Shadow Slave

Sunny stared at the little girl, trying not to lose his composure.

'...What is wrong with these people?'

He had two horns, a mouth full of sharp fangs, long claws, and four damned arms… and yet, the first thing that both Effie and Kai had reacted to was his height. Was he not allowed to be tall, for once?!

Continuing to pretend to fight the monstrous child in earnest, he pointed to his chest instead of an answer. Effie, too, slowed down her relentless assault a bit — just enough to give him some breathing room without making her changed attitude obvious.

A few moments later, when they were close to each other, she hissed quietly:

"Let me guess, you saw the message I left that said to not come to the Temple of Chalice… and, naturally, decided to do the exact opposite."

Sunny spun, avoiding her fist, and raised two fingers.

The girl frowned.

"Two… someone else is with you? Cassie? Kai? Ah, it's Kai… so, both of you decided to ignore my warning!"

She deflected his dagger to the side, grimaced when it slid over a barely healed laceration on her forearm, and then squeaked in her childish voice:

"Well… good! I, uh… I might have been too full of myself, thinking that I would be able to actually escape this damned place. So... I am really, really glad that you came…"

Sunny thrust his greatsword forward, narrowly missing the girl's head, and then let out a low growl.

Effie gritted her teeth.

"But, Sunny… we have two problems. One is that these lunatics never let their disciples leave the sect alive. The second… the second is that if one of us doesn't kill the other in this duel, my teachers are going to kill us both… so…"

She caught his sword with one hand, then brought her fist on its blade, shattering it and making Sunny stumble.

you have a plan! No, I know you do! Don't

sounded optimistic and cheerful. Knowing that Effie was confident in his ability to get them

was that he did not have a plan. In fact,

Yet.

simply shook his head, making Effie pale and grow

any chance of escaping the Temple of the Chalice without a bloody

been able to fight her

still didn't

might was lesser than that of the huntress, overall, he was a

would leave Kai alone against dozens of Awakened warriors gathered in the hall.

way… the War Maidens had been defeated

towering in the center of the hall, full of furious white flame. Unlike in the future, it was still whole and imposing, the complex

His face grew dim.

this idea… no, I don't like it

happy with the seed of a plan that suddenly appeared in his mind. Not only because it would be extremely dangerous and hard to pull off, but also because going through with it had

come up with anything else to do. If moving the elements did not work, the only way to achieve his goal was to change

a deep sigh, he concentrated for a few moments, and

time, several

of the circle of runes, Saint lowered the Soul Serpent and then outstretched one hand, which suddenly became shrouded in a swarm of white sparks. She took a small

One of his four hands was enveloped by a swarm of scarlet sparks, one in a black fog, and the other two in a swirling mass of dancing sparks of

undergo a strange transmutation. Although just a

reluctant to intrude upon

out of dull steel appeared on Saint's arm, while the odachi she held silently slid into the

a strange arrow that seemed to be made out of a bolt of

[Midnight Shard], [Morgan's Warbow], [Strike of Thunder]... and [Mantle of the Underworld] augmented by [Memory of

Memories at the same time, knowing that he might not have a

last Memory that