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Chapter 2095: King and Jester
Shadow Slave

Not long after the battle with Condemnation, the King of Swords was sitting on the vast stump of an ancient tree, surrounded by the dim twilight of the Hollows. The trunk of the tree was laying nearby, splintered and shredded by countless cuts, vile juices seeping out of it onto the scarlet moss.

The trunk was hollow on the inside, and half-digested remains of dead Nightmare Creatures could be seen through the gaping holes in the bloodred wood.

Anvil was cleaning his sword with an aloof expression on his regal face.

Soon enough, there was the sound of footsteps, and Jest of Dagonet approached him from the direction of the temporary camp established by the six Saints. The dapper old man seemed undisturbed by the predatory rustle of the ancient jungle, leaning slightly on his cane.

He had disappeared for most of the battle against the Condemnation, only returning after it was slain. The Saints naturally had questions about where Jest had vanished to in the chaos, to which he simply produced several Supreme soul shards and unleashed a barrage of questionable jokes.

It seemed that he had been pulled into a buried structure by one of the Asuras, and was beset by several Great Nightmare Creatures there, unable to escape and almost drowning in lava once the ruins were destroyed.

Now, several hours later, the King and his retinue had left the desolate battlefield behind and entered the scarlet jungle once more, moving west for some time before making camp.

The old man stopped a few steps away from the Sovereign and looked at him with a curious expression.

"A new sword?"

Anvil nodded silently.

"It's Condemnation."

Saint Jest clicked his tongue and studied the dreadful blade for a few moments. Then, he shuddered and quickly shook his head.

"I presume the kids did not see?"

The King of Swords glanced at him, then shrugged.

"By the time they came to their senses, I had already turned it into a Memory."

The old man nodded.

"Good, good… well, what do I care? It's not like I am your butler. That would be that bore, Sebastian. If he's still alive."

Anvil finally looked away from the sword and gazed at Jest coldly.

After a few moments of silence, he asked in an indifferent tone:

"How was your outing?"

Saint Jest grinned.

"Well, it could have been worse. I did manage to reach the Nameless Temple during the commotion… sadly, I failed to get a good look."

The King of Swords raised an eyebrow, prompting the old man to cough in embarrassment.

"That kid, Shadow… I guess he was wary of me from the very start. I tried the Hollows approach at first, but that pretty Echo of his — or whatever that onyx lass is — was there waiting for me, hiding in the shadows. Goodness gracious, such a sight. Anyway, that thing is more or less created to be my nemesis... it's completely immune to mind attacks. So, I did not attack and climbed to the surface instead."

He sighed.

"But there was… something… guarding the Nameless Temple above ground, as well. I could not see it, and I could not sense it. But it was there. So, I took a cursory glance and retreated."

Anvil frowned, lingered for a few moments, and then continued to clean the dreadful sword.

After a while, he asked evenly:

"And?"

Saint Jest shrugged.

"He is definitely hiding something. But what? That, I could not say."

He hesitated for a heartbeat, and then grinned.

"I mean… that much was already obvious, I guess! You know, considering the creepy mask."

Anvil glanced at him with no amusement in his steely grey eyes.

"That mask is a Divine Memory of the Seventh Tier. When, one of them is, at least."

Saint Jest shrugged.

"Good for him. Well, anyway… I am pretty sure that he is not working for that Song girl. I am also convinced that he has nothing to do with the… third one. Whatever he is hiding, it only has to do with Immortal Flame's grandkid."

A hint of displeasure found its way into Anvil's eyes.

He studied the sharp blade of the sword, remained silent for a while, and then asked in a distant tone:

"Who do you think is the more dangerous of them?"

The old man laughed.

"The most dangerous? Personally, I think the third one is the most dangerous."

The King looked at him with a hint of curiosity.

"Song of the Fallen? Why?"

Saint Jest smiled.

"It's the quiet ones that are always the problem. And our blind beauty, Cassia, is so quiet that it's often hard to remember that she's there. Creeps me out, to be honest."

Anvil smiled faintly, then nodded.

The old man's expression changed subtly.

"Why? What do you want to do?"

The King of Swords shrugged.

"Nothing. Who says that I want to do anything?"

Saint Jest chuckled nervously.

"Yes, well… good. Doing something while we are in the key stage of the war would be unwise."

Anvil dismissed the dreadful sword and rose to his feet, looking west. There, the dome of the Hollows was sloping down, falling toward the ground. It was the boundary of the Breastbone Hollow, with a great dark fissure opening a path into the First Rib.

