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Chapter 1680: Spirit of Light
Shadow Slave

The unconscious Sleeper slowly opened her eyes, staring at Nephis with a dazed look. She smiled reassuringly and rose, picking up her sword again.

There was not much time left. The enemies were approaching.

Towering above the three of them - Nephis and the two teenage girls - the Lord of Shadows said coldly:

"It's sweet that you promised to save them. But how are you going to do it? Once we start fighting with those abominations, a single shockwave will be enough to finish these two off."

Nephis climbed out of the pit and helped the girl she had healed up. Tamar followed.

'Good question.’

There was no time to run away, because the asuras were faster than them. Flying away wasn't an option, either, because they would be perfect targets in the air. One toss of a diamond weapon, and there would be no escape.

Even if Nephis could evade, she had to carry at least one of the Sleepers, and neither of the girls would survive the crushing pressure of such maneuvers,

She considered countless strategies in a single second and looked up at the Lord of Shadows,

"You take them and retreat. I'll hold the enemy off, and then join you."

He remained silent for a moment, and then said flatly:

"I refuse."

Nephis blinked.

Huh!

She had not expected that answer.

"Why?"

The shadow demon bent down, bringing his onyx helmet level to her face. The darkness nestling inside it was deep and impenetrable.

"You might be fine dying for these Sleepers, Changing Star. But I am not fine with you dying."

One of his onyx claws pointed at her.

"You still owe me a favor, remember? Wouldn't I be cheated if you died before repaying me?"

Nephis tilted her head.

At that moment... she thought that she felt a hint of desire from the Lord of Shadows. Some people's longing was like a spark, some people's longing was like flame. His, though... to her, it felt like a towering pyre that dwarfed everything around.

As it turned out, the Lord of Shadows was a man of dire passion behind that cold exterior.

She couldn't make out the details of what exactly he yearned for, but his unwillingness to see her dead - before she made good on her promise, at least seemed rather sincere.

It looked like the favor he intended to ask from her was not simple.

A moment later, his soul was shrouded in darkness once again, and she couldn't feel anything.

Nephis sighed.

"What do you propose, then?"

The Lord of Shadows lingered for a moment.

Then, he scratched his horned head, the onyx claws scraping piercingly against the surface of his helmet.

Finally, he sighed.

"I'll take them to the Nameless Temple and return. You... stay alive while I'm gone."

Wasn't that basically what she had suggested?

Nephis raised an eyebrow.

"How long will it take you to make it back to the Citadel and return, Lord Shadow?"

He raised one of his four hands and bent a few fingers, then answered evenly:

"...About six seconds."

She stared at him silently.

Then... she stared some more.

'Huh?"

"You could make a trip from the Citadel to here in three seconds, this whole time? Why did we fight our way here through the jungle, then?"

Usually, Nephis had to make an effort to put emotions Into her naturally deadpan voice. But now, she was actually struggling to maintain composure and make it sound calm!

It was an extremely rare occurrence.

The Lord of Shadows shrugged indifferently.

"It would have consumed too much of my essence. Carrying these Sleepers is fine, but you... are too heavy of a burden."

Nephis stared at him silently for a moment, then glanced down involuntarily.

Her body was lithe and slender, like it had always been.

Definitely.

‘...Huh.'

The Lord of Shadows remained silent for a moment, too, then added suddenly, his cold tone suspiciously close to sounding a tiny bit rushed:

"Because you are a Transcendent. Your soul is too vast and powerful, that was what I meant."

He took a step forward and placed two of his four hands on the shoulders of the speechless Sleepers.

"Anyway... time is of the essence... so, I'd better go."

A moment later, the three of them dissolved into shadows, leaving Nephis alone in the small clearing.

'A spatial movement Ability.’

She remained motionless for a second, then looked at herself again.

A quiet mumble could be heard:

"...Did I gain muscle?"

Sure, she was not as delicate and pretty as Cassie. And not as elegant and graceful as Seishan. But Nephis was pretty confident in her figure... granted, it wasn't as generous as Effie's...

‘What am I even thinking about?'

Just at that moment, the jungle around her exploded, and seven ghastly golems lunged at her from all sides, the world groaning in agony from the violent force of their passing.

Nephis was still looking down.

Before they could reach her, though, her body exploded with a brilliant radiance, and their towering figures were consumed by blinding light.

***

Nephis had transformed into a spirit of light.

