Shadow Slave

1481 Emergency Repairs

The Chain Breaker was assaulted by hurricane winds as it plummeted into the heart of the colossal whirlpool. Nephis had yet to run out of essence, so their fall was controlled… for now.

However, that would change soon.

Sunny was still overwhelmed by the destruction of Aletheia's Island. Shaking off his reverie, he took a deep breath and forced himself to move.

All across the flying vessel, deep shadows stirred and surged forward, turning into inky-black hands. The manifested shadows pulled on the ropes, unfurling the horizontal sails. Those sails extended from both sides of the ship and were meant to help it glide on the winds.

At the same time, he nervously looked down.

…All Sunny could see was darkness.

It was not the true darkness that his sight had never been able to penetrate. Instead, the abyssal chasm was simply so deep for him to see anything.

'Great…'

By now, the slopes of the vortex had almost turned vertical. It was as if the Chain Breaker was surrounded by a vast wall of dark water, its current so fast that its surface was like a blur. At first, the dreadful maw of the whirlpool was dozens of kilometers wide, but the further they descended, the narrower it became.

Eventually, it was as if the Chain Breaker had entered a twisting vertical tunnel that was just a few kilometers in diameter. They were surrounded by absolute darkness, with only a scattering of lanterns illuminating the deck. It was like a small island of light in an ocean of nothingness. No one except for Sunny could see the spinning walls of the tunnel… which was, perhaps, for the best.

He knew that if the ship touched the water, it would be torn apart by the tremendous pressure of the current.

'What the hell am I thinking? It's not for the best! Not at all!'

The Chain Breaker was falling vertically, for now, but it was only possible because Neph was still empowering its enchantments with her essence. Once her essence ran dry, they would have to move in a wide spiral along the watery walls of the tunnel to keep the ship balanced. Otherwise, it would be too easy for it to roll and overturn.

By then, not seeing where the darkness ended, and the furious current began, would be lethal.

Even worse, the tunnel was not strictly vertical. Looking down, Sunny could see it twisting and turning, like a descending tornado.

He gritted his teeth.

"Damnation…"

Could they even survive in this abyss without the Chain Breaker's enchantments?

look at the stern of the ship, where Nephis was struggling with the steering oars, but at that moment, Cassie's voice reached

"Sunny! Here!"

blind girl was standing near the entrance to the main cargo hold, waving at him. Her

a few moments, then rushed to

"What is it?"

cargo hold,

help… or rather, your Shadow's help. Summon her

soon as the taciturn knight appeared, her onyx armor shone with dark radiance, and a feeling of oppressive might emanated from

There were amphorae containing strange liquids, brushes, stone etchings of complicated runes, mortars, and items that Sunny did not even

black stone from the hidden chamber of Aletheia's Tower was also there, illuminated by the faint

gave Cassie a

"What's this?"

girl was already walking

had plenty of time to think, as well. About how to repair the enchantment circuit of the Chain Breaker,

pointed at

me shatter it. I tried to do it myself… but I'm not strong

weird for a moment. It was as if she was asking him to open a jar of pickles for her… whatever that was. In any case, the

Cassie was not strong enough to break

flying vessel, connecting its enchantments to the sacred tree. If Cassie succeeded in time… perhaps, they would not be torn

either. But Saint was a Transcendent Devil, and augmented by six shadows

he gestured at the black stone. Her ruby eyes shone darkly, and, summoning her tenebrous blade, Saint took a step

and bounced away, not leaving even a single scratch on it.

entering the black blade. The blade itself rippled

A weapon such as this was far better suited for piercing armor and breaking bones than a sword was… so, it had

back, then slowly raised her weapon above

enough force to

flash, a shockwave, and a

Saint had already lowered the lucerne. Her ruby eyes

lay broken into

pointed to them and

"Again!"

pieces had turned into smaller ones, and then were finally ground into fine dust inside one of the mortars. The stone dust

was running out of essence, and the Chain Breaker was growing more

hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the

"Go! Help Neph!"

Step to appear by Neph's side. Using his ability to see in the dark, he helped her guide the flying vessel into a spiraling descent. Nephis steered the ship,