He shook his head.

"You don't have to worry."

With that, he turned around and headed toward the camp where the six Saints were preparing food.

Saint Jest looked at his back.

A few moments later, he said quietly:

"I am not worried. It's just… you're breaking my damn heart."

Anvil smiled slightly and answered without ever turning his head:

"Stop pretending like you have a heart, old man. You're the one who taught me how to be heartless."

Jest sighed, then shook his head and followed.

"Respect your elders, brat... I mean, my king. In any case, I have the right to be sentimental in my advanced age, don't I? I won't be around for much longer, you know... so, how about you cut me some slack..."

Anvil answered indifferently:

"You're a Saint. Your lifespan is not even comparable to that of a mundane human, so stop pretending to be frail."

Jest chuckled.

"That's true, too... no, but why are you calling me an old man, then? I'm basically in my prime! How dare you!"

The King did not respond.

Shadow Slave
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Comments 42

  1. Offline
    notslayerrr
    notslayerrr
    + 6 ⋅ 0 -
    Dayum Anvil is onto something
    Read more
  2. Offline
    Jeffrey
    Jeffrey
    + 11 ⋅ 1 -
    Shit, he turned neph's father into a sword? Him and now a divine weapon too. He's going to do the same thing to neph sunny and mordrett.
    Read more
  3. Offline
    Jayxie
    Jayxie
    + 6 ⋅ 0 -
    if only anvil had been a good parent this war should be an easy win lol
    Read more
    1. Offline
      Ninjamaster98
      Ninjamaster98
      + 1 ⋅ 0 -
      I feel like there’s definitely no denying Anvil is a shitty father. However, I don’t think anyone would trust a mf raised by Asterion in the dream realm 💀.
      Read more
  4. Offline
    Tanistanthalas
    Tanistanthalas
    + 11 ⋅ 0 -
    Sounds like Anvil has an idea that he should be concerned about Nephis and Sunny. 🤔
    Read more
  5. Online Offline
    Wardriven
    Wardriven
    + 3 ⋅ 0 -
    #panic# missing next chapter.
    Chapter 2096 Island of Peace

    After Condemnation was slain and its city was reduced to a black wasteland, nothing stood in the way of the King's plan to pass below the Lesser Crossing and attack the impregnable stronghold of the Song Army from the rear. Except for the ancient jungle itself. The biggest threat had been eliminated, but the Hollows still remained a dark and deadly hell. The King and his Saints still had to clear a safe path for the soldiers, and that was a task of a much greater scale. Various units of the Sword Army were secretly pulled back from both siege camps, starting to clear a subterranean pathway from Vanishing Lake to the entrance to the First Rib Hollow. No matter how fast they worked, it was still going to take them days, if not weeks, to ensure safe passage for the actual invasion force.

    They were protected by the flying swords of the King, which moved like rivers above the cleared path, sometimes diving to the ground to eliminate unseen threats.

    The Saints, meanwhile, were taming the surrounding jungle — hunting down ancient predators that dwelled beneath the scarlet canopy, uprooting man-eating trees, and eradicating swarms of abominable vermin. Sunny had rarely spent such a prolonged period of time in the Hollows before, and all of it — the appalling scarlet jungle, the dim twilight of the great bone cavern, the torrents of swords flowing like torrents of steel high above — was starting to feel like a feverish nightmare. But no matter how nightmarish the Hollows were, what was happening on the surface seemed far more dreadful.

    There, the siege of the Two Crossings continued, with tired soldiers losing more of what little sanity they had left with each passing day. The fearsome strongholds of the Song Army had already repelled countless assaults, stubbornly refusing to fall. No matter how the tactics of the besieging army evolved, the defenders never surrendered the ramparts. No matter how terribly the fortifications were damaged, they were repaired and reinforced each time. The white bone was painted rust-red by blood, and the losses of both armies steadily continued to mount.

    The Saints were forced to play a passive role in the slaughter, since neither of the Supremes could afford to lose any more of them to the ravages of war… unless there was no other choice, at least. Strangely enough, doing nothing was far more demoralizing than risking their lives in battle would have been. The Two Crossing had become a purgatory.

