Nephis took a deep breath, feeling the icy Antarctic air fill her lungs. The cold bit at her skin, but she barely noticed. Around her, the once pristine white snow was now stained a deep, dark red, soaked with the blood of the fallen.
It had been a massacre. Her massacre.
The enemies looked at her in terror, and in the eyes of some Valor Awakened, she saw the same fear reflected back at her. She didn't blame them. All around her, more than a dozen Masters lay motionless on the ground, some unrecognizable, others killed with such precise, surgical strikes that their deaths had been swift and merciless. Despite her skill, the battle was not going in Valor's favor. The six Reflections that Mordred had brought with him were Transcendent. They lacked human intelligence, but their instincts were brutal and precise. If she had to compare them to anything, she would say they were stronger than a Corrupted Demon. And there were six of them.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit her, and her breathing grew heavy. She gripped the Sin of Guilt tightly, using it as support to stay on her feet. Then, she felt it.
A foul stench invaded her senses, thick and putrid, the kind of smell that made one's stomach churn. It was the scent of death, decay, something that should have never existed in this world.
She turned her head—and saw it.
Hundreds of worms crawled out from the dark forest surrounding the battlefield, writhing in a grotesque mass covered in a viscous substance that corrupted everything it touched. But it wasn't them that exuded the crushing pressure she now felt.
No.
It was what followed them.
A massive wall of dark shadows suddenly rose across the battlefield, an impenetrable barrier that, for a brief moment, halted the advance of the Song clan warriors. It was a glorious sight—but fleeting. In the next instant, the wall shattered into pieces.
From the darkness emerged a titanic beast covered in gray fur, its fanged maw open in a deafening roar, its eyes burning with indescribable ferocity. There was no doubt who this was.
Dire Fang.
The Saint of the Song clan, in his Transcendent form.
And his target was clear: Saint Tyris.
Nephis saw her on the ground, her golden hair stained with blood—both that of her enemies and her own. Her armor was shattered, her once-pristine features now marked with exhaustion and pain. Despite everything, she kept her composure, her expression calm and unwavering. But her eyes... her eyes betrayed her.
Even Saint Tyris, one of Valor's most powerful warriors, did not want to die.
And standing in front of her, between the beast and its prey, was Sunny.
The short boy was surrounded by a sea of shadows, gripping his infamous jade-black sword in one hand and the Shadow Lantern in the other. He was so small compared to the monstrous figure bearing down on him, yet his posture showed no fear.
There was no sign of retreat.
Frustration surged through Nephis. What the hell was Sunny thinking? An Ascended facing a Transcendent Saint and a group of Song clan Ascended... It was madness.
She had to help him.
In a flash of white flames, Nephis landed in the battlefield. Her surprise attack struck Dire Fang's side, her divine fire burning into his thick fur. It wasn't enough to truly wound him, but it was enough to buy time.
Time to make a decision.
This wasn't just about her reckless boyfriend throwing himself into battle to help a beautiful friend. Damn it, if she thought about it like that, she should be jealous.
But that wasn't the point.
This battle would decide the course of the war.
If Dire Fang killed Tyris, the Song Saint would be free to turn the tide completely. He could reinforce any of his fellow Saints or, worse, slaughter Valor's Awakened and secure total victory for his clan.
She couldn't allow that.
She turned to Tyris and spoke firmly:
—Retreat.
It was a command, and the blonde woman understood. Without hesitation, she nodded and withdrew from the battlefield. Nephis didn't know if it was because she recognized that she was no longer of use or because she acknowledged Nephis's authority within Valor.
All that mattered now was that there were only two left standing against one.
Nephis and Sunny, against Dire Fang.
And so, an impossible battle began.
—
They were screwed.
Nephis dodged Dire Fang's massive claw with precision and grace. The enormous transcendent beast moved with a speed and ferocity that defied its size. In theory, a Saint shouldn't be as overwhelming as a Titan, since they only possessed one core, but that wasn't the real problem when facing one of them.
Saints were humanity's most elite warriors. They had conquered three nightmares, reached the peak of their power, and slain more enemies—both humans and nightmare creatures—than any hundred Awakened combined.
And now, Nephis and Sunny were trapped in a desperate battle against one.
Despite everything, they had managed to hold their ground. Nephis had reinforced Sunny with her divine flames, while he, with his unique ability, had granted her a shadow—none other than Happy, his number one fan, of course. Their combined strengths made them exponentially more effective.
Together, they were stronger. Alone, they would have fallen long ago.
Even though they were barely surviving, their coordination was flawless. From the very beginning, they had fought side by side. Where one attacked, the other covered; where one faltered, the other held firm. The absolute trust between them made them unstoppable. For anyone else, a romantic relationship on the battlefield might have been a distraction, but for them, it was the opposite.
Nephis knew every one of Sunny's movements, and he understood every nuance of her fighting style. Their battles were not mere exchanges of attacks, but a perfectly synchronized dance between light and shadow, fire and darkness.
At that moment, Sunny was in his Shadowspawn form, his body surrounded by a living mass of darkness. With his Shadow Spell, he had manifested a four-armed demon over three meters tall. One would think that this form would make his movements sluggish and heavy, but it was the exact opposite.
