Shadow Slave

Sunny swayed slightly and thrust the Soul Serpent into the ground, leaning on it for support. His breath was labored and ragged. The wound on his neck had already disappeared, but drops of crimson blood remained on the onyx surface of his fearsome armor.

All around him, the crowd was going crazy.

"Mongrel! Mongrel! Mongrel!"

The fight against the noble Queen had not been as savage and bloody as some of his previous ones, but it had been incomparably harder. Even though each of the fighters had only managed to land one strike, the mental strain and physical effort the duel had required of them was nothing short of tremendous. Facing a true battle master was a tough trial.

Sunny was completely spent… but more than that, he was also bitter and full of fury.

'Damnation! I almost had it!'

Not paying the crowd any attention, he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the dissipating sensation he had felt during the last seconds of the intense battle against the undefeated champion of the Dreamscape.

During their fight, after grasping the secret of the elusive Queen, he had come close to making a breakthrough in his mastery of the Shadow Dance. It had been so close that Sunny could practically see it… but in the end, he failed to make the last step. There was an invisible obstacle in his way that had pushed him back, one that he didn't know how to overcome.

Something was still missing… all the styles he had absorbed created a vast and solid foundation, but it was not enough. At this point, he knew that the problem was not quantity. He had already done the groundwork. Then what? What did he need to do to bring this stage of Shadow Dance to completion? Find a unifying element? Face even more formidable opponents?

Sunny didn't know, which made him extremely frustrated.

However, he didn't receive any time to savor his frustration or consider the issue deeper, because a thundering voice suddenly drowned out the roar of the crowd.

Up on the central tribune, the Saint of the Dreamscape had risen from their seat and was now looking down with a brilliant smile, already in the middle of an excited speech.

'Right… I won! I am about to receive my reward!'

Sunny grinned behind the mask and straightened, lifting the odachi and putting it back on his shoulder.

The reward… wasn't this why he had entered the tournament in the first place? And now, it was finally time to reap it!

Saint was going on and on, showering Sunny

Awakened… true warrior… bravery… courage… future of

you just

that nonsense, he just wanted to receive his prize and disappear. However, he had to stand in the middle of the arena like the world's most fearsome scarecrow and endure the endless barrage of flowery words flying out of the grandiloquent Saint's

woman?... this person really likes the sound

him a chance

finally finished with their long speech and

personally reward the

approached the parapet of the tribune. Then, smiled at the audience and

he felt a small shiver run

swords. They were also of a strange, vibrant color — bright red, the same as her full lips and vermilion cape. With her alabaster skin and raven-black hair,

exerted could be felt even from

'...A Master.'

her raspy voice easily reaching all across the arena. It sounded friendly

what a splendid duel it

moment, then bowed his head slightly, expressing his

in response, Morgan of Valor

by the smiths of the great clan Valor. In fact, your remarkable skill brought me

'Jackpot!'

hoped would happen did, indeed, happen! Ascended Morgan seemed to be in a very good mood. Whatever it was that a Master of one of the Great Clans had in

crowd to quiet down and looked at him with a curious

me, what do you wish

a weapon would be

but then,

'Crap!'

a crafty lie, the Flaw forced an answer out of

"...No."

crap, crap!

Valor tilted her head a