In that state, her graceful body seemed to be woven out of immaculate white radiance. That radiance contained an unfathomable ocean of furious flame instead of flesh and bone, and was a beautiful vessel for her fiery, titanic soul.

She was like a brilliant star that had taken the form of a human,

The moisture permeating the humid air instantly evaporated. The rotten leaves blanketing the ground turned to ash. The remains of the dead tree blackened and caught fire, being consumed at startling speed.

But the speed with which the mystical wood was being consumed by the white flame was nothing when compared to the speed with which Nephis moved.

Unconstrained by the limitations of mundane flesh, her power exploded.

The whole clearing was flooded with blinding light, and the towering figures of the asuras dissolved in that light. They weren't destroyed, but the red moss covering their cracked armor was immediately incinerated. The mummified flesh within the stone carapaces blackened and smoldered.

The seven diamond weapon fell in unison, but Nephis effortlessly danced out of the way.

Almost at the same time...

She was suddenly in front of one of the abominations, her radiant fist brushing lightly against its stone breastplate.

The massive creature was thrown back. The armor on its chest cracked and melted, and the thick armor plate on its back exploded, shards of stone turning into molten rain as they fell to the ground.

The world was stark and clear, awash in annihilating pain.

'Three more seconds...'

Nephis wondered how many of these Nightmare Creatures she would be able to kill before the Lord of Shadows returned.

Shadow Slave
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Comments 42

  1. Offline
    6pain
    6pain
    + 8 ⋅ 0 -
    Man we are now facing cursed level, we skipped Great Titan
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    1. Offline
      DanielPlay
      DanielPlay
      + 7 ⋅ 0 -
      I think the correct thing would be, we are escaping from a cursed level.
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  2. Offline
    Uchia-Madara-Pathway
    Uchia-Madara-Pathway
    + 14 ⋅ 0 -
    Nephis: Condemnation! what

    Sunny: Damnation! want
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  3. Offline
    Dummybaron
    Dummybaron
    + 13 ⋅ 1 -
    Cursed Tyrant: Awakes
    Sunny: I swear to the fking Dead and Forgotten Gods, I never ever going to go save someone again in my entire future fking life.
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  4. Offline
    ArMiks
    ArMiks
    + 9 ⋅ 0 -
    But then, a familiar human figure stepped out of the shadows by her side, the onyx helmet closing to hide his face. Completely unharmed.
    She let out a silent sigh of relief.
    "I suggest we hurry and get away, Lady Nephis”
    ...Utter indifference.


    i think neph is getting turned on with sunny's nonchalant/apathetic act
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  5. Offline
    Pro100zver25
    Pro100zver25
    + 27 ⋅ 0 -
    1681: Battle Partners.

    In the form of the radiant spirit, Nephis was much more powerful than her human incarnation. Her speed and might increased vastly, and her fire powers grew much more potent… especially when the beautiful vessel of light was augmented seven times over by her Aspect.

    Not only that, but mundane attacks could not hurt her at all — most weapons would simply turn to ash before reaching her, and those that did break through the immolating heat would find no flesh to harm behind it.

    Only fire.

    So, what hurt her the most was her Flaw, the [Pristine Soul]… and in that form, the danger it posed was much more dire than the suffering she experienced when using her lesser Abilities. The incandescent white void of her soul was so pure and searing that it threatened to consume her, burning away her very self. Perhaps forever.

    At least that was what Nephis feared. She rarely used the power of her Aspect in combat, relying on nothing but her martial prowess if there was a choice, and she used her Transformation Ability even less frequently.

    Of course, she was not invulnerable even in that brilliant form. There were many beings and weapons there that could harm this fiery vessel of hers, but the damage they dealt would be instantly healed at the cost of her essence. The form of the spirit of light was a manifestation of her Incandescent soul, and so, one would have to extinguish her soul completely to destroy it.

    Which was not Impossible, especially when facing enemies of higher Ranks.

    The ancient stone wraiths she was fighting were among such enemies.

    [You have slain a Great Beast, Asura of Condemnation.]

    [Your soul shines brighter.]

    [You have slain a Great Beast, Asura of Condemnation.]

    [Your soul shines brighter.]

    [You have slain a Great Beast…]

    Nephis managed to bring down three of the seven Nightmare Creatures in quick succession, but after that, the situation worsened. The abominable golems witnessed her power and grasped it, their movements changing as a result.

    They were of the Great Rank, after all. For creatures like these, the distinction between flesh and flame was of no importance. The strange diamond weapons they wielded carried their killing will, and before that will, all would be annihilated. The laws of the world themselves bent to accommodate it.