Sunny moved with terrifying agility. His speed was even greater than usual, his attacks unpredictable and lethal. Each of his four arms wielded a weapon, and every strike was calculated to wear down and weaken the Saint.
Fortunately, thanks to Nephis's divine flames, Sunny could replenish his essence faster. It was their only advantage in a battle that would otherwise already be lost.
Dire Fang moved like a whirlwind of fury, his massive claw descending with the force of a mountain. Nephis slipped to the side with impeccable precision, her body wreathed in white flames as she countered with a swift slash to his flank. Her sword carved through the Saint's gray fur, leaving a burning wound along his side, but it barely seemed to faze him.
Sunny, still in his Shadowspawn form, seized the moment. With four dark arms, he lunged at Dire Fang at a speed that seemed impossible for his size, his swords spinning in a deadly dance. His strikes were precise, aiming to open wounds where Nephis's flames could cause greater damage.
Dire Fang growled and spun with impossible speed for a beast of his size. His massive claw swept through the air with enough force to tear apart anything in its path. Nephis leapt back, her flames crackling around her, while Sunny twisted through the air like a living shadow, his movements unpredictable and chaotic.
The intensity of the battle escalated. Nephis surged forward again, her sword blazing with a blinding fire, forcing Dire Fang to step back for a brief moment. At that same instant, Sunny emerged behind the Saint in a blur of darkness, his multiple arms rising to strike with surgical precision.
But Dire Fang was no ordinary enemy.
With a deafening roar, his body became a blur of sheer speed. In an instant, his right claw slammed into Sunny with the force of a Titan.
The impact was brutal.
Sunny was launched through the air like a projectile, his shadow-cloaked body hurtling across the battlefield before crashing into the ground several meters away, carving a deep trench into the bloodstained snow.
Nephis barely had time to react before the transcendent wolf lunged at her once more.
Nephis dodged Dire Fang's vicious claw with elegance and precision, but by mere millimeters, one of his razor-sharp talons grazed her shoulder, tearing through her armor as if it were paper. A sharp pain shot through her body, but she ignored it, forcing what little essence she had left to heal the wound before it could become a real problem.
Beside her, Sunny lay on the bloodstained snow—or rather, what remained of his shadow demon. The monstrous form he had conjured had shrunk significantly; every moment it remained active drained more and more of his essence. It was unsustainable. This battle wasn't in their favor. A prolonged fight against a saint was a death sentence. No matter how skilled they were, Dire Fang had far greater reserves of essence, monstrous endurance, and the experience of someone who had survived three nightmares. They couldn't afford to drag this out. If they wanted to win—if they wanted to survive—they had to act now.
As if he had read her mind, Sunny's voice resonated in her head through the shadow bond.
Do you trust me?
Nephis barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. What a stupid question. As if the answer could be anything but yes.
"Yes."
Give me everything.
She didn't need to ask what he meant. She knew. Sunny had a plan, and if she had learned anything over the years, it was that when Sunny had a plan, the only thing to do was trust him. A small smile formed on her lips despite the pain and exhaustion weighing her down. Then, without hesitation, she poured the last of her essence into both swords: Sin of Solace, Sunny's infamous blade, which he had handed to her moments ago, and Sin of Guilt, her own weapon—her new, dangerous companion.
The process drained her completely. Her body trembled as her soul cores emptied entirely, leaving her hollow. She had nothing left. Not even enough strength to close a minor wound if she were cut now. And, to be honest, she had plenty of wounds. But that no longer mattered, because the moment she was done, both swords vanished from her grasp... and appeared in the hands of Sunny's shadow demon.
Nephis held her breath. The four-armed demon lunged at the transcendent wolf with terrifying ferocity, every movement meticulously calculated. It twisted mid-air, sacrificing an arm to get closer, losing a limb without hesitation. Dire Fang reacted like a seasoned predator, his silver claws slashing downward with the force of an executioner's blade. The impact was brutal. Half of Sunny's shadow demon was cleaved apart in a single strike, its dark body scattering like smoke in the wind.
Nephis felt a jolt of fear. For a moment, she thought the blow had struck Sunny himself. But then, she saw him. He hadn't dodged completely. He hadn't needed to. Because just as the shadow demon was destroyed, Sunny emerged from its remnants. Like something born from the abyss itself, he materialized from the remaining darkness, gripping both swords in his own hands. His onyx eyes burned with cold intensity, his face unreadable. There was no fear. No hesitation. Only determination.
Nephis felt her heartbeat quicken. Now or never. Sunny wasted no time. He shot toward Dire Fang with impossible speed. He didn't have the raw power of a saint, nor their monstrous endurance. But what he did have was precision. And a perfect strike would always trump a stronger one. With terrifying fluidity, Sunny slipped past Dire Fang's defenses. His blades rose, gleaming with the essence Nephis had given him.
Two transcendent swords. One flawless attack.
The blue and green steel sliced through the saint's flesh effortlessly. Dire Fang didn't even have time to scream. His head was severed cleanly before he could react. The colossal transcendent wolf, the proud saint of the Song clan, fell lifelessly onto the crimson-stained snow.
Dead.
Nephis could barely process it. The impossible had happened. Two Ascended had killed a Saint. If this were any other moment, it would be cause for celebration. A victory unlike any before. But fate was cruel. There was nothing to celebrate if they knew what awaited them next.