Shadow of Death (SOD)

Chapter 48

"...."

The butcher’s knife was approaching Clara at such speed that no normal human was supposed to be able to dodge it easily.

Even though everything was happening incredibly fast, to Asher’s eyes, the entire world suddenly seemed to move somewhat slower.

His heart pounded loudly.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Each beat came with such force that it threatened to burst straight out of his chest.

His eyes bulged in resonance with his pounding heartbeat as the veins carrying blood to his brain pumped harder.

A sudden flood of adrenaline rushed through his body the moment he saw that his mother was so close to death.

He had already lost his father.

He didn’t even know the status of his brother—whether he was dead or alive.

He wasn’t about to risk losing his mother too.

His fingers twitched.

Then his toes.

His muscles tensed as his body instinctively prepared itself to move.

Then—

He burst forward with adrenaline-fueled speed.

His jaws clenched tightly.

"AAAAAAAAH!"

He roared as he leaped forward and barged straight into Judy.

BAM!

He tackled the Shadow to the ground.

The knife narrowly missed Clara, slicing through a portion of her shirt instead.

Riiip—!

The fabric tore free and floated into the air before slowly drifting down.

Asher and the Shadow rolled across the ground once.

Then his fist flew forward, aiming directly for the girl’s face.

The Shadow tilted its head to the side.

The punch slammed into the ground instead.

Before Asher could react, the Shadow flipped the knife in its hand and hurled it towards his neck.

But the next second—

It froze.

Its trajectory suddenly changed, redirecting the blade towards his shoulder instead.

Yet that tiny fraction of a second was enough.

Asher wrapped both hands around the Shadow’s arm.

Then—

He twisted with all his might.

The Shadow’s eyes widened for a brief moment.

But as if remembering that physical pain meant nothing to it, it suddenly wrapped its legs around the boy’s waist.

Then, using its entire strength, it pulled Asher forward.

BAM!

The boy crashed directly on top of the Shadow.

Their faces were only inches apart.

For a brief moment, the world seemed to pause.

Then, with a violent twist of her hips, the Shadow sent the boy flying away.

WHOOSH—!

The force behind the throw was immense.

Asher flew through the air before crashing into one of the sofas.

CRAAACK!

The sofa shattered beneath the impact.

Chunks of wood and foam flew into the air.

"Ugh...."

Asher groaned loudly.

Pain shot through his back as he struggled to move.

The Shadow turned towards him, slowly rising onto its knees.

Clara, fearing for her child’s life, didn’t even realise when she moved.

She didn’t know what kind of strength had suddenly filled her body.

All she knew was that her son was in danger.

She grabbed the center table and swung it forward with all her might.

CRASH—!

The glass shattered against the Shadow’s head.

However, to her shock, it didn’t move an inch.

The Shadow simply turned its head and shot her a cold glare.

Clara froze.

Asher was already beginning to rise again.

His back ached terribly from the crash, but the pain barely registered when he saw the damn Shadow glaring directly at his mother.

Its hands twitched.

Its body lowered slightly.

It was preparing to lunge.

And it did.

The Shadow suddenly shot forward.

Asher’s eyes widened as he realised he was too far away to do anything.

"NOOOO!"

His hand stretched forward instinctively, as if he could somehow stop the Shadow with nothing but his will.

But it proved futile.

The knife rapidly approached the woman.

"...."

"Aaaaaah!"

Someone suddenly lunged forward.

Asher’s eyes widened.

The figure threw himself over the Shadow, tackling Judy violently to the ground.

It was Jayden.

His chest was bleeding heavily from the deep gash carved across his body.

Yet his face was contorted with fierce determination as he grabbed the girl’s face.

His muscles bulged as he slammed the Shadow’s head into the ground.

BAM!

To his shock, the Shadow’s head sank into the ground, completely avoiding the impact.

"What the—?!"

Before Jayden could react, the Shadow’s hand stretched far backwards.

It grabbed the sofa from beneath Asher’s knees.

Then—

WHAM!

It hurled the sofa directly towards Jayden.

The heavy furniture crashed into the boy’s head.

CRASH—!

Pieces of nails and splintered wood tore through his face, striking his eyes, nose, and throat.

Jayden’s body staggered.

Before he could recover, the Shadow sank into the ground.

Then—

It reappeared directly behind him.

