Shadow Slave

"Not good..."

Sunny landed in a roll and instantly dashed to the side. Almost at the same moment, claws tore through the air, almost brushing against his skin. They were so close that he felt the wind stirring as it threw his hair into disarray.

"Fast!"

Sunny landed on his feet and slid backward. Sensing the movement of shadows, he raised the Sin of Solace to block the attack - not because he actually perceived it, but because he knew that it had to come.

Then, he screamed.

A deafening, inhuman, monstrous roar suddenly split the skies apart, and Sunny's head was instantly pierced by pain so intense that he couldn't help but groan.

"What... what the hell is that, a sonic attack?"

As his vision blurred, the strike that he had predicted came. The Sin of Solace was in the way, but it was not in a position to form a solid block. Sunny's whole body shook as he was thrown back once again, his bones and tendons creaking under immense pressure.

Luckily, they did not burst apart.

But it really, really hurt...

Falling to the ground, Sunny dove into the shadows and flew out of them a couple dozen meters away. He barely had time to grab Saint Tyris and carry her forward with his momentum before Dire Fang's claws tore into her battered armor.

The two of them came to a stop some distance away and froze for a moment, supporting each other. Sunny's breathing was hoarse, and Sky Tide's face was ashen.

In front of them, the towering monster - Saint Dire Fang, who had finally unleashed his transcendent power - slowly turned his wolf-like snout and looked at them with a bestial, bloodred, terrifying eye.

Sunny's intuition was screaming. Looking at the monstrous creature - half-human, half-beast - he felt it, deep in the dark expanse of his lightless soul.

Death.

Fighting Dire Fang meant death.

Saint was a

Although humans possessed only one soul core, their intelligence and Aspect

had fought, and killed, many

the similarity, Saints were nothing like

raw power,

the Dream Realm, and the waking world. Countless humans had tried, but only the

the smartest. The most determined, the most skilled, the most adaptable, the most lucky. By far. Only a person possessing all these qualities could become a Saint.

a Saint was not comparable to facing a random Corrupted

a Saint was like facing one of the

A fiend among fiends.

not alone, either. There were several Ascended of Clan Song and powerful thralls surrounding

"Curse it all..."

take a step back, knowing that they would not be able to run. His eyes grew dim and

for a heartbeat, and then

went all-out, using Shadow Shell and every other trick at his disposal... it would probably still not be

of Truth, but Sunny was not sure that it would be of any help - not before

He trembled.

I... I don't know what

face remaining calm

do. You have

Sunny gritted his teeth.

all. He could dissolve into shadows and emerge from them hundreds of meters, or even a few kilometers away from the dreadful Saint. He could become one of the shadows, as well, and thus immune to all physical

had survived on that snowy field in the Antarctic

was that he couldn't take anyone

Tide's meaning was clear - she was telling him to leave her and

But Sunny... he...

Didn't want to.

so, he was not going

so he simply raised his

"Like hell I will!"