Shadow Slave novel Chapter 52

Chapter 52 Clarity

In that moment, hovering on the edge of nothingness, Sunny realized that he was about to die.

He had to struggle against the fog that permeated his mind, slowing down his thoughts and dampening all emotions.

All except for fear.

Despite the fact that his body was broken and his mind was paralyzed, some stubborn part of Sunny was still refusing to give up. He wasn't ready to die. At least not without giving his all to survive.

He was revolted at the thought of giving the world the satisfaction of the win.

That would be so infuriating. Hadn't he told Hero that he was going to survive no matter what, to spite them all?

That's right. He might be a shameless liar, but a promise was still a promise.

But… how was he even supposed to survive? No matter how he looked at it, the situation seemed to be hopeless.

As the scythe slayer approached, its eyes shining menacingly with bloodthirsty crimson light, Sunny tried to pierce through the fog that enveloped his mind. However, his attempts were aimless and weak. It was hard to find purchase in the fog.

He needed an anchor.

Suddenly, a simple thought caught his attention. It was something that he had repeated a thousand times, burning it into his mind.

'Repetition, experience, clarity.'

Clarity…

He remembered what Nephis had taught him. The essence of combat was murder. Any action performed during a battle served only one of two purposes: it was either to kill your enemy or prevent the enemy from killing you.

If he could learn that, he would have enough clarity to master the mind.

Back then, he didn't really understand the profound meaning behind the simple word "clarity" that Nephis had used. But now, with his mind in shambles, he was finally able to grasp it.

The two truths behind the essence and purpose of combat were simple and solid, almost tangible. Even in his half-conscious state, he was able to use them as a stable foundation in the fog. Then, he reformed his mind around this foundation, building it along the stark lines of that truth.

Suddenly, he was able to think again.

What's more, his thoughts were clear and incredibly fast, free of all unnecessary distractions.

This was clarity.

***

Sunny looked up at the advancing monster, calmly weighing his options.

His body was pretty much useless. He couldn't move his limbs at all. The shadow still followed his commands, but it was busy doing an important job — keeping him from dying immediately.

Even with its help, he wouldn't be able to last long.

But this was a useless thought. He couldn't do anything about it, so there was no sense in wasting time considering it further.

With his body immobilized, Memories couldn't be used.

That left only the Echo.

The carapace scavenger was going to have to be his only tool to either kill the enemy or prevent the enemy from killing him.

The monster was quickly approaching Sunny. Its mandibles moved, viscous saliva flowing down from them in a torrent of transparent mucus. In a flash of lightning, he was able to see and instantly register every spike, every scratch, every abrasion on the creature's carapace.

The handle of Changing Star's sword was still protruding from its body, washed in azure blood.

'What an ugly bastard.'

Sunny was being hypocritical. Truth be told, with its black carapace painted with crimson patterns and a mighty body specially designed for mayhem and slaughter, the scythe slayer looked striking and incredibly menacing.

It was almost majestic… in a terrifying, murderous kind of way.

Unable to move, he had to look helplessly as the monster closed the distance between them and loomed over Sunny's broken, bleeding body.

Its scythes rose into the air, ready to strike down.

Looking right into the monster's burning eyes, Sunny thought:

'Go to hell, you overgrown bug!'

The scythes shot toward his body.

…In the last moment, something massive and furious rammed into the monster from the side, throwing it away. It was Sunny's carapace scavenger.

Not bothering with its own safety anymore, the Echo entwined itself with the enemy in a chaotic mess of limbs as they rolled on the ground. Despite the fact that it was smaller and weaker, its crazy assault and complete disregard for its own life were enough to give the bigger monster some pause.

The Echo lashed out with its pincers, ramming them against the creature's carapace in a crazy whirlwind of blows. For a moment, the howling of the wind was drowned out by the clamor of chitin striking against chitin. The slayer's carapace mostly held, but a couple of cracks did appear on its black surface.

The monster, on the contrary, was back to its sense. It seemed as though the sudden pain of losing a limb had shaken it wide awake. Raising to its full height, it opened its ugly mouth and let out a deafening, enraged shriek. _{ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com}