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."

a bit, and then simply

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

as if

me. And prepare

***

moving straight south, they were now traversing the ancient city heading for

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

then, they were headed for the ruins of the lighthouse that had once stood near the impregnable wall of

much all of his attention was concentrated on Harus, who was following them like a

having to stare at the menacing hunchback at

some

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 Fiend attacked him from the

He didn't even blink.

I… I killed plenty of

because he couldn't get rid of the feeling

wasn't sure which

tall expanse of the city wall. Not too far away, the remnant of a giant tower lay broken on its side, stretching far away into the

defiant will of the people of the ancient city,

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

Sunny sighed.

"Where to now?"

gestured at

"Inside."

in a collapsed building near the collapsed tower. This area was populated by an especially vile tribe of monsters, and attracting their attention would spell

it close. When we

having to