Warrior statue
Hi I just wanted to say that in the last chapter, I said that Saint would take a lot of time to evolve and I was mistaken
So I just wanted to say that just forget about the paragraph where I have said this and consider Saint is already Ascended.
Alright goodbye and enjoy the chapter.
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The familiar coral walls surrounded the group. Sunny was not worried at all, for the Crimson Labyrinth was a much better place than the Dark City in terms of the strength of the monsters. In the Dark City, Fallen creatures were common, while Awakened ones were few and rare. One had to be careful not to attract the Fallen or the Corrupted, so the labyrinth was a welcome change for Sunny.
The dominant monsters here were the Steel Spiders, the smaller cousins of the massive Armored Spiders that Sunny had killed. They were Awakened beasts, with some Monsters here and there. These things were not a problem for them, even if they came in large numbers.
The only problem was the spider webs that needed to be watched for. But even this was a simple task, since Sunny could send Crab, enhanced with his shadows, to crash into them with its massive body and bring them down. The webs wouldn't leave even a scratch on it.
The journey was very easy, and two hours before sunset, they arrived at the white wall that had been erected by the second ruler of the Bright Castle and his legion. They advanced closer to the arched shape rising above the labyrinth.
"We'll rest here for a few days. Honestly, we arrived early, so it's fine to delay."
After they climbed the decaying arch, they were met by a group of monsters, but they quickly cleared the top of the wall. Then they set down their belongings and began establishing their camp.
They were going to stay here for several days, hunting a little in the labyrinth if they wanted to. Of course, no one was crazy enough to do that except Sunny.
"Hungry! Come on, let's cook food. What are you all afraid of?"
"You cow, the sun is about to set, and when the Dark Sea rises, we don't know what Terror the fire might attract!"
"You can kill it, right?"
"I don't know, but I'm not risking fighting something that comes out of the Dark Sea!"
"You're such a coward, Dofus. And here I thought you were crazy enough not to see what's in front of you from all the killing, but it turns out you're a coward… Ah, that's disappointing."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I prefer staying alive."
The Dark Sea rose, and black waves crashed around their small white island. Sunny was not paying attention to what the group was doing because he was focused on his runes.
Name: Sunless
True Name: Herald of Death
Rank: Dreamer
Shadow Core: Dormant
Class: Devil
Shadow Cores: [4/7]
Shadow Fragments: [2542/4000]
Memories: [Mantle of the Underworld] [Puppeteer Shroud] [Blood Arrow] [Shadow Bow] [Leaf Quiver] [Coral Ring] [Spark of Fire] [Shiralith Armor] [Vertebrae Blade] [Clean Handkerchief] [Drinking Horn] [Small Furnace] [Shadow Lantern] [Ordinary Rock] [Weaver Mask]
Echoes: ><
Shadows: [Soul Serpent] [Shell Demon] [Marble Saint]
Shadow: [Soul Serpent]
Rank: Ascended
Class: Devil
Attribute: [Spirit Beast] [Shadow Guide] [Soul Weapon]
Abilities: [Serpentine Steel] [Soul Reaper] [Blessing of Shadows] [Formless]
Shadow: [Marble Saint]
Shadow Rank: Ascended
Class: Demon
Traits: [Battle Master] [Spark of Divinity] [Stalwart]
Abilities: [Weapon Sage] [Underworld Armament]
Shadow Fragments: [3/200]
Shadow: [Shell Demon]
Rank: Ascended
Class: Demon
Shadow Attributes: [Strong] [Armored] [Solid]
Attributes: [Fated] [Ember of Divinity] [Shadow master] [Death] [Blood Weave] [Blessed by Shadow God]
Aspect: [Divine Shadow]
Aspect Rank: Divine
Innate Ability: [Embrace of Shadows]
Aspect Ability: [Shadow Control]
Aspect Legacy: [Shadow Dance]
Aspect Legacy Mastery Level: [3/7]
Flaw: [Clear Conscience]
The Saint was now an Ascended Demon, which meant Sunny possessed a Shadow stronger than many Masters. This was honestly comforting since he didn't know whether he would encounter some horrifying creature in the Hollow Mountains or not. But the thought still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Ah, I'm a burden on the Saint, isn't that right, Effie?"
"Hah?! What Saint? Are you the son of a Saint?!"
"No! You idiot, I mean the Saint, my loyal Shadow."
"Oh, I see. You must be weak in that department if you're a burden to her."
Effie gave him a broad, suggestive smile. But she was met with an even broader, more dangerous smile. Sunny stood up from his place and looked at Effie.
"Can you get a bit closer, Effie?"
"And why? The distance between us is fine—or do you just like mingling with women all the time?"
The group sat down after the Dark Sea receded around a small furnace in which meat and some vegetables Sunny had obtained from Kido were being cooked. Everyone's faces looked good and almost happy except for Effie and Caster. Caster wasn't a stranger to scowling, but Effie couldn't smile because her face was bruised and tinted yellow and blue.
"Effie, let me heal you."
"There's no need for that, Nephis. Let her suffer a little."
"Do either of you want to explain what happened?… I mean, what kind of horrific monster did this to Effie?"
Kai asked innocently while Cassie tried to stifle her laughter but failed.
"Isn't it obvious, Kai?… I mean, Sunny's the one who hit her—probably over some silly joke."
"Oh, I see… Good job, Sunny! I mean, that's amazing!"