Its hand shot forward.

Grab.

The Shadow seized Jayden by the neck.

Then, slowly—

It lifted him into the air.

The boy was unable to move as he remained trapped in the Shadow’s iron-tight grip.

"NOOO!"

Asher shouted as he desperately pushed himself to his feet.

The Shadow slowly turned its head in his direction.

Then—

It grinned.

That terrifying, unnatural smile stretched across Judy’s face as it watched Asher take another step forward.

Crack—! Crack—! Crack—!

Thump—!

The Shadow shattered Jayden’s neck.

His body immediately went limp, dropping to the ground with a loud thud.

Asher froze in horror.

His heart pounded violently at the sight of his brother’s lifeless body lying on the ground.

"AAAAAAAAH!"

Clara and Jesse screamed in unison.

Asher was too frozen to even move an inch.

His gaze remained fixed on Jayden’s unmoving body as the reality slowly began sinking into his mind.

His brother was dead.

Again.

Someone he loved had been taken from him right in front of his eyes.

The Shadow sank into the ground.

Then—

It reappeared before Clara almost instantly.

TCHAAAAK—!

Under Asher’s horrified gaze, the knife plunged into his mother’s abdomen.

The blade pierced straight through her body, emerging from the other side.

"Ah—!"

Blood instantly filled Clara’s mouth as she desperately reached for the knife.

But before her fingers could even grasp it, the Shadow violently pulled the blade back out.

Then it slashed forward.

TCHAK—!

The blade cut across Clara’s neck.

Crimson droplets sprayed through the air.

"...."

Asher’s eyes widened.

His body trembled violently as he tried taking a step forward.

"Mu-Mum..."

But before he could move—

The Shadow turned.

Its next target?

Jesse.

The young girl stood frozen in place, her entire body trembling as tears streamed continuously down her face.

The Shadow raised its knife.

It was about to take her down too—

When suddenly...

The entire house became heavy.

A pressure unlike anything they had felt before descended upon the room.

The air itself seemed to thicken.

Every movement stopped.

Every breath became difficult.

Then—

"Don’t."

The single word came out with such chilling coldness that it made the skin crawl.

Thud!

Clara’s body hit the ground.

At the same moment, a pair of crimson eyes appeared within the room.

Judy’s hand froze mid-motion.

Then, she slowly straightened herself.

The crimson eyes shifted.

They turned towards Asher.

The boy’s body had suddenly gone limp.

His knees gave out beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground under the crushing weight of his grief.

"Oh, poor boy."

The voice echoed through the room.

"I’m so sorry you had to go through all this. Your family was resisting the curse too much, and I needed to speed things up. Hence, I had this Shadow slide into Judy’s shadow to sneak into your house."

The crimson eyes remained fixed on Asher.

"Then, when it took her out, it replaced her the very next moment. I’m so sorry. It’s all for the game, huh?"

A pause.

"Now it’s down to you two."

The crimson eyes shifted towards Jesse.

Her face was drenched in streams of tears.

Yet, she couldn’t move an inch.

She simply stood there, silently sobbing.

The Shadow God turned back towards Asher, who was completely consumed by grief and barely registering the words being spoken.

"... I’m a generous fella."

His voice carried an almost casual tone despite the carnage surrounding them.

"So let’s do this, okay? For causing you this much sadness, I have a gift for you."

Asher was barely listening.

Yet somehow, every word still found its way into his ears.

"Wanna know what it is?"

The crimson eyes seemed to gleam.

"Well, in all my generosity, I will exempt one of you two from this whole Nightmare thingy."

"...."

Jesse’s tear-filled eyes slowly lifted.

"Which means if one of you two falls asleep and enters the Nightmare, the last man standing would be exempt from this whole curse."

A pause.

"And would even be free to leave the city without any hindrance."

"...."

Neither sibling spoke.

Jesse’s breathing trembled.

Asher remained collapsed on the ground, his gaze empty.

"Fun, right?"

The Shadow God’s voice echoed through the room.

"Well, let the game begin."

A brief pause.

"Good luck, Asher."

The voice slowly faded away.

And with it, the crimson eyes disappeared.

Judy’s Shadow vanished as well.

The terrible pressure that had filled the house was gone.

Silence returned.

Leaving only Asher and Jesse...

To properly grieve what remained of their family.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!