Chapter Summary -> Breaking News: Arrogant young masters assault grieving single father.
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Many years ago -so long ago that his mother was still alive- Sunny had an idea that, at the time, sounded utterly brilliant.
Back then, he had been watching the rain outside their tiny apartment when inspiration struck him. Maybe, if he tried hard enough, he could learn to dodge the rain. Not a drop or two, but all of it.
Spurred on by childish wonder and a healthy dose of stubborn idiocy, he had tried time and time again, with little result beyond ending up drenched. Which, naturally, did nothing to dampen -pun not intended- his determination. Sunny had been fully willing to spend however long it took to accomplish the impossible.
Unfortunately, his mother eventually caught him leaping around outside like a lunatic and proceeded to scold him for a good while afterward.
In the end, he relented, bowing before both her adult wisdom and the undeniable fact that he felt cold and miserable. Still, deep in his heart, Sunny remained a little indignant. He was sure that, had he kept trying, he would have succeeded.
Many years later, he bitterly regretted not persevering.
Such a skill would have been incredibly useful right about now.
Sunny twisted sharply to the left, his wings beating hard enough to send ripples through the surrounding clouds. Beside him, Nephis mirrored the movement a split second later, dozens of falling swords missing them by mere millimeters before more blades surged from below to meet them.
There were more than he could count, as if the sky itself had turned into a storm of steel.
Sunny grabbed Nephis by the shoulder, and Shadow Stepped just as several swords crossed through the space they had occupied. They reappeared hundreds of meters away with nothing but a few fresh gouges carved into their armor, but before either could even steady themselves, another barrage was already descending upon them.
The swords never stopped moving. Hundreds of them crossed the sky in perfect harmony, changing direction with terrifying precision under the guidance of Anvil's will. Trying to evade them felt exactly like trying to dodge droplets amid a downpour.
Only these droplets could cleave through mountains.
A single look passed between him and Nephis.
It was enough for them to acknowledge that they couldn't continue in this way.
More shadows poured out of the [Shadow Lantern], shaping themselves into dozens of weapons that immediately shot forward to intercept the incoming blades. The clash that followed filled the air with shrill screams of steel and exploding shadows.
Sadly, the difference between them was overwhelming.
Anvil's swords tore through his own with frightening ease. Being an entire rank below -and lacking the support of a Supreme's will, or at any at all, much to his chagrin- it took three of Sunny's weapons to restrain a single one of Anvil's.
Even with the absurd reserves of being a Transcendent Titan and with the essence regeneration granted by the [Ring of Sorrow], the exchange was unsustainable.
Fortunately, it did not need to be.
Like many times before, his shadow weapons shattered against Anvil's swords. Except this time, Sunny did not relinquish control over the dispersing fragments. Instead, the shadows twisted and wrapped themselves around the blades, painting them black.
The effect was immediate.
The storm faltered for the first time since the battle began. It lasted only a second, but a second was enough.
Flying beside him, Nephis immediately invoked a string of names that sounded to Sunny like pure gibberish. Radiant white flames erupted outward in response, surging through the sky in a massive wave that engulfed the restrained swords whole.
The steel began to glow almost instantly, first a crimson red, then swiftly turning to white.
Nephis' flames clung greedily to the weapons, feeding upon them to sustain themselves. Even Supreme-ranked steel slowly started to melt beneath the relentless heat and the cruel sorcery imbued within them.
Sunny did not envy anyone forced to face such an attack.
Anvil reacted immediately, his will descending upon the battlefield like a falling mountain, crushing the sorcery sustaining the flames. Not even a second passed before the white fire flickered violently and extinguished altogether.
That exact moment was what they had been waiting for. That single moment in which he would be focused on putting out the fires.
Sunny and Nephis emerged from the shadows behind Anvil, their blades already descending toward his back.
As it turned out, he had anticipated the attack as well. The seven swords hovering behind him stirred, two of them shooting backward to intercept them with impossible speed.
Sunny's odachi collided against a slender straight sword covered from hilt to tip in intricate runes. The impact was so strong it nearly numbed his arms.
Empowered by six shadows -having taken back Happy and leaving Serpent with Rain instead for this battle- and Nephis' augmentation, his physical strength was already comparable to that of a Supreme.
It did not matter.
The runic blade stopped his strike completely while carving halfway through his own weapon in the process.
Sunny's heart skipped a beat upon noticing a crucial detail. The sword was Sacred. Suddenly, he felt very thankful for how little damage it had done.
At least it was not flawless. A tiny nick had appeared along its edge where the odachi had struck it. The weapon possessed terrifying sharpness, but little durability to support it.
The clash lasted less than an instant before both he and Nephis found themselves forced back. Naturally, neither had truly expected the ambush to work.
