Chapter 1080: Marvelous Devil
As a scout, Sunny constantly had to traverse great distances across the abomination-infested wilderness of East Antarctica. He would usually ride atop Nightmare or glide through the shadows with incredible speed, but right now, neither of these methods were an option.
His steed was with Saint, and he obviously couldn't leave the stranded MWP pilot behind by turning into a shadow. Theoretically, Sunny could carry the young woman on his back and run, which would be faster than limiting his speed to that of a mundane human. But he was not too desperate to save time. There was an army outpost relatively close to the ruined city, and although normal patrols would be slaughtered if they tried to take the convenient shortcut, nothing that dwelled there could threaten Sunny.
As they followed a small river that snaked between barren hills, Sunny summoned the runes and glanced at the list of his shadows. It read:
Shadows: [Onyx Saint], [Soul Serpent], [Nightmare], [Ravenous Fiend].
Sunny concentrated on the last string of runes, summoning a detailed description of the little bastard.
Shadow: [Ravenous Fiend]
Shadow Rank: Transcendent.
Shadow Class: Devil.
Shadow Description: [A pitiful little creature traveled through a nightmarish land, harboring a bitter grudge in its tiny heart. Driven by resentment and spite, it suffered many trials and conquered untold dangers to become a marvelous devil. But fate was unkind. The ravenous devil met a much more Terrible fiend, and turned into his shadow]
Sunny stared at the runes with a bleak expression The Spell had always liked to tease him... at least he thought that it did... but this one was just unfair.
'How come I'm the fiend? The bastard literally has the word "fiend" in his name!"
Shaking his head, he moved past the description and continued to read:
Shadow Attributes: [Lucky], [Marvel], [Ravenous], [Shadow Sworn], [Lesser Iron Body].
[Lucky] Attribute Description: "This Shadow is favored by fortune."
Sunny sighed. His own Attribute, [Fated], attracted both incredible and absolutely terrible luck. The imp, however, was blessed with only good fortune. It was most likely the small Scavenger's very first, innate Attribute... no wonder the bastard had survived meeting him twice.
'Damnation!'
Peeved by the blatant unfairness, Sunny continued to read:
[Marvel] Attribute Description: "This Shadow is a marvelous learner. It is stunningly keen and supremely adaptable, absorbing new knowledge with astonishing speed."
'Lucky and smart... well, who cares? At the end of the day, it still didn't help him survive meeting me for the third time. If the wretch was so smart, he should have avoided me like a plague...'
Sunny had seen these descriptions before, of course, but he still couldn't help seething over them.
[Ravenous] Attribute Description: "This Shadow possesses an insatiable hunger, and a frightening potential for growth. The more it eats, the more it will grow."
This Attribute already seemed rather great, despite the fact that the imp had not grown even by a centimeter in the last two months. Sunny had fed him literally tons of armored alloy, as well as the corpses of many Nightmare Creatures with steel-like carapaces. He had no idea how much the little fiend had to gobble up to become bigger, but knew that: the result would be worth it.
The true benefit of the [Ravenous] Attribute was much more subtle, though. and incredibly precious. It was the fact that, unlike Nightmare and Saint, the imp did not need to consume Memories to rise to a higher Rank. lіghtnоvеlcave.c~оm. There was no counter of shadow fragments. instead, the fiendish Shadow simply had to... devour. it could become a Supreme Devil by simply devouring Nightmare Creatures... or any creatures, really... in great numbers. The more powerful, the better.
That put Sunny, who was already suffering terribly from the need to procure countless Memories, at
ease.
'This imp is indeed lucky. If I had to choose between feeding Memories to Saint and Nightmare or him... well, the poor bastard would have definitely starved...'
Sunny smiled slightly and turned his attention to the last two Attributes:
[Shadow Sworn] Attribute Description: "This fiend is known to shadows."
That one was without surprise, and appeared after Sunny had fed the imp with his flesh. It was the same as what Shadow Blade Kurt had possessed, and showed a high affinity to shadows.
[Lesser iron Body] Attribute Description: "This Shadow's flesh possesses qualities of metal."
He grinned in satisfaction.
'Finally, progress!
The [Lesser Iron Body] had been [Nascent Iron Body] before. It seemed that munching on that MWP had finally pushed the imp over a threshold. He would be much sturdier now... and in the future, would even have a chance to become truly indestructible.
There had to be a Greater Iron Body as well, after all.
Happy to see the ankle-biter achieving something, Sunny finally glanced at the imp's Abilities. The runes read:
Shadow Abilities: [Scavenger], [Devourer], [Shadow Step].
[Scavenger] Ability Description: "This Shadow can attain the traits, Attributes, and Abilities of the creatures it consumes."
[Devourer] Ability Description: "This Shadow's teeth possess unnatural sharpness and strength. It can rend and maul even the most resilient things."
[Shadow Step] Ability Description: "This fiend can move freely between shadows, traveling front one to another in an instant or diving into them to move with great speed."
And that was it. Sunny's fourth Shadow... the critter was a sorry excuse of a Transcendent Devil, for now, but it would grow to be a real menace one day. in fact, Sunny had a feeling that the imp might just become one of the most terrifying weapons in his arsenal.
The Ravenous Fiend had been an exceedingly dire enemy, but now that he was serving Sunny, and thus enjoying the support of a benevolent, selfless, and supremely generous master... just how much more terrible would the wretched waif become?
Walking along the small river, Sunny used Shadow Manifestation to slaughter a Nightmare Creature that was waiting to ambush him and the MWP pilot, then sighed.
'I need to find a couple more of those iron golems I killed last week... or better yet, a whole swarm of them. A horde would be even better... my imp is a growing little wretch, after all. He needs to eat!'
Chapter 1081: Lake Ruin
Soon, they reached the army outpost- There had been a few Nightmare Creatures that attacked them on the way, including an especially vile Corrupted Monster - Sunny tore the former apart with hands woven out of shadows, and cut the latter down personally with a blade created the same way.
These days, he tried to avoid getting his own hands dirty, mostly using Shadow Manifestation to slaughter the enemy. Sunny wanted to hone and refine his mastery of Manifestation, anti for that, he needed a lot of practice.
Additionally. he felt that it was unnecessary for him to get up close and personal with every godforsaken abomination standing in his way.
Perhaps it was the nature of his current mission as a solitary scout, or perhaps Sunny had simply received a chance to return to being cautious and stealthy after years of being forced to play the role of a frontline fighter... in any case, he strived to only enter melee range with an enemy if he was certain of killing the foe with a single strike.
Usually, one of Sunny's strikes was enough. If not, he would avoid a confrontation entirely.
