Shadow Slave

Sunny almost stumbled because of the terrible realization.

Was the mutilated body inside the nest of moss… still alive?

'How could that be?'

Thousands of years must have passed since the flying ship crashed on this desolate island. How long had this poor soul suffered this harrowing torture? What sin had they committed, and who had doomed them for an eternity of ghastly suffering? How had the vines ended up growing from their flesh, and why?

But most importantly… how the hell was that mangled thing not dead?! Even divine flame was powerless to end its grisly, gruesome existence.

If Sunny could find the answer, maybe he would be able to kill the Corrupted Monster, after all.

Using the momentary lull in the onslaught of the vines that Saint's appearance had bought him, he faced away from the fight and tried to understand what the host of the abominable growth was pointing at.

He desperately hoped that the ancient human was, indeed, trying to point at something, and not just convulsing in terrible pain.

'Where is it… what is it…'

His gaze flew to a certain point on the wall of the cargo hold and lingered on it.

At first glance, there was nothing different about it. That section of the bulkhead was just like all the rest, ancient and overgrown with brown moss. But as he looked closer, he noticed a small gap in the layer of moss, as well as a strange bend to the vines growing on that particular wall.

It was as though they, too, wanted to avoid something lodged into the wooden boards.

That had to be it!

just a splinter of wood sticking out of it at a

of slithering vines, he hesitated for a moment, and then rushed toward the wall instead of joining

has to be something… there

the ancient human pointed at that section of the wall for a reason. Or rather, he hoped that

sideways to avoid another one, Sunny slashed, hacked, and tore his way through the cargo hold,

point, even Blood Weave was having trouble resisting the deadly toxin. Well… it was miraculous enough that he could withstand it at all, considering that the poison came from a creature two whole Ranks above Sunny. Weaver's lineage was, indeed, a

overgrown bulkhead near the small gap in the brown moss. Drawing in a hoarse breath, he stared at it

'Wait… is it?'

His eyes widened slightly.

thing that he had thought to be a splinter

on the wall of the cargo hold, thrust deeply into it by someone's hand, was a rather simple-looking knife. Its shape, however, was very

was exactly the same as the knife that lay on the white altar of the Sanctuary of Noctis, except for the fact that this one wasn't cut from a single piece

it also wasn't

to be made entirely of wood, as if a tree branch had somehow grown in

'What does it mean?'

perplexed for a split second, and then decisively grabbed the handle of

me

the wooden blade slid from where it was

Something else happened, though.

vines in the cargo

Sunny paled.

'Crap!'

mass of slithering vines could crush him, he abandoned all attempts to escape and thrust his hand

a sharp arc in the air, and was nimbly caught

the taciturn demon immediately dashed toward the pulsating mass of brown moss…