My dumb life in Shadow Slave

Asher and Cassie sat in tense silence, the oppressive weight of the battle looming over them. The air was thick with apprehension, each passing second feeling like an eternity. Asher strained to sense the distant fight, his brow furrowed in concentration. Though he couldn't discern the specifics, he could feel the positions of everyone involved, their movements like ghostly whispers in his mind.

Suddenly, his eyes widened as the spell announced:

[Your Echo has been destroyed.]

Asher's heart skipped a beat. He had commanded his Echo to protect Nephis and Sunny at all costs. Unlike Sunny's Echo, which focused solely on attacking the monster, his Echo was always vigilant, watching out for Nephis and Sunny. Its destruction could only mean one thing.

"They're in danger," he whispered, the words heavy with dread.

Clenching his fist, he forced himself to his feet, every muscle protesting as he began to limp toward the battlefield. The rain battered against his body, each drop feeling like a sharp needle to his tired muscles. Cassie, hearing his movement, turned her head sharply. "Asher, where are you going?" she called out, her voice tinged with worry.

"My Echo just got destroyed," he replied, the gravity of the statement hanging in the air.

Cassie's eyes widened with understanding. She knew what that meant. "Don't die," she said softly, a sad smile playing on her lips, her voice barely audible over the pounding rain.

Asher paused for a moment, their eyes meeting. He nodded in acknowledgement before turning away, steeling himself for what lay ahead. The storm raged on, the wind howling around him as he pushed forward, each step fueled by determination and fear.

"I can't let them die." he muttered under his breath as Asher neared the field, his eyes widened in horror.

Sunny was slumped in a corner, his breathing ragged and labored, barely clinging to life.

The monster, a massive five-meter crab with two pincers and two bone scythes, was damaged significantly compared to the novel, but there was a crucial difference. In the novel, Nephis and Sunny survived because Changing Star's silver sword had been embedded in the monster's weak point, anchoring a stray lightning bolt that nearly killed it.

This time, however, the sword was not in the monster's weak point. As Asher arrived, a bolt of lightning struck the carapace monster, causing it to screech monstrously. Dazed, the monster gathered its limbs and tried to stand. It had already begun to recover.

But Changing Star was quicker. Grabbing the hilt of the longsword, she grimaced as the heat burned her hands. Then, she twisted the blade, making the slayer's body twitch, and pulled it out, breaking apart a small portion of the monster's lower torso armor.

Dashing to the side, she lashed out with her sword. The glowing, white-hot blade caught the creature's arm right below the joint and almost cleaved through it, sending the terrifying bone scythe flying in a rain of azure blood.

Or that was what was supposed to happen in the novel.

Nephis did indeed almost cleave through the monster's scythe, but it wasn't enough. The creature was a terrifying sight, its carapace gleaming in the lightning flashes, its pincers and scythes glistening with deadly intent. It was a behemoth, its massive pincers capable of snapping boulders in half, and its bone scythes, sharp and menacing, could slice through steel.

The monster roared, the sound reverberating through the battlefield. It kicked Nephis with one of its legs, sending her hurtling into one of the many protruding rocks. She winced in pain but didn't have time to catch her breath as she saw a bone scythe descending toward her. All she could do was shift to the left and hope she would only lose her right arm.

Just then, the monster hurtled to the right, narrowly missing Nephis's arm as something collided with its upper torso.

_____________________________________________________________________

A Few Seconds Earlier...

Asher took a deep breath, tightening his grip on the hilt of his Stone Blade. He took a step forward, narrowing his eyes, and with a burst of strength, he hurled the Stone Blade with lightning speed. The force created a small shockwave, and Asher heard several cracks in his bones due to augmenting his hand.

He then augmented the blade itself while accelerating it with gravity. As the blade broke the sound barrier, Asher winced in pain, grinning through it. "I didn't watch all those javelin throw videos just for fun, you stupid bastard..."

