Shadow Slave

Raising his hand, Sunny gave Aiko and Stev a signal to remain quiet. Then, with a frown, he commanded the shadow to abandon its hiding spot and find the Guards.

'They can't be near us… I would have heard them.'

Then where did the bastards go?

Soon, he had his answer.

The three Guards were in the corridor a hundred or so steps from Sunny's current position, just behind a corner. In a place where they shouldn't have been, since it was way off their previous route.

They were also dead.

Two had their skulls smashed in. Sunny did not know what weapon, tool, or limb was used to kill them, because their Memory armors had already disappeared. It had to have been something capable of piercing through steel, though, because the Guards had been wearing helmets the last time he saw them.

The third was even worse. His throat was torn, seemingly with terribly sharp fangs… to such degree that the young man's head was almost separated from his body. One would expect a sea of blood to come out of such a terrible wound, but in fact, there was surprisingly little of it on the floor.

However, the corpse of the Guard was unnaturally pale, as if devoid of blood completely.

'Curses…'

Sunny felt a cold shiver run through his body.

The shadow cautiously looked around, but didn't notice anyone else present on the scene of the gruesome slaughter.

Aiko and Stev were staring at Sunny with alarmed expressions. After waiting for several minutes, he finally relaxed a little and motioned for them to follow.

"What happened?"

He hesitated for a few seconds, then said in an even tone:

"The Blood Lord has just been here."

Their eyes widened.

"That fiend?! Then why aren't we running?!"

Sunny glanced at them with a calm expression.

worry, it's

was

One that managed to get past his shadow and slaughter them just a hundred steps away without making enough noise

of an

them had to pass the place where the Guards had been killed to reach their destionation. Soon, the smell of blood hit their nostrils, making Aiko and Stev

slightly, while Aiko and Stev had to struggle to keep the contents

"Gods… poor bastards…"

with a dark expression. He was hoping to notice something that his shadow had missed to

no signs that anyone except for the three Guards had been

seems to be really scared. Just imagine

hesitated for a little,

noticed something glint in the pool of blood. The shadow had not noticed it earlier because

reached out with his hand and picked up the bloodied piece of metal, then brought it close to his

shape of a flower blossom. It wasn't a charm Memory, though… just a simple

is that

for a few moments and

out of

***

The Sleepers standing watch were surprised

Aiko raised an eyebrow.

you guys going to inspect

each other, and then

we would. But it's

young woman

in very

look, then coughed

that starting a conversation with him is, uh… well, you know. A

him with an

supposed to

watchman hurriedly

I need to inspect the

that, he made a

I scam him out of his

and led