Shadow Slave: The Four Horseman of Deviants

There was nothing but pain—raw, unrelenting pain that consumed every inch of his body. His clothes were torn and bloodied, a testament to the battles he'd survived.

The torment he'd endured, the countless humiliations that had brought him to his knees—none of it had been enough to break his spirit. Stubborn as ever, he kept moving forward. He had too much to lose, too much at stake to allow himself to die here.

Will was in the brink of self-destruction, but he reminded himself of one thing—he would dominate and conquer his First Nightmare, no matter what it took.

He'd already slain countless Dormant Nightmare Creatures, ranging from aerial to land types. Most were small and manageable, but they were nothing compared to the real challenge ahead.

The Seven Deadly Guardians were a different breed entirely—all were Awakened rank, each one more dangerous than the last.

At the Third Core, he faced a swarm of grunt Nightmare Creatures. Dozens of them came at him, but with Lucifer at his side, he slayed them with ease. Then came the Guardian: Envy. A twisted reflection of himself, paranoid and disheveled, but just as strong as Gluttony. It was a grueling fight, bit by bit, he began to adapt to the enemies movements, and just like that he was able to defeat it.

The Fourth Core was even harder. The Guardian there, Wrath, controlled the Nightmare Creatures like puppets. At first, Will used Lucifer for aerial maneuvers to gain the upper hand, but Wrath had a brutal and absurd tactic—it hurled the small nightmare creatures at him like living projectiles, exhausting its own resources. Once it was vulnerable, Will seized the opportunity and dispatched it with precision.

Then came the Fifth Core. Greed. This one was different—a polished, professional version of himself. It could manipulate the terrain and wielded a wide array of weapons with terrifying skill. The battle left Will battered and broken, physically drained and on the verge of death. In the end, he had to sacrifice Lucifer to create an opening, using that brief moment to strike Greed down.

If that wasn't enough, the Sixth Core took an even greater toll—both on his body and his mind. Lust appeared as a female version of himself, a seductive and manipulative presence that ensnared his mind the moment he stepped through the portal. She dragged him into a fabricated paradise, tempting him to surrender and embrace the desires that gnawed at his soul.

But Will didn't fall for it. He knew better. A succubus was always a bitch, leading you to temptation. Fueled by sheer willpower and his refusal to admit defeat, he broke free from the illusion, suppressing every shred of innate desire. Then, with raw fists, he beat her into the ground. There was no need for [Plague Ravager] this time—beating someone like her with his bare hands was far more satisfying.

And now, here he was.

What awaited him?

"The last one has to be Pride," he muttered, counting off the names on his fingers. "Sloth, Envy, Wrath, Greed, Lust… and then Pride."

Summoning [Plague Ravager], he sighed. "You're all I've got left. Lucifer's already gone, and if you go too, I'm screwed. This fight could kill me."

He knelt to sharpen the blade of his battle axe against a jagged rock he'd found on the ground. But as he worked, frustration bubbled over.

"This is bullshit!" he snarled, gripping the axe tighter. "I killed the last four Guardians, and the Nightmare Spell didn't reward me for it!"

His teeth ground together as he hurled the rock in a fit of rage. "Fucking hell! Is this damn spell trying to kill me?!" His foot tapped against the ground, restless and impatient.

He was wasting too much time! He needs to finish this ASAP!

He rationalized himself that there was no time for getting more angry. He needed to finish this Nightmare, and fast.

Fixing his bearings and hyping himself up, he stepped through the portal, bracing himself for the final core.

…..

The portal led Will into a dark place with a dim red glow. The core hung suspended in the middle of the place, its pulse faint but steady. It was right there, within reach—unlike the last core, where he'd been forced to use the guardian as a projectile to destroy it.

Now, it presented itself as though waiting for him to shatter it.

However, this felt too easy. There had to be a guardian here, lurking in the shadows, waiting for its prey to walk into its trap.

"I know you're here! Come out now, so we could be done with this! You're the last one left, so you better fucking face me with everything you got!"

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the place.

"I'm not alone…" a sinister voice answered.

"I don't want to do this…" a tired voice spoke up.

"Me too, is this even safe?!" a panicked voice added.

"Fools! We're going to break him, shatter him into pieces, and make him realize that everything he ever did to our fellow guardians was all for nothing!"

The core began to pulse more intensely, as if reacting to the voices. Then, three figures emerged from within the core, one after the other.

Standing before Will were versions of himself once again. The first figure stood tall, exuding authority and arrogance, dressed in prestigious clothing that made it look like it owned the entire room.

"There you are, all battered up… The others have already weakened you for us? That is quite the honor. And because of that, we won't let their sacrifices be in vain."

"Vanity, I don't want to do this. I kind of want to sleep," said the second figure, dressed in comfortable clothing with terrible posture. It rubbed its eyes lazily, as if just waking from a nap. "I'm just going to be holding you guys back."

"Perhaps he is right; it's best we just guard the core while you fight him, yes? I'm not quite proficient with battle," said the third figure, dressed casually and visibly shaking in its place.

Vanity clicked its tongue in irritation.

"Sloth, Fear, do you really think I'll let you two go so easily? This is but an opportunity for us!"

Will stood there, dumbfounded by their bickering.

