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.

creature wasn't dead, but any kind of mobility it once had was pretty much

'Good enough…'

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 of these harrowing

would have to think of something

I could

pain that was tearing him from inside, Sunny grimaced and

all unnecessary thoughts, turning into a ruthless hurricane of steel. The Midnight Shard danced from one Nightmare Creature

himself back a few meters, he slid on the stone and left the cloud of red mist. Only then, finally, he allowed himself to

later, something glistened in the mist, and a heavy triangular blade suddenly pierced the head of

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

of the Prowling Thorn was coiled around 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

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

have slain an

[Your shadow…]

'...Finally.'

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Sunny groaned, wiped

he saw

of the colossus was about to reach the collar of

to be surrounded. And he was all out

as many of you as possible with me into a deeper, darker hell. Prepare yourselves,

time to collide with the first of the advancing primates and send it flying all the way down to the distant

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