Shadow Slave

Indeed, with so much blood streaming down the Messenger's pale body, the savage augmentation of the Blood Blossom had grown vastly more powerful.

If before Sunny had felt as though he was cutting stone, now the Midnight Shard sliced through the tough flesh of the abomination with just a moderate amount of trouble. Of course, the fact that it was aimed at the soft belly of the monster instead of the adamantine black feather also played its part.

The tachi cut through the pale skin and muscle tissue, tearing its abdomen open.

As blood, guts and viscera fell from the terrible wound, Sunny slid from under the massive creature — just in time to avoid being crushed under its weight.

Even then, however, the Messenger was not yet dead.

'...What?! Curses!'

Lying on his back in an awkward position, Sunny was momentarily left defenseless. He had hoped that his strike would if not kill the monstrous abomination outright, then at least leave it stunned for a few seconds, giving him time to disengage and get away to a safe distance.

But the creature seemed to be impervious to pain and the fear of death that all living beings felt. Despite receiving a mortal wound, it only became more ferocious.

Staggered by the unexpected attack, the Messenger lost balance and fell to the ground. Its head hit the black sand, sending a cloud of it into the air.

…Then, its round corvine eye locked onto Sunny and flushed with eerie madness.

Knowing that he was not going to be fast enough, Sunny desperately tried to roll away. But it was too late. The terrifying jagged beak shot in his direction, threatening to impale him through the chest.

'Damn it a…'

However, at the last moment, a human figure in an elegant black and white armor suddenly appeared between him and the abhorrent beast. The incandescent sword lashed out, pushing the beak slightly to the side.

As the result, the Messenger failed to kill Sunny. Instead, the beak pierced the Starlight Legion Armor and tore through Changing Star's shoulder, almost severing her left arm. Nephis was thrown aside in a rain of blood, while the abomination opened its mouth and let out another deafening shriek.

For a moment, time slowed.

Sunny, who had just rose to one knee, noticed a sword surrounded by ghostly green lights approaching the Messenger's neck. Caster was seconds away from finishing the cursed creature off…

the air and sunk into the creature's eye, penetrating through it deep enough to reach

slightly. The beak fell open, revealing

the Prowling Thorn, wreaking havoc inside its skull. The kunai tore through the round black eye on the

and crashed

dimmed,

corner of Sunny's mouth

a

[Your shadow grows stronger.]

'Come on!'

have received a

triumphant gleam appeared

***

cohort was in a pathetic

her skin. Her ribs and lungs were wounded, too. Caster was bleeding heavily from the four gashes left on his torso by the Messenger's claws. Kai lost too much blood to the Blood Arrow and was now on

and barely attached to her

Saint was

Cassie were more or less in

it, though. The Spire Messenger was actually

suddenly laughed.

your mind? What are you

shrugged, then grimaced from

of us in the outer settlement — the Castle too, I guess — heard the stories about the incredible exploits of the first cohort hundreds of times. Killing a Spire Messenger who made its nest in the throne room, and all that. But I never

silent, and

"It's weird."

his name to ever appear in the same sentence as the

He sighed.

to do something outlandish and then die. The death part is the key, actually. So

Stone Saint. Since only Cassie and he were unscathed, it fell to them