'Shit, and here I thought I already conquered the Sloth Core. I was wrong.'

"Hey, you three!" Will finally spoke up. "Where the hell is pride?"

The main figure, Vanity, glared at him as if offended.

"You already defeated him. You bastard used him to hurt the others, making him do anything you ordered as you pleased. How could you forget? You mistreated him, making him your own plaything!"

"Wait, you mean Lucifer?"

"And you dare give him a name, as if he were a pet?!"

'Okay, this is just getting petty and sad to hear. I'm going to beat the crap out of them.'

Will began stretching, loosening his battered body.

"And you even dare flex in front of our presence, as if we are mere cannon fodder?!" A vein popped out on Vanity's forehead.

"Hey, relax. You don't need to get all worked up about it, Vanity. How about we just summon the Nightmare Creatures to make it easier for us?" Sloth said, lying against the core without a care in the world.

"Y-yes! That's a b-best suggestion. We just need to make him m-more injured so we could e-easily execute him. He already dislocated his sh-shoulders, and his feet are already in b-blisters. Not only that, h-his skin on his torso is al-already b-burnt—one of his r-ribs is f-fractured as well. Su-summon more Na-Nightmare Creatures to hurt him more until he c-can't stand anymore!"

Will flinched. 'Shit, they can see my injuries.'

"You fucking buffoons! He has Pride's battle axe! No matter what happens to him, he'll just keep fighting until his limit. If we summon more Nightmare Creatures, he'll just obliterate them with ease!"

"T-then what should we do?"

"Summon the Nightmare Creatures, Sloth. But don't make them fight him. I'll use my ability instead."

With a snap of Vanity's fingers, several massive Nightmare Creatures appeared—hulking centurion figures with hard carapaces, towering over Will.

Will held his breath, gripping his axe as he prepared to defend himself.

"Now, time for the show to begin." Vanity raised its hands.

The Nightmare Creatures began to disintegrate—No! They were merging. Their forms twisted and melded into the figures themselves, creating a grotesque, disfigured humanoid shape. The resulting figure grew gigantic, its monstrous body pulsating with power.

Then, like shedding its skin, the giant began to crumble apart, and countless figures fell from it.

Hundreds, maybe thousands of human-like figures—each a naked version of Will—emerged, holding an assortment of weapons, each radiating a deadly intent.

'Shit!'

Will tightened his grip on the axe. Nightmare Creatures were predictable; he could find their weak spots. But facing a horde of himself? That was something else entirely.

It was like a pack of lions circling their wounded prey, ready to tear it apart.

Will suppressed the fear clawing at his chest, forcing himself to stay composed. Showing weakness now would only embolden them.

Fixing his stance, he forced a smirk, letting it curl across his bloodied face.

"You think a bunch of me is enough to scare the shit out of me? You guys are all fucking naked, defenseless. You don't stand a chance."

The figures of himself began to push forward, raising their weapons and attacking in unison.

Will was forced onto the defensive, wielding Plague Ravager to block and parry, occasionally cutting some of them down. But no matter how hard he swung, their skin was unnaturally hard—like stone. His strikes barely left a dent.

Gritting his teeth, he pushed harder, adrenaline surging through his veins. His body began to heat up, his focus narrowing into a single, primal urge to destroy.

Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!

He swung recklessly, his movements growing wild. The figures momentarily backed off, their formation breaking as they were pushed into defensive stances.

But it didn't last.

They regrouped quickly, attacking him one at a time with precision. Arrows rained down from above, forcing him to deflect them in rapid succession. In the chaos, a blade slipped through his guard, piercing his chest. Pain flared, but there was no time to react—more figures swarmed him, pinning his arms and legs.

"AHHHHHH!!!" Will screamed, his voice raw as he struggled. He thrashed violently, his muscles burning with exertion, but their hold didn't budge.

His breath turned ragged, his predator-like eyes flickering with doubt.

This can't be happening. Not like this.

Defeat hit him like a blow to the gut. He hadn't lasted two minutes, and now he

was completely restrained.

Useless.

Pathetic.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Let me go!"

One of the figures stepped forward, calm and deliberate. Without hesitation, it slapped him across the face.

"You failed!" Slap.

"No, you fucking cheated!" Slap.

"You will never escape!" Slap.

"I'll kill you! I'll fucking prove you wrong!"

Slap.

"You don't deserve to win!" Slap.

"You fucking pest! You think you're better than me?" Slap.

"You're not capable enough." Slap.

"I'm fucking capable enough to kill all of you once I get out of this grip!" Slap.

"You think you're some big shot, but in the end, you struggled in vain." Slap.

"Hah? You jealous of me or something?" Slap.

"You made up an illusion of yourself—that you could do anything as long as you had grit and advantages!" Slap.

"That's a fact." Slap.

"You thought this was easy, didn't you?" Slap.

"Yeah, I went through hell. This is no different." Slap.

"This is the end," the figure declared, its voice cold. Reaching out, it grabbed his forehead with a firm grip.

"Let's relive your deepest, darkest secrets, shall we?"

….

Hey guys, if you enjoyed the story, please follow my work in the Official Discord of Shadow Slave. It will help me motivate to continue this story.

here is the link: https://discord.com/channels/982182985862377522/1305887939993141258