Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2866

'The Tower of Hope is lost.'

So was the entirety of the Human Domain. Cassie acknowledged the fact calmly and pulled her blindfold back up, enduring the terrifying pain that ravaged her mind as best she could. She spent a heartbeat assessing the situation, then activated the unfinished runic array she and Sunny had been creating to serve as an additional layer of protection for the Ivory Island.

She needed more time.

Nightwalker was circumventing the defenses of the flying island by twisting space, and Cassie was limited in how she could form and unleash the Crushing due to the risk of destroying the Night Garden and killing all its inhabitants. So, she had to resort to unconventional means of stalling for time.

The array ignited as it drew essence from the Divine core of the Tower of Hope, postponing the arrival of the boarding party. Sadly, its effect was not flawless. A few cannonballs still penetrated the aegis, making the great pagoda quake. An acrid smell permeated the air, and smoke drifted through the door of Rain's quarters from somewhere below.

Ignoring it, Cassie knelt near the dazed young woman and shook her gently.

"Rain. Rain! Stand up. We need to move, now.’

Rain slowly regained her senses. Her eyes focused, which allowed Cassie to see her own bloodied face clearly. Then, however, Rain seemed to fall into confusion once again... it was no surprise. After all, most of the memories she had made after coming to the Ivory Island were gone. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

They had no time for this.

"Stand up, Rain!"

Cassie forcefully pulled the young woman to her feet and supported her for a moment. Rain's eyes widened when she saw the gargantuan silhouette of the Night Garden looming in the sky outside the window, and her body quaked.

“Why is..."

She felt quiet, prompting Cassie to call out to snap the young woman from her daze. Luckily, Rain seemed to finally compose herself after that. She turned away from the window, her gaze drifting to the hilt of a serpentine dagger sticking from between Cassie's ribs.

That was when Cassie remembered that she had been stabbed, as well.

Unperturbed, she grasped the hilt and pulled the dagger out of her chest.

"L—lady Cassia?"

Cassie was still weak, distracted, and suffering from a traumatic pain. It was quite inconvenient to be that way when they needed to move fast.

"Release your Epithets, Rain."

The young woman stared at her dazedly for a moment, then blinked. In the next moment, the pain ravaging Cassie finally subsided, leaving only the pulsing ball of agony in her empty eye socket and the mundane pain of the stab wound in her chest behind. Her limbs regained their strength, and her mind snapped into focus.

‘Much better.’

Cassie could finally think straight again. “Good. Now, let's go."

She pushed the bloodied dagger into Rain's hands and pulled the young woman out of the room.

The corridor was filled with smoke, and the Ivory Tower continued to tremble as devastating cannonballs impacted the island, blooming into incandescent explosions of charged essence. Cassie navigated the corridor by memory, observing her surroundings through Rain's eyes.

Suddenly, there was a hint of movement in the smoke, and in the next moment, Cassie lost all feeling in her body as the world seemed to spin. At the same time, she watched in horror as her head separated from her neck and spun in the air, splattering the pristine white walls of the Ivory Tower with scarlet blood.

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