Having returned to the coalescence of the Ambrosial Arbor's roots, Sunny solemnly stood with Hail Sorrow pointed towards the ground. His gaze was focused, orbs swirling with a boundless darkness. Across from him, the deer born from the Ambrosial Arbor came back into existence, the stench of Mara oozing from it.
Sunny had spent the last five minutes figuring out how to defeat the Transcendent Tyrant. Not only was he outmatched in both Rank and Class, but the deer carried some sort of regenerative Ability, which were always extremely bothersome to deal with. There were also the roots that it could call upon, which seemed to automatically attack. Sunny didn't believe he could withstand an attack from those whip-like strands of bark.
In any case, he was severely disadvantaged. The deer was being supported by the Abundance as well, which, in all honesty, he wasn't sure what to make of. Sunny was able to use the tricks granted by the Lance of Preservation, but he didn't gain much from using th Destruction — outside of the bat, of course. The Antimatter Legion was generally more Destructive than other beings of the same Rank or Class, but were they able to produce any other special effects?
Sunny vaguely remembered the Stellaron within him repelling the beam of energy from the Doomsday Beast, which brought him confusion as he wondered whether or not the beams were a Devil Ability or one brought by the Destruction. He then realized that the Doomsday Beast was a horrible example, as it was an artificial creation of the Destruction, just like the rest of the Antimatter Legion.
The Mara-Struck were slightly more enduring after taking what would usually be fatal blows, but not enough to make a difference. Was the deer's regeneration a result of the Abundance, or a natural Ability brought by its Rank? The same question could be asked about the roots it called upon, due to the obvious similarities to the Ambrosial Arbor.
Unfortunately, the deer was born of the Abundance, wielded by the Ambrosial Arbor as a weapon. As such, there was no way to determine whether the Abundance was the source of its powers, or if it only supplemented them.
Whatever the case was, it did not matter.
Because there was a clear hierarchy. The Ambrosial Arbor spread its roots, which release something(?) that hastens the growth of Mara, eroding the being's soul to become the Ambrosal Arbor's thrall. The deer was simply a champion born directly from the massive tree, despite its position as a Transcendent Tyrant.
The fastest way to destroy a kingdom… was to slay its king.
And to get a clear shot at the king, one first had to distract his knights.
Watching as the deer stood guard before the Ambrosial Arbor's roots, Sunny silently stepped forward. There was not a tense muscle in his body, not a hint of unease in his expression. Gripping Hail Sorrow's handle with both hands, he let the sword trail behind him, positioned perfectly for an upwards arc.
The deer of Abundance gazed at him, lacking any and all hostile intent. It simply stood guard before the cluster of roots, watching curiously as Sunny grew closer and closer…
And once he passed an invisible threshold, the world exploded in violence.
Five curling roots surrounded him, seemingly sprouting from nothing but the platform itself. Space distorted as five whips flashed towards him, threatening to either slice or skewer Sunny with nothing but the pure force brought upon by their blunt edges.
It was impossible to dodge. Maybe if Sunny had just one or two more Shadow Cores, his physical capabilities would be great enough to move out of the way. As a mere Demon, however, he simply had no way of threading himself through five Transcendent attacks all at once, based on nothing but his reaction speed.
So how, exactly, did he find himself with his sword impaling the deer's head, not even a fraction of a second after the attack was launched on him?
Shadow Step, of course.
Twisting his blade, which had stabbed through the deer's chin and poked out from the top of its skull, he pushed and pulled in quick succession, transforming his stab into a vertical slash through the Tyrant's neck, while also pulling Hail Sorrow back out. Instead of taking the opportunity to go for another attack, however, Sunny ducked under the seemingly unharmed and unmoved creature, and slid between the deer's legs.
A moment later, a root whipped his previous position, an attack he anticipated before it even began.
Although the roots seemed to be summoned instantaneously, Sunny noticed that a small usage of Soul Essence was used when he glanced at the deer's soul. This Essence was expended mere moments before the roots appeared, but it was enough time for Sunny to move out of the way.
So, now that Sunny found himself under the deer, he was given three choices:
The first was to attack its underbelly — effective against any other opponent, but would only serve to lessen the Soul Essence the creature had as it restored itself. Not worth the effort, nor the risk.
The second was to simply escape from under it — a much better choice, and would be one that Sunny can confidently recommend to anyone in this situation. A much safer move, which would give him enough time to react to any retaliations.
However, the safest option was not always the best option.
So, sliding under the deer's belly, Sunny swiftly switched Hail Sorrow to a reverse grip… and stabbed it downwards.
Instead of piercing concrete, however, it simply… sunk.
Deep into the deer's shadow.
The blade slid through the darkness cast by the Tyrant's body without resistance. As Sunny rolled out behind the deer, he watched with sadistic satisfaction as it shuddered.
And when he looked into its soul…
The five Soul Cores that had shone so brightly seemed undamaged, as if its soul was never attacked in the first place… but one of them was empty. It had been full of Essence just a moment prior, but now it seemed utterly drained.
The cost of healing its soul, and from such a great wound, must have been enormous.
'Not enormous enough, apparently…'
Because the missing Essence was already flooding back in, restoring the deer to its fullest capacity. Such a sight should have been disheartening, and yet, Sunny wasn't bothered in the slightest.
The [Manifest Spirit] enchantment of Hail Sorrow, which Sunny learned granted him the gruesome power that he had only witnessed within Shadow Blade Kurt, allowed him to strike directly at the shadow. The enchantment's effects were based on a Source Element, whatever that meant, and he assumed that his own was related to shadows.
He had figured out how the enchantment worked by accidentally striking a Mara-Struck's shadow, and was extremely surprised to see his sword sink into it.
Despite the enchantment's deadliness, it wasn't what he had been placing his bets on.
Readying his blade, Sunny lunged forward.