    …On one of these ominous days, Nephis returned to the Ivory Tower after receiving the report on the casualties of the latest battle. Her expression was somber, and there were cold white flames burning in her beautiful eyes. Instead of returning to her chambers immediately, she went to a dark hall where dozens of luminous Memories burned, surrounded by solemn shadows. These Memories belonged to the Fire Keepers, and had been left here to indicate that their masters were still alive. Once an Awakened died, their Memories were destroyed — so, every time an enchanted lantern disappeared, it most likely signified the death of one of her warriors. There had been almost fifty luminous Memories in the hall once. But now, a handful of them were gone, extinguished forever. Nephis spent a long time looking at the levitating lanterns, her face motionless. That was where Sunny found her after a while. He glanced at the shining Memories, then walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders, massaging them gently. "How bad were the casualties yesterday?"

    Nephis let out a heavy sigh, then raised her hand and placed it on one of his own.

    "As bad as we expected."

    She lingered for a while, looking at the lanterns.

    "...You know, there were more than a thousand people living in the Dark City before I came there."

    Her voice grew a little lower. "But by the time I was done with it, there were only a hundred."

    And now, there were a few less. Sunny was not sure if she was reminiscing about the fate of the Dreamer Army and the burden of leadership she had taken upon on the Forgotten Shore, or the responsibility for the Sword Army — and the Song Army, really — she was carrying at the moment. Perhaps it was both, and the parallel between the two.

    Her shoulders were strong, but even Nephis felt oppressed by the weight of it all, sometimes. Who wouldn't?

    He embraced her from behind. "There would have been none left without you."

    And there would not be, perhaps. Nephis leaned back a little and sighed. "I know. But it doesn't make it easy."

    Sunny remained still for a while, holding her softly, then drew away and smiled. "Come. I prepared dinner, and it is waiting for you impatiently."

    The dishes he had prepared were all her favorites, of course… not that Nephis was very passionate about food. Still, that indifference of hers was slowly succumbing under his influence, so recently, she had been showing glimpses of enthusiasm about this and that. Sunny led Nephis to the highest level of the Ivory Tower, where a scrumptious dinner was set out beautifully on the wooden table. They enjoyed it in an atmosphere that was not quite peaceful, considering the misery of the siege camp below, but close to it. Despite everything, they made an effort not to discuss the war. That was somewhat of an unspoken rule instituted by Sunny — he did not want them to be the kind of people who could only talk about pragmatic matters, so they simply chatted about whatever came to their minds during the meals. After all, Master Sunless was supposed to be Neph's small island of peace in the tumultuous waters of her dire life. If he could give her a few short moments of respite from the strenuous burdens she carried, then his job was done. Which was why what he was about to tell her was hard to say. Once they finished dinner, Sunny looked at Nephis, hesitated for a few moments, and then sighed. "...I have to leave, for a short while."
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  6. Offline
    Wires
    Wires
    + 8 ⋅ 2 -
    The title of the chapter is an allusion to a cult Russian band. And considering that the author is Russian, he knew what he was doing.
    Read more
  7. Offline
    Damba
    Damba
    + 9 ⋅ 0 -
    2096 Island of Peace

    After Condemnation was slain and its city was reduced to a black wasteland, nothing stood in the way of the King's plan to pass below the Lesser Crossing and attack the impregnable stronghold of the Song Army from the rear.

    Except for the ancient jungle itself.

    The biggest threat had been eliminated, but the Hollows still remained a dark and deadly hell. The King and his Saints still had to clear a safe path for the soldiers, and that was a task of a much greater scale.

    Various units of the Sword Army were secretly pulled back from both siege camps, starting to clear a subterranean pathway from Vanishing Lake to the entrance to the First Rib Hollow. No matter how fast they worked, it was still going to take them days, if not weeks, to ensure safe passage for the actual invasion force.

    They were protected by the flying swords of the King, which moved like rivers above the cleared path, sometimes diving to the ground to eliminate unseen threats.

    The Saints, meanwhile, were taming the surrounding jungle — hunting down ancient predators that dwelled beneath the scarlet canopy, uprooting man-eating trees, and eradicating swarms of abominable vermin.

    Sunny had rarely spent such a prolonged period of time in the Hollows before, and all of it — the appalling scarlet jungle, the dim twilight of the great bone cavern, the torrents of swords flowing like torrents of steel high above — was starting to feel like a feverish nightmare.

    But no matter how nightmarish the Hollows were, what was happening on the surface seemed far more dreadful.

    There, the siege of the Two Crossings continued, with tired soldiers losing more of what little sanity they had left with each passing day.

    The fearsome strongholds of the Song Army had already repelled countless assaults, stubbornly refusing to fall. No matter how the tactics of the besieging army evolved, the defenders never surrendered the ramparts. No matter how terribly the fortifications were damaged, they were repaired and reinforced each time.

    The white bone was painted rust-red by blood, and the losses of both armies steadily continued to mount.

