Chapter 23: The Fallen Tyrant

Sunless's POV:

Summoning the Extraordinary Rock, Prowling Thorn, and the Bone Singer, Neph and I took shelter behind a nearby pile of Shards. Activating the [Silenced] enchantment, a dome of silence fell upon us.

I refrained from activating the active form of my Marble Shell in favor of agility and stealth, as I strapped the Midnight Shard to my waist. We soon started to move. Our current plan was to stealthily circle around the millipede and its minions to reach the Statue and touch it before we engaged with the Fallen Tyrant.

But then I thought...aren't we progressing a bit too fast?

Neph and I had just dealt with a Fallen Devil just recently, and here we are, making our way through the nest of a Fallen Tyrant not too long after. As funny as it is, No Sleeper or Awakened should even dare to think of doing this.

A sigh escaped my mouth as we marched through the labyrinth of Shards. As comical as it sounds, the thought has eased a bit of my tension.

Thankfully, as it turned out, the millipede as well as the worms were blind and solely relied on their hearing abilities. So with the help of the Bone Singer, we were particularly undetectable by the hosts of this Cavern.

But that Didn't mean that the millipede didn't have any other ways —that we simply weren't aware of— to detect the distortion in the air.

So we had to remain cautious.

"Then what after?"

Neph addressed her question. Our current plan went just as far as touching the statue, so her concerns were understandable.

"We will figure something out by then."

It wasn't like I experienced a battle with this peculiar Nightmare Creature.  I simply don't have enough information about it to work with. So I just kept my eyes on it for the time being.

"Didn't take you for one to dive in without a plan."

I grimaced at her statement. For someone as paranoid as me, having no knowledge about the Creature I was going to face, was playing heavily on my nerves.

"I'm working on it."

What made the plan even harder to execute was my [Fated] attribute. No matter how meticulously I plan, it will always find a way to mess everything up.

And this place was somewhere I knew nothing about. So the possibility of something even remotely going according to the plan was almost nonexistent.

Neph kept silent.

As we advanced deeper into the cavern, we soon reached the headless statue. A giant pillar of dark stone stood In the center of the cavern. The characteristic of a subtle and merciless Slayer could be seen on it, with a ghostly stiletto hidden cunningly behind her back. She stood in contrast with the bright Bluish hue that tainted the cavern.

Cracks riddled the surface of the statue. The passage of time evidently marked on its surface the ancient history of the Forgotten Shore.

We exchanged a glance and simultaneously touched the surface of the statue.

What followed was something none of us could have imagined or expected. The Statue itself shuddered with loud noise as if collapsing and dissolved into countless fragments of ethereal glass that shone in a blinding light throughout the giant cavern, drawing our attention and—to our horror—the attention of the giant millipede and its minions.

It soon simply disappeared into nothingness as if it wasn't there to begin with. I immediately dismissed the Bone Singer and inwardly cursed.

"Move!"

I roared, abandoning all thoughts of stealth as the creature dawned upon us with horrifying speed and charged across the cavern, its scythe-like mandibles snapping hungrily.

I dashed right. Neph dashed left.

The Fallen Tyrant decided to follow the source of the shout —which was unfortunately me— I dashed out of the way and made my way through the twisted turns of the Shard labyrinth.

At some point, I threw the Extraordinary Rock between the piles of shards and made it shout some random words to divert the attention of the millipede off my back.

Fortunately for Nephis, my shouting which drew the attention of the millipede, gave her enough time to position herself and face the hoard of worms that was also marching towards me.

I immediately sent Nightmare to aid Neph, while I waited behind a nearby pile of shards. I kept an eye on the millipede that still hadn't realized that it had fallen for a trick through my Shadow. But just as I was thinking that, the Millipede had made notice of Neph's presence and changed its target to her.

'Damnation!'

I activated my mantle as I positioned myself to its open flank and pushed myself off the ground with such strength that a crater formed beneath my feet, closing the distance to the millipede in an instant, I dashed through its towering legs, and thrust my Sword into its side.

However, The Midnight Shard bounced off its exoskeleton without leaving a scratch.

'What in the spell??'