    If she was struck by one of the asuras… her soul would not collapse from a single blow, but the damage would be considerable. Even for a Great Beast, destroying a Transcendent Titan would not be easy — but there were a lot of these creatures here, so she had to be careful.

    Nephis gave up on offense and evaded the thunderous attacks of the menacing golems, biding her time until the Lord of Shadows returned.

    She had not waited for long.

    On the seventh second after his departure, the shadow demon shot out of the darkness on the border of the burning clearing, his great odachi plummeting onto one of the asuras a split second later, like the edge of nightfall.

    Now, there were two of them facing four Great Beasts.

    Nephis and the Lord of Shadows glanced at each other briefly, her radiant, graceful silhouette contrasted starkly against his towering, tenebrous figure.

    Then, they exploded with motion.

    «I wonder…»

    Nephis was concerned for a split second. Her partial transformation was less destructive than the full one, but it still generated terrible heat. The stone armor of the ancient golems withstood it easily, but what about the Lord of Shadows? Very few people were strong enough to fight side by side with her when she went all out.

    However, she didn't have to worry.

    The onyx carapace of the shadow demon glistened darkly, reflecting the furious white radiance of her flame, but held. That fearsome armor, it seemed… was of a better quality than her own, or at least possessed a very high resistance to elemental attacks.

    In any case, he did not seem to have any trouble plunging into the middle of the burning clearing, seemingly unperturbed by the blinding light, scorching heat, and lack of oxygen.

    His movements were just as swift, ferocious, and sharp as they had been before.

    «That's a relief, then.»

    Her spirits were uplifted.

    Nephis and the Lord of Shadows clashed with the four asuras, the surrounding jungle swiftly turning into a wasteland of splinters and ash.

    The black sword she had wielded had been long obliterated by flames, so Nephis used her stunning speed and agility to fight the abominations with bare hands. She was swift and much smaller than the towering golems, her technique fluid and flawless. The diamond weapons flashed past, never managing to touch her radiant vessel…

    However, Nephis herself wasn't able to attack as brazenly as before, either. Using her sublime grasp of the essence of combat, she delivered a constant stream of shallow attacks to her enemies. The stone armor on their wrists, ankles, and joints was gradually melting, slowing the abominations down.

    The Lord of Shadows, meanwhile, was a much easier target. Not only was his dark body broad and towering, but he was also slower than her, his terrifying odachi demanding a lot more space to be wielded effectively.

    And yet, somehow… none of the attacks of the asuras managed to land on his onyx armor.

    His technique was just as sublime as hers, but it was also… strange. Sometimes, his movements did not seem too swift — compared to her, at least — but at other times, it was as if he was so fast as to leave afterimages behind him.

    No, not even that… it was as if the Lord of Shadows was sometimes in two places at the same time.

    It took Nephis a few moments to understand what was happening.

    «Transcendent battle art…»

    His spatial movement Ability was intricately woven into his battle style. The Lord of Shadows masterfully used short-distance teleportation to maneuver around the battlefield, blinking from place to place with such speed that it seemed as if he was in several places simultaneously.

    The graceful movements of his sword flowed uninterrupted between the jumps, so a slash that started in one spot could land dozens of meters away. An enemy attack could be blocked despite him being nowhere near its path. In a sense, the whole battlefield was within the reach of his serpentine odachi.

    There was also another detail…

    «He's jumping between shadows.»

    After noticing that detail, Nephis also realized with a bit of surprise that the Lord of Shadows was anticipating and making use of her own movements.

    Currently, she was the brightest source of light on the battlefield, so the direction of the shadows cast by the massive bodies of the asuras was dictated by her position.

    The Lord of Shadows was paying attention to her movements to anticipate the movement of the shadows, and was therefore able to escape the danger freely, unfailingly appearing behind the abominations to deliver a terrible strike and dissolve into the darkness before they could retaliate.

    It was… an utterly beautiful display of flawless technique, firm intent, and devious ingenuity.

    «…Diabolical.»

    Nephis was… impressed.

    Dodging the crushing blow of a diamond staff, she floated into the air to avoid being thrown off balance by the quaking earth, and shot forward. Her incandescent palm touched the elbow of the ancient golem, and its elbow joint finally cracked, falling apart in a rain of molten stone.