White flames erupted around Nephis once more, flooding the sky with blinding radiance. Within that brief moment, Sunny released his grip on the odachi with his left hand and pinched at empty air.
To anyone else, the motion would have seemed meaningless. Only someone with Shadow's lineage would have recognized what he had grasped.
Anvil's string of life settled between his fingers, vast and heavy beyond belief.
Covered by Nephis' flames, Anvil failed to see that action.
Sunny immediately seized her and Shadow Stepped them both nearly a kilometer away, the furthest distance he could manage without relinquishing his hold on the string. Only then did he glance at it properly.
His expression darkened beneath [Weaver's Mask] as realization settled in. The Guardian had not even come close to trying.
Anvil's string was at least thrice as large, far darker too.
When Nephis sent him a questioning glance, he nodded faintly.
With the string in his grasp, he could feed essence into [Endbringer] and weaken Anvil directly. It would not kill him. Sunny would likely need several times his reserves to accomplish that, but combined with Nephis' shadow steed -who had recently become Ascended- attempting to drag the Supreme into sleep, they could… well, they would still lose terribly.
But at least it would take longer.
Sunny exhaled slowly as the storm of swords shifted direction and surged toward them once more.
A rueful smile spread beneath [Weaver's Mask].
"I hope the others are doing better."
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Kai gazed into the distance with a heart full of dread.
Every clash between his friends and Anvil of Valor sent a spike of terror through his chest, squeezing the breath out of his lungs. Even from this far away, the battle looked monstrous. The sky itself trembled beneath it, torn apart again and again by shadows, flame, and storms of flying steel.
And all he could do was watch.
His grip on the bow tightened unconsciously, pale wood creaking beneath his fingers. If only he were stronger. Smarter. Faster. If only he had reached Transcendence alongside them. If only there were something -anything- he could do besides stand helplessly atop the Ivory Tower while Sunny and Nephis fought against impossible odds.
Countless scenarios raced through his mind one after another, each ending differently, each seeming just close enough to grasp before slipping away.
Kai crushed the thoughts before they could consume him. They were useless. Worse than useless.
When he noticed the continued groaning of wood beneath his hands, he forced himself to loosen his grip. The poor bow had done nothing to deserve his frustration.
"You think you can hit him from here?" Effie whispered beside him.
Kai glanced sideways briefly.
Looking at her now, it was hard to reconcile this grim, silent woman with the vibrant huntress he knew. Her jaw was clenched tightly, hands balled into fists at her sides as she stared toward the distant battle with naked fury in her eyes.
"I can," he answered quietly. "The chances of it actually doing something to him? About zero."
A traitorous voice in the back of his mind immediately whispered otherwise.
He did have something that might work.
A special arrow crafted by Sunny himself. One of his finest works, if the shameless boasting attached to it was anything to go by. Sunny had claimed it could kill anything below a Supreme.
Surely it could wound Anvil.
Surely it could matter.
Kai forced the thought down immediately.
The arrow could only be used once. Its own power would destroy it upon release, and Cassie had been very clear that they would need it soon.
Still…
His resolve nearly broke when he saw Sunny lose his right arm to one of Anvil's strikes.
Even from this distance, the spray of blood was unmistakable.
A second later, Nephis' radiant white flames wrapped around the severed limb and restored it, but the sight still made Kai's stomach twist violently.
Beside him, Effie swore under her breath.
Kai looked toward Saint next.
The taciturn stone woman stood utterly motionless near the edge of the Ivory Tower, staring toward the battle with burning crimson eyes. Thin wisps of darkness seeped from the gaps in her armor, slowly thickening around her like gathering smoke.
She had not wanted to stay behind, something that became more and more painfully obvious with each clash and wound that Sunny took.
Kai did not begrudge her stance. He, too, would rather be there helping.
Without consciously deciding to, he extended a hand. Sparks immediately gathered above his palm as the shape of an arrow slowly began to form. Maybe they could manage without it. Maybe if he timed it perfectly—
"Don't."
Cassie's voice cut through his thoughts with terrifying ease.
The Seer looked pale, almost frail, beneath the harsh sunlight, yet her expression remained eerily composed. She stood with her head raised confidently, as though the possibility of defeat had never once crossed her mind.
"They have options for the situation they're in," she said quietly. "We don't."
Kai clenched his jaw painfully, his chest tightening further when he saw one of Nephis' legs being cut in two by a surprise attack.
The arrow finished forming in the palm of his hand, but he did not draw the string.
Time stretched painfully afterward.
The distant battle slowly drifted farther and farther toward the horizon as the Ivory Tower continued retreating toward the Stormsea. Even so, flashes of white flame and towering black shadows still flashed across the sky.