Six days passed, which they spent in fun, rest, and relaxation. For the first time since arriving at the Forgotten Shore, Sunny allowed himself some free time. He wanted to craft more Memories and train with the Saint, who had already ascended, to know the limits of his body. But he also didn't want to push himself too hard.
And so, on the seventh day, they gathered their belongings, and serious expressions replaced their relaxed ones. They advanced quickly on Crab's back through the Crimson Labyrinth. It didn't take them long before the steel spiders' webs reappeared.
And with them came groups of Steel Spiders. The cohort welcomed them happily since they were already bored from the six days on the arch. Thus, Sunny did not summon any of his shadows to get rid of the groups but fought alongside the cohort against them. But he soon felt that the spiders were too weak to give him any sense of danger. It was true that they were Awakened Beasts, and one of them was strong enough to make a Sleeper feel hopeless.
But Sunny considered them like flies that didn't hurt if you kept your eye on them. The group moved through the Crimson Labyrinth, fighting during the day and climbing to high ground in the evening when the Dark Sea rose. After four days, they reached their journey's destination.
They arrived at a wide valley, where pieces of crimson coral clung to its walls. There were remains of a white bridge that used to connect both sides of the valley. Now only the base of the bridge remained. And at the remnants of the stone bridge stood the Statue of the Warrior, covered in steel spider webs. The gray webs covered it like a shroud, which would have looked beautiful if the statue's head hadn't been missing.
"Effie, do you know what kind of monsters live here?"
"Yes. I heard tales about a nightmare creature living in this statue. It's the mother of the little spiders we've been fighting all this time. She's at least a Tyrant. But don't worry, she's been dead for a long time."
"And how did you know that? Of course, I don't expect you to have killed her."
"She was killed by the second ruler of the Bright Castle before he tried to invade the Crimson Tower and died. The one who taught me was a huntress in his team. I don't know if you'll believe this, but she's the one who killed the giant spider."
She looked at the spider webs before turning her head to Nephis and asking:
"Oh, sorry, Princess. Are we going down there? You've seen the spiders we fought—I mean, I expect they come out of that place."
"Yes, we're going down. Sunny, can you send your shadow down there to scout the path for us?"
"Of course."
They descended to the base of the Warrior Statue wrapped in gray spider threads. In front of them was a nest of steel spiders. As they stepped near the nest, a melodic sound rang out, alerting the spiders. Sunny didn't want to waste this good opportunity to train the cohort. The steel spiders surged out from the webs and crashed into the cohort.
Sunny didn't budge from his spot, surrounded by four shadows. Any monster that came near him was cut in half, and his incredible speed allowed him to react to any dangerous situation that might arise from the spiders. On the other side, Nephis was doing well, moving among the spiders like a dancer weaving death and destruction with her sword. And from above, Kai was firing his arrows. Sunny had given him [Blood Arrow]. Although he currently had better archery skills than Kai, he preferred close combat.
Nearby, Effie unleashed all her pent-up anger on the spiders. She stabbed any spider and crushed it under the weight of her blows. She was doing well using the Zenith Shard. Caster, on the other hand, was like a silent killer, stabbing or striking quickly and dodging. Everyone was working well together.
After killing all the spiders, everyone was exhausted and worn out from the fight—well, except for a pale young man who resembled a mad killer. Sunny stepped forward, and that's when the corpse of the Awakened Tyrant appeared. The spider the size of a house was dead, and around it were large numbers of eggshells, as well as eggs in which tiny spiders were moving weakly. Behind him, the group arrived, freezing in fear at the sight of the giant spider.
"Is this it?! By the gods, it's huge!"
"Do you know what else is huge?!"
"Shut up, you cow. This is no time for that."
"No, but what's with all these eggs? Didn't you say the Tyrant died a long time ago? Then how are there so many?"
"Look at the cocoons. There are familiar Nightmare creatures inside… and also!… a human—there's a human!"
Sunny didn't hesitate and summoned [Shadow Bow]. He had already begun circulating Shadow Essence using the serpent since arriving at the nest and had a considerable amount saved up. He reinforced the Shadow Bow with four shadows, and the black wood indeed turned into something even darker. Then a black arrow formed from Shadow Essence on the string.
"Everyone get down!"
The black arrow shot off so fast that it left trailing afterimages. And less than a second after it was launched, it exploded in the cocoons, creating a shockwave and sending hot air everywhere. The hot air touched Sunny and those around him, but he didn't care because the spell was singing in his ears.
[You have slain a Dormant Beast: Spawn of the Steel Mother]
[Your Shadow grows stronger]
[You have slain…]
[You have slain…]
Hundreds of tiny spiders perished in the blast, and tongues of flame devoured them. A torrent of Shadow Fragments flowed into Sunny, making him stagger slightly from the sudden rush.
"What was that?! Is your bow Ascended or what?!"
"What's making you so angry?!"
"It's just that every time I see a moth or a spider or anything like them, I feel disgusted, and I can't stand it until I kill them."
"I'm mentally handicapped, aren't I?"
"Yes, you are."
"It's good to know yourself."
"Have you forgotten that you're crazy, too? I mean, you've been through the worst things that could happen to anyone, and yet you're still sometimes sane. You're simply amazing."
"Am I? Thank you. I won't kill you if I get the chance—out of appreciation for your praise."
After cleaning out the nest, the group climbed up to the Warrior Statue before the Dark Sea surged and the sun disappeared. They climbed with some difficulty—that was due to the spider webs, which were as sharp as steel—but they managed to do it.