While Vincent was still reeling in shock, the Black Knight across from them launched his attack — leaping forward with that long straightsword raised, bringing it crashing down toward Bernadette, while his free left hand clenched into a fist. Instantly, countless slick, translucent black tentacles burst out of the shadows behind Bernadette, lunging at her back.
Bernadette merely stepped forward half a pace, avoiding the shadow-tentacles entirely, then used her "Shadow Trader" ability to seize control of the shadows themselves, causing them to dissipate almost instantly.
Bang!
The next moment, the Black Knight's slashing blow landed — passing right through Bernadette's body, carving a long, corrosive gash into the ground instead.
Almost immediately, a layer of flesh grew rapidly out of that gash, and a twisted, wavering black shadow rose up from the corner — a spirit he'd been "shepherding," a powerful vampire from the god-forsaken land, corresponding to Sequence 4 of the Moon Pathway: the Witch King.
A Shepherd who shepherds a spirit of demigod caliber, thanks to how sturdy the spirit's soul is, can release it directly to form a two-on-one advantage — and if the Shepherd advances further to Sequence 3, they can release even more spirits at once.
"Wooooo!"
The instant the Witch King's spirit finished condensing, a deep, powerful horn blast rang out, sending wave after wave of terrifying sound rippling outward, shattering that spirit to pieces in an instant.
The Black Knight's eyes flashed, firing off two bolts of lightning that struck the exact instant Bernadette's "Emperor's New Clothes" ended, triggering a spiritual impalement.
A sharp pain shot through Bernadette's mind, and she blanked out for half a second — and in that half second, a "creature" made of shadow expanded behind her, spreading out like a fishing net to engulf her.
This was the "Corrupted Shadow" — the Black Knight's own inner corruption, split off and fused with a shadow. Anyone it touched would have their body and soul eaten away, while their own inner corruption was stirred awake, potentially triggering loss of control.
Bernadette stamped her foot, and a translucent chessboard materialized out of nowhere, rapidly spreading outward — everything within it seemed to freeze in place, even the Corrupted Shadow lunging at her from behind slowing to a crawl.
She shifted her footing, stepping clear of the Corrupted Shadow's range, and in her hand the blood-red Spear of Longinus rapidly condensed — an ancient, devastatingly destructive presence that shook the very space around them.
Without a sound, the spear, stained with unknown blood, had already crossed the distance to the Black Knight's face, streaking straight for his head.
"Bang!"
The Black Knight's pupils blew wide open. Seeing that lethal spear bearing down on him, he finally broke free of the chessboard's frozen time and twisted his body out of the way at the very last instant.
But before he could catch his breath, that blood-colored spear curved around in an arc and came shooting back at him from behind.
That was the terror of the Spear of Longinus — not only was it devastatingly powerful, but it carried an almost "guaranteed hit" property. That alone was why, among demigods, Bernadette stood at the very top.
The Black Knight scrambled to dodge again, and with a wave of his hand, pulled the Corrupted Shadow back into his own body, forming a solid layer of shadow-armor, then released the "Witch King" spirit once more, condensing it into flesh in front of him.
He intended to take the Spear of Longinus head-on.
"My Lord, protect your lamb."
He cried out fervently, weaving through several rapid shadow-jumps, until, at just the right moment, right as the Spear of Longinus changed direction, he threw his chest forward to meet it.
In the next instant, the spear, soaked in dark red blood, pierced clean through the Black Knight's body — through the Witch King's "flesh," through the black armor formed from the Corrupted Shadow, through the Black Knight's own armor, and straight through his chest, blowing open a fist-sized hole.
Even with all of that, the Black Knight still hadn't managed to stop the Spear of Longinus from wounding him — and remember what happened to that Visionary Pathway demigod-avatar dragon earlier: taking one hit from the Spear of Longinus head-on had reduced it to fragments, dead on the spot.
"Run!"
Feeling like his whole body was about to shatter, the Black Knight's reason finally overrode his fanatical faith — this opponent was clearly not someone he could handle.
He'd been too reckless. The moment he'd learned this person had killed Mr. A and meant to stop his Lord's descent, he'd rushed over without figuring anything out first.
If he'd brought Butis along, things might have gone differently.
His mind racing, a dim glow flickered at the Black Knight's chest, and the "Witch King" spirit was released once more. He let out a silent shriek, sweeping both hands through the air, drawing down the crimson, malevolent glow of the red moon overhead, shaping it into a swarm of countless blood-red bats that surged toward Bernadette from every direction, each one carrying a potent blood-draining curse and life-corroding effect.
The Black Knight, without a second's hesitation, used a shadow-jump to flee in the opposite direction.
Bernadette waved a hand casually, and endless starlight burst forth, forming a cage that trapped both the Witch King and the swarm of bats. Then she snapped her fingers, and peach trees sprang up on all sides, one after another, instantly blanketing the whole area and forming a space entirely separate from the world — Mystery Reenactment: The Peach Blossom Spring.
The fleeing Black Knight was immediately dragged into the "Peach Blossom Spring" the moment it formed, and no matter how many shadow-jumps he attempted, all he managed was to bounce helplessly between the peach trees.
Vincent asked, puzzled, "Why didn't you finish him off with a second spear?"
If it'd been him, the fight wouldn't have dragged on nearly this long — throw on the Emperor's New Clothes first, then Spear of Longinus, Spear of Longinus, Spear of Longinus...
Bernadette said flatly, "If the Spear of Longinus really could be used without limit like that, even an ordinary Angel wouldn't stand a chance against me."
She paused. "And besides — I never intended to finish this Black Knight off quickly in the first place."
"Er, don't tell me you're planning to reason with him, explain we're actually on the same side, and try to bring him over to us?"
"Short of the True Creator issuing a direct divine decree, no one's going to easily change a fanatic's convictions." Bernadette shook her head. "Don't you think this Black Knight is a perfect opportunity for us to practice fighting together as a team?"
Vincent caught on immediately. "Ah, that's what you're after. Got it."
Since receiving the Black Emperor card, Vincent had been able to use "Black Emperor" abilities below Sequence 2 within the Nation of Disorder — but the specifics of how to actually use them in real combat, how to coordinate, had all stayed purely theoretical, with no real practice to back it up.
"Let's do this, then."
To be continued…
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