    Now that the enemy was unable to wield the heavy staff effectively, she had a window of opportunity. Landing lightly on the burning ground, Nephis spun and delivered a devastating roundhouse kick to the towering abomination. Her long, slender leg connected to its abdomen, and the asura was thrown back, its entire torso exploding and catching fire.

    By the time the burning golem fell to the ground, it was already dead.

    …But just as it died, more asuras appeared from the depths of the ruin, lunging at Nephis and her battle partner with silent malice.
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    1. Offline
      Pro100zver25
      Pro100zver25
      + 26 ⋅ 1 -
      1682: Hasty Retreat.

      Nephis and the Lord of Shadow had slain the initial four Great Beasts. But by then, there were already more of the fearsome asuras that had risen from the ruins and reached them, surrounding the two like a fatal tide of ancient stone and sinister, evil will.

      She… was coming closer and closer to the cusp of fatigue.

      The Lord of Shadows, meanwhile, seemed to be holding back on using his teleportation Ability. He must have told the truth when saying that carrying the two Sleepers all the way to the Citadel and coming back would put a strain on his reserves of essence. It had to be conserved now.

      Luckily, their goal was not to obliterate all the ancient wraiths. Their goal was simply to escape… granted, there was some bad luck involved, too.

      The easiest route of retreat would have been to escape to the surface through the nearest crack in the dome of the colossal breastbone. But the veil of clouds was torn right now, and the surface was bathed in the light of the annihilating sun. That path was not an option.

      Nevertheless, Nephis wasn't too concerned, She was still holding back the most destructive of her powers.

      She had no doubt that the Lord of Shadows had a few tricks up his sleeve, as well.

      And yet, and yet…

      What was that cold, heavy weight pressing down on her heart?

      «Move back.»

      His voice was just as cold as ever.

      She didn't hesitate and pushed the grounds with her foot, leaving a scorched mark on it and flying more than a hundred meters back almost in an instant.

      In the next second, a small lantern of black stone appeared in one of the shadow demon's four hands. His onyx armor shifted and retreated under his obsidian skin, revealing his powerful physique.

      Left alone, the Lord of Shadow lingered for a moment, seemingly unable to evade the attacks of the abominable golems in time. Everything that followed happened in a split second.

      Their diamond weapons landed on his muscular body, mangling it gruesomely.

      A tide of darkness suddenly flowed out of the stone lantern and came alive, enveloping the advancing asuras with a thousand black chains. Even though the Great Beasts tore the chains apart with ease, they were still stalled for several precious moments.

      In those moments, the broken, savaged body of the Lord of Shadows swayed slowly… and dissolved into nothingness.

      Nephis' radiant eyes flashed.

      «He…»

      But then, a familiar human figure stepped out of the shadows by her side, the onyx helmet closing to hide his face. Completely unharmed.

      She let out a silent sigh of relief.

      «I suggest we hurry and get away, Lady Nephis.»

      …Utter indifference.

      Well, to be fair, her face was also motionless and impassive. Not that he could see her features in the torrent of brilliant light.

      «It's good… that he's alive.»

      …Was it good, though? If the Lord of Shadows perished, his Citadel would be hers to take. Bringing such a precious gift to the King of Swords would further her goals greatly.

      And yet, Nephis was happy that he was unharmed.

      Using the momentary delay of the sinister asuras, the two of them made a hasty retreat. They ran through the ancient ruins, getting closer to the border. The golems gave chase and were gaining on them slowly — not as slowly as Nephis would have hoped, but enough so to give them a chance to escape into the jungle.

      There were still a few of the ancient golems stalking the ruin, though. One of them barred their path, prompting Nephis and the Lord of Shadows to perform a flawless pincer attack without exchanging a single word.

      His black odachi fell. Her radiant hand flew.

      The ghastly Nightmare Creature crumbled to the ground.

      [You have slain a Great Beast, Asura of Condemnation.]

      The rest of the abominations were right behind them, but the edge of the ruins was already close. Nephis could already see the remains of an ancient wall, overgrown with red moss and twisting vines.

      But the cold feeling grasping her fiery heart only grew stronger.

      She frowned.

      A Saint's intuition was more than an unreliable gut feeling. Transcendent beings were greatly attuned to the world, and could sense subtle changes in it. The flow of spirit essence, the movements of the underlying laws, the changes in the fabric of reality…

      Something was very wrong.

      «What… what is that?»

      Both Nephis and the Lord of Shadows halted, realizing almost at the same time that the edge of the ancient ruins… was somehow getting further away. No matter how fast they ran, the distance between them and the overgrown wall did not diminish.