Then Kai felt a slight tug on his sleeve. Cassie subtly pointed behind them, the movement hidden carefully behind her body.
Kai's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, and without reacting outwardly, he raised the bow and slowly nocked the arrow, aiming straight ahead as though preparing to fire toward the distant battle.
[Memory Name: Transcendental Piercing Arrow.]
[Memory Description: A lone arrow, forged to pierce the heavens and bring low any who would dare challenge its owner. Refunds not accepted after use.]
Despite the situation at hand, a small smile tugged at Kai's lips.
Sunny had charged him an outrageous amount for the arrow, then upgraded his bow for free, turning a deaf ear to his offers to pay for it.
Taking a slow breath, Kai drew the string fully and, at the last possible instant, turned and released.
The arrow vanished.
It crossed the entire length of the flying island and another two hundred meters beyond so quickly that Kai lost sight of it immediately. A deafening explosion erupted an instant later as the projectile collided with seemingly empty air, the resulting shockwave nearly rupturing his eardrums.
For one brief second after the explosion, silence reigned.
Then the Spell began speaking.
[You have slain an Awakened Human...]
[You have slain an Ascended...]
[You have slain an Awak...]
[You have slain...]
[You have...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
Kai's face paled, his hands slightly shaking even as he forced himself not to listen.
If he acknowledged the words, truly acknowledged them, then the crushing guilt of what he had just done might break his resolve.
Another explosion tore his attention away.
A massive ship emerged from invisibility ahead of them, dwarfing even the Chain Breaker. Its side had been completely obliterated by the arrow, exposing twisted metal, shattered decks, and burning remains within. The enchantments keeping it airborne and concealed had clearly been damaged as well, because the vessel immediately began to lose altitude.
The surviving Valor soldiers reacted instantly.
They poured out from the ruined ship like ants from a broken nest, rushing toward the nearest intact section of the deck. Moments later, a massive wooden bridge slammed down onto the Ivory Tower.
The assault began in earnest as they started crossing fearlessly, harried all the way by a rain of arrows from the Firekeepers, led by Kai himself.
At the head of the attackers, he spotted Saint Jest first, moving with terrifying speed. Beside him came Saint Madoc, his metal arm gleaming under the sunlight. A third Saint followed close behind, with blood covering one side of his armor, suggesting that he had been caught in the initial explosion. More people surged behind, Masters and Awakened both.
Kai inhaled slowly, forcing away every stray thought from his mind.
Fear.
Guilt.
Doubt.
All of it could wait.
The time for battle had come.
And this time, he swore to himself, he would not be found lacking.
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Nephis felt the shift almost immediately.
Until now, Anvil had been fighting them with detached ease, as if the battle were nothing but light entertainment for him. Even while trying to kill them, there had been a certain restraint to his movements, a cold confidence that spoke of absolute certainty in victory.
That was gone now.
The storm of swords pressing against them suddenly grew sharper, faster, heavier.
Anvil's will descended upon the world with renewed force, carrying enough pressure to make the air itself feel dense. The floating blades struck like executioners' tools, each attack aimed with ruthless precision at openings that barely even existed.
Nephis barely managed to twist away from a thrust that slipped past Sunny's guard, the edge of the sword grazing her helmet hard enough to send cracks through the dark steel.
Beside her, Sunny immediately retaliated.
Shadows surged around them both, dozens of black weapons intercepting the pursuing blades while his odachi carved a dark arc toward Anvil's neck. The Supreme shifted slightly, and the strike missed by centimeters before another sword came screaming toward Sunny's exposed flank.
Nephis intercepted it herself, white flames exploding from her sword as the two blades collided.
The impact numbed her entire arm, and it would have taken it entirely, were it not for Sunny's last-second aid.
With renewed vigor, they kept striking at him, not separating even for a moment.
Both of them knew that if they were to split up, the Supreme would quickly overwhelm one, which was a sure path to defeat. Together, at least, they could force him to divide his attention.
So they moved as one.
Sunny's shadows covered her blind spots while her flames carved openings for his strikes. Whenever one retreated, the other followed immediately. Whenever Anvil attempted to isolate one of them, the other crashed back into the fight before he could capitalize.
Even then, it was barely enough.
Nephis darted beneath another descending sword and retaliated with a slash aimed at Anvil's chest. He caught the strike effortlessly with one hand clad in dark steel before forcing her backward with a pulse of will powerful enough to crack the air.
She skidded through the sky, wings of white flame beating furiously to stabilize herself.
Anvil followed instantly, with a slight twitch of his fingers. On command, one of the seven swords behind him shot forward with terrifying speed, aiming directly for her throat.
Sunny appeared between them in a burst of shadows.
The shadow odachi collided against the blade just in time, though the impact still blasted him backward hard enough that Nephis could feel Gloomy's concern for his master.
