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."

for a bit, and then

will face Harus some other day. Right now, reaching the resting place of the

huntress exhales, almost as if relieved. Then,

me.

***

straight south, they were now traversing

of the ruins. During 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

day of the bloody fight against the Spire Messenger. Back then, they were headed for the ruins of the lighthouse

a lot of time to observe the surroundings. Pretty much all of his attention was concentrated on Harus,

to stare at the

some Fallen creature and die,

just as well as Effie. He somehow avoided the worst creatures on his path while never losing the scent of Changing Star's cohort. At one point, a lone Blood

He didn't even blink.

I… I killed

deeply unnerved by the power of the murderous hunchback. Maybe because he couldn't

wasn't

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

will of the people of the ancient city, burning as a shining beacon in the eternal darkness of the cursed

least its ruin remained. The ancient inhabitants of the Dark City had just vanished, not even leaving bones

Sunny sighed.

"Where to now?"

gestured at the massive

"Inside."

collapsed building near the collapsed tower. This area was populated by an especially vile tribe of monsters, and

we enter the lighthouse, we will have to act

did just that. Not having to look