The blade struck with devastating precision, slamming into the monster and sending it reeling back five meters. The impact shattered its weakened carapace, revealing its vulnerable spot. Nephis turned toward the projectile's trajectory, her eyes widening in surprise and awe. Asher, despite the throbbing agony in his right hand, casually gave a thumbs-up with his left, his expression radiating with a pained smirk.

Sunny's Echo seized the moment, attacking the monster while it was dazed. The creature retaliated with a vicious swipe of its pincer, catching the Echo and slamming it into the ground with a bone-crushing force. The Echo barely managed to avoid being completely pulverized, rolling to the side and striking back with its own fierce attacks.

The monster, now enraged, lunged at Nephis with its remaining bone scythe. She dodged with agility, her movements a blur as she parried and struck, trying to find an opening. The creature's pincers snapped dangerously close to her, each miss sending tremors through the ground.

Asher shouted to Nephis, "Nephis! Heal Sunny, please! He might actually die!" Nephis nodded hesitantly as Asher summoned his Azure Blade.

Sunny, already gravely wounded, would not survive much longer without help as he was already injured before this fight due to Asher slamming him into rocks. So Sunny, in fact, could not last that long this time. 

Sunny bought his eyes to Asher as he thought while drowning in his own blood, 'That bastard actually looks determined for once.' he wanted to smirk, but that could actually kill him.

Asher took another deep breath, his determination crystallizing as he positioned himself to throw the Azure Blade with his left hand. His eyes locked onto the monster's exposed brain, his focus unwavering. Veins bulged on his wrist as he summoned every ounce of his strength, hurling the sword with a primal shout that echoed across the battlefield.

The blade flew with deadly precision, a blur of azure light cutting through the storm. Though his left hand was weaker, it didn't matter. The sword pierced the monster's brain, eliciting an ear-splitting screech of agony. The creature staggered, its massive frame convulsing as its movements became erratic and desperate.

Just as the monster seemed on the verge of recovering, Sunny's Echo lunged, its pincers sinking deep into the exposed flesh. With a final, decisive snap, the Echo finished the beast off, the monstrous body collapsing in a heap.

Asher, his body trembling from the exertion, watched the scene unfold. He let out a weary chuckle, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "That fucking kill stealer..." he murmured, a tired but triumphant smile playing on his lips.

The monster's screech was followed by another terrible, muffled scream that cut through the torrential rain. Changing Star had her face contorted in a grimace of excruciating agony as she poured her energy into healing Sunny. Unlike Asher, who had targeted minor wounds, Nephis was mending a life-threatening injury, and the pain was unbearable. The radiance of her white flame intensified, casting eerie, flickering shadows in the storm.

Nephis shut her eyes tightly, tears streaming down her tortured, bloodless face. She felt as if she were burning alive, the searing pain almost too much to bear. The rain pounded down, mixing with her tears, but she continued to channel her healing power, her resolve unbreakable despite the agony.

Asher frowned at the unpleasant cry, his body wobbling as the rain soaked him to the bone. "This is how it feels to be Deku, eh?" he muttered, his voice barely audible over the storm. The excruciating pain in his arms was unbearable, making him cry out involuntarily. Each drop of rain felt like a needle against his skin, intensifying his suffering.

Of course, it was nowhere near the level of pain Nephis was enduring, the sensation of being burned alive, but for Asher, it was agony beyond comprehension. His arms throbbed, every nerve ending screaming in protest as if his bones were shattered glass grinding together.

He leaned against a nearby coral, the rough surface digging into his back, and collapsed. The relentless rain poured down on him, mingling with the blood and sweat on his face. His vision blurred, and the world around him faded as he slipped into unconsciousness, overwhelmed by the pain of breaking every single bone in his upper limbs.

The battlefield was a scene of chaos and despair, the relentless rain hammering down, the ground soaked and slippery. The air was thick with the smell of wet earth and blood. Each breath Asher took was laboured, the taste of iron on his tongue, as the world slowly went dark around him as he gave his last thought:

"Fuck. It hurts."