Shadow Slave

Sunny stared at Luster for a few moments, then sighed.

"What is wrong with that guy?"

The young man seemed unsure where to look. His startled gaze jumped between Sunny and Saint, full of confusion. Then, strange sparks ignited in his eyes.

"Ah, I see! So that is..."

Sunny did not let him finish.

"You are alive. Good. I take it that the swarm is dealt with..."

By that time, the other members of the cohort approached, as well, so it seemed that all of them had survived. They looked relatively unscathed, too... which couldn't be said about Sunny and Saint.

Both were in a rough shape, the taciturn demon worse off than he was. Nightmare was severely wounded, too, so Sunny had dismissed him. Now, the black steed was being nurtured back to health in the dark flames of Sunny's soul.

He could not let Saint go, though... not yet. He needed her strength to keep the convoy safe. If a Shadow sustained serious damage, it would enter a slumber once dismissed. That slumber would last until the damage was sufficiently repaired, which meant that Sunny would not be able to summon the sleeping Shadow for some time.

Since Saint's wounds, while plentiful, were not life-threatening, he hoped to find a different solution - one that would keep her by his side in the coming days.

...Luster was not the only one who stared at the graceful knight with curiosity. The other Irregulars seemed to have a lot of questions, as well. Some of them had known that their captain possessed a hidden ace, but none of them had seen her before.

Surprisingly, usually quiet Kim was the first one to ask:

"Captain, sir! Uh... who is that? Oh, sorry, ma'am... it is nice to meet you?"

Saint remained silent and indifferent, like always. Her aloofness seemed to give Kim pause. The timid girl looked at the demon awkwardly...

Sunny tilted his head a little and glanced at her with confusion.

tone? And why do I feel that she's being more

Frowning slightly, he said:

Saint. She is... an Echo,

eyes turned

you have

pain rolled through his body, stifled a groan, and shook his

of idiot would believe something

she is merely an Ascended Demon. She's just called Saint. In any case, Saint has been warding off a lot of threats before they had reached the convoy,

an Ascended Demon. Facing one would give most Masters a lot of trouble. Having such a powerful creature fighting on their side

moment, Quentin suddenly spoke, his usually gallant

to report something, Captain. We received a few Memories after wiping out the swarm, as usual. But, this

then, a whirlwind

Sunny blinked.

that what I think

two shapes appeared from the storm of sparks. Both were monstrous in appearance, resembling nightmarish hounds. One was about the size of a large

and patted the smaller monstrosity on

one is Blackie, an Awakened Beast. The other one is

abomination, and then

ever. She remained silent for a

"...Abomination."

Quentin cleared his throat.

We were bound to get an Echo sooner or later, of course, but two at the same time... isn't this great

hard to appear calm.

you... goddamn... kidding

Echoes, while he had not received even one after Nightmare,

luck was

not wait to study did not