Shadow Slave

Despite the torturous burden of the Crushing, Sunny couldn't help but feel jubilant. Not only did he receive eight shadow fragments and a powerful Memory, he had also defeated a Fallen Devil all by himself, without even Saint providing him any help.

The Black Knight, too, had been a Fallen Devil. So killing one solo meant a lot to Sunny. It was a poignant milestone that made him feel like all his hard work and all the vile things he had gone through were not for nothing. He was accomplishing his goal.

Growing stronger.

…Of course, the Mordant Mimic was not as terrifying of a foe in battle as the guardian of the ruined cathedral had been. One was a creature that seemed to have been created solely for combat, while the other mostly relied on deceit and ambushing its prey to achieve victory. And yet, the chest fiend was by no means an easy foe. If anything, its devilish nature only made it that much more dangerous.

'Argh!'

As the Twisted Rock rose higher, the Crushing struck at Sunny with even more dreadful force, making his mirth dissipate in a wave of miserable suffering. A muffled groan escaped from his lips.

'Endure… just endure a bit more… this hell is going to end soon.'

For now, he had no choice but to keep suffering, wait, and stare at the distant silhouette of the Ivory Tower.

The beautiful pagoda seemed so close now that he could almost imagine himself reaching out and encompassing it in his fist.

With nothing else to do, Sunny summoned the runes and found the familiar cluster out of habit:

Shadow Fragments: [223/2000].

'I wonder how many coins are in that damned chest…'

Would he be able to create the third core with their help?

Shifting his gaze, Sunny found the runes describing his Memories. A new one was now shown at the end of the list.

His eyes glistened slightly as he concentrated on it and read the description:

Memory: [Covetous Coffer].

Memory Rank: Ascended.

Memory Tier: IV.

'Huh…'

had acquired in a span of just a few days. Even without considering the

would the

Curious, he read on.

Memory Type: Tool.

'A utility Memory!'

weapons, utility Memories were the foundation of every Awakened's arsenal. Take Sunny, for example — some of his most precious Memories were tools. Endless Spring, Ordinary Rock, Silver Bell… even

pressure

are very strange!" said Noctis. Why was his new friend so deathly afraid of chests? Why was he so timid and pale? "Don't be afraid, these are just my treasure chests. They won't

Sunny blinked.

'That… is interesting.'

was a person, after all. What's more, he or she had apparently been in possession of several treasure chests, including one

a pet of

a person would keep a Fallen Devil as

of dread, Sunny continued to

Coffer], [Capacious Chest],

stared at the runes with a

do all these words… even

of the enchantments, he wondered if the Spell was having a stroke and shifted

"This Memory can mimic the form of any inanimate object. The size and intricacy of

only assumed the form of a chest, instead of being born… created?... as one. I wonder what kind of a shape

the

inanimate items. The size of the storage space, as well as the

the

'Yes!'

exactly what he needed right now. This enchantment solved the exact problem he was facing — the need to carry all the gold coins away before Twisted Rock

all. The ability to store items in the Covetous Coffer, and then store the Coffer in his Soul Sea, opened up a sea of possibilities. In a sense, it was just like Effie's incredible bag, but better — the bag had to be carried around if there was anything inside of it, while the

Realm to the real