Gritting their teeth, they launched themselves back at Anvil together.
Nephis' heart pounded violently inside her chest.
Not from fear, but exhilaration.
Every second of this battle pushed her closer to something, something that she had been working on for months already.
The knowledge lingered just beyond her grasp, incomplete yet tantalizingly near. Destruction, the branch of her legacy aspect that she was closest to mastering.
It almost felt like it whispered at her, louder and clearer with each clash that split the sky and each explosion of white flame that scorched space itself.
Nephis met Anvil's blade head-on once more.
Their swords collided with enough force to split the clouds apart beneath them. White flames surged wildly around her while Anvil's steel-gray eyes regarded her with cold concentration.
She felt his attention settle upon her, analyzing her every move, watching warily for her next attack, trying to predict when she would summon again the agonizing flames that would bring his ruin.
Good.
Despite herself, a fierce smile formed beneath her helmet.
How many times had she dreamed about this very moment? To stand before one of the men who had murdered her father? Burning him down with her own hands? Making him realize the grave mistake he had committed before she reduced him to ash?
Deep within, she acknowledged that she couldn't win, even with Sunny's help. She was still too inexperienced as a Saint, and even if she weren't, a Saint could not defeat a Supreme.
She did not care.
Nephis had never felt more determined, more decided, more alive than she was at this moment.
She was determined to give it her all.
If that was enough to bring him down? Great.
If not? She would still learn what it took to defeat him the next time.
Anvil's sword crashed against her own again, the impact backed by his will, strong enough to crack the bones in her arms. The pain was blinding, and even more so the healing afterward, but she persevered.
Spotting an opening created by one of Sunny's attacks, she struck once again, only to feel herself slowing down immediately under the effects of the Supreme's will.
Anger roared in her chest. She was so close! Her sword was mere centimeters away from coming into contact with Anvil's side.
She fought against the pressure relentlessly, invoking every bit of strength and defiance that she possessed to close the remaining distance. It was at that very moment that her mind brushed against something, the something that she had been looking for the past few days with Sunny's exercises.
Following instincts she didn't even know she possessed, Nephis pushed back with her own will against Anvil's, and for a single, infinitesimal instant, Anvil's pressure halted.
Her eyes widened. She had done it. Will -for the first time- she had successfully used her Will purposefully.
The triumph distracted her for less than a heartbeat, and yet it nearly got her killed.
Anvil moved instantly, his sword slipping past her guard with merciless precision, even as his will crushed her meager one.
It was with chilling certainty that Nephis realized she would not evade in time, the strike aimed to slice her cleanly in two.
Before it could, shadows exploded between them, and Sunny intercepted the strike.
The blow meant for her slammed into him instead, diverted enough by his own attack to turn it from a killing blow into a debilitating one that carved into his chest deep enough to allow bone to peek through.
Sunny staggered violently, his dark armor splitting apart as blood scattered into the air.
He emitted a low, pained chuckle. "What a weak attack. It doesn't even hurt."
Anvil quirked an eyebrow, looking impressed, and commanded more swords, which punched straight through his defenses and sent him crashing across the sky.
For a moment, the world went silent as she watched the arcs of red left in his wake.
Something inside her snapped.
Fury, unlike anything Nephis had ever experienced, erupted through her entire being, white flames surging wildly around her until the sky itself seemed to ignite.
She understood at last.
Destruction.
The force that reduced cities to dust and stars to ash, the end of everything, a force that could neither be placated nor satiated.
Anvil must have sensed the change, for his expression shifted slightly, a hint of wariness and excitement shining through.
Nephis stared at him directly, attempting to transmit all of the hatred and fury she felt in that single gaze.
Then, she spoke the names, and the world screamed.
White fire exploded outward with terrifying violence, no longer resembling flames so much as a piece of the sun itself descending upon reality. The heat became unbearable instantly, warping the air for kilometers in every direction.
The names continued spilling from her lips one after another, each one amplifying the conflagration further.
Anvil answered immediately. Hundreds of swords surged together before him while his will pressed outward like an iron mountain attempting to crush the explosion back into submission.
For several endless seconds, nothing could be seen beyond blinding white radiance.
Anvil emerged from within the flames burning behind him, completely unscathed. His dark armor, on the other hand, had partially melted in several places, scorched steel glowing faintly red beneath the ruined surface.
When Sunny reappeared beside her, his wounds already closing thanks to the white fire enveloping him, she felt her smile widen beneath the helmet.
Even if they couldn't win, she would make him rue the day he decided to challenge them.
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Effie skidded across the grass, boots carving deep grooves into the ground just as a massive claw crashed down where she had been standing a moment before.
The impact shook the entire section of the Ivory Tower.