      They glanced at each other somberly.

      In the next moment, the entire world quaked violently, and something massive moved behind them.

      Turning around, Nephis saw the ground at the heart of the ancient city moving, rising above the jungle like a mountain. Countless trees toppled and fell down, the sea of vines and bushes drowning in the rolling soil. The ancient structures were revealed from underneath the carpet of red moss, only to crumble moments later.

      It was as though something colossal had been sleeping under the ancient jungle, and was now rising from below, its slumber disturbed by the incinerating heat of the white flames and the clamor of fierce battle.

      She suddenly felt… horror.

      Horror was not something Nephis felt often, and definitely not on her own accord. The only reason for that feeling was that her mind was being affected by an external force.

      Nephis' flames dimmed a little when a dire realization surfaced in her mind.

      Her lips parted, and she whispered a single word:

      «…Condemnation.»

      The Great Beasts they had been battling were called the asuras… the asuras of Condemnation.

      She had thought that they were simply a swarm of Nightmare Creatures populating the ancient ruin, their name hinting at some forgotten mystery of the past.

      But now, Nephis realized that it had a much more literal meaning.

      As the mountain of raised soil started to split open, revealing the appearance of the being that had been buried underneath, she thought that her horror had been quite an appropriate reaction.

      The asuras of Condemnation were not a natural swarm of Great Beasts bound to a single location.

      Instead, they were here together for another, much more sinister reason… they were the minions of a much more powerful being.

      Their name simply pointed at whom they belonged to.

      Their master had to be of a higher Rank, after all.

      The Cursed Tyrant… Condemnation.
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        Verdant
        Verdant
        + 5 ⋅ 0 -
        Thank you!! joy
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      2. Offline
        ArMiks
        ArMiks
        + 1 ⋅ 0 -
        sadt, i wanted to try being the hero once Yolks62

        anyways, thanks for the chapters!

        edit: good thing i didn't play the hero earlier Yolks64 Yolks50
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      3. Offline
        BlankDjinn
        BlankDjinn
        + 1 ⋅ 0 -
        Thank you as always :)

        Damn good action and a kind of impression on Nephis’s transformation very fun I liked it 😁 hopefully we see more on it and if any reveals like Sunny sliding a shadow on Nephis occur
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        Rei-absolute
        Rei-absolute
        + 1 ⋅ 0 -
        Hey friend, let me ask you a question, is, when you get these Shadow Slave chapters do you pay? and if not, can you get me chapters 414 to 416 of i will kill the author, or at least try, because it's been 3 months since the author released anything and I just won't be able to read these three chapters, if you can't, well Thank you for your attention
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    Verdant
    Verdant
    + 5 ⋅ 0 -
    Damn, updated! Now I can't sleep, and I have an important exam tomorrow 😭😭😭
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    1. Offline
      ArMiks
      ArMiks
      + 3 ⋅ 0 -
      you're hopeless man, yield!
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    Thisisusername
    Thisisusername
    + 18 ⋅ 0 -
    I don't mind if someone takes chapters from my telegram channel, but please leave a link to the source next time
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    1. Offline
      Lrb
      Lrb
      + 2 ⋅ 0 -
      Cara, primeiramente obrigado por fornecer capítulos, mas aqui a galera já não pega do original então é meio contraditório colocar a fonte de terceiros
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      Pro100zver25
      Pro100zver25
      + 15 ⋅ 0 -
      If I do this, any idiot can go to the channel to complain and leak the link to the author; and then the channel will be banned. We've already been through something like this. There will always be those who want to do harm to everyone.
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      A Hedgehog
      A Hedgehog
      + 2 ⋅ 0 -
      Putting the links of your telegram could be dangerous because they could discover us. You are the hero of heroes. Thank you very much for what you do.
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  8. Offline
    DanielPlay
    DanielPlay
    + 9 ⋅ 0 -
    I knew there would be an explanation, G3 usually uses this strategy of 1 chapter today and 3 tomorrow to explain big concepts, like in the art of transcendent battle, although I think he goes on too long with the explanations sometimes.
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      rekicchi
      rekicchi
      + 19 ⋅ 0 -
      writing is much harder than you think. it must've been hard introducing such complicated concepts. some prodigious writer can slowly share those concepts, but g3 has taken the short route this time and straight up explained them— which, i would love to tell, requires less mental energy, but with the cost of dissatisfying some demanding readers. still, let's give him a break
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