Chapter 35 Burden
Soon after, Raizel and Sunny rejoined the girls.
The storm was still their, but a bit clam now,
Raizel explained what happened in his usual deadpan, detail-efficient manner. Sunny also sometimes chimed in with half-muttered sarcasm and a thousand-yard stare.
When they finished, Cassie's mouth fell open.
"You… you two killed forty scavengers? Alone?"
Nephis looked just as stunned. Her sharp eyes flicked to Sunny, who stood swaying like a drunk man. His black armor was dented, scratched, and splattered with some monster blood.
Even Sunny looked dazed. He stared at the runes of his shadow fragments— twenty-two, to be exact, he has killed twenty two.
'Yesterday i barely manage to kill an injured one yet here i am killing twenty-two.' He hadn't imagined it, after all he was struggling against one scavengers yet here he was killing twenty-two on his own.
'It really happened.'
"Hahahahah-" He laughed under his breath, bitterly.
'That insane plan actually worked...'
He turned toward Raizel — the ice-cold enigma of their team. Beautiful, terrifying, and currently handing over soul shards to Cassie and Nephis like they were candy.
Cassie blinked. "Wait… shouldn't you keep those? You earned them—"
"Take them," Raizel said flatly.
Nephis tried to argue as well. "It's only fair that—"
Raizel's eyes flicked to her, his voice cutting through her words like a knife through silk.
"I said. Take them."
And just like that, the argument died.
Cassie looked down, sheepish. Nephis stayed silent, lips pressed into a thin line.
Sunny watched the exchange with a strange mix of amusement and exhaustion.
'He really doesn't care about rewards, huh? Must be good to be strong.' Sunny know that if Raizel wanted too, he can get as many as soul shards he wanted with or without them.
"sigh" He sighed, collapsing onto a nearby rock.
His limbs ached. His head throbbed. But inside, something glowed — pride, maybe. Or just the faint buzz of not being dead.
Either way, they had survived.
Barely.
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After Nephis and Cassie were done absorbing the soul shards, They eat some dried meat of the scavenger since they could not start a fire as it was still night and the storm was still blowing.
As they were done eating the food, when Suddenly Raizel stood up making other startled a bit.
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Raizel(pov)
I don't know why, but a sense of dread crawled up my spine like cold iron fingers. Something wasn't right. I stood up sharply.
The others were probably startled by my sudden movement, but I didn't care about their reactions. My eyes scanned the surroundings, scanning everything, like a hawk.
'Did I miss something?' All forty scavengers were dead, lying in pieces. So why this gnawing sensation in my chest?
"Raizel? Everything alright?" Sunny asked, his voice a notch too high as he mirrored my searching gaze.
Then I saw it.
Two enormous boulders. Or rather… what I thought were boulders.
Something about them was off.' They didn't sit quite right in the terrain.
'Is it just me or those things just moved ?'
The storm didn't help. It blurred the edges of everything, the wind, the rain and the darkness was making it hard for me to see clearly.
I narrowed my eyes.
'Only one way to be sure.'
I channeled Aether into my vision — a sharp, burning pulse that carved through the haze. Pain lanced behind my eyes.
'I am still not used to it.' but then suddenly my vision become clear as pure water, and then I saw.
Red, crimson RED.
Not a rock, but living things.
Not just living—monstrous.
Two towering beasts loomed where the "boulders" had been. Larger than any scavenger we'd faced. Spiked, jagged carapaces like obsidian plate armor soaked in blood. No pincers — only bone scythes, long and wicked, jutting from elbow joints like executioner's blades.
Each one could cleave a man in half with a flick of its arm.
Seeing them sleeping i went still.
Carapace Centurions.
'How the hell did I forget?' i couldn't help but facepalm at my lose of memory.
In the book… this was the part where one of these bastards tore through eight scavengers that were originally here and nearly manage to _killed Sunless_. This was also when Nephis revealed her flaw by saving him with her Aspect for the first time.
But…
'There were supposed to be one. Only one.' I stared at the two nightmares.
'First the forty scavengers. Now two Awakened monstrosities.' What's next — a giant tentacled abomination from the void?
"Raizel?"
