Shadow Slave

Summoning Saint to stand side by side with him once again, Sunny glanced at the gates of the Spire, grimaced, and jumped down from the mound of coral.

'I don't like this at all…'

Out there on the island, it was quiet. Too quiet.

Even though all the Nightmare Creatures were now behind him, slowly devouring the Dreamer Army, the open space pierced by the gazes of the severed heads of stone colossus was too ominous and foreboding to not spell trouble.

But Sunny was done being afraid a long time ago.

'You fear me, instead.'

Walking forward, he passed between the giant heads and entered the empty space in front of the cyclopean gates. Feeling as though someone was staring at his back, Sunny shivered and approached the seven locks.

Halfway to the gates, he stopped, hesitated for a moment and then looked back, at stone heads.

This was the first time he saw the faces of the seven heroes.

The face of the Lord was noble and dignified, the face of the Priestess — beautiful and gentle. The Slayer was arrogant and cold, her lips twisted in a crooked grin. The Stranger wore a helmet, darkness nesting in the crack of its visor.

'...People. They were just people.'

Turning away, Sunny sighed, then shook his head in dejection.

'I won't judge you for what you have done. But I hope… I really that we will be able to do better.'

With that, he took another step forward… and froze.

Something had changed on the stretch of land between him and the gates of the Crimson Spire. A cold wind suddenly howled, throwing bits of coral into the air.

Instead, more and more of the crimson shards flew up, slowly forming

cursed and outstretched his hand,

golems of crimson coral stood in front of him and Saint, blocking the path to the star sigil. He recognized

Knight. The slender figure of

moved, raising their weapons to point at him. Their movements were crude and inhuman, but radiated a sense of terrible, profane power. Despite their outward appearance, he felt that these

golems, the blade of his

you? Do you really think this will be enough

dark eyes gleamed,

then, fools, come and

forward and raised the

him as though out of nowhere and put his round shield in the path of the austere tachi. Hitting it felt like

Sunny's eyes widened.

'Fast…'

he noticed a beak of a war hammer flying toward his temple with terrible speed. Gritting his teeth, Sunny shifted and blocked it with the blade

through his body, he was thrown backward and slid on the red coral,

it! How are

saw seven tall figures approaching him with steady, inevitable malice. Each of the golems was powerful enough to rip an entire cohort of Sleepers to

her shield and hit its rim twice with the blade of her

'Whatever. Let's do this!'

***

whirlpool of black water, the Dreamer Army was still furiously resisting the horde of Nightmare Creatures. By now, all of the monsters had left the coral bridge and descended upon the Sleepers, consumed by the

engulfed

terrible bloodshed, shining like a radiant sun. She fought alone, because no one else could survive the devastating pressure that the horde exerted in the zealous attempts to extinguish that light. Any human that tried to approach and help

furious deity, eviscerating one abomination after another. All around her, burning corpses littered the ground, their cursed blood boiling and evaporating into the air. Not only was her presence relieving the pressure from the rest of the Sleepers,

up? As long as her light was there

why no monster had managed to break through the remnants of

the slippery surface of the crimson coral, Kai gazed at the terrible scene of the massacre below him, and then raised his face