As Nephis fought her dark copy, on the opposite side of the city, the legion of Shadow Saints was slowly melting under the assault of their corrupted kin. Despite the devastating losses both armies had suffered, the abominations were still numerous, thousands of them swarming toward the elevator platforms that two hundred shades defended.

Far above, the shadow of Absence led the remains of five centuriae as they pincered at least a thousand of Tainted Saints — attacked from multiple directions, the battle formation of stalwart abominations was slowly shrinking as more and more of them fell.

However, scores of shades were being vanquished, as well. The remaining Supreme shades clashed with the Great champions of Jade Titan's fallen army, collapsing one after another — after all, even empowered by the Will of the Lord of Shadows, they were not a match for living creatures of the same Rank. But even as they were vanquished, the silent shades dragged their enemies with them into the cold embrace of death.

The Shadow Legion still persisted in its mission, slaughtering the Tainted Saints and melting in the harrowing carnage of battle. The two hundred shades below were soon reduced to a hundred, and then to just a few dozen — but even then, the last of them stubbornly held their ground. Once those last defenders fell, the enemy would scale the great stalactites above and encircle Absence and his warriors.

Then, the army of Shadow Saints would be truly and utterly obliterated.

But before that happened, their commander still had a chance to turn the tide.

In the heart of the city, Saint had dived into a crack in the Jade Titan's armor. The abominable colossus staggered, and then slammed his fist into the cracked breastplate. His blow was so powerful that, for a moment, a blinding flash illuminated the crumbling stalagmite, and the net of cracks marring the surface of the stonelike metal deepened.

It wasn't easy to damage armor that the Demon of Destiny himself had forged. Its battered state right now was the work of two Supreme Titans — Changing Star and Lost from Light. So, the shockwave produced by the thunderous blow was truly devastating, fracturing the ancient stones beneath the terrifying giant's feet and making the colossal stalactites above sway. The Jade Titan's body could withstand the impact, but could Saint do the same? Apparently, she could.

Before the thunderous ringing produced by the blow even grew quiet, the abominable colossus shuddered and bent over, a waterfall of ruby dust spilling from beneath his helmet. A deafening sound — not quite a growl, but not quite a groan either — resounded in the impenetrable darkness, and leaning on his greatsword, the Jade Titan ripped a piece of his breastplate away. It was as if he wanted to plunge his hand into his own chest and crush the vicious invader between his fingers.

But before he could, a strange shudder ran through his body.

The Jade Titan straightened and let out a horrid, deafening roar. The low thunder of his titanic voice reverberated across the entire city, making the ancient stones vibrate and sending the flowing currents of true darkness into a frenzy.

Then, his shattered breastplate exploded outward.

What escaped from the vast breach was not a torrent of ruby dust and stone shards, however, and neither was it Saint.

Instead, it was a vast, unfathomable, billowing flood of darkness.

The darkness rose above the colossal body of the Jade Titan like a boundless cloud, expanding and circling it like a whirlwind. It swallowed the lightless void above the ancient ruins, looming above them, seething as it spun.

A great maelstrom of elemental darkness was born in the void at the heart of the ancient city, churning as its vast current spun around the battered figure of the abominable colossus. Unlike the true darkness that drowned all of the Underworld, however, this terrifying mass of it was different.

It was far more malevolent, frenzied, and terrifying, permeated by the appalling scent of Corruption... it was alive, controlled by a terrifying will.

That boundless tempest of true darkness was the essence of the Jade Titan — the towering giant it had inhabited before, meanwhile, had merely been its shell.

And now, like an empty shell, the terrifying colossus collapsed.

Its battered armor fell, as if the force that had been keeping it whole vanished. The enormous gauntlets, the shredded vambraces, the hill-sized pauldrons, the cracked breastplate, the fearsome helmet... all of it rained down like fragments of a shattered mountain, crashing into the fractured ground with devastating force. Clouds of dust rose into the air, and the crumbling stalagmite shuddered, one of its slopes shattering and sliding into the swirling mist below.

Once the dust settled, nothing but a mountain of broken stone remained, rising above the broken arena of the ancient amphitheater like a solemn barrow. The shapes and intricate decorations of the fearsome armor could still be recognized in the debris, but just barely — then, another explosion tore the stonelike barrow apart, and a graceful figure slowly climbed to its peak.

It was a graceful stone knight, her own armor bent and broken. Rivers of ruby dust flowed down from countless breaches, and harrowing wounds marred her jade body. However, the furious crimson flames that burned in her jewel-like eyes were still as cold and aloof as always.

Saint's helmet was bent and fractured, so she raised her hands and removed it. Her hair spilled over her shoulders like a waterfall of sublime silk, and her inhumanly beautiful face was exposed to the cold winds of the Underworld.

She inhaled deeply, as if remembering the long-forgotten scent of home.

Then, she raised her head and looked up at the titanic maelstrom of malevolent darkness above with a silent challenge.

The darkness moved then.

It shot downward with unimaginable speed, forming into a colossal vortex. The vortex struck Saint in the blink of an eye, flowing into her body like a flood. In just a few seconds, the entire boundless cloud vanished, absorbed by her.

The Jade Titan had abandoned his main shell, after all.

Which meant that he needed a new, equally worthy vessel.

The force of the forceful invasion threw Saint into the air. She soared through the darkness, crashed into the fractured floor of the arena, and rolled a few times, leaving a shallow crater and long trench in her wake. Then, she moved slightly, pushing herself up to one knee.

Saint swayed, the crimson fire burning in her eyes dimming slightly. There, in its depths, a hint of appalling darkness was straining to swallow her flame and replace it.

However, even though Saint was merely a Devil, the Jade Titan was struggling to consume her.

She wielded authority over elemental darkness as well, after all. And since the true nature of the terrifying Great Titan was that of an ocean of darkness imbued with malevolent will, she could attempt to wrestle away control over that ocean, too. As two wills clashed for control, Saint raised her shield slowly.

And then, she used all of her terrifying strength to slam it down, into the fractured stones beneath.

With a deafening groan, a violent tremor spread through the ancient stalagmite.

It shuddered heavily... and crumbled entirely, its entire peak shattering and falling down.

Carried by the avalanche of broken stone, Saint plummeted into the swirling mist of nothingness below.

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