The army outpost was located underground, similar to the supply depot he had visited once in the Antarctic Center. However, as a member of the Special Reconnaissance unit, Sunny knew very well where all the army assets were hidden. Better yet, East Antarctica had no problems with communications... well, except for the usual interference of the Call... so he had been able to radio about their arrival in advance.
Sunny and the surviving MWP pilot were met by a cohort of sleep-deprived Awakened. Despite their visible fatigue, the soldiers stood at attention and saluted him respectfully. Their eyes betrayed a hint of reverence.
"this again..."
Sunny was met with such stares anywhere he went in Antarctica, at least among the soldiers. The First Army and the Second Army were merged into one military now, but within it, people who had been in the Southern Quadrant since day one of the Chain of Nightmares were treated with silent respect.
That went tenfold for those who had been a part of the Antarctic Center contingent. The Antarctic Center had been the most terrifying battlefield of the operation yet, and almost the entire field army sent there had been wiped out. There were only a few survivors here and there mostly those who had been among the evacuated wounded.
Needless to say, Sunny was both a veteran of the Antarctic Center and an Ascended. That was why most soldiers treated him with veneration.
"Master Sunless, sir!"
He nodded at the welcoming party and handed over the MWP pilot to them. The young woman had done well keeping pace with him on the way to the outpost, but now that they had reached safety, she looked to be on the verge of collapse. of course, it was not at all surprising...
Sunny sighed and glanced at the Awakened.
"At ease. Take good care of the lieutenant... oh, and by the way. I've cleared a path through the hills and dealt with the Corrupted Monster that had been stalking the area. If you hurry, you might harvest what is left of it before more abominations show up."
The soldiers looked at each other, their eyes glinting. That monster had been causing a lot of trouble [or the outpost. especially considering that it had blocked the pathway through the hills. lіghtnоvеlcave․c~оm. With the creature gone, logistics would become much easier for them.
"Thank you, sir!"
Sunny nodded.
"Well then, i'll be off."
He looked at the MWP pilot, lingered for a few moments, and then said awkwardly:
"Stay alive, soldier."
With that, Sunny stepped through the shadows and disappeared from view. He. had wasted a lot of time already, and was running late for the rendezvous with Soul Reaper.
The soldiers remained standing there for a while, staring at the empty space where he had stood before. Eventually, one of them said:
"That was him. The Devil..."
Another nodded with a stunned face.
But of course, Sunny was already far away and did not hear any of it.
The sun was circling in the sky, never falling behind the horizon. He glided through the shadows where he could, ran where he couldn't. From time to time, Sunny simply hid in the shadows, waiting for large swarms of Nightmare Creatures to pass by. These pauses slowed him down, but they also allowed him to recover some essence.
He avoided getting into fights to preserve more of it, as well... and also because there was no reason to. It was already evening, or whatever passed for one in this strange land, when Sunny drew near another min. The city in front of him was almost entirely destroyed, and drowned by a vast lake, with only the remains of tall towers rising above the icy water.
The ruin was different from the one from before, and much older - it had been left behind by the wars that humans waged on each other during the Dark Times. not the rampage of the Chain of Nightmares. Nevertheless, the drowned city was Sonny's current mission.
He bid himself in the shadows of a rusted wreck and studied the ruin. There were bodies of Nightmare Creatures floating near one of the towers, painting the water black. Each of them seemed to have been killed by a single arrow. Sunny observed the area for a few minutes, noticing strange ripples on the surface of the lake - there were more abominations hiding underwater.
Finally satisfied, he activated his comm and contacted Jet.
"Reaper, it's Devil. I have arrived."
A few seconds later, her voice came through the static.
"... Took you long enough. Where are you?"
He looked around.
"Southern shore, near an old wreck on the slope of a flat hill."
Jet took a few minutes to respond.
"I see it. Move west for about a kilometer, then follow a collapsed tower into the lake. From there, you'll be able to see three huge smokestacks. I'tn in the middle one. near the top, Get here as soon as possible... and be careful of the water. It is teeming with schools of tiny, hungry fishes."
Sunny lingered for a moment.
"Got it. What about the target?"
Soul Reaper responded in a few seconds, her voice sounding a bit tense:
"It's in the middle of the lake. I was waiting for you to arrive before trying to get a better look."
Nodding, Sunny glanced at the ripples in the cold water one more time, and then dashed out of his shelter.
Chapter 1082: Ancient Chimneys
1082 Ancient Chimneys
He reached the giant chimney without too much problem, avoiding the teeth of the vicious fish-like creatures with the help of the Dark Wing and a couple of perilous leaps. The structure was wide and incredibly tall, reaching at least three hundred meters into the sky... and that was just the part visible above the water.
There were a few holes in the frame of the alloy smokestack, so Sunny did not waste time jumping through one of them. He found himself in a vast, dark well, still water radiating bone-chilling cold a few meters beneath his feet. A tiny circle of light was visible hundreds of meters above.
Sunny did not know what kind of industrial behemoth had demanded such an enormous chimney - three of them, in fact — and what kind of poison had been billowing out of them into the atmosphere in the past. However, even now, decades or even centuries later, the air inside was acrid and hard to inhale, reminding him of the worst days in the outskirts.
Grimacing, Sunny looked around, and then jumped to a piece of scaffolding a dozen or so meters above his current position.
Landing noiselessly on the weathered alloy, he smiled at Saint, who had been standing there, still as a statue, holding a bow in one hand. The taciturn knight turned her head slightly, acknowledging his arrival, then indifferently continued to watch the base of the smokestack.
He could feel Nightmare hiding in the darkness nearby, dissolved into the shadow form. The black steed moved, greeting him, and then grew still once again.
"Good work, guys."
Sunny's comm hissed.
"Get up here, I'm bored out of my mind."
He sighed, then turned into a shadow himself and ascended the tall structure, gliding upward in a wide spiral. As Stmny was going up the old alloy walls, he found himself involuntarily thinking about how long it would take Imp to eat the whole thing. Then, he caught himself and scoffed.
'Gods, what am I thinking about?
But... it was really a lot of alloy...
At the top of the smokestack, strange machines were installed into the mouth of the well, and the walls were blackened by fire and soot. The acrid smell was somewhat reduced by the proximity to the open sky.
Jet was sitting on one of the pieces of machinery, her feet hanging above the abyssal drop. Noticing Sunny step out of the shadows, she closed the lid of an army-issued thermos, threw it into her backpack, and grinned.
"Here you are."
He nodded.
"Yeah. Sorry for making you wait."
Soul Reaper shook her head.
"I've been on a long reconnaissance mission the entire week. Honestly, having a chance to just sit and relax for a few hours was exactly what I needed."
let had joined the Special Reconnaissance Unit, just like Sunny. They mostly worked alone, but for the more dangerous missions, Army Command grouped two or more scouts together. As a result, the two of them continued to cooperate and fight side by side through most of the past few months. By now, they made for a very good team.