She pushed herself sideways immediately, narrowly avoiding the sweep of a scaled tail that tore through a nearby pillar as though it were made of paper.
For Spell's sake, how was something that large so fast?!
The dragon lunged again, maw opening wide enough to swallow her whole. Effie planted her feet and thrust her spear upward, the shaft catching between rows of enormous teeth before they could close around her.
The force behind the bite sent pain shooting through her arms, and for a second, she actually held. Then the dragon jerked its head violently and sent her flying backward.
Effie crashed through a broken pillar, landed hard, and rolled back to her feet with a curse already forming on her lips.
Smoke curled from the dragon's nostrils while burning eyes followed her movements relentlessly. She rolled to the side just in time to avoid being reduced to ash by the fire breath.
The attack ceased immediately after she dodged, more because of how painful it must have been to maintain than out of consideration for the poor scorched grass.
Cormac's left side and chest were a mess of torn scales and blood where the explosion of Kai's arrow had struck his human form earlier. One wing moved unevenly, and even his breathing sounded strained from this distance.
And yet, Effie was still being overwhelmed so badly that it barely resembled a fight.
She ducked beneath another swipe and drove her spear toward his chest with all her strength.
The point struck one of his damaged scales and pierced into the soft flesh beneath. The pained roar he emitted was enough to bring a savage smile to her face, a smile that did not last.
Cormac retaliated instantly, his tail slamming into her side and hurling her across the island hard enough to make her vision swim for a moment.
Effie groaned and forced herself upright despite the screaming of her muscles and the worrying noises made by her bones.
There was no time to rest.
Not today, at least.
All around them, the Ivory Tower had descended into chaos. Valor soldiers clashed against Firekeepers while explosions and screams echoed constantly through the flying island.
And far away…
Effie's stomach tightened.
The battle in the sky somehow looked even worse.
White fire illuminated the clouds one moment before being swallowed by the shadows and storms of steel the next. Even from here, she could tell Sunny and Nephis were being pushed harder and harder.
Cormac charged before she could worry further, and Effie barely managed to leap aside as the dragon crashed through the spot she had occupied, claws tearing trenches across the ground.
She retaliated immediately, spear flashing toward his eye, but Cormac twisted his head just enough for the strike to glance harmlessly off his scales before snapping at her with terrifying speed.
Effie tried to jump backward but was too slow, and teeth closed around her side just as she was about to go out of range.
Pain flared through her body as the dragon lifted her off the ground, and for a split second, panic surged through her chest.
Then an idea appeared.
A terrible one.
Naturally, she went with it.
Effie threw her spear right at one of the worst wounds in Cormac's draconic chest. With ease, he jerked sideways to avoid the thrown weapon as it spun past him.
Exactly what she had wanted.
The moment his attention shifted, Effie grinned despite the situation. "Sunny, you sneaky bastard…"
Far behind the dragon, the spear vanished and instantly reappeared in her grasp. Before Cormac could react, Effie drove it deep into his neck with every ounce of strength she had.
When Sunny upgraded her spear, he had added an enchantment that allowed for instant summoning back. It was meant to make it easier to use it as a thrown weapon, but desperate times required desperate solutions.
Cormac roared and released her immediately, stumbling backward as gallons of blood spilled across the ground, dyeing the grass red.
Effie dropped to one knee hard, coughing as she forced herself to breathe through the pain.
Everything hurt. A lot.
It did nothing to stop the vicious smile drawn across her face.
Cormac staggered several more steps, his draconic form swiftly coming undone. With the transformation gone, the spear clattered to the ground, but it did nothing to change the deep wound still carved on his neck.
He made an attempt to attack her, but he only managed to take a single step before toppling to the ground, alive but slowly bleeding out.
Effie watched him grimly, and despite the protests of body parts she did not even know existed, got up and strode toward the nearest battle.
The fight was getting worse. The Firekeepers were being pushed back across the Tower little by little, and there were still two more Saints fighting among the enemy ranks.
Effie steadied herself, ignoring the pain screaming through her body, and joined the fight against half a dozen Masters.
Everyone else was still fighting, and she wasn't going to allow them to have all the fun.
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Sunny had many regrets in life.
Intercepting the strike meant for Nephis was rapidly climbing the rankings.
When had he become the kind of idiot who threw himself in front of attacks meant for other people?
Even worse, attacks meant for Nephis?
The thought carried enough indignation that it almost distracted him from the sword currently trying to remove his head from his shoulders.
Sunny twisted away just in time, the blade grazing the [Onyx Shell] and carving another deep line through the already battered armor. Pain flared through his side where Anvil's previous strike had landed, but he ignored it and immediately retaliated with a slash of his odachi.
