Chapter 123: Floor-3
"Come," the Shadow figure hissed, raising its weapon high.
"Let your souls feed the temple of the forgotten god."
Its form seemed to warp and shift, shadow tentacle snaking across the floor like living darkness.
The first strike came too fast for Eva to react.
A shadow tendril lashed out, coiling around her leg and yanking her into the air.
"Ooohhhh..." She yelled out, but Alan was already moving.
With a swift gesture, a barrier of swirling golden runes materialized around her, dispelling the shadow and sending her tumbling back to the floor.
Zara took advantage of the distraction, her hands weaving intricate patterns as she summoned her magical daggers and moved to attack the figure.
Pfft!
But the next moment, her abdomen was injured as if a sword had pierced through, however, she wasn't attacked.
Looking closely, her physical body was indeed not attacked but her shadow was.
This shadow guardian is made from shadow energy and shadow law.
As long as it can attack your shadow, your real body will take damage.
Zara stumbled back, clutching her stomach as blood seeped between her fingers.
"Dammit!" she gasped.
"It's hitting our shadows!"
Alan's eyes sharpened, already analyzing what just happened
Shadow law...?
It bypasses physical space. Attacking reflections, not bodies. That's how it's doing this.
"Don't let your shadow touch the floor directly!" he yelled.
"Stay airborne or keep light under you!"
Ami instantly responded, conjuring a flickering dome of light beneath her.
"Light will suppress the shadows temporarily... but it won't last long!"
The Shadow Guardian laughed again, its voice like knives on stone.
"You understand nothing. Your light will flicker… and your deaths will echo for eternity. Kneel before the true might."
It slammed its massive blade down, and darkness erupted outward in a ring of crushing pressure.
Boom!
The blast scattered them.
Eva rolled to the side, her hammer dragging sparks as she barely avoided a rising tentacle.
Tia crashed backward into a cracked pillar, coughing as blood smeared the corner of her lips.
[Time Remaining: 27:14]
[Warning: Shadow Infestation spreading. Area corruption: 14%.]
Zara wiped her blade clean and gritted her teeth. "We're not lasting thirty minutes like this."
Alan's mind began to work for a moment.
The Guardian's body was nearly untouchable, immune to all magical and physical damage.
But its shadow... its own shadow flickered behind it like a serpent, reactive, pulsing in rhythm with its attacks.
"Tia, can you enhance light projection?" Alan called, rising to his feet again.
She nodded, raising her staff. "I can, but only for a short burst, ten seconds max!"
"Good enough."
Alan's eyes flared as he activated one of his newly gained Authorities.
Hellfire Judgement!
His feet ignited with violet-black fire, propelling him forward like a comet. At the same time, his sword, now crackling with dark mana, reformed in his grip.
He didn't aim for the Guardian directly.
Instead, he moved behind it, and stabbed into the Guardian's shadow.
Alas, nothing happened.
Who the fuck even attacks shadows?
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Alan's shadow was pierced by tentacles and his real body was harmed.
Pfft!
His heart was crushed... His left eye was crushed.
"Supreme heal"
He healed his own body while he raised his sword.
His sword aura should be able to kill anything including time-space and concepts then how come he can't even hurt a guardian made from shadow?
Alan stood, blood still streaming from his crushed eye and chest.
He panted heavily, the green glow of Supreme Heal sealing his broken flesh, but his soul felt the tear, the pain of shadow wounds didn't fade so easily.
His sword shimmered, dark and radiant at once.
The Shadow Guardian tilted its head mockingly, its voice like a whisper woven from screams.
"You wield a blade for form... but not for meaning. Shadows are not bound by time or space. We exist in truth beneath truth... It's been a long time since I faced a Sword Saint, it was a pity I killed him instantly,"
Swish!
The figure rushed forward and attacked Alan with its sword.
Clang!!! Clash!!!
His mythril sword was instantly sliced and he was pushed behind.
Pfft!
"Arghhh...." He screamed as his left leg was chopped off.
Time seemed to freeze as Alan's vision blurred, pain radiated from his entire body.
He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to focus.
Zara rushed to his side.
"Alan! We need to regroup!" she shouted, fury igniting in her eyes.
The Shadow Guardian loomed over them, the edges of its body fraying into a mass of swirling darkness.
"You persist against the inevitable," it taunted, a cruel smile twisting its shadowy face.
It has a face but just made from shadow.
"It's time to end your suffering... Die!!!"
* * *
[ Your party has died ]
[ Challenge unsuccessful... ]
[ Try again in: 71 Hours 59 Minutes 59 Seconds ]
They returned to back to the obsidian gate with the blue window hovering over them.
They had died and couldn't challenge this domain for 3 days.
"ahh... We died? I don't even know what happened. He just said something and we were killed."
"Don't get me wrong... But aside from Alan, we aren't capable of fighting such monsters."
"Yeah, we need to increase our stats even more..."
"Let's have more sex..."
The women said.
"Yeah... Let's have more sex."
"Let's focus on other dungeons first...we need to focus on the Dungeon of Abyss and other dungeons at the moment."
Alan sighs and nods solemnly.
"Yes, we were woefully unprepared for the power of that shadow guardian... I agree, we should focus our efforts on conquering the Dungeon of Abyss and other dungeons first before attempting to challenge that guy again,"
"And maybe we should also add others..."
"Nice... But for now, let's have sex... My body feels so unalive at the moment," Amai said while squeezing her breast.
"Sex, Sex, Sex... Think of something else too," Zara said.
Tia just smiled on the back.
Eva on the other hand supported Ami's idea.