Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

The second week of the siege had ended.

A few days ago, the Devouring Cloud was eliminated. The Terror of L049 had been slain that same day. More people had been evacuated, and the process was still ongoing.

The siege capital still stood — firmly in human hands and mostly intact.

Raphael sat in a familiar office within the underground government complex, the same room where he had first met the other Irregular officers before the siege began. The office remained unchanged, except for the image projected onto the false window.

It still displayed a view of the city, but now, fewer people walked the streets. The blizzard was picking up again, reducing visibility.

One more chair sat empty.

There were only four people in the room — Raphael, Sunny, Jet, and Winter. The large space felt painfully hollow with just the four of them.

Dale had been gravely injured during the last battle. If Raphael hadn't intervened, he would already be dead.

Master Roan was also wounded while luring the Devouring Cloud, leaving him bedridden for weeks.

They had lost two powerful Masters… but they had also killed two disasters.

For a few moments, they sat in silence, enjoying the brief reprieve. After days of constant fighting with little rest, this meeting felt like a rare moment of calm.

Soul Reaper exhaled and glanced at her datapad.

"I'll update you on the current situation. Most of the details have been sent to your communicators, so check them later. The key points… the wall is still holding, but just barely. Three breaches have turned into five, as you know. Army Command believes we won't lose control of the defensive barrier unless something catastrophic happens."

Winter raised her hand, cutting her off.

"What's the point of talking about it? Let's get to the real issue — the priority targets. Two out of five are down. Sunny killed the Terror, and the Devouring Cloud's Brood Mother and Father were dealt with by you, Sunny, and Mongrel. That's the good news. What about the other three?"

Master Jet paused briefly.

"That's exactly why I called you here today. Goliath was expected to arrive yesterday. He's been moving unusually slow these past two weeks, so the timeline shifted. We should expect that big bastard tomorrow or the day after."

Raphael tapped the table with his finger.

"If Goliath is near, then we need to prepare for the real threat — the Heart of Darkness."

Master Jet nodded.

"Yes, that's why we're here — to make a plan to kill it."

The meeting continued, focusing on strategy and formations.

The plan was simple but dangerous. Sunny would take the lead in killing Goliath. Once Goliath fell, the Heart of Darkness would emerge. From there, they had two choices — either take it down with Saint Bloodwave's help or wait for the Emperor of the Underworld.

They chose the first option.

Raphael wasn't disappointed by their decision. From the start, he could have killed the Heart of Darkness in the tunnel… but he didn't, for one reason — Shadow Shell.

That was why Raphael had spared Goliath. Sunny needed to learn Shadow Shell. Without it, conquering the Third Nightmare would be nearly impossible.

The moment Sunny mastered Shadow Shell, Raphael would step in and kill the Heart of Darkness.

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Raphael looked at Goliath, who was marching toward Falcon Scott.

From a vast distance, the thunderous steps of the colossal giant echoed across the world. Even though the soldiers could not see anything due to the raging snowstorm, the sound alone made them pale and grip their weapons with trembling hands.

Boom… boom…

Boom...

Each step hit them like a mental attack.

Jet tried to contact Army Command but cursed when the interference made it impossible. Calling out to one of the messengers, she said tersely:

"Inform HQ that Goliath is approaching from the south. We need reinforcements here as soon as possible. Go!"

The pale-faced messenger saluted and disappeared from view, leaving them with nothing to do but wait.

Raphael sighed. His role in this battle was to kill the abominations accompanying Goliath.

The honor of battling the Heart of Darkness went to the others, which Raphael was more than happy with.

He glanced at Saint, and a lengthy, sharp javelin appeared in her hand. It was about three meters long, incredibly heavy, and entirely white. A sense of immense, wild, destructive power radiated from the weapon, making even Sunny feel slightly uncomfortable.

Goliath continued toward the south wall, but suddenly, the titan's massive, malformed head turned slightly, and his single eye stared back.

The milky surface of the giant's eye quivered… then slid away like an eyelid.

Behind it, a second eye was revealed. Unlike the first one, which was white and featureless, this one was a furious red, as if made of pure magma. Three incandescent pupils floated in its depths, like windows into a blazing inferno.

Beneath Raphael, the seventy-meter-tall defensive wall of the city groaned and shifted. Glancing over the parapet, he saw the impregnable alloy… it was melting.

The onyx knight instantly moved.

Taking a single step, she raised the javelin behind her. For a moment, Saint's entire body formed a graceful arch — from the tip of her foot, to her hip, to her shoulder, to her fist.

Then, her hand whipped forward, and the battlement beneath her shattered from the immense pressure. Even her vambrace cracked, shards of onyx falling like precious gems.

At the last moment, four shadows slid from her fingers and wrapped around the Siege Souvenir.

The long, immeasurably heavy javelin shot forward with the speed of lightning. A deafening boom echoed as sound barriers were pierced, and a powerful shockwave rolled across the battlement, throwing soldiers off their feet.

The artificial Memory streaked across the black sky like a line of pure darkness, creating a whirlwind of hurricane winds in its wake.

