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 Saint,

Nightmare Creature. Although humans possessed only one soul core, their intelligence and Aspect powers made them equal to Devils, at least - someone like Beastmaster seemed closer to

and killed, many

were nothing like the

to do with raw power, and

Nightmare, the Second Nightmare, the Third Nightmare... the Dream Realm, and the waking world. Countless humans had tried, but only the absolute best of the absolute best could survive

lucky. By far. Only a person possessing all these qualities could become a Saint. Even with the interference of

Saint was not comparable to facing a random

like facing one of the strongest Corrupted abominations in

A fiend among fiends.

alone, either. There were several Ascended of

"Curse it all..."

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

heartbeat, and then glanced

trick at his disposal... it would probably still not be

it would be of any help - not before both of them were torn apart by Dire

He trembled.

Tyris, I... I don't know what to

at him, her bloodied face remaining calm and composed. Her

you do. You have to

Sunny gritted his teeth.

master of staying alive, after all. He could dissolve into shadows and emerge from them hundreds of meters, or even a few kilometers away from the dreadful Saint. He

had survived on that snowy field in the

was that he couldn't take

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

But Sunny... he...

Didn't want to.

so, he was not

conversations, really, so

"Like hell I will!"