Jet stood up and looked around, studying the ancient machinery.
"Hey, do you know what these things were for?"
Sunny shook his head.
"No. Do you?"
She walked along the edge of the alloy platform and nodded.
"It's a filtration system. Basically, one furnace pushed a constant stream of toxic smoke through the smokestack, and on top of it... was another furnace. This one meant to burn all the toxicity out of the smoke and prevent it from getting into the atmosphere. lіghtnоvеlcave․c~оm. So, each of these chimneys used to shoot out a colossal plume of fire into the sky. Must have been quite a sight, especially in winter."
Sunny scratched the back of his head.
"...Sounds kind of stupid."
Jet glanced at him with a bleak expression.
"Well, I'm not an engineer. It must have worked... otherwise, why waste all that time and energy on constructing filters? Anyway, let's get to the top. The faster we finish the mission, the faster we can get the hell out of this stench."
They scaled the last dozen or so meters of the smokestack using an ancient, rickety ring ladder, and climbed onto the lip of the giant chimney. It was as wide as a road. From here, most of the lake, and the city drowned by it, could be easily seen.
Sunny stared down, appreciating the surreal beauty of the desolate landscape beneath them. Almost at the same time, two of his shadows reached the top of the other two giant smokestacks. let glanced at him.
"Well?"
He hesitated for a few moments.
"The one to our left is empty, but the right one... there is something hiding inside. Something... huge." All the shadow could see were loops of flesh coiled inside the dark well of the ancient smokestack, filling almost a third of it.
Jet sighed with relief.
"Well, good. Because we need to get to the left one. Leave that thing, whatever it is, alone." Sunny nodded, ordering his shadow to hide itself and keep an eye on the gargantuan creature.
The three towering chimneys were not too far away from each other, so getting from one to another was not a problem to them. However, it was not very safe - if something attacked you in the air, staying alive would be a challenge. So, unless someone like Kai was around, at least two people were required to keep each other safe.
Sunny temporarily borrowed Morgan's Barbow from Saint, and covered Jet as she glided across the wide gap between smokestacks using a flight Memory. She reached the next chimney, then summoned half a dozen sharp throwing stars and did the same for him — Sunny used the Dark Wing to breach the gap, and soon joined Jet.
Now, they were very close to coming in sight of the target of this mission.
He frowned.
"Do you feel it?"
Soul Reaper slowly nodded.
"Yeah. The Call is much stronger here. There must be a Category Three Gate nearby."
They walked to the opposite side of the smokestack and looked down. From that position, nothing obstructed their view of the middle of the lake.
And there, nestled between the ancient ruins...
Sunny sighed.
"That... is going to be trouble."
Chapter 1083: Reconnaissance
The two of them lowered themselves to the weathered alloy, looking cautiously over the edge. Far away, in the middle of the ruined city, an enormous body of a ghastly creature was hidden between the rubble, long swathes of it submerged into the water.
The creature resembled a monstrous centipede that was at least a hundred meters long. It was encased in pale chitin... no, not chitin. Bone. The giant centipede seemed to be covered in countless thousands of human skulls, all of them stuck together to form a morbid carapace.
Its horrid maw was large enough to swallow an armored APC and full of grotesque, hone-white teeth. On its head. two tall, dead trees grew from the carapace of skulls like skeletal horns.
Taking care to not fixate on the grotesque creature directly, knowing that some abominations could sense when they were being watched, Sunny couldn't help but feel a chill.
"That thing's going to be a nightmare."
Silence was the key, and thus, Sunny used the mystical [Blessing of Dusk] to communicate his thoughts, avoiding speaking aloud. Jet, receiving his silent message, responded in kind, her voice echoing in his mind against the backdrop of deathly stillness and the mournful wind.
"Examine its mouth."
Sunny did as she asked, his eyes widening at the sight below.
The monstrous centipede writhed, its long neck contorting as it gagged and then retched up a mass of wet, slime-coated bones. It seemed for a moment as if the creature was having difficulty digesting its last meal, but then the pile of bones began to shift, slowly forming into a twisted, nightmarish figure.
Rising unsteadily, the abomination stumbled away and vanished beneath the water's surface. Sunny's brow furrowed in disgust. How many of these abominations had the centipede spawned?
After a brief pause, he turned to Jet, his voice grim.
"It's one of those Corrupted Tyrants."
Jet's face twisted into a frown.
"It does seem that way, doesn't it?"
Moving swiftly, Soul Reaper retrieved several bulky devices from her backpack. These were sophisticated sensor arrays and recorders, supplied by the army and crafted using intricate spelltech technology. lіghtnоvеlcave․c~оm. But despite their complexity, they proved useless in the face of interference from a nearby Gate.
Minutes passed, filled with futile attempts to gather information, until Jet finally sighed and shook her head at Sunny.
He simply shrugged.
"Guess we'll have to contact Army Command."
Without a word, Jet moved to a safer spot and activated her military communicator. Despite the harsh static, she managed to convey a message:
"HQ, this is Recon Four and Recon Nine. Target sighted, threat level core-five. Requesting analyst backup."
A brief wait, and Jet signaled they needed to wait three more minutes.
'They're moving fast. Must be important,' Sunny thought, his mind racing.
The situation seemed critical, and he could sense the urgency. He summoned a Memory, a rare and valuable tool that connected them to the army headquarters through a twin circle of patina-covered bronze, allowing diviners to extend their senses across vast distances.
Minutes later, as Jet rejoined him, a mental message reached Sunny.
"They're watching now."
As the ghastly centipede continued its grim work below, both Sunny and Jet held their breath, fear dancing in their eyes. Time seemed to stretch as they watched, their minds racing.
Eventually, the connection with headquarters was severed, and Jet looked at Sunny.
"They're concerned about that monster. We need to stay put and observe. Report if it moves."
Sunny's heart sank as he looked around, the wind biting into his flesh, the acrid smell lingering.
"Guess I'll catch some sleep."
Jet's eyes widened in shock.
"What? I get to sleep first! I haven't slept in ages!"
A gloomy stare from Sunny, another sigh.
"Alright, you go ahead. I'll watch over our friend here."
'Why does she even need to sleep? She's not even alive!'
Hours passed, shifts changed, and the Tyrant continued its macabre work. When it finally moved, Sunny and Jet were quick to action, reporting to Army Command and preparing to follow.
Two entire companies were dispatched to face the abomination: the Wolves and the Nightsingers. Sunny's face twisted into a crooked smile at the thought of reuniting with old comrades Effie and Kai.
The battle to come promised to be one for the ages.
