Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

Asterion joining the war and siding with humanity was unexpected, but it was also a great boon.

With Asterion on their side, humanity now had three Sovereigns, matching the Underworld's three Sovereigns.

However, the third Sovereign of the Underworld, Nether, remained seated on his throne, unmoving.

This meant that, for now, humanity held the upper hand in the war.

Sunny, atop Nightmare, didn't stop. He continued his march toward the rear of the left wing of the Underworld army.

Unlike him, who had multiple avatars, the right wing of the human army was unaware of what was happening on the left.

But Sunny knew this was their chance to strike.

Moving swiftly through the chaos, Sunny destroyed numerous stone statues. Unlike humans, no matter how much damage they sustained, the stone statues would always rise again unless their cores were destroyed.

This posed a significant problem. Fighting an army stronger than yours was difficult, but fighting an army that didn't fear death was far worse.

With all his transcendent strength, Sunny pierced through another stone statue with his spear, while Nightmare crushed another beneath its hooves.

Before he realized it, Sunny had finally reached the rear of the Underworld army.

Behind him, other soldiers caught up, though their numbers were now half of what they had been at the start of the mission.

Sunny glanced at the Saints who had made it: Summer Knight, Jest, Beastmaster, and Saint of Sorrow. He sighed. Other Saints had been with them, but it seemed they had fallen along the way.

Sunny addressed the Saints. "We'll leave half of our unit to defend our rear. The rest will follow me to attack the left flank of the central army."

Their unit was already small, composed of only the best of the best. Now, they had to leave half behind to protect their backs.

If they attacked the central army without leaving soldiers to guard their rear, the left wing of the Underworld army could easily send a detachment to attack from behind, trapping them completely.

In the end, only Beastmaster remained from the Saints, along with half their unit.

With Sunny leading the charge, the unit marched toward the central army.

Just as Sunny had anticipated, the Underworld army was waiting for them.

"Prepare for engagement!" Sunny shouted to the soldiers behind him.

Ordering Nightmare to accelerate, Sunny used the momentum to thrust his spear, shattering the wall of stone statues and creating a breach.

The unit didn't waste the opportunity the Lord of Shadows had created. They attacked with everything they had. Jest, in his transcendent transformation, crushed anything in his path. Sir Gilead, also in his transcendent transformation, struck down enemies with ease, his body seemingly intangible as attacks passed through him. Saint of Sorrow, in his gargoyle form, blocked every assault, protecting the Masters nearby.

The assault on the left flank of the Underworld army didn't go unnoticed. The central human army launched a full-scale attack, joining forces with Sunny's unit.

The combined assault resulted in a clear victory, dealing a heavy blow to the Underworld forces.

On the left flank, Jest punched through anything in his way, his fists obliterating stone bodies with overwhelming force.

In front of him stood three Saint-ranked statues. Normally, fighting multiple enemies played to his advantage, but these statues were emotionless, rendering his Aspect useless.

Still, Jest felt no fear. He was accustomed to fighting without relying on his Aspect. The only difference was that his enemies didn't lack intelligence.

The three statues advanced, attacking in unison. From his left, a statue wielding a sword slashed at his abdomen. Jest dodged to the right, evading the strike. He glanced to his right, expecting another attack, but found nothing.

From behind, a statue thrust a spear toward Jest's heart. Reacting quickly, Jest turned and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

The spear pierced through his hands but stopped just short of his heart. Jest yanked the spear to the side, pulling the statue with it. With a crushing grip, he smashed the statue's head.

Tossing the statue aside, Jest turned to face the remaining two. His hands were badly injured, making it difficult to use them.

The two statues pressed their attack relentlessly, leaving Jest no opening to counter.

After minutes of relentless assault, Jest finally found an opportunity. He shifted his weight to the right, preparing to strike one of the statues... but he froze as something stabbed him from behind.

The headless statue he had just defeated was still active. Unnoticed, it had attacked him.

The other two statues seized the moment. One punched Jest in the head, while the other drove its sword into his side.

Jest coughed up blood but quickly regained his composure. He pushed the two statues back and destroyed the one behind him.

He touched his wounds and laughed bitterly. "This has to be some kind of joke."

The two statues lunged at him again. With his injuries, dodging was nearly impossible. All he could do was defend.

Using Jest's large frame to their advantage, the sword-wielding statue slashed at his knees, severing them.

Jest collapsed, kneeling on the ground. He looked up at the sky, where Anvil was locked in his own battle.

"Never thought I'd die before you, little Vale…"

The sword-wielding statue swung its blade, severing Jest's head from his body.

Jest of the Dagonet clan had fallen on the battlefield.

Jest's death did not go unnoticed. In the sky, Anvil felt his Domain weaken further as he lost another Citadel—this one belonging to Jest.

"So, you've met your end, old man…"

Anvil felt no grief. He simply continued his fight against the Supreme-ranked statue.

Near Jest's body, the sound of galloping hooves echoed.

Sunny, atop Nightmare, arrived and dispatched the two statues in mere moments.

Looking down at Jest's lifeless body, Sunny sighed.

He could have saved him, but he hadn't. There were many reasons for this… but the most important was that Jest had tried to kill Cassie.

Sunny ordered Nightmare to move on, leaving Jest's body behind.

Elsewhere, behind the Underworld army, Nether sat on his throne, watching the clash of armies.

With Asterion joining humanity and the assault on the central army, the Underworld was clearly losing.

Nether looked down at his hand and activated one of his Vessel's Aspect abilities.

Aspect Ability: [The Primordial]

Description: [As a descendant of the —Unknown—, you are not shackled by form. You can be anything and everything, one and infinite.]

Before him, a man materialized out of nowhere. His black hair, streaked with gold, fell to his shoulders. His golden, lifeless eyes met Nether's gaze.

Nether spoke a single command: "Go."

The man hesitated for a moment, then obeyed.

Nephis, fighting amidst the chaos, felt the world shift. She looked up at the dark sky, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"Raphael…?"

In the sky, he stood, watching everything from above. Behind him, the world bent under his will, and out of nowhere, spears and swords materialized.

The human army, their hopes momentarily lifted, now faced despair.

Saints, Masters, and Awakeners looked up. Some laughed hysterically, while others screamed in terror.

Tens of thousands of spears and swords pointed downward, ready to rain destruction.

The Descendant of God.

The Man Feared by All.

The Devil.

Raphael, the Black Emperor, had descended onto the battlefield.

And under the gaze of the world, the Emperor spoke a single word:

"Fall."

Like a steel rain seeking blood, the silver sky descended upon the human army.

Their screams echoed across the battlefield.

The scales of war had shifted decisively in favor of the Underworld.

***

It's a jest isn't it? The one who loved the world is the one who will destroy it. Also, from now on there will be dark themes so... anyway sorry for the late upload.

If you have any questions, you can find me in the official Shadow Slave discord. just go to the Fanfiction room, and search for mine, it's named after the FF name.

Leave a review on this fanfic, chapter and some power stones, so more people can read it.

See you again next time👋