Shadow Slave

The slum dweller pressed his finger against his lips and hissed in exasperation:

"Take that back! Are you crazy?"

Sunny blinked.

"What? No. Well, I was crazy for a while. But now I am not."

The young man looked at him with doubt and shook his head:

"Still, don't jinx yourself. Do you at least have a Memory to keep you safe?"

The question of arming themselves was a big problem for Neph's followers. More than half of them didn't have a Memory armor or a weapon, having to make do with mundane armaments fashioned out of anything that was at hand. It was one of the reasons why fighting against the Guards and the Hunters was so hard for them.

The other guy, the one who used to pay tribute, sighed and call out to his friend:

"Have you lost your mind? You are talking to a member of Lady Nephis's personal cohort. Of course he has Memories."

With that, both of them looked down on their own makeshift swords.

These two were among those who wielded Black Claws, blades made out of the talons of the Spire Messenger Sunny and the rest had killed. Their bases were wrapped with leather, allowing a person to use the long curved talon as a weapon.

Considering that these talons came from a Fallen Monster, as far as weapons went, they were some of the best. Wielding them efficiently was not an easy task, though.

The slum dweller grimaced.

"Right. Damn! I am proud to wield one of the Black Claws, don't get me wrong. But if each of us had a proper set of Memories… those bastards wouldn't be picking us off one by one anymore, that's for sure."

with a complicated expression.

can change a

he turned around, the smile disappeared from

lives, though. All of you are

the two Sleepers behind, climbed over the

lack of Memories was a

Castle was enormous in size and had countless twisting corridors. Some were comparatively easy to navigate, while

murder in their hearts prowling these corridors, as well as much more terrifying things. Disturbing sounds sometimes echoed through

being noticed by the patrols of the Guards or the Hunters. Following in their wake,

an hour later, Sunny was somewhere under the main keep of the Castle, moving through a dark corridor with careful steps. It was then then that he heard the sounds of a struggle

'...Ugh, what a bother.'

and witnessed a scene that was typical in the ancient citadel these

trying

strangling them with gauntleted hands. A broken oil lantern was burning on the floor, making the shadows of the two struggling people seem

deep scratches on it, which were oozing blood. It was contorted in an expression

petite young woman with dark hair and brown eyes, which were currently

appeared from the darkness and slid a strange transparent dagger across the Guard's

her bruised neck. A few

very pale, slender young man with a youthful face and dark, strangely magnetic eyes. Currently, he was wiping his dagger on the sleeve of his armor and staring at

someone who had just killed another human being. There was neither disgust and fear nor delight and triumph on his face, just…

was the face

the

"Uh… you're Aiko, right?"

a bit from his days in the Castle. Back then, she had been one of the few people who were able to pay tribute without worrying

among the members of the Host. But