Chapter 1084: Following the Tyrant
For the next few days, Sunny and Jet stealthily pursued the Skull Centipede. These days were long, tense, and perilous - not only did they have to brave the wilderness, but they also had to keep up with the ghastly abomination while not being seen or sensed by it. On a few occasions, they had almost been discovered, barely managing to salvage the situation at the last moment.
Sunny was not sure what would have happened if the creature had found them. With Saint supporting the two scouts from the shadows, they at least had a slim chance of slaying the Tyrant... but a battle like that would be a dire one. It would have had to be one of those battles where he was forced to put everything on the line, only surviving by the skin of his teeth.
In the past, Sunny had fought plenty of battles like that. He had grown so used to walking the thin line between life and death that he did not even consider such things unusual anymore. That mad balancing act was just par for the course... however, he also knew that he would not remain on the winning side forever. If he kept risking everything, his luck was bound to run out one day.
After Falcon Scott, his way of thinking about things shifted. Sunny was now much more experienced, and with that experience came cold, calculating prudence.
His chances of defeating the Skull Centipede and its army of bone abominations would be much higher with the support of two entire companies of Awakened, and so, he was determined to meet this enemy on a battlefield of his choosing, with the odds stacked in his favor as much as the circumstances allowed.
Jet was of the same mind. They followed the plan and put all their effort into remaining hidden.
The centipede slithered across the vast plains of East Antarctica, eviscerating everything in its path. It had no mercy for the other Nightmare Creatures, slaughtered swarms of them like helpless ants. After each massacre, the giant abomination would devour the corpses of its prey and coil its body into a macabre burrow of skulls, then wreathe and spew out more bone fiends.
The centipede's army continued to grow as it advanced through the wilderness. With each day, Sunny and Jet grew became more and more despondent... it had been hard to tell at the start, but now, there was no denying it.
The tyrant's course put it on a direct collision course with one of the siege capitals in East Antarctica. Each human stronghold on the continent was surrounded by vast masses of frenzied Nightmare Creatures, and even more dead ones. Tall piles of bodies covered the killing fields, growing with each passing day.
If the Skull Centipede was allowed to launch an attack on a siege capital, it would already be bad enough. However, if it managed to gain access to all those corpses... the strength of its army would increase exponentially, and the threat posed by the creature would explode in magnitude.
By then, only the intervention of a Saint would prevent a disaster. The Saints, however, were already busy racing endlessly from place to place, solving one crisis after another without rest.
Which was why it was important to stop the abomination as soon as possible.
On the fourth day of the pursuit, the centipede clashed with a whole horde of Nightmare Creatures, butchering hundreds of them and scaring the rest away. It dragged its massive body onto the battlefield, then got to the grisly business of consuming all the mangled bodies. One dead abomination after another disappeared into its massive maw, emotionlessly swallowed by the dreadful Tyrant.
Sunny and Jet were observing the process from a safe distance as they hid between two enormous boulders. On the ground between them lay a scattering of bleeding carcasses - they themselves had engaged in a short and gruesome fight with a pack of Nightmare Creatures just minutes ago. Now that a suitable shelter was cleared, they could rest easy for a few hours.
Sunny frowned. "It killed too many this time. Considering how long it takes to create a bone soldier... I'd say we'll be stuck here for a full day. The Tyrant's army will grow by a lot."
Jet shrugged. "The more it is delayed, the better. Army Command will have time to prepare."
She watched the giant centipede devour its victims for a few moments, then took a few steps back and contacted the headquarters to make a report. Soon after that, Soul Reaper's icy blue eyes suddenly gleamed.
"Understood."
She deactivated her comm and looked at Sunny with a grin. "It's happening. The welcoming party has already arrived. We need to overtake the monstrosity, meet up with them, and prepare the festivities."
Sunny let out a relieved sigh. "Finally."
A hunt like this one was not easy to arrange. Simply deploying troops outside the siege capital was a dangerous task by now - the wilderness was teeming with numerous Nightmares Creatures, and an expedition force risked drowning in a horde of them before even reaching the intended target. It took a lot of courage and competence to navigate a course through the enemy territory.
If the target was on the move, the task only grew that much harder. Luckily, this time, Army Command was receiving constant updates on the creature's location from Sunny and Jet, so tracking its path had been easier.
And now, finally, almost every piece was in place. All that remained was for the scouts to join the assault force and spring the trap on the menacing Tyrant.
Sunny smiled. "Let's go, then."
They silently abandoned their shelter and made a wide circle around the location of the Skull Centipede, then moved away with as much speed as they could allow themselves without risking attracting the attention of migrating hordes of Nightmare Creatures.
Half a day later, Sunny and Jet arrived at the shore of a wide river. The landscape made it so that there weren't many places to cross it for many kilometers around, with only a single ford formed by a scattering of giant boulders.
As they traversed the river, jumping from one stone to another, Sunny's comm suddenly came alive. A familiar voice came through the static. "...well it isn't... frog... welcome..."
Some of it got swallowed up by the interference, but the last word was very easy to discern: "...doofus..."
Sunny stopped for a moment and looked at the opposite bank of the river, where a tall figure suddenly rose from the ground.
Effie waved her hand and grinned. "Ah, venerable Master Sunless! How nice of you to pay a visit!"
Chapter 1085: Wolf Army
Sunny and Jet looked like quite the pair. Both were wearing black, which made for a stark contrast with their pale skin and raven hair... granted, Soul Reaper looked more imposing in her fitting black leather armor. Sunny, on the other hand, wore a simple silk tunic and a pair of dainty shoes. He was also unarmed.
...Actually, he was perhaps the more threatening of the two. People were used to seeing Awakened wear suits of impregnable armor and wield powerful weapons. It was the sight of someone who didn't feel the need to do so, even in the deadly reaches of East Antarctica, that was truly frightening.
He made the last jump, landing softly on the ground not too far away from Effie. From here, Sunny could sense hundreds of shadows somewhere nearby. He looked around, noticing mundane soldiers and Awakened hidden here and there along the river shore, all keeping watch on the surrounding area.
The First Irregular Company had numbered forty-two Awakened and seven Masters. The two companies Effie and Kai commanded, however, were different. Unlike the special unit Sunny had belonged to, these were companies meant for general combat.
Each of them consisted of close to a hundred Awakened and ten times that many mundane soldiers, complete with a platoon of mighty MWPs and a robust stable of specialized vehicles that ranged from heavy artillery to support and resupply.
Two of these companies together made for a small army.
Effie walked over, a wide smile on her face. "Sunny! Long time no see!"
She looked... quite impactful. His friend had always been a sight to behold, with her impressively tall stature, athletic build, and generous figure. Now, however, Effie resembled an incarnation of a beautiful war deity much more than she resembled a mere mortal. The main reason for this was her armor.