Looking up, the millipede didn't even notice my presence since it was still trying to catch the agile and fast figure of Nightmare and the graceful and smaller figure of Nephis.

Nephis skilfully and gracefully dodged, deflected, and avoided the millipede, she sometimes even used its minions as shields made out of flesh.

Her adaptability was outstanding.

So I had to keep up.

'Fine, if you can't be cut, you can be crushed.'

Cladding my Fist with three shadows, I slammed it into its side with a resounding thud.

The millipede buckled from the impact, but the wave of pain that surged up my arm suggested I might have done as much damage to myself as to my target.

'Damn it!'

Jumping back to avoid its scythe-like legs I deftly landed back on the ground, and crossed the span of the cavern in a sprint as the millipede turned away from Neph and chased after me instead, giving her and Nightmare enough time to focus on the hoard.

I immediately sent a mental note to the Extraordinary Rock, and it soon screamed out,

"Over here, you shard-sharding worm!"

The millipede slid to a stop and whirled around toward the source of the shooting. With the Creature distracted, I called back my Shadows and wrapped them around my body, and went back on the offensive, hoping for a different outcome from this attack.

My surroundings blurred as my speed increased severalfold while I approached the millipede. Soon the millipede noticed me, Its pincers snapped at the air as it tried to devour my slippery figure that dipped under its head. I aimed for the joints where one of its many legs was attached to its body, and this time there was a satisfying crunch as my fist dug into its leg.

The giant legs snapped off and fell on the ground, and a gel-like fluid, tinted in black, gushed out from the injury. The Fallen Tyrant let out a shrill cry before turning its attention back to me.

The Extraordinary Rock let out another cry to get its attention. The millipede hesitated, its many legs stamping in place like an angry child throwing a tantrum, and then it shot off after the rock once again, giving me some time to reposition myself.

I continued to search for weaknesses while I frantically controlled the extraordinary rock through the prowling thorn and made sure it avoided the millipede's snapping jaws. Even after I managed to break off two more of its countless legs and delivered several powerful strikes to the open wounds where the legs were attached to its body, I hadn't managed to do any lasting damage.

If anything, the millipede just seemed to be getting angrier and more vicious.

Inflicting damage to the millipede's body hardly did anything to slow it down, so the only option was to aim for its head. The problem was that its head was where the serrated pincers were, and it also seemed to be the area most heavily armored by its translucent exoskeleton.

I knew I'd at least need to land two attacks in the same spot if there was any hope of cracking the millipede's dense exoskeleton, which meant I couldn't afford to miss.

Leaping off of one of its legs, I landed on the millipede's back and began running up the smooth flesh toward its head. Getting onto its back wasn't a challenge, but staying on as it reeled like a wild stallion proved to be much more difficult.

I danced and weaved around the giant millipede's contorting trunk as it used its legs to try and skewer me or knock me off. Its attention was still focused on trying to catch the rock, thankfully I was able to avoid the sharp legs that stabbed at me from both sides.

The uneven terrain from the countless tergites that segmented the beast's trunk, combined with the rolling, bucking motion as the millipede tried to fling me off, provided me with a challenge I hadn't faced in a while.

As I neared the millipede's head,

The Rock let out another yell to catch the millipede's attention before I made it narrowly avoid the beast's mandibles.

I rushed forward while doing my best to maintain what little control I had in maintaining my footing. I examined the body of the Fallen Tyrant.

This Creature's exoskeleton as it seems has an immunity to sharp blades, no matter how many times I struck its shell, the midnight shard would simply bounce off its surface.

Unless it was an exposed area like a joint.

Which by itself was hard to find and heavily guarded aside from the ones in his legs. As I ran, I dismissed the midnight shard and wrapped my seven Shadows around my Fist.

Once I reached the head, I slammed it down into the Creature's head. The deafening crash of thunder resounded throughout the cavern, shaking loose several piles of the soul shards, which tumbled across the floor beneath the millipede's stamping feet. Its head crashed down into the ground to form a crater the size of a small house.

A network of lightning-patterned cracks branched out from where my fist connected, and the entire top of the millipede's head caved in from the force, but I wasn't entirely confident it'd been enough.

