Samael took a deep breath.
Without hesitation, he consumed part of his essence.
His ability changed.
At that very moment...
The shadow creature completely lost control over its own power.
Its body was abruptly expelled from the darkness.
It didn't even have time to react.
— It worked...
Samael smiled.
Taking advantage of the brief moment of confusion, he shot forward like lightning.
From his senses, the creature was merely an Awakened Demon.
It posed no threat comparable to the Chimera.
Foolishness traced two silver arcs.
The four shadowy arms attempted to intercept him.
Two of them were sent flying.
The creature let out a distorted roar.
The remaining two claws immediately lunged toward Samael.
But before they could strike...
His body sank into its own shadow.
The sensation was strange.
Very different from what he had imagined.
So this is what it's like...
As he traveled through the darkness, he remembered Sunny's descriptions of moving through the shadows.
But...
It was different.
Very different.
Samael couldn't see that strange dark world.
Nor could he feel the currents of shadow surrounding him.
Probably...
Because he didn't possess Shadow Sense.
He was merely using the ability.
Without actually understanding it.
The next moment, he emerged behind the creature.
It remained completely disoriented.
Accustomed to disappearing into the shadows whenever it wished...
Now, it seemed unable to understand why that had stopped working.
Samael didn't waste the opportunity.
Foolishness pierced through its body in a single strike.
The shadow was split in half.
For a moment...
Its body seemed to be made of smoke.
Then it slowly began to dissipate.
The Spell's voice echoed.
[You have slain an Awakened Demon.]
Samael watched the dark remains disappear.
— That was easier than it should have been...
He crouched down.
Touched the black fragments scattered across the ground.
Then activated his Dormant Ability.
The shadow began to be absorbed.
So...
There aren't only gigantic Cursed Creatures here.
There are also creatures of the lower Ranks.
A few seconds later...
The Spell spoke again.
[You have received a Memory.]
A small smile appeared on his face.
[Name: Shadow Dagger]
[Rank: Awakened]
[Level: I]
[Enchantment: Shadow Piercing]
[Enchantment Description: This dagger can pierce through armor as though it were made of shadows.]
[Memory Description:]
[A dagger forged from the shadows accumulated by the citizens who died during the Divine Confrontation. Their resentment remained trapped within that cursed land, transforming into a blade destined to pierce the living.]
Samael summoned the weapon.
A small black dagger appeared in his hand.
Its blade seemed to absorb all the light around it.
He spun it between his fingers.
— My first dagger...
He smiled faintly.
— Not a bad feeling.
Before he could examine it further...
His Beastly Reflexes went off.
New presences.
Several of them.
Samael let out a tired sigh.
— Not even a moment of happiness...
He raised his eyes.
More of those grotesque wolves were emerging from the mist.
But something was different.
A second shadow creature was walking alongside them.
Samael smiled.
— Line.
— Give me a hand here.
A vortex of essence appeared beside him.
The energy quickly condensed.
Then...
The enormous Chimera Spider appeared once again.
Her posture remained just as arrogant as before.
The moment Samael saw her...
A burning sensation spread across his cheek.
The memory of that battle was still far too vivid.
Even so...
He smiled.
— Go, Line.
He pointed toward the enemies.
— I choose you.
As soon as she received the order...
The Chimera charged.
At the same time...
One of the shadow creatures simply sank into the ground.
Its body transformed into a dark stain upon Rime's reddish earth.
The shadow slid across the ground at an astonishing speed.
Samael watched its movement carefully.
His golden eyes gleamed.
So...
This is how this ability works.
Now...
He was finally beginning to understand how to fight shadow users.
Samael had no idea.
Ever since the first time he had exchanged his ability for Line's...
And now, once again, for that shadow creature's...
Small drops of corruption had begun slowly accumulating within his soul.
They were almost imperceptible.
So tiny that even Samael couldn't feel them.
Under normal circumstances...
An Awakened would become corrupted the instant they attempted to exchange their ability for that of a Nightmare Creature.
The corruption would invade their soul.
Consume their humanity.
And eventually...
Nothing would remain.
But Samael was different.
He was a Nephilim.
A being born from corruption.
But also...
A being born from desire.
His nature slowed the advance of corruption to an absurd degree.
It didn't prevent it.
It merely made the process slow.
Very slow.
Like drops of poison falling into an ocean.
One after another.
Without anyone noticing.
And as long as Samael continued using abilities that did not belong to him...
Those drops would continue to accumulate.
Samael charged.
He was heading in the same direction as Line.
The enormous Chimera raced across the reddish earth while the shadow creature moved parallel to her, gliding across the ground like a living stain.
With every step Samael took...
The earth exploded beneath his feet.
He accelerated.
Faster.
Faster.
Until he finally caught up with Line.
At the same time...
The shadow creature emerged behind the Chimera.
Its body began to materialize.
It was exactly what Samael had been waiting for.
— Now.
His ability changed.
His Dormant Ability disappeared.
And was replaced by the shadow creature's ability.
At that very moment...
The creature lost its power.
Its body became completely materialized.
It didn't even have time to understand what had happened.
Samael was already behind it.
His hand gripped the Shadow Dagger.
The blade was held in reverse.
His golden eyes turned cold.
Got you.
The creature attempted to disappear again.
But...
Silver threads appeared around its body.
Line.
The threads wrapped around its limbs for a fraction of a second.
The creature immediately broke through them.
But that tiny delay...
Was enough.
Samael lunged forward.
The Shadow Dagger traced a silver arc.
Its speed was comparable to a bullet.
Its strength was enough to pierce through walls.
The creature attempted to twist its body.
Too late.
The blade pierced its throat.
CRACK!
Its head was severed from its body.
The shadowy corpse fell to the ground and began to dissipate.
The Spell's voice echoed.
[You have slain an Awakened Demon.]
Samael watched the remains disappear.
Then looked toward the remaining enemies.
— Only those guys are left.
He walked over to Line.
For a moment...
He saw his own reflection in the Chimera's white carapace.
A feminine figure with golden-white hair.
Golden eyes.
A delicate face.
Then his gaze traveled upward.
Until it met Line's human half.
Samael became thoughtful.
An idea came to him.
And, as always...
He spoke before thinking.
— Let's go together as two... delicate ladies.
Silence.
Samael froze.
His face began turning red.
Very red.
Why did I say that?
The line had sounded much better in his head.
It was supposed to sound like a cool line.
Something majestic.
Elegant.
Almost heroic.
In reality...
It was simply embarrassing.
Samael covered his face with one hand.
— Line...
The Chimera slowly turned her head.
— Next time I say something like that...
Samael took a deep breath.
— Please sew my mouth shut.
Line didn't answer.
She simply charged.
Her eight legs crushed the reddish earth as she rushed toward the Nightmare Creatures.
Samael watched her for a second.
Then smiled.
— Wait for me!
He charged as well.
Foolishness appeared in his hand.
The Shadow Dagger disappeared.
His body leaned forward.
And the two of them charged together against the horde.
A monstrous Fallen Tyrant...
And a Nephilim who still had no idea that tiny drops of corruption were accumulating within his soul.
The battle continued.