It was as though Effie had been dipped in liquid steel, which then clung tightly to her body, tracing every toned, graceful line of it. Sunny had once thought that the Undying Chain felt like a second layer of skin... however, in his case, that was simply a metaphor. The armor of the vibrant huntress, on the contrary, could be described the same way quite literally.
There was a piece of white cloth tied around her waist, and another one covering her chest, but other than that, Effie's whole body was exposed and seemed as if it had been cast of lustrous steel. Only her head was uncovered, for now.
That armor, of course, was the Transcendent Memory she had received after slaying one of the immortal Chain Lord of the Kingdom of Hope, the Sun Prince.
Sunny coughed. Just looking at Effie would make one's blood run hot. But that wasn't all... currently, she had not even activated her Ascended Ability. Once she did, the fire burning in the hearts of the soldiers who saw her would become quite real, coursing through their veins and granting them actual power. It was as though Raised by Wolves was sharing some of her astonishing physical might with her followers.
An involuntary smile found its way onto Sunny's face. "...What are you talking about? We saw each other two weeks ago."
Effie shook her head energetically. "That doesn't count! Every time you come to the island, you and Cassie immediately slink to the basement to spend a few quality hours closely studying the floor. The two of us, though, haven't had proper fun in ages."
She grinned and then shifted her gaze to Jet, who was listening to their conversation with a strange expression on her face. "Oh, and welcome to you too, Ms. Soul Reaper. Thanks for keeping this doofus alive. I know he's a handful."
After saying that last part, Effie lingered for a moment... and winked.
Jet blinked a couple of times. The two of them met a few times, but she had not really been exposed to Effie's personality before. Sunny couldn't tell if she was bewildered or amused.
Eventually, Soul Reaper smiled a little. "Sure. Call me Jet."
He stared at them with a glum expression. "Keeping me alive, really? That's funny... don't you have a habit of occasionally trying to kill me?"
Soul Reaper's smile turned into a grin. "Oh, come on... I haven't tried to kill you in at least a couple of months. So I don't know where this is coming from."
Sunny shook his head, then glanced at Effie and smiled. "...It's good to see you too, Effie."
He looked around and asked: "Where's the other one?"
She nodded, then gestured for them to follow. "He's asleep. Now that the battle is drawing close, the two of us take turns sleeping. Both of us need to be fresh for the battle with the Tyrant, while at least one has to be awake at all times before that, so... that arrangement works."
They walked up the slope of the shore. Gradually, the hidden camp of the small army revealed itself, with hundreds of soldiers soberly preparing for the upcoming battle. Awakened, mundane soldiers, MWP pilots, operators of combat vehicles... all of them were throwing wide-eyed glances at the three Masters.
"Who is that with the boss? Are those the SRU scouts?"
"...Is it me, or is our boss acting too friendly with that guy?"
"G-gods... isn't that Soul Reaper Jet?!"
"Holy hell! That's Soul Reaper and Devil!"
"No way... let me see!"
"I heard the two of them fought a Corrupted Titan in the Antarctic Center... that can't be right, can it? They wouldn't be alive if they did..."
"Soul Reaper might be tough... but our boss is definitely tougher..."
"I once saw Devil slaughter an entire swarm of Nightmare Creatures without lifting a finger. He just stood there, and they were all shredded into little pieces. I swear to gods, it's true!"
Sunny ignored the whispers and followed Effie. His shadows, however, took a good look around - he was about to go into battle side by side with these people, so he had to know all about them.
The soldiers of the two companies looked competent, determined, and in high spirits. The Wolves and the Nightsingers were technically not counted as special forces, but among the rank and file of the Evacuation Army, they had already earned the reputation of elite units. They were led by two of the most fearsome Masters in the world, after all.
The soldiers were mixed among each other, but funnily enough, it was easy to see which belonged to which company. The Wolves were more boisterous, lively, and rough around the edges. The Nightsingers were more calm, reserved, and good-natured. It was as if they had assumed the personalities of their leaders.
Sunny smiled with the corner of his mouth, then shook his head.
They walked along a row of camouflaged tents and approached a particular one, which looked no different from all the others. Effie suddenly made a fist and banged it against her bare thigh, producing a loud metallic ring.
"Wake up, birdie! The most honest person in two worlds is here!"
Erdiul Notes: 1 more later maybe, depends on if I fall asleep or not before the author releases the last chapter for the day.
Chapter 1086: Shared Pain
There was some rustling inside the tent, and then Kai emerged from it, looking as handsome and dazzling as ever. No... even more so.
Sunny's face became a little dull. His friend had reached borderline criminal levels of attractiveness after becoming a Master, mesmerizing most mundane humans by simply appearing in front of them, but Sunny had thought that a couple of months in the mud and muck of Antarctica would rub some of that glamour off.
However, he had been sorely mistaken.
If anything, Kai only became more captivating. His natural charm had acquired a hint of reserved military valiance, becoming more subdued, but also much more arresting. His green eyes were still as electric as ever, but now, there was a quiet, almost melancholic depth to them that made one deeply desire to comfort and console the young man. Those eyes were nothing short of compelling.
Kai smiled, making all three of them - Sunny, Effie, and Jet - hold their breaths for a moment. "Sunny! Ascended Jet. It is so good to see you."
Even his voice was like a soothing melody.
'That bastard...' Sunny wasn't even angry about how stunning his friend was. What really disheartened him was what Kai was wearing.
The archer was clad in a beautiful suit of ivory armor that seemed to be made out of impregnable scales, with a few insets of burnished bronze blazing between them with reflected sunlight. It was tied at the waist by a sash of burnt umber color, which emphasized the rich auburn splendor of his hair.
The armor was made of dragon scales, and was a Transcendent Memory Kai had received after slaying the Ivory Dragon Sevirax.
Both Effie and Kai had come into possession of a Transcendent Armor in the Second Nightmare.
...Sunny used to have an armor like that, too, which he had gotten for killing Solvane for the first time. But, of course, it had been destroyed by Goliath.
And now he was the only person of the three without one!
'Ah, that really grinds my gears...' Sunny winced, but was then distracted from his resigned self-pity by Jet, who smiled and stretched her hand out for a handshake. "Ascended Nightingale. I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you before.
Indeed, this was the first time the two of them met. Sunny glanced at Soul Reaper bleakly. 'At least she is not a fangirl. Like someone I know...'
Still... Jet had not even tried to shake Effie's hand. What was up with that?
The four of them exchanged a few words and headed for a larger tent that stood nearby, serving as the improvised strategy room for the small army. As they walked, Sunny briefly clasped forearm with Kai. "How are you doing?"
