Their weapons remained locked for only a fleeting instant, yet within that instant, the battlefield seemed to compress into a single point of tension.
Frost crawled along Hail Sorrow's edge, meeting the oppressive weight of Sunny's strength, while Cocolia's spear screamed under the strain of opposing forces. The clash was not merely physical. It was a collision of intent, of will, of two entities that refused to yield even an inch.
Cocolia moved first.
Her leg snapped upward with brutal precision, the motion almost invisible beneath the chaos of their locked weapons. The talons at the end of her foot gleamed with a razor sheen, angled perfectly to carve into the helmet of the Mantle. It was not a desperate strike, nor a reckless one. It was calculated, executed with the refined lethality of someone who still retained the instincts of a master combatant beneath the Corruption.
Sunny reacted without hesitation. His body bent backward at an unnatural angle, the movement fluid and controlled despite the monstrous bulk of his transformed form. The talons passed just inches from his faceplate, close enough that he could feel the cold slicing through the air where his head had been. Using the momentum, he planted one of his free hands into the snow and launched himself backward, putting distance between them before the follow-up strike could land.
He barely had time to recover before Cocolia pressed the advantage.
Her spear thrust forward again, faster than before, the tip coated in a layer of condensed frost that shimmered with lethal intent. Sunny raised the Dusk Shard in response, the large round shield meeting the attack head-on. The impact rang out like a bell, the force of the strike sending a shock through his entire body. Even with the reinforcement of the Mantle and the fivefold augmentation layered over him, the sheer power behind the blow threatened to push him back.
He refused to move.
Drawing on his strength, Sunny increased his weight, the enchantments of the Marble Shell responding instantly. His armored talons dug deep into the snow and frozen earth beneath, anchoring him in place as he absorbed the force. The ground cracked under the pressure, fractures spreading outward from his position as he held firm.
At the same time, Cocolia's second spear came into play.
The weapon manifested in her free hand with a flash of ice, its form coalescing from the surrounding frost before lashing out in a precise, lethal arc aimed at his exposed flank. Sunny twisted his body, bringing the Midnight Shard into position. The austere tachi met the incoming strike with a sharp metallic clash, deflecting it just enough to redirect the trajectory without losing balance.
He did not waste the opening.
With all four arms moving in seamless coordination, Sunny thrust Hail Sorrow forward, the dark blade aiming straight for Cocolia's core. The strike carried the full weight of his augmented strength, the air itself warping slightly along the path of the blade.
Cocolia responded instantly.
A shield of ice formed in front of her, condensing from nothing into a solid barrier that intercepted the attack. The impact sent shards of frost scattering in all directions, but the barrier held long enough for her to pivot. Her body spun with unnatural grace, both spears carving through the air in a deadly cross pattern aimed directly at Sunny's chest.
Sunny's form flickered.
Shadow Step activated without conscious thought, his body dissolving into darkness before reappearing behind her in the same instant. The transition was seamless, his position shifting from the front to her blind spot without any visible delay.
Hail Sorrow plunged forward.
The blade sank deep into her abdomen, piercing through the layers of ice and corrupted flesh beneath. The impact was solid, the sensation of resistance giving way as the weapon embedded itself within her body. For a brief moment, it seemed like a decisive blow.
Then Sunny tried to pull the blade free.
It did not move.
His eyes narrowed behind the helmet as he felt the resistance. Frost had already begun to spread along the weapon, anchoring it in place as if the blade itself had been fused to her body. The cold was not passive. It was aggressive, invasive, locking the weapon in place with unnatural speed.
He did not hesitate.
Releasing the hilt, Sunny leaped backward, putting distance between them just as Cocolia's body erupted into motion again. The moment he disengaged, she retaliated, her form rising slightly as she summoned a storm.
A hailstorm of frozen projectiles materialized in the air around her, each one sharp enough to pierce through reinforced armor. They launched toward him in a relentless barrage, filling the space between them with a deadly rain.
Sunny moved.
He sprinted across the battlefield, his movements sharp and precise as he weaved through the incoming storm. Some projectiles he avoided entirely, slipping past them with minimal movement, while others he deflected with the Dusk Shard or the Midnight Shard. The sound of impacts echoed around him, ice shattering against his defenses as he pushed forward.
At the same time, he dismissed Hail Sorrow.
The weapon dissolved into black sparks where it remained lodged in Cocolia's body, severing the connection before the frost could spread further. A moment later, it reformed in his hand, clean and free of the encroaching ice.
Cocolia's wound closed almost instantly.
Ice spread across the damaged area, sealing the opening as if it had never existed. The regeneration was not slow or gradual. It was immediate, the Corrupted energy within her form reshaping itself to restore what had been lost.
Sunny exhaled slowly.
Then he lunged forward again.
