Shadow Slave

Sunny and the black steed plummeted down in a cloud of shattered stone. Far below them, the courtyard of the boundary fortress lay, shrouded in darkness. It was growing closer and closer, approaching with terrifying speed.

Neither paid it any attention, however.

The stallion bit down on Sunny's shoulder with all his might, his sharp fangs scraping against the stonelike metal of the Mantle of the Underworld. The fearsome onyx armor was an Ascended Memory of the sixth Tier, a whole Rank above the diabolical Shadow, so the courser was not supposed to be able to damage it.

However, to Sunny's shock and dismay, the metal plates actually groaned and bent, crushing his flesh. He roared with pain and anger, then thrust his four hands forward, ripping the Terror's chest with his claws.

Drops of blood fell down like rain.

Intertwined, the two of them hit the cobblestones of the desolate courtyard. However, instead of being broken by the fall, both simply submerged into the veil of shadows drowning it, as if the ancient stones had turned into a lake of liquid darkness.

For a moment, Sunny found himself floating in the tenebrous embrace of deep, unfathomable shadows. Usually, turning into a ghostly shade would have meant escaping to safety…

But today, his enemy was a similar creature himself.

A vast and terrifying presence lunged at him from the darkness, full of fury and boundless, chilling killing intent. The black steed had pursued him even into the shadows.

However, this time, Sunny was ready.

He had never fought anyone, or anything, as a shadow. But he had been attacked in this form twice, first by the Mirror Beast, and then by its insidious creator… Mordret of Valor, the Prince of Nothing. Both were able to steal his own ability, and use it against him.

What did it mean?

mundane shadows, as Shadow Blade Kurt had been able to,

meant that he could assume any shape

to meet it, turning into a long, narrow blade made of darkness. They clashed, tearing each other's souls apart. Sunny's whole being was instantly drowned by terrible suffering… but he also felt a silent scream of

rolling away on the

you, bastard…

to summon the Cruel Sight, and another to summon

burning crimson eyes streaked through the darkness, and he was hit in the chest again. His lower hands grabbed the horns

didn't slow down the courser

they struck the wall of the dilapidated fortress. Sunny shrieked, feeling his spine come very close to snapping. If not for Bone Weave,

wall of the fortress was shattered

the stars. The damned Terror carried him through the cloud, emerging from the other side of it a split second later, and then threw Sunny to the ground, trying

instead, the four-armored demon was dragged across the emerald grass, tearing

at least,

its head sideways and bit down on the blade of the Moonlight Shard with his fangs, then jerked his

'Damnation!'

the ground. A moment later, he grasped the shaft of

somehow disappeared and was

pupils narrowed, and then Sunny spun, sensing a swift

of the Cruel Sigh suddenly shone with pure light, tearing the darkness apart. The nightmarish courser was forced back into the corporeal form, and instantly came under attack. The tip