Shadow Slave

As somber silence settled among the cohort, Effie grimaced.

"The weirdest part is, no one has even seen him come and go. Every time Harus was sent into the outer settlement, we only learned that people were dead in the morning. Doors, locks, and barricades can't seem to stop him, either. Once Harus is ordered to kill you, you just die. It is as though fate itself abandons you."

Caster frowned.

"So are you telling us that we stand no chance?"

The huntress shook her head.

"I'm saying that fighting him right now would be stupid. Not unless we learn how he is able to seemingly turn his victims… no matter how many of them there are… completely powerless."

With that, she glanced at Nephis, who lingered for a moment and then shook her head.

"Our friend in the castle doesn't know either."

Effie grinned.

"Ah, so that mysterious friend of yours is not omniscient after all. Well, in that case, my advice stands. We should run."

At that moment, Sunny finally spoke up:

"But, Effie… can we even run away from him?"

The smile disappeared from her face. Suddenly grim, she hesitated for a while, and then said:

"I know of a way. But… it's going to be dangerous. Very dangerous. However, I don't know how else to shake him off our trail. So you decide, princess."

was silent for a

other day. Right now, reaching the resting place of

almost as if relieved.

follow me. And

***

that disturbing discussion, Effie changed their course slightly. Instead of moving straight

the past few months, he mostly stayed north of the Bright Castle, sometimes venturing northeast. He stayed away from the western areas because they were closer to the Crimson Spire, and had not explored much of the south because it was too far away

Messenger. Back then, they were

had a lot of time to observe the surroundings. Pretty much all of his attention was

having to stare

don't you go fight some

never losing the scent of Changing Star's cohort. At one point, a lone Blood Fiend attacked him from the deep shadows of

He didn't even blink.

deal. I… I killed plenty of those,

was deeply unnerved by the power of the murderous hunchback. Maybe because he couldn't get rid of the feeling that by the end of

he wasn't sure

city wall. Not too far away, the remnant of a giant tower lay broken on its side, stretching far away into the distance. The buildings that the tower had fallen on thousands of

had even served as a symbol of the defiant will of the people of the ancient city, burning as a shining beacon in the eternal darkness of the cursed night. But it had fallen a long time ago… just like the

of the Dark City had just vanished, not

Sunny sighed.

"Where to now?"

gestured at the

"Inside."

tower. This area was populated by an especially vile tribe of monsters, and attracting their attention would spell trouble for the entire

shadow back and keep it close. When we enter the lighthouse, we

to look at