Nephis's voice cut through my thoughts. I blinked, shutting off the Aether. She, Sunny, and Cassie were all staring at me now, concern plastered on their faces.
"You've been quiet…" Cassie said softly, worry leaking through her tone. "Is something wrong?"
I almost smirked. Almost
'Oh, my poor future Saints. If I wasn't here, who would keep your holy guts inside your fragile little body?'
But I didn't say that out loud, anyway.
"sigh" I sighed knowing that we need to deal with this thing, if not then these three will die.
"It's nothing," I said. Then paused.
"Well. Not nothing."
They leaned in slightly.
"We might have to fight… an Awakened monsters."
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Silence. Thick and suffocating.
Nephis was the first to speak. "How many?"
"Two," I replied flatly.
Another silence.
Then Nephis stood up with a quiet sigh, summoning her blade. A flicker of resolve hardened her features.
Sunny's head snapped toward her.
"Wait. Don't tell me you're actually thinking of fighting those things!"
Nephis looked at him and nodded.
Sunny blinked. Jaw dropped. "Are you crazy!."
'He said it.' i mean i was waiting for him to say the words.
I glanced at Nephis. Her eye twitched barely, but it was a rare show of emotion.
She exhaled and spoke calmly.
"We don't have a choice. When the sun rises, we'll lose the cover of darkness. They'll see us and attack on their own terms. If a fight is inevitable, then we strike first."
Sunny clenched his teeth, but said nothing.
After a few seconds, he muttered, "That still doesn't explain how we're supposed to kill them."
I raised my hand and summoned my Echo.
The air shimmered with darkness, and the scavenger wraith appeared behind me, cloaked in shadowed armor and menace.
Nephis blinked, while Sunny flinched.
I turned to them, and spoke.
"I have a plan."
"Fuck," Sunny muttered under his breath, like a man being handed a death sentence.
'Poor guy.' His trauma reflex was on autopilot.
But I didn't care. His opinion was as useful as a wet match in a thunderstorm.
Now that all eyes were on me, I began to speak.
"So what we're going to do is—"
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After i describe my plan. Sunny and Cassie face went paled. Meanwhile Nephis nodded her head.
"This could work" said Nephis as she look me, her grey eyes burning with a strange glint on them.
'Strange' i thought as i look at Nephis, something is not right with her.
'The way she looks at me.' is only something i have seen from my mother, but of course she is no were close to her.
'Whatever.' Well putting these thought back at my mind i focus on the task in front of me.
"Well then Sunny get ready" i said as i look at Sunny who looks like he was ready to make a run.
Sunny stopped in his tracks as he look at me with a awaked smile on his face, then he nodded his head.
"S-Sure b-buddy."
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Sunny (pov)
'Damn it... I already hate my life.' Sunny thought bitterly.
At the moment, he was riding Raizel's Echo at full speed, being chased by two Awakened monsters. From the outside, it probably looked like madness.
His face was grim as Raizel's insane plan replayed in his mind.
The plan was simple: Sunny would act as bait, drawing both monsters' attention, and then lure them toward a trap set by Raizel and Nephis.
He'd already completed the first step. Now, he was racing toward the ambush site.
The Echo leapt over a jagged rock and landed hard, then skidded to a stop. It turned sharply to face the incoming beasts.
Just a few meters behind them, the monsters ran blindly into the trap.
Hidden in the rain and darkness, a golden rope had been tied between two massive boulders, right at the height of the monsters' legs. It was almost invisible.
The beasts, overwhelmed by bloodlust, didn't notice. They charged straight into the rope.
If it had been an ordinary rope, it would have snapped instantly. But this one was a Memory — strong enough to hold.
Unfortunately, the rocks it was tied to weren't. They shattered on impact.
But it didn't matter. The effect was immediate.
The monsters' front legs jerked violently as the rope caught them. Their balance broke, and they crashed into each other, sliding on the slick ground and carving shallow trenches into the stone.
Just as they tried to rise—
BOOM!
Two massive boulders crashed down from above, smashing into them.
One was pinned under the weight, struggling for a moment before going still. The other managed to escape — but it was badly injured. One of its pincers was gone. Two legs were severed. Cracks ran through its armor, and blood poured from the wounds.
The monster tried to rise—
But Sunny was faster.
