Shadow Slave

'Damnation!'

Before the first wood wraith could even fully form, Saint was already upon it. The blade of the Midnight Shard flashed through the air… and bit into the body of the creature with the dull sound of an axe striking the bark of a tree.

The effect was somewhat the same: although she managed to do some damage, the wraith simply ignored the shallow cut and lurched forward, towering above the graceful stone knight with destructive menace. Its hands fell down with crushing force, the wooden blades aimed at Saint's helmet.

…Wood couldn't cut stone. Right?

The Shadow seemed reluctant to check. She easily sidestepped the creature's attack and thrust upward, driving the tip of the Midnight Shard into the enemy's neck. Augmented by one of Sunny's shadows, the sword went deep into the adamantine wood.

A moment later, the second shadow wrapped itself around the body of the taciturn demon, causing her skin to shine with dark radiance. The coral gem of the Broken Oath glowed brightly on her black breastplate.

Saint twisted her blade and pushed it sideways, causing half of the wood wraith's neck to explode into a rain of splinters. The creature staggered and lashed out with another strike, but it was too late — the Shadow calmly shifted her weight from one leg to another and delivered a devastating slash, beheading her enemy.

As the wraith fell apart and turned back into a pile of debris, she looked at it indifferently, and then hit the dull side of the Midnight Shard's blade against her shoulder twice.

The voice of the Spell whispered:

[You have slain a Fallen Beast, Sailor Doll.]

[Your shadow grows stronger.]

Sunny gritted his teeth.

'Crap!'

Augmented by two shadows, Saint had defeated one of these Dolls without too much problem.

…However, there were countless more rising from the ground. Sunny counted at least several dozen before losing count.

'What should I do?'

Fighting the horde of Fallen Beasts was clearly suicide. He could either retreat, or order Saint to draw their attention away and sneak onto the ship.

He could also recall one of the shadows, send it ahead, and then use Shadow Step to travel instantly between his current position and the wreck. But that meant leaving Saint weaker.

Decisions, decisions…

'She should be fine for a few minutes, right?'

Throwing a glance at the taciturn demon, Sunny sighed and dashed toward the ship.

"Have fun, you three!"

Saint looked at him, then silently turned away and raised the Midnight Shard.

As Sunny jumped from shadow to shadow, something crashed thunderously behind him.

[You have slain a Fallen Beast…]

'But not too much fun…'

No matter how formidable his demon was when augmented by the shadow and wielding a powerful Memory, she was still just an Awakened. He had to be swift…

As Sunny appeared from a shadow, something massive suddenly lunged at him. Without slowing down, he dove under the blade of another wood wraith, then lashed out with the Cruel Sight. The silver blade of the sword cut through the body of the abomination, leaving a deep gash on its side.

Sunny slid on the moss, escaping from the attack reach of the massive creature. Twisting around, he thrust his sword into empty air. A split second later, however, the hilt of the somber weapon extended, turning it into a long spear. The silver blade pierced the chest of the wood wraith with surprising ease.

The Sailor Doll was still alive, but its soul was damaged. It staggered and took a step forward, driving the spear deeper into its flesh. Sunny tilted his head, then dissolved into shadows and appeared behind the creature. A moment later, the Moonlight Shard pierced its head.

[You have slain a Fallen Beast, Sailor Doll.]

[Your shadow grows stronger.]

Sunny retrieved his weapons.

[You have slain…]

Saint was busy, too.

Glancing back, he saw that she was close to being surrounded by a mass of menacing wooden creatures.

'Not good…'

Not wasting any more time, Sunny turned away and continued moving toward the wreck.

***

A few minutes later, Sunny reached the broken ship, dove into one of the breaches in its hull, and hid in the shadows. Then, he immediately dismissed Saint.

Making sure that nothing pose an immediate threat to him, he then quickly checked on the taciturn demon in the Soul Sea. The Shadow had received several wounds in the fight against the swarm of wraiths, but none of them was too serious. She was going to have to spend some time restoring herself in the nurturing black flames of the Shadow Core, still.

'Rest well, Saint. You deserve it…'

Sunny hesitated for a few moments, then retrieved the Memories he had entrusted to her. Who knew what he was going to encounter inside the ancient ship… it was better to be safe than sorry.

Looking around, he studied the interior of a small room he had found himself in.

Sunny had no knowledge whatsoever of what the insides of a ship were supposed to look like, let alone of an archaic wooden vessel like this one. That was why he couldn't even guess what purpose this cabin had been intended for. All he saw were piles of debris… absolutely mundane, for a change… and thick brown vines covering the walls.

The air was stale and murky. It smelled a little sweet…

'Oh, crap. Here we go again.'

With a subtle shudder, Sunny stared at the strange reddish-brown vines.

Those things, without a doubt, were alive.

…They were also the source of the sweet smell permeating the air that Sunny was currently breathing.

What was even worse, they were obviously just a small part of some much, much larger organism.

As a strange feeling appeared in his lungs, Sunny sighed, took a piece of cloth from his pack, and wrapped it tightly around the lower part of his face.

'Blood Weave to the rescue. Let's see what's inside…'

He only took a few steps when something gleamed on the floor in front of him.

Bending down, Sunny picked up the small object and stared at it with a complicated expression.

A heavy golden coin rested in his palm.