An Awakened had no business fighting one Ascended... let alone three, each radiating an aura of an aberrant battle master. But then again, as far as Awakened went, Sunny was more than a little abnormal himself.
He had already killed two Masters before: Pierce, one of the wardens of the Night Temple, and the fearsome Red Priest, the slave overseer of the Colosseum. Both victories had been won by the skin of his teeth and cost him dearly… Sunny had even lost his head in one of those battles.
The War Maidens seemed far more daunting than both of those men, and there were three of them. The previous clashes with the Ascended he had were nothing compared to the dire challenge of this one.
…However, during both of those fights, Sunny hadn't had the opportunity to go full out. The first time, Saint and Serpent had been preoccupied with the human Echoes. The second time, he had been cut off from the Spell, and thus from his arsenal of Memories. But this time…
This time, nothing was preventing Sunny from unleashing the full and dreadful power of his Divine Aspect. It was time to show what he was truly capable of when nothing held him back.
Fortunately, two of the War Maidens had already been injured by Sunny's treacherous attack. So, although attacking the three of them alone seemed more than a little bit insane, there was a good chance that he would win this fight.
…As the three Ascended prepared to deflect the assault of Shadows, Saint lowered her shoulder, put it behind the Patient Avenger, and aimed the charred kite shield at the enemies.
[Burning Heart] Enchantment Description: "This shield can store a portion of fire damage it receives to augment another weapon of its wielder or unleash a devastating shockwave."
A deep metallic groan resounded from within the shield, and then, an invisible shockwave exploded outward from its dull steel surface. The Patient Avenger had absorbed plenty of fire damage during the explosion of divine flames, and now, all that furious force was released forward, shattering the chunks of stone that littered the cracked floor into dust and sending the War Masters flying back, into different directions.
Whatever chance of a coordinated defense they had before was now utterly gone.
Without slowing down, Sunny and his Shadows split. The Soul Serpent slithered between the dancing flames, lunging at the Maiden that wielded a spear. Saint ran toward the Maiden that wielded an odachi. And finally, Sunny and Nightmare flew toward the Maiden that was unarmed, but radiated the most pressure.
'Come on!'
Everything was going according to plan... however, no plan ever survived a clash with reality. A moment later, something unexpected happened, putting a wrinkle into Sunny's stratagem.
The woman with black hair twisted in the air and gracefully landed on her feet, plunging the tip of her glowing spear into the stone floor to stop herself from sliding back, into the white wall of divine flame burning behind her. And then… there were suddenly two of her.
Two identical War Maidens jumped to their feet, each holding an identical glowing spear. None looked like an illusion, and both possessed real shadows. Both were made of flesh and bone. Which meant... that the threat she posed instantly doubled.
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