Shadow Slave novel Chapter 3095

The dark copy of Nephis did not deflect, evade, or block Sunny's blow. She simply turned slightly, allowing his blade to pierce her shoulder instead of her neck — while, at the same time, delivering an attack of her own.

She had accounted for one of her arms being severely damaged, the muscles cut and the bone shattered, using only one hand to drive the black longsword forward. As a result, a split second after Sunny's odachi pierced her shoulder, her blade pierced his chest. He staggered back, barely saving his heart from being shredded.

A grim smile twisted Sunny’s lips.

‘It seems I've grown too accustomed to the Jade Mantle.'

If he was still wearing his armor, the dark copy of Nephis would not have been able to drive her sword through his breastplate with one hand. Well... she would have probably aimed for his armpit instead and dealt just as much damage — because he was one step behind.

He had already realized that the Creature of Darkness had created a facsimile of Nephis based on its flawed understanding of her, but he failed to realize that it fathomed Neph's battle art, too.

When Nephis was a Saint, she had woven her ability to mend herself into her battle style. That was why most pillars of combat collapsed when facing her. Any other opponent would attempt to defend themselves, which dictated their movements — Nephis simply chose which parts of her would be mangled while enduring the pain to deliver lethal attacks. People did not fight like that. Even Nightmare Creatures did not fight like that — while they did not necessarily possess a self-preservation instinct, they were overcome by a frenzied desire to destroy and devour remnants of the Flame, and being needlessly killed went against that overwhelming obsession.

But Nephis had all but liberated herself from the deeply ingrained need to avoid harm. That made most of the combat experience Sunny possessed nearly useless in this battle — in fact, it was not only useless, but actively worked against him.

He needed to rid himself of all preconceived notions and approach this fight as a blank page.

...But did he, really?

Clutching his chest, Sunny looked at the dark copy of Nephis.

Far away, the real Nephis calmly grasped the sword that impaled her and pulled it sideways, slicing her own fiery body to drag it out. At the same time, she flourished the Blessing, deflecting the attack of the second incarnation of the dark clone and unleashing a radial wave of immolating flame.

Sunny could not hear her voice, but her lips moved, no doubt invoking the Names of Fire and Destruction.

The incarnation assaulting her from the front managed to escape in time. The one who had pierced her with the sword, though, was a moment too late — after all, his sword was still in her grasp, and she was not letting go. The flames engulfed him, and a stifled scream drowned in their hungry roar.

Sunny faced the dark version of Nephis with a resolute expression.

At the same time, he thought:

'...To hell with this!'

Fighting a version of Nephis with only one incarnation? Sure, it was an exciting idea. He was very curious to see how their battle would go.

But he wasn't crazy... well, he wasn't that mad.

So, without a second thought, Sunny turned around and fled.

Restraining and containing Nephis? That was a good strategy. The best strategy, however, was not to fight her at all!

Before the dark copy of Nephis could fry him the same way the real Nephis had just fried a copy of him, Sunny dove into the shadows and escaped them near her — near the real Changing Star, that was.

For a moment, he was enveloped by unbearable heat. Then, Sunny turned into a shadow and wrapped himself around Nephis, augmenting her and fusing their two titanic Wills into one. The power of shadows fused with the power of purifying flames, and the resonance between the two increased Neph's strength explosively.

[That thing can only use those of our powers that we have shown in the Underworld. And it doesn't seem capable of Shaping.]

Nephis assumed a defensive stance, looking around warily. The remaining incarnation of the dark clone was yet to reveal itself, so an attack could come from any angle.

[I see.]

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