After the... the things he had experienced in Falcon Scott, Sunny held a somewhat different view of the charming archer, and of what his friend had shared with him in the Sanctuary of Noctis.
Back then, he knew that Kai was deeply hurt by what had transpired in the Ivory City, both physically and mentally. He had been a centurion who led soldiers into a war against Solvane's zealots, only to watch his soldiers die and disappear in the flames of the dragon... and then be crippled by those flames himself.
Sunny had thought that the pain of defeat and becoming a cripple was what haunted his friend the most. But after experiencing the burden... and privilege... of being in command, and learning how it felt to watch his people die...
Now, he thought differently.
Kai smiled softly. "I am doing well. Thank you for asking, Sunny... but I really am. I... feel like I'm in the right place."
Sunny nodded, thinking that he understood. Kai had always had these naive notions of what was right and wrong, and what a good person was meant to do with the power all Awakened possessed. For someone like him, coming to Antarctica was, perhaps, a very sincere endeavor.
He glanced at Effie. Come to think of it, the merry huntress had lost people in the Nightmare, too. She watched all the other girls perish under the ruthless training methods of the War Maidens, powerless to save any of them.
Even Cassie had experienced powerlessness and loss, with all the other priestesses and people of the Night Temple - including her cherished mentor, the One in the North - ending up slaughtered by Mordret.
All of them had felt it.
...Did Nephis feel the same? Probably not. But then again, no one knew what she had lived through in the Second Nightmare. Changing Star was strangely reticent about that particular ordeal.
They entered the tent, gathering around a fold-out table that had a small holographic projector placed on it. A topographical map of the area was projected into the air, with their location and the last known whereabouts of the Skull Centipede marked on it in red.
Sunny, however, paid it no attention, still lost in his thoughts. After a while, he shook them off and honed in on the conversation.
Kai was speaking. "...there is simply no other path. The creature will definitely try to cross the river near the ford, and so, that is where we will ambush it."
Jet shook her head. "You are mistaken. It is large enough to ford the river anywhere. Its minions don't breathe, so they can simply walk along the bottom and crawl out of the water on the other side. The current is nowhere near strong enough to be an obstacle for them."
The charming archer sighed, then nodded. "That is correct. Which was why I said near the ford, not directly using the ford... the landscape is going to push the Tyrant into this general area, but we have no way of knowing where exactly it will enter the river."
Sunny frowned, already sensing where this was going. "So... what is the plan, then?"
Effie chuckled. "Well, what else? Since we don't know where it's going, we'll just have to make sure that it comes to where we want it to come."
Sunny let out a resigned sigh. "...So, who is going to be the bait?"
Effie awkwardly scratched the back of her head. "I mean... you don't have to, if you don't want to..."
He remained silent for a moment, then scoffed.
Kai smiled a little. "Honestly, it can be any of us. Oh... I'm sorry, Master Jet, I'm afraid I'm not entirely familiar with your capabilities. What I meant to say was that Effie, Sunny, and I all have ways of making sure that we survive leading the creature to the ambush. So, any of us three can go."
Sunny slowly shook his head. "No... I'll go. I have to contribute at an earlier stage of the battle. Because I might not be of much use at the later stage."
It was true. With how close Sunny was to forming the fifth core, chances were that he would pass the threshold right in the middle of a furious melee. If that happened, he would have to struggle to simply stay alive... as for being useful, he was not sure if he'd be able to do anything at all.
Chapter 1087: War Masters
The pallid centipede was slithering across a desolate landscape, followed by an army of abominable bone creatures. Its massive body tore forward, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The ground was pierced and upturned by its thousand sharp legs, the ancient boulders shattered, the brooks of clear water spoiled with and turned into streams of poison.
Soon, a wide river appeared in the distance. The ghastly tyrant did not slow down, continuing its ruinous advance. Then, however...
The monstrous centipede slowed down.
Its appalling head swiveled, rising into the air. Its harrowing maw opened. The branches of the dead trees that served as the creature's horns swayed lightly in the wind.
The wind had brought with it a strange sound.
The distant weeping of a flute.
The centipede lingered for a few moments, then suddenly changed direction, lunging toward the source of the discordant sound. It did not have eyes, but the black eye sockets of the countless skulls forming its carapace seemed to radiate dark, ineffable malice.
The Corrupted Tyrant pursued the source of the simple melody. However, the flute player remained elusive like a ghost. Sometimes, the creature seemed to draw near the player, but he always managed to slip away at the last moment. All it found were empty shadows.
However, at some point, the pursuit came to an end.
The hideous centipede had almost reached the river by that point. In front of it was a natural ford formed by a line of enormous boulders, with only their tops emerging from the water. On the opposite side of the river, a lone human was sitting cross-legged on a stone, playing a strange emerald flute.
It was a young man with pale skin and dark hair, wearing a tunic of black silk.
Sunny did not pay any attention to the harrowing centipede and continued to play the flute. His fingers moved nimbly, but the melody he created was... pretty rough, to say the least.
He sighed.
'I thought I improved... but maybe not...'
On the other shore, the Tyrant froze for a second, then rushed forward. The creature dove into the river, raising a towering wave, and its soldiers followed. Some of the bone abominations jumped heavily across the boulders, most simply dove into the cold water after their ruler.
Sunny waited for a moment, then dismissed the Bone Singer and looked at the sky. The sun was still visible, but since it was close to the horizon, its light was dim.
As he watched, several things happened at the same time.
First, a series of explosions thundered, demolishing the boulders of the ford. Giant fountains of water rose into the air. Second, hundreds of human figures rose from the trenches dug higher up the slope. Third, a barrage of artillery shells and tungsten rounds descended upon the bone abominations from beyond the hills.
The creatures shuddered, but resisted the mundane implements of war. Their progress, however, was slowed.
That was when the Awakened attacked.
Numerous enchanted arrows and magical projectiles rained on the soldiers of the Skull Centipede's army. This time, the damage was apparent.
A hulking creature that had just fallen into the river exploded into hundreds of bone fragments. Another lost a limb. Yet another one was suddenly covered by a layer of sizzling amber liquid that corroded the bones, eating through them like acid... and more, much more.
But that was just the start. Even though that initial salvo destroyed dozens of dreadful abominations, there were many hundreds of them left.
There was the Tyrant itself, as well.
A beautiful figure that seemed to be cast of steel appeared on the slope in front of the trenches, wielding a spear and a large round shield. Her voice boomed across the battlefield, filling the hearts of the soldiers with maddened fervor:
"Wolves! Prepare! For war!"
Sunny turned his head and glanced at Effie, feeling his blood boil from her battle cry. As he did, a strange thing happened... he suddenly felt exhilarating power rush into his body. It was as though he was suddenly as mighty as a ferocious beast, as resilient as a granite wall, and as sharp as a steel sword.