    The Saints were forced to play a passive role in the slaughter, since neither of the Supremes could afford to lose any more of them to the ravages of war… unless there was no other choice, at least.

    Strangely enough, doing nothing was far more demoralizing than risking their lives in battle would have been.

    The Two Crossing had become a purgatory.

    …On one of these ominous days, Nephis returned to the Ivory Tower after receiving the report on the casualties of the latest battle. Her expression was somber, and there were cold white flames burning in her beautiful eyes.

    Instead of returning to her chambers immediately, she went to a dark hall where dozens of luminous Memories burned, surrounded by solemn shadows.

    These Memories belonged to the Fire Keepers, and had been left here to indicate that their masters were still alive. Once an Awakened died, their Memories were destroyed — so, every time an enchanted lantern disappeared, it most likely signified the death of one of her warriors.

    There had been almost fifty luminous Memories in the hall once. But now, a handful of them were gone, extinguished forever.

    Nephis spent a long time looking at the levitating lanterns, her face motionless.

    That was where Sunny found her after a while.

    He glanced at the shining Memories, then walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders, massaging them gently.

    "How bad were the casualties yesterday?"

    Nephis let out a heavy sigh, then raised her hand and placed it on one of his own.

    "As bad as we expected."

    She lingered for a while, looking at the lanterns.

    "...You know, there were more than a thousand people living in the Dark City before I came there."

    Her voice grew a little lower.

    "But by the time I was done with it, there were only a hundred."

    And now, there were a few less.

    Sunny was not sure if she was reminiscing about the fate of the Dreamer Army and the burden of leadership she had taken upon on the Forgotten Shore, or the responsibility for the Sword Army — and the Song Army, really — she was carrying at the moment. Perhaps it was both, and the parallel between the two.

    Her shoulders were strong, but even Nephis felt oppressed by the weight of it all, sometimes.

    Who wouldn't?

    He embraced her from behind.

    "There would have been none left without you."

    And there would not be, perhaps.

    Nephis leaned back a little and sighed.

    "I know. But it doesn't make it easy."

    Sunny remained still for a while, holding her softly, then drew away and smiled.

    "Come. I prepared dinner, and it is waiting for you impatiently."

    The dishes he had prepared were all her favorites, of course… not that Nephis was very passionate about food. Still, that indifference of hers was slowly succumbing under his influence, so recently, she had been showing glimpses of enthusiasm about this and that.

    Sunny led Nephis to the highest level of the Ivory Tower, where a scrumptious dinner was set out beautifully on the wooden table. They enjoyed it in an atmosphere that was not quite peaceful, considering the misery of the siege camp below, but close to it.

    Despite everything, they made an effort not to discuss the war. That was somewhat of an unspoken rule instituted by Sunny — he did not want them to be the kind of people who could only talk about pragmatic matters, so they simply chatted about whatever came to their minds during the meals.

    After all, Master Sunless was supposed to be Neph's small island of peace in the tumultuous waters of her dire life. If he could give her a few short moments of respite from the strenuous burdens she carried, then his job was done.

    Which was why what he was about to tell her was hard to say.

    Once they finished dinner, Sunny looked at Nephis, hesitated for a few moments, and then sighed.

    "...I have to leave, for a short while."
    Read more
  8. Offline
    CLFNavac
    CLFNavac
    + 13 ⋅ 1 -
    So it looks like Anvil’s transformation skill is to turn things into items/weapons/memories? That would explain how he’s able to have so many swords, unless the large 7 ones at the end of the battle show a limit to how many he can change at a time.

    I wonder if he turned Neph’s father into a sword as well…
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    1. Offline
      Lost from star
      Lost from star
      + 7 ⋅ 0 -
      This guy is onto something
      Read more
  9. Offline
    Chii
    Chii
    + 6 ⋅ 0 -
    "King and Jester", you say...
    Стал наш Принц одержим вдруг злом
    Чтобы спасти душу его
    Решили мы всей семьей
    С ним сотворить кое-чего...

    Помню ярость бездонных глаз
    Он не скрывал злобу свою
    Он всех ненавидел нас
    Да, я вернусь, слово даю!

    Он до конца довёл свою жуткую роль
    Смеялся в огне, не чувствуя боль
    Людей не покидал панический страх
    Даже когда сэр Джест унёс его прах
    И развеял по просторам...
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  10. Online Offline
    Rei-absolute
    Rei-absolute
    + 8 ⋅ 0 -
    So funny, it's like Anvil had his own Sunny
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