He as jump of the Echo and dashed forward, leapt onto its back, and summoned his Azure Blade. Despite the sharp spikes of the carapace cutting into him, he drove the blade deep into the creature's skull.
The monster twitched once… then fell still.
Sunny exhaled heavily, unsummoning his sword.
'Finally... it's dead.'
His wounds from the spikes were painful, but not life-threatening.
"Sunny! Are you alright?"
He looked up to see Raizel descending from the sky, carrying Nephis in his arms like a bride. Nephis had a faint blush on her face.
Sunny's eyebrow twitched. He fought back the urge to scoff.
"Heh. Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered, trying to hide his jealousy
"Good," Raizel said calmly as he landed. He gently set Nephis down, who was doing her best to pretend the whole scene hadn't just happened.
"Let's go," Sunny said, wiping blood off his sword. "Cassie's probably waiting for us."
Both Raizel and Nephis nodded.
Sunny turned to walk away… then froze.
Raizel and Nephis were staring at him, eyes wide.
Nephis was shouting — but Sunny couldn't hear a word, almost as his hearing was gone.
Raizel had placed his hand over his own chest. His head was lower, his white hair covering most his face, hiding his expression, but Sunny saw him biting his lips.
And then—
Sunny felt something cold pierce his chest.
Looking down, he saw the sharp tip of a bone scythe poking through.
"Cough!… cough!!…"
Blood spilled from his mouth as he turned around — the injured monster stood behind him, glaring, mocking.
'This bastard...' Sunny cursed silently, his eyes bloodshot, he has been careless, he didn't even conform if he has killed the scavengers.
The monster yanked the scythe out and fell over, finally dead.
{You have slain an Awakened monster: Carapace Centurion.}
{Your Shadow grows stronger.}
Sunny dropped to the ground, gasping.
A spell notification shimmered before him, but he couldn't focus. Everything hurt. He was exhausted. He couldn't breathe.
He was drowning in his own blood.
His mind started slipping away. But then—
Footsteps.
Fast, desperate.
Through the haze, he forced his eyes open.
Raizel and Nephis were kneeling beside him, their faces pale. Nephis looked terrified… but resigned. Her pupils were wide, and her hands trembled.
She pressed her hands to his chest, and pain shot through him.
Then, a soft light began to glow from under her palms.
Radiant. Pure.
Sunny felt warmth spread through his body. The pain faded. It was like floating in warm water — peaceful, cleansing.
But Nephis…
She screamed, quietly, as if biting it back. Her face twisted in pain. Her skin turned ghostly white. Blood dripped from her lip where she had bitten down.
The light grew stronger.
Tears streamed down her face as she kept pouring power into him, even as it clearly tore her apart.
"Enough," Raizel finally said, stepping in.
His face was pale. His breathing ragged.
He drew his sword, sliced his own wrist, and held the bleeding arm over Sunny's mouth.
"Drink it," Raizel said, voice cold, emotionless — as if he were simply stating a fact, not offering part of his essence.
Sunny blinked, dazed. His lungs barely moved. Every breath came ragged, like knives dragging through his chest. The world around him was blurred, smeared into crimson and pain. But that voice — that icy, unwavering command — cut through the fog like a razor.
He gave the smallest of nods.
Slowly, painfully, he parted his cracked lips.
The first drop of blood touched his tongue.
And then—
"!!!" The world exploded.
Sunny's eyes widened in shock as his whole body locked up. His face flushed with heat, burning scarlet. A wave of sensation surged through him like lightning — no, something more primal, more ancient. His nerves lit up with blinding ecstasy.
It was like swallowing liquid fire and starlight all at once.
The taste… indescribable. Sweet, metallic, rich with something sacred and forbidden. It wasn't just flavor — it was power, raw and unfiltered. It flooded his mouth, his throat, his chest. It was as if his very soul was drinking, not just his body.
'Ahhhh~' oh, gods… the pleasure.
His back arched involuntarily as the warmth surged down his spine and bloomed through his veins. His entire body trembled. He clenched his jaw, suppressing a desperate sound trying to escape from his throat.
His face twisted with something close to agony — and yet, it wasn't pain. It was the overwhelming bliss of healing.
