination, though, the shadow of a giant with the head of a jackal slammed into it, and the shadow of a monstrous wolf-like warrior sank its gangs into the creature’s throat.

Her eyes widened.

Somewhere else, Seishan, Cassie, and Moonveil were fighting side by side — the latter had recovered from her wounds thanks to the white flames, but was still a bit dazed. As they were besieged by a swarm of grotesque spider-like monstrosities, twin shadows of a stunningly beautiful woman cut into the swarm, tearing the abominations apart. ℞𝓪ꞐŏＢÊ𝐬

All around the battlefield, the soldiers watched in awe and terror as the eerie legion of silent shadows flowed out of the darkness like a river, slaughtering their enemies. Most of the shadows were just as dreadful as the Nightmare Creatures that besieged the radiant army, and yet there was no mistaking who commanded them.

”The Lord of Shadows!”

It was hard not to realize that it was the sinister sellsword Saint who had summoned the dark legion from the depths of some forgotten hell, considering that his famous Echo was leading the silent charge, galloping atop the dreadful steed as her black blade rose and fell, reaping the lives of powerful abominations like Death’s own scythe.

Two furious crimson flames burned behind the visor of her helmet,and a trail of severed bodies was left in her wake.

The graceful knight of darkness was not the only being whom the soldiers recognized, though.

All across the battlefield, those who had been in the Antarctic Center during the Chain of Nightmares faltered for a moment, looking up at the towering figure of the Fallen Titan, Goliath.

The Fire Keepers and the Handmaidens caught glimpses of the Nightmare Creatures of the Forgotten Shore.

Others were terrified to see the hulking figures of the dreadful abominations who had been slain in front of their eyes during the conquest of Godgrave.

It was as if the gates of the Land of the Dead had been opened.

There were many instances like that, instilling the soldiers with relief, gratitude, and fear in equal parts.

Even knowing that the silent legion belonged to the Lord of Shadows, it was hard not to fear it… and fear him, as well.

At a certain spot on the battlefield, Rain let out a long sigh and lowered her tachi for a moment. Tamar was looking around with a pale face by her side, while the Feather Knight stared at a bizarre figure that moved across the sky in the distance, half-obscured by the vast whirlwind of flying swords.

”This… this is… it’s Winter Beast.”

Her voice was full of wariness and loathing.

Rain gave her a long look, and then forced out a smile.

”Don’t worry. I am quite certain that these things won’t hurt us. They belong to my brother, I think.”

Telle and Tamar turned to her with similarly confused expressions.

”You brother?”

”You have a brother?”

Rain coughed and scratched the back in embarrassment.

”Uh… yes. Actually, you already met him.”

Tamar raised an eyebrow.

”I did?”

Noticing another Nightmare Creature barreling towards them, Rain raised her tachi.

”Yeah. My brother… he is the…”

The rest of her sentence drowned in a bestial howl of the lunging abomination.

Far away, the colossal vessel of the Queen was being consumed by the dancing mass of white flames. She clawed at her own flesh,trying to extinguish the fire that was consuming her, but to no avail.

The flesh golem was being annihilated by the fire faster than Ki Song could repair its flesh. At the same time, Nephis was healing her soul faster than Ki Song could destroy it…

Until the Queen shifted strategy, transferring the damage dealt to her vessel away.

Almost instantly, countless puppets across the battlefield ignited like torches and turned to ash.

A moment later, even more burned, and a moment after that, even more…

It did buy Ki Song some time, allowing her to unleash the full power of her insidious Aspect upon Nephis and temporarily catch up to her in their vicious battle of attrition.

There were not that many of her puppet’s left on the battlefield, though.

And even those that remained were being swiftly burned by the flames and slaughtered by the shadows.