Shadow Slave

Even though there was a considerable chunk of the colossus left uneaten, Sunny ordered Imp to return. By the time the small creature climbed back to the surface of the island, the members of the cohort had gathered around Sunny.

"Huh? Wait... the little rascal looks different!"

Indeed, Effie was right. The scrawny fiend was different from how he had been before. Firstly, he had grown - just a few days ago, Imp was barely as tall as Sunny's knee, but now his head was on the same level as Sunny's abdomen.

The vital areas on his wiry body were now covered by black plates that resembled a suit of light armor, each glinting with a dark metallic sheen. The same went for his long, sharp claws and triangular teeth..

Imp's face twisted in a grotesque grin, and he raised his chin with pride. After that, the little fiend threw a furtive glance at Nephis.

Sunny smiled. "Congratulations, ugly. You have officially graduated from an unseemly gremlin to an unsightly goblin."

Imp's grin grew a bit forced. He glared at Sunny and hissed.

Nephis looked at them for a few moments. "...I don't know. I think he is a little cute."

The little fiend froze, then swelled with smugness.

Sunny shook his head and sighed. "Are you blind? Well, whatever. Let's see what exactly changed..."

He summoned the runes, waited for the shimmering symbols to reveal themselves, and studied them with a focused expression.

Most of the runes seemed the same:

Shadow: Ravenous Fiend.Shadow Rank: Transcendent.Shadow Class: Devil.

the evolution must

anticipated such a result, so he was not too disappointed. Curious, he continued

[Lucky], [Marvel], [Ravenous], [Shadow Sworn], [Greater

head a little.

[Lesser Iron Body]. Sunny had expected one epithet to change, but not both of them. Not only had "lesser" changed to "great," but "iron"

'I wonder...'

Body] had implied that Imp's body possessed

concentrated on the

Body] Attribute Description: "This Shadow's body is akin to

'Jackpot!'

iron been replaced by blessed steel - thanks to the Sun Prince, no doubt - but Imp's body had gone from merely possessing qualities of metal to being entirely like metal. What did it mean? It meant that the little fiend's whole body was now as resilient as a weapon forged

had achieved his initial goal of toughening up the Ravenous Fiend. However, he still wanted to know

Sunny smiled pleasantly

metallic ring and a piercing shriek. "Ah! Goddammit! What the

fallen on his butt with a startled

a moment, then gave him a composed look. "...I'll do no such thing, you heartless despot. Come here, poor thing... shall we bully your cruel master together? Ah, you're so adorable... in a hideous, nightmare-inducing kind

of him with wide eyes. What the hell was happening? Why was everyone

'D-don't tell me...'

influence how people felt about

'That must be it!'

with a vindictive grin. ...But

eyes and mouth shone with fiery orange-red light, which contrasted sharply against the black metallic sheen of his face. Imp's sharp steel teeth had also been black a few moments ago, but now they were shining with a

'What the...'

of times, then shifted his