This is the ultimate magic of Darkness—Shadow Burial.
She was merely a mass of shadow, yet a shadow that needed neither a physical form nor another shadow to exist.
She had no other magic, her speed was not as swift as Darkness, moving as slowly as an ordinary human, and her only means of attack was the pair of Scissors in her hand.
At this moment, Shadow Burial had already completed Darkness’s first command.
All the information in that secret room—the data about her past infiltration here, the records of missing people she once slaughtered, the progress of Blood Sacrifice—had been completely erased by Shadow Burial.
Even if Liyakade and the others survived, it would be impossible for them to obtain a single piece of intelligence from this place.
All they could know was that Darkness had infiltrated here, killed and disguised herself as the original grade director, but what Darkness had done during her time undercover would remain a mystery to them.
Nor could they know that the revival of the Demon King had been moved forward by six years, leaving Alice only four years to grow.
Four years…
Though filled with unwillingness, it was already too late.
Because Darkness had completely lost her ability to think.
Now, she had lost all consciousness.
After Shadow Burial ended, even the remaining shadow of her would vanish completely, as if she had never existed.
Shadow Burial appeared to be just a formless, spontaneously appearing shadow, but in truth, it was far more complex.
She did not exist on the surface where shadows are cast, but within the very concept of “shadow” itself.
What she attacked was not merely the shadow, but rather the spirit.
The reason Shadow Burial could so easily and effortlessly sever Liyakade’s Wing—
[VIP]150. Reflection in the Heart
Was because she could, through the shadow, directly touch the opponent’s mind.
The shadow she touched was actually the reflection within the other’s soul, and by attacking that reflection, it reverberated and projected onto the spiritual level, then onto the physical.
Therefore, even though Liyakade’s body was strong, in front of Shadow Burial, physical defense and strength were meaningless.
When her Wing was cut, Liyakade couldn’t even feel pain or realize her Wing had been severed, only sense the loss of magic.
Even regeneration was impossible, for in her heart, Liyakade’s spirit had not recognized the fact that her Wing was gone.
Only after she attacked the base of her Wing again did her mind finally react.
As for Alice attacking Shadow Burial but striking Liyakade instead, it was because Shadow Burial hid behind Liyakade’s shadow, so Alice’s attack landed on Liyakade.
In the world of Shadow Burial, a shadow was no longer just a thin plane, but a part of every person’s spirit.
“You all, stay back.”
Liyakade stared intently at the shadow on the ground.
Shadow Burial raised her Scissors and charged, slashing toward Liyakade’s shadow.
Liyakade kept her eyes on the ground, retreating step by step, letting her own shadow evade Shadow Burial’s assault.
After the Scissors swept by, Liyakade reached out with a claw at the empty air ahead, and her shadow on the ground mirrored her movement, grabbing onto Shadow Burial.
However, from a visual standpoint, this move should have hit Shadow Burial, yet she swung her Scissors again without resistance.
“No good?”
Liyakade frowned, quickly retracting her hand.
But her attack had been too reckless, and it was impossible to evade completely now.
As the pitch-black Scissors struck, several talons of Liyakade’s shadow claws were sliced away, and her own claws snapped with them, the neat severed edge covered in black substance.
Still no pain, and still no sense of regeneration.
Liyakade leapt several meters back at once.
It seemed Shadow Burial was not a magic that could be defeated or dispelled by ordinary means.
She had to find a weakness.
The shadow on the ground slowly advanced toward Liyakade, its movement sluggish, but this did provide some information to Liyakade.
“Be careful. This thing can’t be beaten by normal methods.”
Liyakade retreated, eyes fixed on the shadow, warning the others.
“Her movement is slow, even her attack speed is slow—just like an ordinary human. If it weren’t for the strange perspective of the shadow, I could easily dodge her attacks.”
“And, her primary target seems to be me. Stay away from me so you’re not caught in it. We can think of countermeasures at our own pace.”
Hearing Liyakade’s words, Alice and the others finally calmed down.
After all, their earlier fear had come from the unknown powers of Darkness—they had been injured without even seeing the attack.
It was only natural to panic.
But now, though the attack of Shadow Burial remained bizarre, at least they had some information to work with and could plan their strategy.
Liyakade also felt fortunate that Darkness’s first target had been herself.
If anyone else had suffered that unpredictable, unknown attack first, they might have died on the spot.
That was something Liyakade absolutely could not bear.
No, in truth, Liyakade herself hadn’t been far from death either.
Though she had only lost her Wing in the first assault, she had not even realized what had attacked her at the time.
Had Shadow Burial cut through her body, Liyakade might not have been able to react.
With no sense of pain, no awareness of loss, if attacked like that, Liyakade might have died without even realizing it.
Fortunately, luck was on their side.
As Liyakade’s Wing was severed, the clouds parted, and the silver moonlight illuminated the excess shadows.
However, even as she felt relieved that Alice and the others were unhurt, Liyakade also felt a hint of doubt.
By all rights, the target of Darkness should have been Alice, so why was she attacked instead?
Had Darkness’s hatred for her surpassed even her mission to eliminate Alice?
Liyakade did not know, but she could only feel relief.
In fact, Darkness’s killing intent toward Liyakade was indeed that intense.
She certainly wanted to destroy Alice, the weapon gifted to humanity by the Heaven Realm, but Darkness hated Liyakade, who was filled with deep affection for Alice, even more.
In her eyes, Liyakade had already fallen.
Regardless of her faction or demon lineage, Liyakade had become a traitor to all demons.
Compared to destroying a weapon, a traitor filled Darkness with even greater loathing.