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!

anything in the small circular gap, just a splinter of wood sticking out of it at a sharp angle. His heart was beating like a wild beast in a

glance at Saint, who was slowly drowning in the flood of slithering vines, he hesitated for a moment, and then rushed toward the wall instead of joining her in

something…

at that section of the wall for a reason. Or rather,

tore his way through the cargo

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 terrifying thing.

crashed into the overgrown bulkhead near the

'Wait… is it?'

His eyes widened slightly.

had thought to be a splinter

there on the wall of the cargo hold, thrust deeply into it by someone's

exactly the same as the knife that lay on the white altar of the Sanctuary of

it also wasn't cut

made entirely of wood, as if a tree branch had somehow grown in the shape of a knife, and was then broken off to

'What does it mean?'

for a split

it all... please don't tell me that I need a thousand coins to lift

blade slid from where it was thrust into the wall, and Sunny found himself holding the Cruel

Something else happened, though.

laid his hands on the wooden handle, all the vines in the cargo hold surged in his direction with frenzied fury, utterly

Sunny paled.

'Crap!'

he abandoned all

from his grip, cut a sharp arc in the air, and was nimbly

the opportunity that the sudden shift in the Corrupted Monster's behavior gave her, the taciturn demon immediately dashed toward the pulsating mass of brown moss… and thrust the wooden knife right into