His throat hurt too much to moan, but he wanted to.
He wanted to scream, to cry, to laugh — anything to release the unbearable, almost obscene pleasure running through him.
It was the most exquisite thing he had ever felt in his life.
His wounds mended before his eyes. Muscle knit itself back together. His shattered ribs reformed from scattered bone fragments, sliding into place with a strange, satisfying pop. The hole in his chest, where death had begun to take root, closed — inch by inch — as his skin regenerated with glowing warmth.
"h-h-aaah!" His breath caught.
Then, for the first time in what felt like an eternity—
He inhaled.
Not shallow. Not choked.
A full breath. Pure. Clean. Alive.
His eyes fluttered, lashes wet from rain and tears. His lips parted slightly, as if in disbelief. He felt… whole. Warm. Anchored to reality once more.
And then, just as suddenly—
Darkness swallowed him.
His body went limp. Not from pain or blood loss this time, but from release. The adrenaline, the agony, the ecstasy… it was too much. His body, no longer on the brink, finally gave in to rest.
He slipped into unconsciousness with a quiet sigh.
But his lips, even as he fell asleep, still tingled with the memory of Raizel's blood.
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Raizel(pov)
Pain.
Not the kind that one screams about — no, that would be merciful.
This was deeper. Quieter. The kind of agony that crawled beneath the skin and nested in the soul.
Raizel gritted his teeth, trembling as he knelt on the cold stone. Every nerve in his body was screaming. His muscles twitched under invisible knives, and his chest ached like molten metal had been poured into it. Even his thoughts — those cold, sharp things — felt like they were being stabbed by tiny, glowing needles.
It was worse than when he'd been skinned alive.
Worse than when his own mother had defiled his body and shattered his innocence with a smile.
This pain was internal. Lingering. Cruel.
He tried not to move. Stillness was his only friend now. Carefully, he began circulating Aether through his body, coaxing it to soothe his ravaged nerves. It worked, but only gradually, like ice melting on burning skin.
Minutes passed. Or maybe hours.
Eventually, the storm inside him began to subside.
Raizel rose to his feet — not gracefully, but deliberately — and turned his gaze toward the sleeping figures of Sunny and Nephis, lying not far from where death had nearly claimed them all.
He stood silently.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, summoned his sword.
The dark blade gleamed in the faint light, unflinching as he leveled it toward their throats.
One step closer, and the tip hovered inches from Nephis's skin.
His eyes were turned crimson not the purple one he has, but the look in the crimson eyes were blank, almost emotionless.
The silence grew heavy, suffocating.
'Should I kill them?' he thought, his head titling left and right, his fingers tightening on the hilt.
'They were liabilities. Their weakness nearly got me killed.'
The blade trembled slightly — not from hesitation, but from the killing intent radiating from his body like a storm barely contained. The very air shuddered under its weight, tiny stones cracking, the ground trembling faintly beneath his feet.
It would be easy. One swing. Two fewer problems.
Then he sighed.
A low, tired sound.
Not regret — just exhaustion.
He stared at them a moment longer. Sunny, pale and still, his chest slowly rising and falling. Nephis, curled slightly, her hands still faintly glowing with the remnants of healing light.
Innocent. Vulnerable. Human.
'But if I kill them now...' he thought, lowering the sword, '...all the time I invested in them would be wasted.'
He turned away.
The monster's carcass lay nearby — a grotesque mass of broken chitin and ruptured flesh. Raizel walked toward it silently, blade still in hand.
With clinical precision, he began carving into the beast's body. Each movement was smooth and practiced. He took its meat, still steaming in the cool night air, and extracted the precious soul shards from within its core. The fragments glowed faintly in his palm — pieces of power, hard-earned.
Once his grim work was done, he returned to the sleepers.
Without a word, he bent down and picked up Nephis with unsettling gentleness, as though she might break. Her body was light in his arms. Her breath was shallow.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, Sunny rose from the ground, floating beside him under the pull of telekinesis.
Raizel began to walk.
No emotion.
No comment.
Only purpose.
Because in the end, it didn't matter how close they came to death.
He still needed them, for his goals.
And if the day came when he didn't need them?
Well…
He still had his sword to end them, permanently.