The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

'T-that was her going easy?!' Noble knew the creature had yet to go full out, but she had hoped for a little more time to deal damage.

Not only had the three Masters failed in mortally wounding the abomination, but the Skinwalker's vessel was now fully healed. It was like nothing had happened at all!

If not for the cracks in the stone bunker, Noble might have believed that she dreamed the whole interaction.

But there was no time for dreaming. The Skinwalker had already sprung into action.

Harlow flew forward, slamming Chip into the wall as she let the Kama Yari plunge through her abdomen without any regard for her body. She struck the man across his elongated jaw, nearly snapping his neck.

The room shook.

Noble and Coy jumped in to aid their friend. The Sharktooth daggers dug into Harlow's back while the Zenith cut deep into the woman's thigh. Harlow roared, punching Coy with her elbow. The sickening crunch deformed his nose.

Spinning, the vessel kicked Noble's abdomen with her injured leg. It was like the muscles and tendons had never been cut at all. Indeed, they were already knitting back together as if nothing had occurred.

The foot slammed like a stone wall against Noble's chest. If not for her Ascended body, the duelist would have been dead from the single hit alone. As it was, even with her armor one or more of her ribs had been severely bruised or broken. Thankfully the bones had done their job and her lungs were not punctured...yet.

'S-strong...too strong.' Noble swallowed. No Awakened could possibly be this strong. The Skinwalker had not only augmented her body to heal itself, it had made her inordinately strong.

That was a big problem.

But there was a bigger problem yet.

Time.

It was not on their side. Every moment that they fought with Harlow was a chance for the other vessels to convene on their location.

Now that the group had revealed that they knew the trick, the monsters had little reason to leave them alone. They would descend in full force.

'We have to get out of here,' Noble said to Chip through the Memory. 'The rest of the monsters are coming!'

'We can't go. Lonzo, Teran, and Fir are boxed in.'

The burly soldier was right. Harlow had placed herself between the Masters and the helpless victims who were trapped inside the city.

Noble wouldn't leave without them.

'Then we need to get her out,' Noble adjusted her grip on her sword.

Funneling essence into her sword, the Zenith became tinged with poisonous liquid. The light in the small room dimmed, pulled in by the deadly blade.

Brimming with power, Noble signaled to Chip and Coy. At once, the three converged on the monster, ready to subdue it at all costs. Coy went for the eyes, Chip for the neck, and Noble went for the creature's middle.

Harlow was ready for them.

Her head tilted to avoid letting her eyes succumb to the daggers, while her forehead collided with Coy's face, dislocating his jaw. Coy slid to the side just in time for Chip to make his move. The long pole of his weapon, which had twice impaled Harlow, was pushed wide as he raced forward.

"Watch out!" Noble screamed.

Coy barely leaned back in time to move out of the Kama Yari's path as the weapon scratched against his armor. Chip screamed as Harlow's nails dug into the spot where his eyes should be. Blood poured down his face.

With his free hand, he punched Harow with all of his might, snapping her neck at an odd angle.

The woman's head snapped back, a sickly grin plastered on her possessed face.

Instead of crushing the man's skull like a grape, she threw her prey aside to deal with the third member of the cohort.

Noble had seen the injuries of her companions play out before her eyes, and she tried to leverage all that knowledge to her advantage.

Instead of lunging forward, she used her training to stab Harlow's hip before darting away like the bee whose name she had claimed.

The poison seeped into the wound, keeping it from healing as quickly as before.

Harlow bared her teeth, raising her hands to rip the woman's head from her neck.

Noble flitted to the side, stabbing the creature's other hip as Harlow walked unsteadily forward. An ugly hiss poured from the vessel's lips as she felt more poison enter her body.

She turned on the floating Master, hatred radiating from her body like rays of the sun.

Noble dodged the claws that struck out at her. Missing her mark, Harlow took a chunk of the wall and sprayed it across Noble. 

The duelist tried to avoid the debris, but the space was too small. She was pelted with the particles. 

'That stings!' 

Harlow stomped, sending cracks through the foundation and shaking the room. The action was intended to destabilize her prey, yet Noble was unfazed. 

"So that's how it is!"

Harlow avoided the spearhead of the Kama Yari, casting Chip into the opposing wall. 

The Skinwalker cornered the floating Master. This time when Noble went to dash out of the way, the vessel was ready.

Noble wielded the Zenith, slashing down with all the might on Harlow's shoulder. The sword dug deep into the woman's torso, cutting through ribs and lungs, filling them with deadly poison. 

The vessel paid no attention to the attack. Harlow's leg swept against Noble's feet, knocking them into the air. 

Talon-like fingers shot forward to grab Noble's left shin before she could fly away. Searing pain almost made Noble open her eyes. The plate of her armor bent and cracked as the bone underneath struggled against the pressure. 

Noble screamed, pushing against the pain as she dislodged the Zenith from her enemy's body. 

Harlow threw her floating opponent to the ground, ignoring the stab in the back from Coy that punctured her remaining lung. 

A new agony ripped through Noble's soul as her flaw activated. Her hands landed above her head against the floor, and she barely held onto her sword in the collision. 

Harlow pressed her boot against Noble's chest deepening the pain.

"Open your eyes, Master Noble," the vessel hissed. "You will want to see this." 

Even in the overwhelming torture of the moment, the irony was not lost on Noble. Harlow had snuffed out the life of her father, and now the vessel of Harlow was going to end Noble. 

Should she be thankful to the one who killed Lance's murderer? 

Absolutely not! Especially when that same monster wanted to consume her soul as well. 

Noble braced herself for the coming impact, her mind struggling to stay conscious as the ground continued to inflict untold horror on her soul. 

She couldn't give in. Not yet.

Harlow frowned. "No? I didn't think you were a coward. Then again, you are all weak in the end." 

The Skinwalker lifted its foot and aimed, ready to crush Noble's skull and send her to the land of the dead. 

But Noble had no intention of joining the gods in death today. Before the boot could crash down on her face, she screamed two words. 

"Get back!"