Shadow Slave

With the Carapace Demon using his deadly scythe to support the weight of his body, Sunny was temporarily safe from its sharp blade. Of course, the monster had other means of attack. Each one of his towering legs was like a siege ram, dangerous and capable of devastating destruction.

But at the moment, his position was too precarious to lash out with them. Sunny had at least a second to do whatever he wished to, with no risk involved.

The only thing he had to avoid was going directly under the behemoth, thus putting himself in danger of being crushed to death by the demon's giant body.

Coincidentally, that was exactly what he had to do.

'Crap, crap, crap!'

Glancing up at the massive armored creature, Sunny cursed and dashed forward. A moment later, he dove underneath the Carapace Demon, feeling the thick shadows swallow him whole.

Instantly, Sunny was covered in cold sweat. There was nothing but polished metal and murderous intent above him now. All the monster had to do to turn the tiny human into a puddle of blood was to rest his body on the sand.

Under the crushing weight, Sunny's organs would burst and his bones would turn to dust. There wouldn't be anything solid left of him at all, only a thin layer of bloody goo smeared across the ground.

Not the best situation to find yourself in.

With his nerves on the verge of melting, Sunny brandished his sword and rushed forward. His eyes were glued to the joints of Carapace Demon's legs. He was utterly focused, looking for the slightest movement. Waiting for it.

With no room for error, Sunny pushed every unnecessary thought and emotion into the farthest corner of his mind, not allowing dread, doubt and his tendency to overthink things to slow him down even by a fraction of a second.

Time moved excruciatingly slowly. It felt as though hours had passed, but in reality, it was only a couple of moments. Sunny was only at the second pair of the giant monster's legs.

It was then that he finally noticed the almost imperceptible change in the demon's posture. The tension in his joint changed slightly, indicating that the behemoth was about to move.

This was the sign that Sunny was both hoping for and terrified of. Now, his survival was wholly dependent on whether or not he was fast enough.

As soon as his eyes had registered the change in the creature's posture, Sunny pivoted on one leg and dashed to the side, trying to get away from underneath the armored giant. A small cloud of sand was sent flying by his sudden turn.

But the demon was incredibly fast. He threw his body down, determined to squash the odious invader like a bug. With inertia and the limits of his human body slowing Sunny down, he felt the metal surface of the carapace begin to fall down on his head long before reaching the safe zone.

Death was approaching with abhorrent speed.

going to make it

of sand into the air. The

metal and spikes missed Sunny by just a few centimeters. He flew from underneath the demon's body

to his feet, slightly disoriented by the shockwave

I actually managed

life was full of

potentially fatal, had been deliberate and calculated. He was not in the habit of putting his life at risk without being sure that there would be at least a moderate chance

also always purposeful and

was to bring the Carapace

in reach of

now lying on his abdomen, his carapace and humanoid

he still had no

severely reduced, the distance between him and the two

about to experience that hardship for

barely back on his feet when the terrifying scythe flashed through the air, threatening to slice his body in half. Sunny had no idea how Nephis

that followed his every move

did the only thing he could think of — he jumped as high as he could and pulled his legs up to his chest, performing a very awkward forward

was nothing short of impressive, by human standards. The scythe's blade whistled

he dashed forward. Sunny knew that the scythe would come back, but he had a second or

and

What a lovely task!

that his time was running out, Sunny spun around and raised the Azure

again, this time in a ruthless horizontal thrust. The sharp tip of the scythe was flying through the

underestimated the demon's reaction time. As

between life and

against a carapace centurion flashed in Sunny's mind. The situation was eerily similar to this one, with the inescapable doom approaching him at the speed of

by the blade of

Since that fateful battle, he had spent every day training, gaining experience and gathering power. He had fought his way through this hell,

easy to kill

of soft flesh, the scythe was met by the hard steel of the Azure Blade. Not only did Sunny block the blow, he even managed to angle the sword

was placed on the hilt, the other gripped the tip of the blade with enough strength

to break the bones in his hands. Not with the shadow enhancing the