Since the spell hasn't yet announced the kill.

If my experience of countless battles had taught me anything...

It would be Confirming and securing the kill.

I struck down at the epicenter of the shattered crater atop the Fallen Tyrant's head. Another splintering crack echoed through the cavern, and the millipede's body jerked and went limp.

The spell had yet to announce the kill nonetheless.

I stood on top of its head ready to strike down at any moment. My nerves were on high alert and I was completely exhausted and focused on the Nightmare creature in front of me to notice Neph's cautious figure approaching.

I couldn't help but think how suspiciously strong I looked compared to any sleeper she had met so far.

Looking around me. half of the worms were dealt with by Nightmare, Neph too had killed her fair share of them and the remaining a few were frantically trying to find a shelter.

But they were still too much.

I silently sighed.

'Let's hope that she won't ask too many questions.'

"Is it…..dead?"

Neph asked. As I turned to my companion to answer, the surface beneath my feet was swept from under me, and I was flung off the giant beast. Tumbling through the air, I watched helplessly as the serrated mandibles snapped shut around Neph and drove her to the far end of the cavern, slamming her into the wall.

Quickly reorienting myself, I landed on my feet and immediately swiveled on my heel—barely managing to avoid a barrage of sharp legs raining down from above.

I looked at her direction, as white, uncontrollable flames soared up through the dust from Neph's figure, it swallowed her and the head of the millipede altogether.

The Fallen Tyrant —as if sensing how dangerous those flames were— roared up and jerked its head back and away from the scorching human it tried to swallow and unleashed a torrent of strikes using its hundreds of legs. Each time it stabbed down, a foot-long hole was left in the ground, but despite the dire situation, I couldn't help but divide my concentration between dodging its legs and looking for Nephis.

Memories from the Nightmare desert resurfaced in my mind as I watched the familiar sight in front of me.

My panic deepened as I continued to dart between the millipede's legs with no sign of Neph's figure.

There was nothing but undying white flames.

And a Mad insect-like Nightmare Creature.

In my distraction, a sweeping swing of a scythe-like leg struck me in the shoulder, throwing me across the room. My feet skidded over the uneven stone, and I nearly fell when my heel came down on a small soul shard, but I kept my balance and reoriented myself to defend against the next attack.

My eyes immediately snapped back looking for Neph as my heart sunk in despair.

As the flames dimmed and the dust cleared, I could finally see her. From the new angle, I was able to make out the hunched and bloodied figure of Neph, pinned in the middle of a small crater on the wall, she almost looked dead. If it wasn't for the faint glistening of her healing white flames I almost thought I lost her.

I sighed in relief.

For now, she was unconscious.

But that also meant that these worms would have an easier time getting to her.

A sharp pain jolted through me as one of the millipede's sharp legs left a long gash on my back. This sobered me enough to collect myself.

My marble shell —without the enhancement of my shadows— wasn't as strong as before thanks to my Awakened state.

Taking a glance back in her direction, I pulled the string of the Prowling Thorn, and it came back with the Extraordinary Rock that was tied to its angular head.

I dodged another barrage of thrusts from

the millipede's legs and dashed to the side and threw the Prowling Thorn toward Neph's direction, impaling one of the closest worms to her into the ground.

The Rock let out a loud noise attracting the attention of the Fallen Tyrant and its worms. I immediately pulled the Prowling Thorn back and sent it to the other end of the cavern, as far away as possible from Neph attracting the attention of the nearby worms.

I turned my attention back towards the Fallen Tyrant before me.

If I was going to escape this place, and if I was going to kill one of the most powerful beings in the world, I needed to push myself to my utmost limit.

And then I needed to push even further.

That was something I neglected to do ever since my regression. Heavily relying on my knowledge of the Future.

'How foolish.'

Was it my thought or was it a voice at the back of my head?

I couldn't care less.

As I turned to face the Fallen Tyrant.

The more I continued dodging, the more unnecessary movements began to shave off me. The battle was long and drawn out, but I fell into a pattern, as I went into a state of battle clarity.

The essence of battle is murder.

Neph was the one who taught me that.

Which now I needed to protect.