And that was not just a feeling. His strength, speed, endurance, and resilience did indeed undergo a striking improvement. It was as though his body had received a comprehensive overhaul, becoming so much more suited for battle.
'Incredible...'
Every time he was exposed to Effie's Ascended Ability, Sunny couldn't help but feel awed. For him, who had already enjoyed the augmentation of the shadows, the physical boost was not that pronounced. But for the Awakened soldiers, and especially mundane humans... it must have been a true blessing.
The most frightening part, however, was that this Ability had no limit to how many people could be empowered by it. Anyone who saw Effie and was deemed an ally by her would receive its benefit. Their number did not even affect the rate with which she consumed essence.
The only detriment, albeit a small one, was that the soldiers had to maintain a line of sight with their commander to enjoy the boon of her power. However, considering that Effie almost always preferred to fight on the frontline, that was usually not a problem.
Just as he had expected, the eyes of the soldiers ignited with burning resolve at the sound of her voice. The soldiers of her company suddenly raised their heads and let out boisterous howls, acting like an army of actual wolves.
And then, another voice joined them... this one sonorous and clear, easily drowning out all the rest.
Kai's voice.
When Sunny heard it, his heart suddenly shook. Instantly, all the unnecessary thoughts were erased from his head, leaving only the pure, flaming, indomitable desire to do battle.
Even though this change was not physical, it might have been even more profound than the empowerment of Effie's Aspect... because it affected the heart. Even Sunny, for whom the effect was somewhat muted because of how guarded his mind and soul were, felt incredibly inspired. The clarity bestowed by Kai's call would do wonders for the soldiers in this battle.
Sunny shook his head slightly.
'Scary...'
Kai's Ability was just too terrifying. An Ascended would most likely be able to resist it to some degree, but mere Awakened had no choice but to be compelled. As for mundane humans? If the handsome enchanter chose to misuse his powers, they would do anything he told them to. They would happily end their lives if he asked.
Luckily, Kai would never do that. Instead, he used his power to inspire the soldiers and make them stronger.
With Sunny serving as a perfect scout, Effie strengthening the bodies of the soldiers, and Kai inspiring their hearts, the threat of the Corrupted Tyrant suddenly did not seem overwhelming.
As the head of the Skull Centipede emerged from the water, it was met with a furious onslaught of attacks.
Strengthened by their two leaders, the small army was burning with the desire... and ability... to win this battle.
Chapter 1088: Force Multiplier
Before, the future seemed grim for the expedition force of the Evacuation Army. Even though they numbered more than two thousand soldiers, with two hundred Awakened and four Masters ready to fight at the front, the enemy was just too domineering.
The Corrupted Tyrant itself was tremendously dangerous. The army of bone monstrosities was no less threatening. However, both Effie and Kai were incredible sources of strength, acting as force multipliers for the whole regiment. With their help, the power of the soldiers soared, almost balancing the scale.
Sunny's and Jet's efforts were no less important. Thanks to them, the two companies had been able to choose the battlefield and prepare an ambush. Terrain advantage was extremely valuable, and so was the foreknowledge of what the enemy was capable of.
That last part was, perhaps, the most precious. The two scouts had not only gathered intelligence about the location of the enemy and the number of minions under its rule. They had also provided the analysts and diviners of the army with an opportunity to study the Tyrant.
Thanks to that, the human force did not have to go into the battle blind. Even though they did not know every detail of what the Skull Centipede was capable of, they did know the most important parts.
For example, they knew that the confluence of the power that the giant abomination possessed was, surprisingly, hidden in the two dead skeletal trees that grew from its head, serving as the Tyrant's crown and horns.
In fact, Army Command had gone as far as to suggest that the true abomination was not the centipede itself, but the network of tree roots that permeated its monstrous skull, growing through the creature's brain matter.
As such, the small army's first goal was to destroy one, or better yet both of these trees. Without them, the Tyrant would most likely lose the ability to control its bone soldiers, as well as access to its most terrifying powers.
But... it was more easily said than done.
And Sunny currently had other things to worry about, because the centipede was going directly for him.
Ignoring the squall of bullets and the rain of arrow, it rose from the river like a mountain of skulls and lunged straight at him, the giant maw opening like an abyssal gate.
Sunny blinked.
'Are my flute skills really that atrocious? Listen... there's really no need to be that angry...'
A moment before the dreadful Tyrant crashed into the boulder he was sitting on, Sunny leaned back and dissipated into the shadows. The centipede plunged down, shattering the ancient stone and turning it to dust. Stone shards and a great deal of dirt flew into the air, rising like a cloud.
Sunny finished a backward roll much further up the slope, appearing behind the trenches and the mass of soldiers. He rose, flicked a few pieces of dust off his tunic, and glanced in the direction of the giant abomination.
The Skull Centipede turned its head in the direction of the firing soldiers, its jaw still hanging open. Then, its enormous body tensed, ready to shoot forward.
Before it could, however, something flashed through the air and impacted against the Tyrant's head... the mysterious projectile was none other than Effie, who had used her own body as a siege ram. After rushing through the battlefield like a hurricane, she jumped and made her body into a ball, hiding it behind the round shield.
When the Dusk Shard struck the Tyrant, numerous skulls were instantly pulverized into bone dust. However, even more were revealed, becoming visible through the crack in the morbid carapace.
The force of the impact was so tremendous that it not only slowed the centipede down, it actually threw the abomination back, pushing it back into the river.
Effie herself was tossed to the ground and landed in a roll, jumping back to her feet a moment later. Her sculpted steel body did not look damaged at all. If anything, the huntress looked as exuberant and robust as ever.
As her war cry resounded across the battlefield, the first wave of the hulking bone abominations clashed against the line of Awakened.
A ferocious melee exploded into a cacophony of ear-piercing noise. The tide of Nightmare Creatures seemed unstoppable, as if it would easily wash the human fighters away in a wave of desperation and blood... but it didn't.
The first reason for that was Jet, who threw herself into the flood of abominations a few moments before the clash and broke the enemy's momentum. Her naginata easily passed through the layers of bone, destroying the rotten souls of the Tyrant's minions.
Both the bone puppets and Soul Reaper herself could be considered living dead... however, even among the dead, she was an exalted existence.
The second reason was the Awakened themselves. Even though most of the ghastly abominations were Fallen, it barely looked as if there was a gap of power between them and the human fighters. Empowered by Raised by Wolves and emboldened by Nightingale, the soldiers fought with might and ferocity that was far beyond what they should have been capable of.
It was really quite astonishing to see.
Sunny shifted a little.
'Time for me to enter the fray as well, I guess.'
He had to act restrained in this battle... however, that did not mean that he couldn't do anything.
