Shadow Slave

Sunny studied the swarm of abominations that flooded the small valley. These ones didn't seem as dangerous as the primal hunters he had once fought in front of Rain's school. The creatures had bestial bodies, with four bony limbs that ended in sharp claws and long, slithering tails. Ridges of jagged spikes rose from their spines, and their maws were full of sharp fangs.

Most disturbingly, all except for the Fallen ones seemed to have had their eyes violently torn out. Now, only darkness nestles in the empty, gaping holes of their eye sockets. The abominations did not move as if they were blind, though. There was a strange, predatory precision to their subdued motions.

…The Devil was different from the eyeless beasts, though. It resembled them outwardly, but possessed a more humanoid body. The creature stood on its hind legs, while his front limbs resembled human hands. Its eyes were closed, and even seemed sewn shut. Something constantly moved behind the eyelids, giving Sunny the creeps.

The powerful abomination towered above its ilk, reaching almost three meters in height.

Two hundred and seventy-four Nightmare Creatures… was a lot. Most cohorts of Awakened would not have even considered attacking that many abominations, and quietly retreated instead.

'I need to be careful about this.'

Sunny thought for a few long moments, and then spoke:

"Samara, move forward and assume a position higher up the slope, where you'll be able to shoot over the crest of the road. Vanguard, prepare to advance and secure the crest. Kimmy… work your magic."

His words reached the melee fighters of the cohort without any problem. Of course, he could have used the usual technological solutions to ensure good communication… but with how unstable tech was near Nightmare Gates, it was always good to have a backup.

For that reason, Luster was currently in possession of an extremely ordinary, very unassuming rock… which, nevertheless, was somehow able to speak with their captain's voice.

was following the vanguard, as well, so he had no

Quentin served as the center of the formation, with Belle and

halberd in his hands, which both gave him some range and allowed the young man to support the three fighters from the back, should the need arise. Its versatility also

past weeks, Sunny had done all he could to raise the battle effectiveness of the cohort and enhance the Memories of his soldiers. The weapons received most of his attention, but he also augmented their armors by transplanting the [Tenacious] enchantment of the Patient Avenger into their weaves. With its help, the survivability of the cohort had reached a new

of course. With his current strength, the augmentation granted by the morbid charm could not benefit him in any substantial way. It was a different story for the

cohort was additionally protected by a charm that gave them slight resistance to cold, which is why they were able to all but ignore the slowly falling snow

wielding a round buckler, a sharp rapier,

immense strain on her mind. Then, she used

shadows did not see color, so to him, the body of the towering abomination became painted in different shades of

at the very center of the Devil's

was where

the black bow bent... despite possessing an enchantment called [Unbending]. Because of it, Morgan's Warbow required a giant's strength to draw, but was

Sunny was incredibly strong, even

to have been crafted

shadow was not an easy task, but

into the bow, instantly emptying one of his four cores. The [Death Dealer] enchantment was a gluttonous one,

was

Sunny relaxed his fingers, allowing the string to slide off them on its own. The black arrow noiselessly disappeared into the sky, so fast that it was hard