Anvil stepped aside effortlessly, the Supreme looking almost untouched despite everything they had thrown at him.
Meanwhile, Sunny felt like he had been dragged through a meat grinder. Repeatedly.
Great. Just great.
Beside him, Nephis surged forward, wrapped in blinding white flames, her sword crashing against Anvil's with enough force to split the surrounding clouds apart. The explosion from her recent breakthrough still lingered across the battlefield, remnants of white fire drifting through the sky like fragments of a dying star.
And it had worked. It hadn't done much, that was true, but at least it was enough to show that they could damage Anvil, if only slightly.
That alone was enough to give him, against his better judgment, a sliver of hope that they could come out of this alive.
Anvil's sword storm kept pressing against them relentlessly while Nightmare's curse gnawed at his mind from the shadows. At the same time, Sunny continued feeding essence into [Endbringer], enlarging the string of life clenched tightly between his fingers.
It progressed slowly. Painfully slowly, but it was working.
Anvil's movements remained monstrously fast and precise, yet the pressure behind them had dulled ever so slightly compared to before. The swords pursuing them no longer felt completely unstoppable.
The sliver of hope flickering faintly within Sunny's chest grew minutely.
Right at that moment, Anvil laughed.
The sound cut through the battlefield with terrifying clarity.
Then his will descended upon them fully, and Sunny's thoughts froze.
The world itself seemed to solidify around him as unimaginable pressure crushed down from every direction at once. His shadows buckled violently beneath it while the air turned heavy enough that breathing became difficult.
Beside him, Nephis faltered too, white flames flickering erratically as she recovered her balance.
Anvil regarded them calmly from amidst the storm of swords. "Did you truly believe I had not noticed?"
Sunny's heart sank when, within the same instant, the string of life grasped tightly between his fingers refused the essence he was pouring in.
The Supreme's gaze lingered briefly on the invisible string of life clenched in Sunny's hand before shifting toward the distant shadows where Nightmare lurked unseen.
"I was merely curious to see what the two of you would accomplish if I allowed your schemes to flourish," Anvil continued evenly.
The pressure increased twofold, and the string escaped his grasp with an ease that told him it could have done so from the very beginning, but chose not to.
Sunny gritted his teeth hard enough that pain shot through his jaw. "Yes, I believed it."
Anvil's grey eyes met his, contempt mixed with delight shining in them. "Such arrogance. It shall be the first thing I hammer out."
A dozen swords surged toward them simultaneously, and Sunny barely had time to react.
Shadows exploded outward, intercepting the incoming blades while Nephis burst forward through the opening he created, white flames roaring around her as she struck directly at Anvil once more.
The collision shook the sky, and Sunny immediately followed behind her.
And once again, he found himself painfully aware of the difference between them.
Nephis' attacks mattered, while his barely did.
Her flames scarred Supreme steel, forced Anvil to defend seriously, and carried enough destructive force to distort the battlefield itself.
Meanwhile, Sunny felt like an especially annoying insect buzzing around the edges of the fight.
His shadows provided great utility, restricting Anvil's options and carrying them out of danger on many occasions, and yet, they were lacking.
Painfully lacking.
He needed more power, more strength, something that could allow him to damage the Supreme before him instead of just inconveniencing him.
Another barrage of swords descended toward them. Before it could reach them, Sunny seized Nephis and Shadow Stepped away just before impact. The world dissolved into shadows and reformed in an instant.
Again.
And again.
Sunny teleported them repeatedly across the battlefield, narrowly avoiding annihilation each time while his mind raced furiously.
Not enough.
Nothing he did was enough.
His body suddenly twisted unnaturally as he emerged from another Shadow Step, briefly losing cohesion before reforming properly, his focus having slipped minutely under the ceaseless assault.
Sunny froze for the briefest instant, then his eyes widened behind [Weaver's Mask].
Shadow Step.
When using it, he became a shadow himself.
And shadows were... malleable.
A sword narrowly missed the two of them as they emerged once more, but Sunny ignored it completely.
His thoughts accelerated. He already knew how to shape shadows externally. Weapons. Armor. Wings.
So why was he limiting himself to his human shape when he became one himself?
Why remain small?
Why remain weak?
Understanding struck him like lightning.
He seized Nephis one final time and Shadow Stepped, but this time, instead of reforming immediately, he held the transformation. The shadow that his body turned into grew, swelling outward monstrously.
Sunny emerged from the darkness as a towering shadow giant, vast enough to cast the battlefield under his shade.
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Jest had never seen such bullshit.
He ducked beneath the stone sword whistling toward his neck and retaliated immediately, his cane striking toward a crack in the stone woman's armor with enough strength to kill most Saints.
She blocked it effortlessly.
