264 First Things First

They truly were.

When leaving the Dark City behind, Sunny had known how powerful the members of the cohort were. However, he had not quite realized just how well-rounded and perfectly suited to face various challenges presented by the Labyrinth their group was.

With Nephis, Effie and Caster leading the charge, most Nightmare Creatures populating the forest of crimson coral had little chance to survive, not with the Crown of Dawn pouring raw power into the armor and weapons of the cohort, at least. Each of the three was a deadly and versatile fighter, with their own unique approach to combat and strengths that complemented each other.

With the three slayers holding off the opponents while being supported by Kai from above, very few things could stand in their way.

Night himself had turned out to be an astonishingly deadly presence on the battlefield, as well. With the Blood Arrow providing him with a conditionally endless supply of arrows, he could just stay in the air, out of reach of the abominations that had no way to attack at range — which was most of them — and pick them out with well-aimed shots.

With the addition of the formidable horn bow, the distance at which he could hit the target had increased tremendously, allowing him to eliminate some of the enemies long before they had gotten close enough to the cohort for an effective attack. His opening salvo had made a lot of battles much less problematic.

Of course, Kai couldn't fly above the Labyrinth with impunity. The grey sky was full of danger, too, and by separating himself from his companions, he risked being attacked and torn apart by the abominations that populated it. He had to maintain a fragile balance.

But the flying Nightmare Creatures were a threat to the cohort regardless of whether or not the charming archer rose into the air or not. Actually, this was the type of enemy they were equipped to fight the least. That's why Kai's ability to fly had turned out to be priceless.

Especially because he was usually able to fly faster or at least maneuver better than most of the creatures that dwelled in the sky. More than once, they had survived only because the archer was able to draw the fury of the aerial abominations and dodge their attack long enough to either fell them with a perfectly aimed arrow or give his companions a chance to join the fight.

Sunny and Cassie usually protected the rear of the cohort to prevent anything from attacking their companions from the back — which happened more often than one would hope. With the help of the Stone Saint and the Quiet Dancer, and later the other two Echoes belonging to the blind girls, they were able to hold off anything until the main force was done with their share of the opponents and joined the fray.

That was not to say that their role in the cohort was less important.

If anything, Sunny was convinced that what they did was more vital to the survival of each member of the cohort than what the fighters were doing.

It was true that, with the help of the Dawn Shard, the cohort was well equipped to handle most monsters of the Labyrinth. What they truly had to fear were the creatures that defied all logic, the perils that the human mind could not even comprehend, and the Labyrinth itself — as well as the dark waters of the cursed sea and the ancient horrors that dwelled beneath them.

That was what Sunny and Cassie had to protect the group from.

As Sunny absorbed more and more shadow fragments, the range at which he could control his shadow grew exponentially. By now, the shadow could move almost as far as a whole kilometer ahead of the cohort, scouting for any potential threat and giving them plenty of time to decide if they wanted to fight or change course and avoid the danger entirely.

If anything, it had become a little feral and now preferred to wander around aimlessly and far away, returning to Sunny only when specifically commanded to do so.

But regardless of that, the value of being able to see and identify their enemies in advance was impossible to overestimate. It was just too valuable. In battle, the tiniest advantage could decide the difference between life and death, and the advantages of knowledge and the first strike were possibly the most important.

However, there were things on the Forgotten Shore that even Sunny could not see, predict, or escape from.

That was where Cassie's affinity to revelations and miraculous intuition came into play. She was responsible for preventing the cohort from stumbling into anything that would destroy their very souls before anyone could even understand what was happening, or something that simply could not be defeated.

If not for Cassie, a sudden storm or a creature aking to the Soul Devourer — or something even more terrifying — would have ended their lives long before they returned back to the Dark City.

But even with all that, every day in the Labyrinth brought them to the very verge of death. No matter how strong, well-rounded, and well-equipped the cohort was, the nightmares of the Forgotten Shore were always more powerful, unpredictable, and bizarre, making any and all preparations useless.

In the end, the only reason that none of them had died from grievous wounds, sickness, or infection was because of Changing Star's healing flames.

In the three months that they had spent traveling through the Labyrinth, Sunny fully understood why healers were so sought after among the Awakened. He knew it before, in theory, but only after being subjected to the daily terror of their journey had he realized how life-changing — literary — the presence of a healer in the cohort truly was.

And so, just like that, they had done the unthinkable and managed to travel all the way from the edges of the Forgotten Shore back to its center — thanks to their power and resolve, their foresight, their strength, and their ability to rely on and help each other.

As well as, in large part, pure dumb luck.

And now that they were about to return to the cursed haven of the Dark City, their luck was about to be tested as it had never been tested before.

…But that was for later.

First, the members of the cohort had to fulfill their obligation to Sunny.

He had joined this expedition on a certain condition, after all.

Glancing once again at the distant grey wall, Sunny clenched his fists. The corner of his mouth curled up in a vicious grin.

'...Wait a bit more, bastard. Your day of reckoning is coming.'

In two days, they were going to kill the Black Knight.