Shadow Slave

Sunny described what was happening in a hushed voice. He didn't really need to whisper, considering that they were surrounded by a dome of silence, but it made him feel better.

And what was happening... appeared pretty clear.

The monstrous butterfly had been attracted by the smell of blood and arrived to feast on the corpse of the Black Turtle that the Azure Serpent had so laboriously killed. The Azure Serpent, meanwhile, was having none of it.

In fact, judging by the madness burning in its eyes, the Great Beast was overcome with the bloody desire to rip the giant butterfly apart as well.

'This thing... really doesn't know what's good for it, huh?'

What was the reason for the Azure Serpent's reckless insolence?

Humans often described Nightmare Creatures as mad, but that description was not entirely accurate. The abominations were indeed insane, but that did not mean that they lacked sanity. Rather, it meant that their sanity was perverted, sinister, ineffable, and entirely different from what humans deemed sane.

So why would the Great Beast risk its life fighting much more powerful Monsters?

Was it indeed madness? Was it pride? Was it reluctance to give up such an enormous prize?

...Or was it more reluctant to surrender two human souls that burned the flames of divinity to the stronger abomination?

Whatever the reason was, the stubborn leviathan seemed ready to battle the monstrous butterfly to the death.

The butterfly let out an indescribable sound. The waters of the Great River suddenly grew restless, rippling as they were assaulted by the powerful sonic waves. The serpent roared again, rising higher above the river's tumultuous surface.

"I think they are going to fight."

decision to abandon the skies and seek shelter on the shell of the Black Turtle... if something like that butterfly had caught him in the air, he would have surely

the edge of a perilous abyss. They were

now because the Azure Serpent either lacked the ability or was reluctant to crawl out of the water. If the abominable butterfly won the battle, though, nothing was going to stop it from

the familiar Great Beast that had

maybe the mad snake would be able to pull

on the shell of

incredibly thin and long legs of the monster. The pale body of the butterfly was high above the ground, and its wings were open, covering a vast area in deep darkness. Now

as well, coalescing into a strange image... an

as a strange certainty that he should never, ever try to look directly at the pattern covering the butterfly's wings flooded

'D-damnation...'

"Sunny? What is happening?"

sucked in a

staring at each

of its chitinous legs striking sparks from the black rock. Its trunk-like mouth

beak. One, two, three times... the island quaked, but not even a thin crack appeared on the rock. The butterfly froze for a moment,

to

of course. One is a flying abomination, and the other is a sea creature. The butterfly has to go into the water if it wants to gorge on the Black Turtle's meat, but that would mean fighting the Azure Serpent... and

maybe it would simply

the butterfly suddenly folded

was no hesitation, no warning. Just a deafening sonic boom and a harrowing

from the confounding

"It's attacking!"

second later, an enormous pillar of foaming crimson water rose into the sky. The serpent seemed to have managed