The dark woman moved with terrifying precision, her shield turning just enough to redirect his cane while her sword knocked the fist he had thrown at her aside. Before Jest could retreat, she stepped into his guard with unnatural speed and slammed the edge of the shield toward his face.
Jest twisted backward barely in time, but the impact still clipped his shoulder hard enough to send him skidding several meters across the broken stone.
Ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous.
After years of fighting Nightmare Creatures and humans alike and working flawlessly, he had met Sunless, the man who had shown the highest resistance to his Aspect to date. Now, a mere month later, he had somehow ended up facing a woman outright immune to it.
Immune.
His Aspect slid off the stone woman's soul like water off a duck's back, accomplishing absolutely nothing, no matter how deeply he reached for it.
It offended him on a spiritual level.
She didn't even acknowledge his jokes!
Jest attacked with his cane once again, and she met him halfway, the force behind the exchange sending cracks racing through the stone beneath them.
He grimaced as he disengaged once more.
She was strong and incredibly skilled, far more than any Echo had the right to be. No, calling her one wasn't doing her justice. She fought too intelligently for that.
Every movement flowed naturally into the next with frightening efficiency. Her swordsmanship was astonishingly refined, lacking wasted motion entirely, while the massive shield she carried somehow moved with the same deadly precision as the blade itself.
And she was learning, something that amazed and terrified Jest in equal measure.
Jest could already tell she lacked experience wielding the darkness surrounding her. Several times during the battle, it had reacted a fraction too slowly or expanded less efficiently than it should have.
But every minute that passed, the problem diminished.
Jest narrowly avoided another strike and flicked his gaze toward the wider battlefield.
The Ivory Tower had descended into utter chaos.
Valor's forces continued pouring across the bridge while the Firekeepers desperately tried to halt their advance. Shattered stones and deep craters littered the once-pristine island.
Further away, Madoc finally broke through a defensive line of Firekeepers.
Jest watched the Saint plow through them like an avalanche, his sword sweeping wide enough to send Awakened and Master blood alike flying across the battlefield.
Though notably… he had not killed them.
Jest's brow rose slightly.
Whispering Blade continued without pause and immediately charged toward the Ivory Tower itself, clearly intending to secure the Gateway before the Crushing could be used against them. They had been provided with a way to resist it, but it was better to avoid risking it.
He was intercepted midway by the petite figure of Elegy of the End, her rapier meeting Madoc's sword in an explosion of sparks.
Jest's attention snapped back just in time to avoid the dark woman's sword from nearly removing his arm.
He cursed and retreated several steps, the taciturn Echo pursuing relentlessly.
Darkness surged around her armor while crimson eyes burned with murderous focus. Her attacks grew heavier with each passing exchange, steadily forcing Jest further onto the defensive despite his superior experience.
He struck with his cane again, aiming for her chest while at the same time attempting to gore her with his horns.
She blocked both, then kicked him directly in the chest.
Jest flew backward through a stone pillar and landed awkwardly amidst the rubble with a wheeze.
An explosion drew his attention away briefly; the distant battle between his Sovereign and the Transcendent pair had become nearly impossible to properly follow. At this distance, it resembled less a fight and more a natural disaster tearing the heavens apart.
White fire consumed entire sections of the sky before the shadow colossus that Sunless had become blotted it out with a strike of his equally massive weapon. Even the clouds themselves had long since ceased to exist anywhere near the battlefield.
Jest had lived a very long time.
He belonged to the first generation affected by the descent of the Spell and had witnessed many of humanity's attempts to defend against it. He had even watched on television as a whole slew of nuclear weapons were used against Nightmare Creatures during humanity's more desperate years.
At the time, he had believed nothing could ever surpass the sheer scale of destruction they unleashed.
So it was with trepidation that he watched the gargantuan explosion of white flame that erupted in the distance. It was bigger than anything he had ever seen, so radiant he was almost blinded, and the sheer heat it emitted was enough to evaporate all moisture in the air even at kilometers of distance.
The nuclear weapons suddenly looked tame in comparison.
-------------------------------------------
Anvil had expected excellence from them from the very beginning.
It was with joyful surprise that he realised that he had been underestimating them.
Even now, battered and pushed far beyond the limits of what most Saints could even conceive, Changing Star and Sunless continued to resist him with stubborn, almost unreasonable persistence. They adapted to every shift in his patterns, compensated for every loss, and refused to break, no matter the pressure he put on them.
It was… commendable.
Still, admiration did not alter reality.
They were on their last legs.
Sharp as their blades might be, for all their refinement and power, they remained imperfect. Not yet absolute. Not yet distilled into something flawless enough to stand unchallenged before him. And against him, imperfection was not a flaw to be debated; it was simply another way to die.
Above him, the shadow colossus shifted again, its massive form distorting the battlefield with every movement.
