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. Then, he

change a

around, the smile disappeared from his

to save your lives, though. All of you are just walking

Sleepers behind,

were right. The lack of Memories was a big

through the shadows, moving deeper and deeper into the belly of the ancient citadel. The Bright Castle was enormous in size and had countless twisting corridors. Some were comparatively easy to navigate, while some followed no apparent logic. There were tall towers connected by aerial bridges and deep dungeons full

as much more terrifying things. Disturbing sounds sometimes echoed through the stone halls, making Sunny stop

the Guards or the Hunters. Following in their wake, he stumbled on

corridor with careful steps. It

'...Ugh, what a bother.'

made the turn and witnessed a scene that was typical in the

trying to kill

strangling them with gauntleted hands. A broken oil lantern was burning on the floor, making the

It was contorted in an expression of rage and dark delight. The face of his victim,

young woman with dark hair and brown eyes, which

few moments before she lost consciousness, though, a hand appeared from the darkness and slid a strange transparent dagger across the

woman staggered and drew in a hoarse breath, rubbing her bruised neck. A few moments later, she looked up and cautiously studied

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

was the face of a cold-blooded

the young

"Uh… you're Aiko, right?"

a bit from his days in the Castle. Back then, she had been one of the few people

gambling den in the Dark City, which automatically made her establishment popular among the members