Shadow Slave

1521 Sharpest Arrow

In the courtyard of the drowning fortress, a harrowing dragon growled and took a step back, its massive body shuddering. His silver eyes had lost their sinister light, turning glossy and unfocused.

A vicious battle must have been taking place in the dragon's corrupted soul.

The maddening whispers thundering in Kai's head finally grew silent. He swayed, then took a labored breath and limped toward Sunny.

His friend was laying on the cold stones, barely alive. His body was a terrible painting of torn flesh, white bones visible through its mangled mess. Eerily, he was still not bleeding at all… usually, Kai would have been reassured by that fact, but right now, it looked like Sunny was already a cold corpse.

But he wasn't a corpse. Sunny was still moving, struggling to stand up. Even after battling a Defiled Saint tooth and nail, he was still unbroken, trying to continue to fight.

As Kai approached, he heard his furious whispers:

"Kill you… I'll kill you… shut up! I'll tear you apart!"

Strangely enough, his hateful gaze was not directed at the archer. Instead, Sunny was glaring past him, seemingly at an empty spot.

Kai felt his heart tighten.

'What is happening to him?'

Sunny had always had a wild personality, and there was that time he had turned a little feral in the Dark City… but he was never truly mad. Now, however, it seemed as though his friend had entirely lost his mind.

'There must be a reason.'

He had warned Kai to stay away before, had he not? That meant that this strange condition Sunny was in had a purpose. To resist the authority of the Dread Lord, most likely… somehow. It had to be a part of some cunning scheme.

He would deal with it later.

For now, Kai had a more serious problem to solve.

The abominable dragon was still alive. And while that man, Mordret, seemed confident in himself, there was no telling who would prevail in their dire fight.

The result would be clear in seconds.

But…

looked at the dragon with

still remembered what the scion of the Great Clan Valor had done in the Second Nightmare. The harrowing massacre he had perpetrated in the Kingdom of Hope was not something a

dreadful authority of Kai's voice fall into the hands of someone

Sunny. I'll

strained his core

enchantment was rather simple — it burrowed much deeper than other arrows would, piercing flesh

it was a tough task. More than that, its tip would shatter against any kind of armor… therefore, it wasn't easy to make use of

the abominable dragon was nearly paralyzed by the battle happening within its soul, Kai had a chance.

now, leaving him defenseless in front

to the dragon's maw, and looked into the

activated his Ascended Ability and

Dread Lord, however. He was

"KILL HIM!"

a fierce strength filled his broken body, and a cold, frightening will

aimed carefully… and sent an arrow flying straight

stray off course, and there was no armor in the way

slid into the dragon's eye, pierced through it, and burrowed deep into the creature's brain. It had been shot from a Transcendent bow of the Fifth Tier by the hand of a Master, and so the havoc it wreaked inside the Dread Lord's head was

and his soul had been weakened

shuddered and let out a

and

blood shooting from his

fell heavily to the ground, his silver

This time, forever.

Kai heard the Spell whisper

Tyrant,

[You have…]

by pain, he didn't hear the

however, hear

the scion of Valor… missing a hand and covered in blood. There was something terribly wrong with that lunatic, though. His face, which had seemed to

it, he thrust his hand into the water… no, into his own reflection…

a soul shard… no, a piece of a

a vague

ripping one of his cores out