Impressive, Anvil noted, but ultimately predictable. Power expressed on such a scale always came with weaknesses, and his was quite clear. Size granted extraordinary strength, but also made for an easy target.
He raised a hand, and the swords answered immediately.
The colossus did not even complete its motion before he struck, steel tearing through shadows as though they were made of paper. The enormous form split cleanly in two and began to collapse, its structure unraveling midair.
Sunny reappeared in a surge of dissipating shadows, his body briefly unstable before solidifying again.
Anvil's gaze lowered to him, assessing the damage within an instant.
The boy was wounded, his movements were already fractionally slower, his breath all the more harsher, his limbs shaking lightly from exhaustion.
And yet, he was still standing.
Still breathing.
Still fighting.
Anvil observed him with detached appreciation, eager to see what he would do next.
Link with Changing Star for another joint attack? Try to take another shape? Use an ace he had kept hidden so far?
Sunless steadied himself in the air, then turned his head slightly to meet Changing Star's gaze.
There was no exchange of words. They hadn't exchanged one so far, and yet the understanding between them was immediate and absolute. Little more than a second passed before both of them nodded grimly.
Sunless moved, swiftly closing the distance between Anvil and himself. It was with mild curiosity that he noted one interesting fact.
Little Nephis had not followed.
For the first time since the battle began, one of them did not follow the other directly into the strike. Instead, she remained at a distance, watching, waiting, her posture controlled and unnervingly still.
Sunless closed the gap between them in an instant, his odachi cutting through the air with a sharp cutting sound. Anvil met him without hesitation, their weapons colliding midair with an impact that reverberated across the sky itself.
He tilted his head, staring into the snarling visage of the mask opposing him, and asked a question. "What is your True Name, boy? Someone of your accomplishments cannot be without one."
Sunless froze for a second, long enough for Anvil to punch him in the chest with enough strength to crush mountains. The boy evaded at the last moment, diverting the attack enough to bruise instead of having his chest crushed.
The boy retaliated immediately after, his odachi striking with unerring precision, yet failing to get past his guard.
"Black Star," Sunless answered at last, voice sounding like he was gritting his teeth.
Interesting, very interesting. Was he the owner of one as a Sleeper, just like Changing Star? Why keep it hidden? Why reveal it to someone from the Government? It seemed like the surprises and the questions never ended.
Even as he engaged the boy, Anvil kept part of his attention on Changing Star.
She was doing something, the flames enveloping her growing hotter with each second.
At first, it was subtle, almost imperceptible, merely air being increasingly distorted. Then it deepened, condensing more rapidly, more deliberately, as though something vast were being prepared just beyond the edge of perception.
Anvil's eyes narrowed slightly.
He did not act yet. The distance between them gave him more than enough space to block or evade. Whatever she was building up had to be significant, and try as he might, he couldn't stop himself from wanting to witness it. Before refining steel, one first had to learn its limits.
Anvil continued the exchange with Sunless, forcing the boy back step by step. The shadow user was skilled beyond reason, adapting mid-fight in ways most Saints would never manage, but in direct confrontation, he was still fundamentally outmatched. Each clash pushed him closer to collapse.
And yet, right at this very moment, Anvil was sure that Sunless just smiled.
Something shifted in the structure of the engagement, a subtle alteration in intent that broke the rhythm of their clash.
Changing Star vanished in the embrace of shadows. For a fraction of a fraction of a second, he failed to understand. Black Star was just in front of him, nowhere close enough to being in contact with her. Something that he had always required to teleport her out of danger.
It wasn't needed. They had only ever pretended to in order to fool him.
Despite the lightning-fast realisation, he did not have time to react. One moment she was at a distance, and the next she was in front of him, as though space itself had been disregarded.
He began to adjust, will already rising to intercept, swords slashing toward the two of them.
It was too late.
Sunless turned into a shadow and coiled around her radiant form instantly. Within the same breath, her presence swelled monstrously, carrying the weight of both their powers at once.
And then he felt it.
The heat buildup he had been monitoring did not merely peak; it surged beyond its previous limits in a single, terrifying escalation.
For the first time in the battle, something akin to fear passed through his expression.
He was already acting even before the thought solidified.
Swords erupted outward under his direction, forming a defensive wall so dense it blotted out the sky itself. Layer upon layer of steel interlocked around him, each blade reinforced by his will, each one ready to intercept annihilation.
For a single, breathless second, there was silence, almost deafening in its anticipation.
Then reality broke.
A wave of pure white destruction erupted outward from the point where they had converged, consuming everything in its path without distinction or hesitation. Sky, cloud, distance, and light itself were swallowed as though they had never existed.
Anvil's swords met the explosion head-on, and the world was consumed by white fire.