Shadow Slave

As the red pollen settled in his lungs, Sunny suddenly sensed something subtly moving inside them. Then, a wave of excruciating pain pierced his chest. With a loud scream, he fell to his knees and grabbed at the Puppeteer's Shroud. A stream of blood escaped from his mouth and splashed on the ancient stone.

In it, tiny blooms were sprouting roots, greedily drinking the crimson liquid and growing with visible speed.

Looking at them with dark resentment, Sunny gritted his teeth and slowly stood up.

By the time he straightened his back, the pain had subsided a little. The bloodthirsty flowers were already turning black and dying, destroyed by the odd blessing of the Blood Weave.

The insidious Nightmare Creature tried to devour him from inside, but really, it just signed its own death sentence. In a few short minutes, it would be destroyed completely by the furnace of his tenacious body.

And even if some part of it survived, Neph's purifying flames were going to finish the job.

…Until then, he would just have to endure this torture.

"Come... come closer, you bastards!"

As the Midnight Shard appeared in his hands, another monster was already climbing onto the shoulder of the walking colossus.

Lunging forward, Sunny brandished his sword and decapitated the foul creature, then kicked it in the chest to send it flying down. A moment later, he jumped back, narrowly avoiding being grabbed by another primate.

Before the beast could even react, the razor-sharp tachi flashed across its body, severing both of its arms.

More red pollen burst into the air. Holding his breath, Sunny shifted his stance and attacked once again in one swift, fluid motion. The Midnight Shard pierced the knee of the massive primate, making it topple.

of mobility it once had was pretty much

'Good enough…'

And a few seconds later, there was going to be even more of them, and then even more still — until, eventually, Sunny was torn apart by the unstoppable flood

to think

only I

excruciating pain that was tearing him from inside, Sunny grimaced and dashed forward to face

steel. The Midnight Shard danced from one Nightmare Creature to another, piercing, slashing, and severing their rotting flesh. The air was soon obscured by a

disengaged from the fight, leaving a carpet of bleeding bodies in his wake. Launching himself back a few meters, he slid on

glistened

being damaged and continued its lunge. But in the next second, the head

its skull, the unfortunate creature pulled the string taut, causing an

nor the invisible string were going to last long, but at least it

have slain an awakened monster,

[Your shadow…]

'...Finally.'

lungs was finally dead. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Sunny groaned,

he saw made him

the colossus was about to

be surrounded. And he

die today, I am at least going to drag as many of you as possible with me into a

got to the middle of the giant's back just in time to collide with the first of the advancing primates and send it flying all the way down to the distant

Sunny had no room to maneuver on the narrow path. In fact, he was having trouble simply