More and more bone fiends were crawling out of the river, and the Skull Centipede itself had already recovered from Effie's devastating blow. It was lunging forward once again, this time aiming for the ironclad huntress.
Sunny opened a leather satchel that hung on the silk cord tied around his waist, and took out a small, intricately engraved stone lantern. Then, he tossed it across the battlefield, aiming for the line where the shore met the cold water.
As soon as the Shadow Lantern landed, it was as though all light was devoured from the wide area around it. Many bone abominations entered the sphere of darkness... however, none of them emerged again, as if swallowed by the shadows.
Well, of course they didn't. After all, out there in the darkness, unseen, Saint was already waiting for them with the Sin of Solace in her hand.
After unleashing her on the battlefield, Sunny concentrated on using Shadow Manifestation to reduce pressure on the soldiers. He tried not to destroy any of the bone abominations himself, maiming and suppressing them instead.
Despite his efforts, however, a generous stream of shadow fragments poured into his soul, threatening to render him defenseless too soon.
Sunny frowned, then looked in the direction where Effie was trying to distract the Skull Centipede and prevent it from reaching the trenches. She was holding the Tyrant at bay, barely... for now...
A dark grimace appeared on his face.
'It's all up to Kai, then.'
Chapter 1089: Falling Star
Effie was having a hard time standing her ground against the giant centipede... in fact, she was barely holding on. Even though a furious barrage of bullets, enchanted arrows, and magical projectiles was raining on the ghastly carapace of skulls, the abomination did not seem slowed down at all. Its massive body moved with dire speed, thousands of scythe-like legs tearing up the ground with each motion.
The difference in size between the Tyrant and the fearless huntress was just too big. Effie's only saving grace was that her body, despite being hundreds of times smaller than that of the ghastly centipede, seemed to contain truly astounding strength.
She was incredibly swift and agile, as well, dashing around with stunning speed to dodge the crushing blows of the monstrous creature. Above everything else, the huntress was all but invulnerable - her innate resilience was reinforced by two Aspect Abilities, and then strengthened by a Transcendent armor on top of that.
She had received several glancing blows from the abomination, which would have turned almost any other Master into a broken corpse. Effie, however, was able to shake them off and continue to fight.
...Of course, there was no such thing as true invulnerability. The huntress was fine for now, but she was still dancing with death.
The round shield she wielded possessed an enchantment called [Indomitable], which functioned similar to Sunny's own [Feather of Truth] and allowed Effie to change its weight at will. Her spear was not able to deal serious wounds to the Tyrant, but its strikes must have stung - Sunny saw the creature recoiling after the huntress managed to land a solid blow.
...All that allowed Raised by Wolves to tie down the Skull Centipede, at least for a short while.
However, it did not mean that she would win.
It took all Effie had to simply match the menace of the Corrupted Tyrant's massive body - all her Abilities, all her skill, and all her powerful Memories - while the abomination had not revealed any of its powers yet.
Once it did, the situation would inevitably change.
And that moment... had already come.
As Sunny watched, Effie managed to push the centipede back once again. The shockwave of the impact threw her back, as well - the huntress slid through the dirt, leaving two grooves in it. Her spear shot down, piercing the ground and bringing her to a sudden stop.
A moment later, she was already lunging forward, ready to deliver another strike... however, the Tyrant seemed to be fed up with their furious clash.
The Skull Centipede raised its appalling head, the branches of the dead trees growing from the carapace of skulls swinging in the wind. Sunny's eyes widened slightly as he felt a sudden chill run down his spine.
It was as though the wind that brushed against the skeletal branches was full of tormented whispers.
A small black dot appeared in the air between the two trees. The dot warped and twisted, collapsing in on itself... and then began to grow, devouring the fabric of reality itself. It seemed as if an abyssal gate was starting to open in the air above the creature's head.
'Crap!'
Sunny instantly knew that nothing good was going to happen if the circle of darkness was allowed to finish forming. He made a move to step forward...
But at that moment, a stream of light tore the sky asunder, falling from somewhere high above with inconceivable speed. It streaked across the battlefield like a flaming comet and crossed paths with the centipede's head, exploding with blinding radiance.
A low boom resounded, followed by the sound of shattering wood.
Kai had arrived.
The plan of the battle the four Masters had come up with assigned each of them an important role. Sunny was responsible for luring the Tyrant to the ambush site and creating an obstacle for the bone fiends crawling out of the river. Jet was meant to lead the defenders and make sure that the trenches were not overrun.
Effie's role was to stall the centipede - and, more importantly, distract it. But it was Kai who was the key to their success... or failure.
The whole plan depended on whether the Tyrant would be able to unleash its harrowing powers. To prevent it from happening and reduce the Skull Centipede to a mere giant beast, the trees growing from its head had to be destroyed. That was what Kai had to accomplish.
He had hidden himself high in the sky and bid his time, waiting for an opportune moment. Then, the archer plunged down, burning his essence and using gravity to reach truly astonishing speed.
And now, he delivered his attack, using that speed to close the trap they had set. The flaming comet was Kai himself, and he held a slender, shining saber in his hand.
All of it happened in the blink of an eye. The streak of light crossed the creature's head, something flashed, and then a loud explosion boomed, washing over the battlefield.
A split second later, Kai fell into the river. His speed was still so tremendous that he slid across the surface of the water without plunging into it - and only slowed down after being pushed a hundred meters away from the shore.
The head of the Skull Centipede, meanwhile, was flung to the side. One of the dead trees crowning it was completely shattered, its trunk exploding into thousands of sharp splinters. The circle of darkness collapsed and disappeared without a trace, never receiving the chance to fully form.
Sunny let out a relieved sigh.
'It worked...'
The Tyrant opened its maw, letting out a blood-chilling screech.
The bone fiends trembled, becoming disorganized and somewhat sluggish.
The soldiers roared with dark glee, invigorated by the sight of the giant creature losing one of its horns.
Effie was already advancing, her spear ready to strike.
Kai had managed to regain his balance and pushed himself off the surface of the water, shooting back into the sky and summoning his bow.
A black arrow suddenly shot out of the cloud of darkness surrounding the Shadow Lantern. Empowered by Saint's Transcended strength and the [Death Dealer] enchantment, the arrow struck the neck of the Tyrant with harrowing force, annihilating layers of skulls and ripping a huge chunk of flesh out of it.
...However, Sunny did not pay any of it much attention.
Because right at that moment, the Spell whispered into his ear:
[You have slain a Fallen Monster, Malignant Root's Sapling.][Your shadow grows stronger.]
Sunny froze, his face turning deathly pale.
'Here we go again...'
The voice of the Spell grew louder.
[...Your shadow is overflowing with power.]