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…'

ready to take the fallen creature's place. And a few seconds later, there was going to be even more

would have to think of something

I

was tearing him from inside, Sunny grimaced and dashed

all unnecessary thoughts, turning into a ruthless hurricane of 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 vast cloud

bleeding bodies in his wake. Launching himself back a few meters, he slid on the stone and left the cloud of red mist. Only then, finally, he allowed himself to draw in a deep

moment later, something glistened in the mist, and a

not react to its host being damaged and continued its lunge. But in the next second, the head of

the support pillars of the makeshift battlement, creating an invisible trap. By moving forward with the kunai still stuck in its skull, the unfortunate creature pulled the string taut, causing an invisible net to rise into the air. Entangled in it, half a dozen creatures tumbled to the ground,

were going to last long, but at least it bought him a

slain an awakened monster, Blood

[Your shadow…]

'...Finally.'

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

he saw made

back of the colossus was about

about to be surrounded. And he

least going to drag as many of you as possible with

of the giant's back just in time to collide with the first of the advancing

the narrow path. In