Shadow Slave

In a dark underground chamber, a metal sarcophagus stood shrouded in silence. Nothing had disturbed the silence and no light had penetrated the darkness in a long, long time.

Until now.

Suddenly, the sarcophagus came to life, and a scattering of lights ignited on its surface. A crack appeared on the smooth alloy surface, revealing where the edges of a heavy lid were. The lid smoothly slid away, and a flood of radiant light chased away the darkness of the underground chamber.

Cold vapor shined as it rose from inside the sarcophagus. Then, a pale hand rose from within it and forcefully grabbed the metal lip, easily bending its armored alloy.

Sunny struggled to climb out of the sleeping pod for a few moments, then lowered his feet to the cool plates of the dojo's floor. A moment later, he swayed and fell down with a yelp.

"Damnation!"

Sunny remained sprawled on the floor for a few seconds, trying to understand what had happened and why he suddenly lost balance. Then, his eyes gleamed.

"Wait… I can speak again? I can speak again!"

A happy smile slowly appeared on his lips.

Of course… he was back to being a human! He had returned to his own body. Trying to move like a towering demon was not going to do his sense of balance any good…

With a mad grin, Sunny nimbly jumped to his feet and looked down, enjoying the sight of his slender, pale body. Then, he suddenly spun and performed several lightning-fast strikes and kicks.

"Ah, it is good to be home!"

was as though a giant weight fell from his shoulders, quite literally — the shadowspawn must have weighed three times what Sunny weighed. Being a tall, powerful devil had its own

enemies to stick their blades in. And although having only two hands seemed

more punch than the shadowspawn could ever hope to muster. Not to mention how in

moment, Sunny was incredibly happy with his natural stature and height. Only after being forcefully turned into a lumbering monstrosity did

filtered air of the underground dojo, he let out a satisfied sigh and glanced at the crumpled metal of the lip of the sleeping pod. He had inadvertently damaged the armored alloy by simply grabbing it too hard. Getting used to his new strength was

the bent panel was not going to be cheap. It was well within

he tilted

do

would he worry about the luxurious sleeping

need it

would travel there physically. His body would not be left empty and defenseless in the

could never go back to that hell. He could just remain in the comfort and safety of the real world, enjoying all that it offered thanks to his wealth, citizenship,

free to refuse it. He had won his right to have a choice. He… he was not a slave to the whims

For now…

sorcery, creating a thriving enterprise would not be a

an actual bed, and see

not be a beautifully happy ending for a homeless street rat from the

froze, staring into the distance. Slowly, a pale smile

that

the Spell would be that easy. Even if he learned how to

would leave him be… especially the latter. Sunny suspected that he was going to

Now that he proved his mettle and elevated himself to the venerated status of

had to pass on a message that trying to become a Saint without pledging