Shadow Slave

The five members of the cohort were gone, off to scout the approach to Verge. Sunny felt uneasy and worried about their safety, but not tremendously so. Each of them was a powerhouse in their own right, and possessed a wealth of experience when it came to moving stealthily through a region infested with Nightmare Creatures.

Nephis, Kai, and Effie were veterans of the Forgotten Shore, where humans had been at the very bottom of the food chain. Effie, who had hunted in the Dark City alone for many years, was especially proficient in navigating dangerous terrain without alerting anyone or anything of her presence.

Jet had already been a frightening existence before the Southern Campaign, and grew only more tenacious after going through the disastrous months in the Antarctic Center, followed by serving in the military reconnaissance in East Antarctica.

Mordret was by far the most slippery of the five, so even if Sunny was inclined to care about his well-being, the bastard was the last person in the Tomb of Ariel he would be worried about.

So, the scouts were more than capable of fulfilling their mission unscathed.

If anything, Sunny was more concerned about himself and Cassie. The restlessness he had felt for the past few months reached an apex, telling him that something was about to happen.

The Sin of Solace was not shy about voicing his opinion, either:

"You've done it now, fool. What madness made you think that staying here alone with her was a good idea? It wasn't me, that's for sure. Now, you are completely defenseless against whatever new betrayal she had in mind, with no one to cover your back."

Sunny looked at him somberly, then turned away.

Saint, Fiend, and Nightmare were still aboard the Chain Breaker. So, the loathsome wraith was wrong — there was someone to cover his back. There were plenty.

'No, that's wrong...'

he even need that? Cassie was not going

used to the Sin of Solace that listening to the apparition's poison was already a

incredible mental strain he had been exposed to

how the Mad Prince

whispers of the sword wraith

water and brought it close to the shore of the ice land, hiding it in the shadow of a tall

nothing for them to do

doubt, Cassie seemed perfectly at ease. If she had been surprised by his sudden decision to stay back —which, in all honesty, went against how he would usually act — she did not show it. The blind girl remained

eye on Cassie, while the other five spread out to have a better

passed in tense silence,

...It was strange, really.

in Sunny's mind. He had enjoyed the benefit of having Cassie around for long enough to know how potent and miraculous, albeit not applicable in a direct confrontation for the most part, her powers were. So, he was understandably wary of the Defiled version of the blind seer, not to mention if that Defiled

had her other Abilities grown,

one thing he did know, however, it was that the Last Plague would be attuned to fate and revelations to an incredible degree. Which meant

arrival of the cohort was definitely a dire danger. They had already exterminated the other Plagues, after all.

the shores of the frozen landmass, either. ?ìg??օ???verse~?օ?. Even now, when the members of the cohort had split up into three teams, nothing appeared to attack them while they

Why was that?

of Ariel, just like

would certainly

really unable to see

result of the Mad