232 Before the Storm

In the next few hours, Sunny did nothing but leisurely gaze at the vistas of the Labyrinth. While monotonous, they were still picturesque and breathtaking.

The Forgotten Shore was a harrowing, but beautiful place. The somber grey sky and the black earth created a perfect backdrop for the vibrant crimson sea of twisting coral blades. Here and there, strange landmarks broke the dullness of the landscape, igniting the flames of curiosity in Sunny's heart.

After all, he was nothing if not a passionate explorer.

Provided, most of his explorations ended with something dying at the end of his blade. But still…

Out there in the depths of the Labyrinth, Sunny saw many things that piqued his interest.

The skeletal remains of colossal monsters, with signs of ferocious battles written in the marks on their bones. Broken wrecks of giant vessels, with terrible breaches in their mighty hulls. Abyssal chasms that were full of darkness and emptiness, leading into the depths of this cursed land where true horrors dwelt. And things he couldn't even describe, let alone identify.

He even saw several vast ruins that must have been entire cities once. Now, only unclear shapes of magnificent buildings remained, overgrown with crimson coral and barely resembling anything made by a human hand.

He didn't know if they had existed before or simultaneously with the Dark City. Regardless, it seemed that no other human settlement on the Forgotten Shore had withstood the curse of darkness as the cursed city had.

They were all destroyed and devoured, first by the crimson coral, then by the ruthless flow of time. Now, no one was left to remember that these proud cities had ever existed.

The seven heroes that created the Starlight Legion were described as those born in all-consuming darkness. That suggested that humans had resisted the curse for a while, at least. Maybe the Dark City was built long after the darkness had devoured this land, as the last sanctuary and fortress for those who remained.

…A lot of good had that done, in the end.

His reverie was broken by Cassie, who suddenly turned south and frowned. Her quick movement drew everyone's attention.

Sunny instantly had a bad feeling.

Nephis turned to the blind girl and frowned.

"Cassie? Do you feel something?"

Cassia lingered for a few moments and then said, her voice uncertain:

"I think… I think a storm is coming."

Sunny looked at the sky, which like always was covered in a grey veil of clouds. Nothing seemed to indicate that there was going to be a tempest turning it impenetrably dark and furious soon.

But that was just how things worked on the Forgotten Shore. Storms came out of nowhere and destroyed everyone unfortunate enough to be caught in their murderous embrace.

If Cassie said that she felt one approaching, then it was. Their oracle had a good track record of sensing such things.

'Damn...'

A storm meant that the cursed sea would rise from the depths earlier than usual. It also meant that there would be rain and lightning, which would make the behavior of the dwellers of the depths unpredictable.

It also meant hurricane winds, and that was really bad news when you were stuck on a moving colossus two hundred meters above the ground.

Nephis gritted her teeth.

"You heard her. Prepare…"

However, the blind girl interrupted her.

"Wait. There is something else."

Changing Star lingered for a moment, then asked:

"You are sensing another threat?"

Cassie scowled, then said in a strange tone.

"No, not sensing. I just… I can hear something strange. It's like a rustle."

Everyone stared at her for a few seconds, trying to understand the meaning behind her words.

Strangely, Kai was the first one to react. Suddenly pale, he spun around and summoned his bow. Before anyone could understand what was happening, something whistled in the air, and a dark shape forcefully crashed into the stone platform, smearing it with blood. A black arrow was protruding from its body.

Sunny jumped out of the way and gasped, stunned by the force with which the monster impacted against the stone. It had to have been in a long dive before being pierced by Kai's arrow, mere moments away from snatching one of them away.

The creature looked somewhat like a giant locust. Its body was covered in black chitin and comparatively small, no bigger than that of an adult human. Its wide wings were thin and transparent. As it convulsed in death throes, the wings moved, threatening to push the members of the cohort off of the platform. Nephis dashed forward, grabbed the disgusting creature and threw it down.

Kai was already grabbing another arrow. There was an expression of panic on his face.

Sunny blinked.

'Why is he panicking? The monster is already…'

As though hearing his thoughts, Kai glanced at the members of the cohort with wide eyes and yelled:

"Swarms! These fiends hunt in swarms! Get ready!"

Before he could finish, Sunny was already summoning the Midnight Shard and the Stone Saint.

'...dead!'

By now, everyone could hear the rustling sound Cassie had told them about. It seemed to be coming from nowhere, surrounding them like a wave. For a few moments, nothing happened. The members of the cohort tensely stared up, wai…

Suddenly, a black dot appeared in the grey clouds and swiftly fell down, covering the distance to the neck of the colossus almost instantly. Before it could attack, though, Effie's spear collided with it. The giant locust practically exploded, sending a rain of blood splattering against the stone back of the colossus.

But by the time the huntress dismissed her spear and before she had the time to summon it again, there was another dot, and another, and another…

Kai shot one more creature out of the air, while Caster used a strange sling he summoned from his Soul Sea to break the wings of another. Nephis raised her sword and yelled:

"Cassie! Wind!"

Flinching, the blind girl began to call upon her wooden staff.

While white sparks of light were still weaving the shape of it in her hands, the Quiet Dancer flew out of its scabbard by itself and flashed into the air, piercing an approaching locust clean through.

A few moments later, a powerful gale shot from the wooden staff into the skies, slowing the attacking locusts down and sending them staggering.

One of these stragglers somehow managed to land on the platform and immediately jumped at Sunny.

Changing his stance on the fly, Sunny slashed with his sword, decapitating the repulsive creature.

However, because of the inertia, the massive body continued to move forward, slamming into him at great speed.

With a curse, Sunny flew back and fell over the railing. Sliding on the stone, he rolled down to the stone giant's shoulder and caught himself on the part of the defensive fence built by Effie and Kai. Then, he stood up and spat a mouthful of blood.

A moment later, Sunny froze, his eyes widening.

Because of the tumble, he accidentally looked down to the ground. What he saw there made him shiver.

...Numerous dark shapes were appearing from the Labyrinth and jumping at the colossus, swiftly climbing up his giant stone body.