Shadow Slave

Using the short window of opportunity, Sunny jumped back to his feet, dashed forward, and thrust his jade sword into a small crack between two plates of armor that covered the giant's knee joint. The thin blade of the Sin of Solace easily slid into it and bit into the Demon's flesh, drawing a few drops of putrid black blood.

That was all he had time to do before leaping back.

The shallow wound Sunny had delivered was by no means mortal, or even seriously debilitating.

But it didn't need to be.

The plague of the [Sinister Whisper] had already been passed to the Gate Guardian by the swift jade blade.

'Let's see how strong your mind is, bastard.'

Even diminished by the potent mental barrier of the Undying Chain, the eerie whispers of the Sin of Solace were constantly assaulting his own sanity. Of course, it was strange to think of any Nightmare Creature as sane... they were all mad to begin with, after all.

But Sunny had high hopes. A demon was a demon - no matter how wicked, it was still a sentient being. That sentience, which made these creatures so dangerous, could also be destroyed.

The Gate Guardian finally unleashed another attack, this one so fast that Sunny barely had time to react. With no other choice, he gritted his teeth and blocked it with the blade of the

Sin of Solace. Another shockwave exploded outward, and he was thrown back like a cannonball.

'Crap...'

Sunny flew back, smashing into several Nightmare Creatures on his way. Several devastating impacts rattled his entire body, and bits of broken flesh flew into the air. Landing dozens of meters away from the Gate Guardian, he collided against the ground, bounced, and then rolled for a bit, leaving a deep groove in the snow.

he had managed to deliver a cut to the wrist of the

near, so Sunny rose without wasting any time

time which, nevertheless, felt like an eternity, he danced around the Corrupted abomination. Diving through the shadows and using Shadow Manifestation, Sunny was able to just barely stay ahead of the terrifying creature by a split second. Several more shallow wounds appeared

the Demon did not seem to be

down a little,

body

and suddenly struck itself in the head, as if trying to shake off a

accumulated on the giant's body, the louder

and its neck twisted at a strange angle. It

a chilling roar escaped from its

'What the...'

that guided its perverse sentience collapsed, an endless sea of bloodlust and frenzy seemed to overwhelm the abomination. Letting

for a short moment, then calmly stepped through shadows and appeared twenty or so meters

affect the Demon much. Maybe the broken abomination did not even notice it,

forward, grabbed the nearest Nightmare Creature,

and dove into the surrounding swarm, crushing and tearing bodies to shreds. Just in a

'D-damn...'

Gate Guardian, Sunny couldn't help but shudder.

it only seem so, or had the whispers of

to understand them. If he just listened a little bit closer... a little bit longer... yes, surely, he

***

long. Verne's Awakened and the Devils fought the swarm of Scavengers at the front, while the frenzied Demon decimated its center. Many Nightmare Creatures

Sunny did not, however.