I was never a master in hand-to-hand combat and fighting without my sword wasn't a pleasant feeling for me, but I fought countless battles, killed many enemies, and copied as many battle styles.

Searching through my arsenal of hand-to-hand combat styles. Dire Fang's battle style which mastered the art of hand-to-hand combat came to the top.

My patterns changed. Blended with Neph's unpredictability and my own adaptation, Dire Fang's Combat style which was cruel, brutal, and furious became much more deadlier.

I stepped and hacked, stepped and hacked, making each motion precise and effortless. Each blow broke one of the sharp legs or cracked the thick exoskeleton until the millipede began to slow, its remaining legs no longer able to support the swift movement of its massive bulk.

The millipede let out a shrill wail, a screeching noise like the whistle of a train crossed with the chirping of a cricket, and clamored awkwardly toward me on its remaining legs.

The worms went into a frenzy, they were stumped on by their master and scattered chaotically throughout the cavern.

That image helped me.

My fists couldn't pierce through its exoskeleton nor could my blade. That only left one option for me.

It's sharp legs.

I charged away, toward a leg that I broke earlier. Because the millipede's legs were too large for me to hold as a weapon, I had to break the sharp tip from one for me to be able to use it.

Wielding one of the translucent legs of the Tyrant like a lance, I jumped high into the air and pulled the strings of the prowling thorn to keep the still screaming rock on the ground where I just stood.

I had to land a clean hit on the wound at the back of its head where I had struck earlier, but that wasn't as easy as it sounded. The Nightmare Creature flailed its head like a deranged bull, only lowering it to try and snap me in two.

Twice I missed my target, scraping the exterior shell of its head as it struck at me like a snake. It was as If the Fallen Tyrant was trying to detect my presence and completely ignoring the sound coming from the Rock.

It was constantly attentive to my location, rhythmically thumping its remaining legs on the ground to find my location.

I needed to stop that.

Dodging the serrated mandibles, I waited and looked for an opening, while I weighed my options.

Nightmare was busy warding off the worms that tried to attack me while also making sure none reached the unconscious Nephis….

'Neph?'

Taking a quick glance at where I had last seen her my head stopped functioning for a second.

She was nowhere to be seen.

In my momentarily panic, a fierce figure clad in blinding white flames dashed by my side.

It was Nephis,

Our eyes locked for a moment in a silent understanding. She then bulldozed her way toward the Fallen Tyrant holding nothing back. As I spun to the opposite side, giving her and the Fallen Tyrant my back, I threw the Extraordinary Rock high toward the pursuing hoard of the Awakened Nightmare creatures.

"Over here You disgusting creatures!"

The rock let out a loud shout. Attracting the attention of the crowd beneath.

I immediately sent a mental note to my Stallion. Nightmare quickly and skilfully maneuvered around the giant millipede, and simultaneously attacked the Fallen Tyrant from the other side.

The millipede stiffened from the combined attacks of Nightmare and Nephis and slumped to the ground. Tightening my grip around the impromptu weapon in my hand, I rushed forward, holding tightly to the remaining sliver of strength left within me.

Veering right to avoid the millipede's sluggish attempt at pincering me, I used its own mandibles as a foothold to launch myself high up into the air.

Combining the speed of my fall with the force of my swing, as well as the Feather of Truth I drove the makeshift lance deep into the millipede. Its head crashed down into the ground to form a crater the size of a small house.

Without wasting any time I slammed the rare of the makeshift lance once again with my fist driving the lance deeper into the Tyrant's head. The satisfying crunch of the millipede's exoskeleton shattering was followed by the sensation of penetrating flesh.

The giant millipede let out a pained roar, a noise so guttural and raw that it made my ears ring, and its body crashed onto the ground.

My body felt like lead and my heart ached. But I felt good—better than I had in a long time. I turned my attention back to Nephis while weakly pointing a finger at her.

Our eyes locked.

"Your shift,"

I huffed, collapsing on top of the giant creature. The voice of the Spell sounded eerily sweet to my ears.

[You Have Slain a Fallen Tyrant: The Abyss Prisoner.]

As my mind drifted to sleep I almost thought I heard the Spell saying:

[You Have received a Memory]