A split second later, it struck Goliath's eye.

There was a flash of light, followed by a world-shaking thunderclap.

And then, the sound of shattering stone.

The Siege Souvenir plunged between the titan's three pupils, disappearing into the molten red eye. Then, it burst out of the back of Goliath's head in an explosion of broken stone.

The colossal, headless body of Goliath tilted forward, slowly falling as though floating in the air instead of crashing in an obliterating avalanche of stone.

Below, hundreds of Nightmare Creatures were already panicking, desperately trying to flee to avoid being crushed.

Even with Goliath's death, the soldiers didn't feel any relief. The abomination had already been half-dead.

The true battle was just beginning.

When Goliath's body hit the ground, large portions cracked like the shell of a rotten egg. And from within…

A tide of darkness poured out, eviscerating the wounded Nightmare Creatures that clung to life and stretching toward the broken city wall like black tentacles.

'The Heart of Darkness…'

The Masters advanced to confront the Heart of Darkness, and Bloodwave joined them.

Raphael descended to face the horde of abominations.

Summoning his blood swords, Raphael decapitated an abomination with a single strike.

The chaos had begun.

Raphael continued to slaughter abominations until the count surpassed a hundred.

Gripping his swords, he gritted his teeth and thought:

'Next time, I'll order Mohg to make me a weapon capable of growing bigger and longer, so I can crush a thousand of them with one attack!'

The battle raged on until Raphael heard Mohg's voice.

"Your Majesty, he did it."

Raphael didn't need to summon the darkness—he had already done so long ago.

In front of the moon, a dragon drifted through the sky, its long black body glowing with faint lines of gold. Its sharp antlers curved high, and dark scales covered its fierce face. Smooth, curved horns extended from its head as it exhaled. Sharp claws hung beneath its coiled body, ready to strike.

The dragon roared, making the earth tremble.

Descending toward the Heart of Darkness, the dragon reached one of its rivers, opened its massive jaws, and devoured the beetles until it reached the core.

The dragon bit into the core and soared into the sky. In the heavens, the sound of shattering glass echoed, and the river of darkness collapsed. The dark beetles, which had acted as one organism before, now scattered aimlessly. Some grew lethargic and burrowed into the ground, while others wandered away.

Raphael looked at the dragon and smiled.

To be fair, Raphael could have summoned darkness from the ground to devour the core. But as an Emperor, showing his strength for the first time, he had to appear as imposing as his title demanded.

In his old world, they called this "Aura," and now he would show them the Aura of an Emperor.

From behind, he heard the retreat call. The Army was preparing to activate the Rampart Protocol. Anyone who didn't reach the secondary defense line would perish in the explosion.

Raphael summoned his wings and flew back to Falcon Scott.

On his way, he spotted a shadow streaking toward the cohort. Raphael dove down to intercept, but he was too late.

In the next moment, Luster lunged forward, pushing Kim aside and throwing her to the ground. Something flashed through the cold air, instantly filling it with hot blood.

The black blur didn't stop. A sharp blade flashed toward Dorn, whose face was frozen in shock.

This time, Raphael wasn't late. He summoned his great sword, engulfing its tip in darkness.

He descended swiftly, slashing at the shadow.

With darkness consuming the blade, even shadows were vulnerable.

The shadow retreated into the darkness but reappeared behind Samara, aiming its blade at her heart.

…However, a jade sword suddenly blocked the attack.

'What the…'

Sunny, who had thrown himself into the path of the enemy, was flung backward by the impact. The force was so intense that his hands went numb.

He hit the scorched road, rolled, and jumped to his feet.

Kim landed on the ground, as did Luster… but both of his legs had been severed at the knee. Blood poured from the terrible wounds.

Raphael quickly summoned ropes of blood, pulling everyone toward him to shield them.

He glanced at Luster and gritted his teeth.

From behind, another shadow emerged, attacking Raphael. But Raphael had anticipated it.

Turning, he struck the Imp.

The creature tried to retreat into the shadows, but Raphael's darkness-infused blade severed its arm.

The shadow fled, but Raphael didn't care. That was Sunny's problem to deal with.

He found Luster's severed legs nearby, grabbed them, and looked at Sunny.

Suddenly, Sunny's voice rang in his head.

'Take the others and get to the secondary defense line now!'

Raphael nodded, tied a rope around the injured, and flew off.

Dorn gritted his teeth and protested:

"We can't leave the captain alone!"

Raphael sneered at him.

"And do what? Become deadweight for him? It's better to let him fight alone than have to protect you all while battling that thing."

Dorn fell silent, unable to argue.

Reaching the secondary defense line, Raphael handed Luster to Dorn, ordering him to take him to the infirmary.

"They cut his legs cleanly. They should be able to stitch them back."

Minutes later, explosions erupted in the distance, sending a cloud of flames that reduced everything to ash.

When the fiery cloud dissipated, a lone figure emerged, walking toward them.

It was Sunny.

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Another chapter will be uploaded in minutes! It will be the end of this arc.