The distance between them collapsed in an instant as he reengaged, his blades moving in a complex pattern that blended precision with raw aggression. Cocolia met him without hesitation, her twin spears spinning through the air in a continuous dance of offense and defense.
The battlefield around them ceased to matter.
Their clash intensified, the two of them moving through a storm of ice and shadow that swallowed the surrounding space. Weapons manifested around Cocolia as she fought, spears and blades forming from the frost to strike from unexpected angles. Each one carried lethal force, forcing Sunny to remain constantly aware of his surroundings.
His four arms moved in perfect coordination.
Hail Sorrow struck from one angle while the Midnight Shard deflected incoming attacks from another. The Dusk Shard intercepted heavier blows, its surface ringing under the repeated impacts, while his remaining hand either struck directly or manipulated the shadows around him to reinforce his defense.
At his side, the Shadow Lantern opened fully.
Shadows poured out in a continuous flood, far more intense than before. There was no need to restrain them now, no allies nearby that could be hindered by the overwhelming darkness. The battlefield became saturated with it, the light itself dimming as the ancient shadows of the Shadow Realm took hold.
This was his domain.
The shadows rose to meet the hailstorm of weapons, intercepting the projectiles before they could reach him. Tendrils lashed out, colliding with incoming attacks and breaking them apart mid-air. Spikes formed beneath Cocolia's feet, forcing her to adjust her footing even as she continued her assault.
Within that darkness, Sunny moved with absolute clarity.
Every motion, every shift in position, every subtle change in Cocolia's stance was visible to him. The shadows carried information, feeding it back to him in real time, allowing him to react with precision that bordered on precognition.
Even so, he could feel it.
The cold.
It was not merely physical. The closer he remained to Cocolia, the more the freezing influence seeped into him, reaching beyond his body and into his mind and soul. Thoughts slowed, reactions dulled, a creeping numbness that threatened to erode his awareness if left unchecked.
The Marble Shell resisted it.
The Mantle absorbed much of the effect, its defensive properties shielding him from the worst of the corruption. With the additional augmentation layered over him, the rate of intrusion was reduced to something manageable.
But it was still there.
A timer.
Sunny recognized it immediately.
He did not have the luxury of a prolonged fight.
His gaze sharpened as he pressed forward, his attacks becoming more aggressive, more focused. He needed to end this quickly before the cumulative effect of the freezing influence began to impact his performance.
[You have slain an Awakened Devil, Underworld Drake.]
Then he felt it.
A subtle shift within his reserves.
Shadow Essence flowed into him, not from his own actions, but from elsewhere. The sensation was distinct, a reinforcement that did not originate from his immediate surroundings.
Sunny smiled faintly.
Saint and Serpent were doing their part.
That meant he could push harder.
The battle escalated further.
What had already been a clash beyond ordinary combat now reached an even higher level of intensity. Sunny's movements became more fluid, more adaptive, his fighting style shifting continuously as he incorporated elements of Cocolia's own techniques into his own.
Shadow Dance was not static.
It evolved.
Every strike, every parry, every movement he observed was analyzed and absorbed, refined and turned back against the original wielder. Against Nightmare Creatures, this had manifested as a bestial, instinct-driven style that mirrored their own ferocity.
Against Cocolia, it became something else.
A fusion of human precision and monstrous adaptability.
Cocolia, for her part, was no less formidable. Though her body had been transformed into that of a Corrupted Beast, the remnants of her former skill remained. Her spear techniques were still present, though twisted and enhanced by her new form. She fought with a combination of disciplined strikes and unpredictable, almost feral movements that made her difficult to read.
The result was chaos.
They clashed again and again, claws meeting blades, spears colliding with swords, each exchange sending shockwaves through the surrounding area. Ice shattered and reformed in rapid succession, while shadows twisted and surged in response to Sunny's will.
He ducked beneath a sweeping strike, his tail lashing out to disrupt her balance as he brought Hail Sorrow upward in a brutal arc. She twisted mid-motion, one spear intercepting the blade while the other drove toward his side. He blocked with the Dusk Shard, the impact sending a tremor through his arm, before countering with the Midnight Shard in a precise thrust aimed at her throat.
She deflected it, ice forming along the shaft of her weapon as she redirected the attack.
They separated for a fraction of a second.
Then collided again.
The storm around them intensified, the darkness deepening as the Shadow Lantern continued to pour out its contents. Within that suffocating environment, their battle became something primal and relentless, a continuous exchange of force and technique that showed no sign of slowing.
Sunny's grin widened beneath his helmet.
A fight where hesitation meant death.
A fight where adaptation was the only path forward.
A fight where he could push himself to the limit.
And as the shadows surged and the ice raged around them, the clash between Sunny and Cocolia continued, neither side yielding as the battlefield itself seemed to bend under the weight of their conflict.