621 Path to Freedom

Sunny remained motionless for a few moments, then hissed quietly, which made it feel as though his throat was being sawed open by tens of dull, rusty knives. His head was once again attached to his neck… however, that didn't mean that he felt fine.

In fact, although he had avoided becoming a corpse, he still felt like one.

[...Your shadow grows stronger.]

The dark dungeon suddenly grew silent. Saint must have finished off the last of the caged Nightmare Creatures, turning him and Elyas into the last surviving captives of the Red Colosseum. No matter what happened from now on, the ghastly Trials were over, finished before time by her hand.

Sunny sensed a bit of shadow essence pour into his cores, replenishing the empty reserves a little, and scowled.

That wasn't much… the young Awakened had wasted all of his essence while healing Sunny, as well. The two of them were not going to survive if they had to fight a prolonged battle.

So, they needed to flee the Colosseum swiftly and before the rest of the Warmongers noticed their escape.

Gritting his teeth, Sunny staggered and rose to his feet, then threw a somber glance at Elyas, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

The youth still had a collar wrapped around his neck. However, there was not much Sunny could do about that right now — it was not like he could behead the young Awakened, too. Hopefully, his strength alone was going to be enough to deliver them both away from this cursed place.

Now that he was connected to the Spell and had access to all of his power, there were a lot of things that could be done. The damned zealots were going to regret ever capturing him...

Elyas opened his mouth, then asked in a shaking voice:

"Demon… how? How are you still alive?"

Sunny tilted his head, grimaced, and decided to not move his neck too much in the future. Then, he gestured at the breastplate of the Undying Chain.

The young Awakened frowned.

"Your… your armor? It's a relic? Wait… where did you even get this fearsome armor?! And all these magical weapons?!"

Sunny sighed, then nodded and pointed at his chest again.

Elyas blinked a couple of times.

"What do you mean, they were inside of you all along? Why have you not used them in the arena, then?"

One of the demon's hands rose and pointed at the collar that now lay harmlessly on the filthy stones.

The youth frowned:

"Oh… I see. The War God's binding must have hidden you from the sight of the Lord of Shadows, and robbed you of his blessings. But then…"

Sunny sighed, and pressed a finger against his lips, commanding Elyas to be quiet. At the same time, Saint appeared from the darkness, drops of fetid black blood still dripping from the blade of the great odachi. Her gaze was calm and indifferent, as always.

The youth stared at the taciturn demon for a few moments, then bowed respectfully.

"You… you have my gratitude for coming to our aid, v—venerable lady Shade!"

Saint looked at the young man without showing any sign of having an opinion on being addressed in such a peculiar manner.

'Poor fool must be thinking that she is another shadow creature that came to rescue her kin… me, that is. And judging by this reaction, he also seems to be convinced that she is my senior in the hierarchy of Shadows… what the hell, why are teenagers always convinced that Saint is cooler than me?!'

He was in no mood to disabuse the youth of this misconception, though. Plus, there was no time…

A scorched kite shield manifested itself from sparks of light in Saint's hand, and at the same time, the Soul Serpent turned into a stream of flowing darkness and reformed itself into a straight double-edged sword, this one akin to the weapon the graceful knight had wielded in the past.

Sunny hesitated for a moment, then pushed the hilt of the Midnight Shard into Elyas's hands. Holding the Cruel Sight in one of his own, he bent down and picked up the terrifying heavy blade of the red priest with the upper pair.

Sunny didn't know what enchantments exactly the two-handed cleaver possessed, but since it had managed to slice through his adamantine spine without too much trouble, they had to be exceptionally powerful.

Then, he took a deep breath… and sent his shadows forth, along the familiar corridors of the underground part of the Colosseum and beyond them, to find a way to freedom.

Sunny was good enough in a fight to survive in the arena, and even earn the love and admiration of the damned lunatics who spectated the slaughter and worshipped it… but his true calling was to remain hidden in the darkness, move unseen, and strike at unsuspecting enemies from the shadows to kill them in one fell blow.

The task of escaping the Red Colosseum unnoticed was much easier for him than that of conquering it.

As all three shadows glided into the darkness, the skin of the four-armed demon he inhabited turned from obsidian black to pale grey once again, and Sunny swayed, sensing his strength and resilience vastly diminish.

He gritted his teeth, and then gestured for Elyas to follow.

While Saint disappeared into the darkness, the two of them headed toward the exit from the dungeon.

They walked through the silent corridors, sensing the cold wind blow past, washing the stench of the dungeon off their aching bodies. Since it was night and the battles were not supposed to continue until the morning, the Colosseum was mostly empty, devoid of the jubilant crowds that filled it during the day.

Here and there, Sunny and Elyas still encountered the Warmongers — those who, perhaps, had duties to maintain, clean, and prepare the arena for the next day's slaughter. However, everyone they saw had already met Saint.

Following in the wake of the taciturn demon, the two of them found only corpses. The followers of War had been killed ruthlessly and noiselessly, each requiring just one strike.

With each death, Sunny's reserves of essence were replenished a bit more. But more importantly than that...

The path to freedom was clear.

Finally, after something that felt like an eternity, Sunny found his three shadows waiting silently before a small wooden door.

He lingered for a second, and then pushed it open.

In front of him, there was a vast green meadow, and beyond it…

Nothing but boundless, vast, starlit sky.