Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2688

2688 /2690

The Cursed Wanderer had not remained rattled for long. In fact, his shock only lasted a split second — then, he coldly pulled his cutlass away and moved forward, aiming to slip past the Mist Blade. He was so swift that time seemed to slow down to a crawl, with wisps of mist suspended in the air and unmoving.

Of course, Jet was just as quick.

...Almost.

She retreated at the same pace as he advanced, coldly calculating the odds. The shaft of her war scythe was long, so if she could just keep him at an optimal distance, the advantage would be hers. Conversely, if the sinister apparition got too close, she would die.

So, there was no way that she would allow him to move past the blade of her scythe. ‘It is a bit funny, really...’

Here she was, fighting an edritch horror in the heart of an eternal hell. And yet, the same principles that she had learned during her clumsy training spars at the Academy could still decide the outcome of this fight. A thorough mastery of the basics had never let her down.

The Mist Blade moved with swift and lethal precision, aiming to behead the great wraith. Usually, an adversary would have been able to easily deflect or block such an unsophisticated attack, but the Cursed Wanderer was wary of letting the Soul of Kanakht touch the ghostly scythe — so, he had to dodge instead.

And to do that, he had to give up on his attempt to get closer.

Jet smiled. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

‘Why are you running away, though?’

This time, it was the sinister apparition who retreated a step, and it was she who advanced.

For a few seconds, the two of them turned into a whirlwind of mist and cold steel, both aiming to cut the other down. The ground of the Palace Island cracked under the strain of their clash, and the surrounding shades had to retreat lest they be destroyed.

The advance of the wraith army stalled and then halted. The broken formation of the Shadow Legion received a chance to repair itself.

But before it could, the whole island suddenly shook, and a blinding flash of white light illuminated the sky behind the Palace.

Jet briefly glanced east.

‘Nephis...'

It seemed that the third contender had finally arrived.

***

Shortly before, Nephis stood on the eastern shore of the island, leaning on the Blessing. The turbulent expanse of the Palace Lake stretched before her, and on its other side, the ruins of the Eternal City were locked in a constant cycle of destruction and restoration.

The rubble was obscured by billowing clouds of black dust, and something was moving there, under its veil.

Getting closer.

What could it be?

Nephis did not know, but she felt something that she had not experienced in a long while...

It was a hint of fear.

The cold, insidious tendrils of fear crawled from under the wary apprehension that was familiar to her, making her heart ache.

‘How strange.'

Was there still something in the world capable of frightening her? Even if there was, she saw no reason to assign that meaning to the unknown Nightmare Creature hiding in the black dust. So why was she afraid?

‘Am I under some kind of mental attack?’ Nephis frowned.

Surely, that had to be it. She wouldn't experience fear otherwise.

‘Let's see what that abomination is, then: She raised the Blessing, intending to channel her flames and burn the dust away. But just before she could, a vague silhouette finally appeared from the dust.

It was the thing Nephis feared.