Hunting Plans

Being shaken awake, I opened my eyes and was met with the familiar red coral. Looking to my side, I saw Nephis wakling over to Cassie.

Yawning, I glanced at the raven that had kept watch, nodding to it as it ascended toward the sky.

These ravens didn't get tired and required no nourishment, exactly as I had intended when creating them.

[Good morning, Sunny. Sleep well?]

Seconds passed before Sunny groggily responded.

(Morning. I didn't even know I fell asleep. It's really weird sleeping like this.)

In the academy, we never really slept. Me taking control meant Sunny was no longer in the body.

He could just zone out and regain control anytime without needing to rest like normal, even if I used it for hours.

So, we never truly slept. Instead, we either wandered the academy grounds or trained in the dojo while no one was present.

Stretching, I noticed the ocean beginning to recede. Was it just me, or did the ocean seem smaller? Probably not important.

I summoned the [Bottomless Spring] and took a sip. While drinking, I noticed Nephis watching me, her calm face hiding some curiosity. Smiling cheekily, I waved the bottle.

"Cool, right? It's kind of like Song of the Fallen's [Endless Spring], although this one also makes someone feel slightly better."

Cassie perked up at the mention of her memory. "How do you know about that? And why do you call me by that name, you know my name right?"

"Trade secret. Anyway, it's time to make it to the statue."

Standing up, I patted my legs and headed toward the edge.

"Wait," Nephis said, causing me to stop and look at her.

"What, we had a deal, right?"

"Yes, but we need to scout first," she replied, her tone calm and composed, almost robotic.

"That's already being handled. The raven I introduced to you last night is already scouting ahead. There are no nightmare creatures in sight."

Looking over the area from the edge, Nephis looked at me with the same stoic expression, but it seemed to be eveluating the situation.

She agreed a bit later and i sighed in relief.

Beginning to descend slowly, I almost tripped when I heard Cassie.

"Maybe it was because of that earthquake."

Catching myself before I could fall, I hoped they didn't hear it. No such luck.

"Are you alright?" Cassie asked, getting up.

"Just peachy. Now let's go."

'So all of the Nightmare Creatures are still frightened, little Wimps.'

After a few minutes of preparation, we made our way down. It was tedious supporting Cassie, but after an hour, we managed to descend.

We followed the path I had the raven scout beforehand. Yet, even though we encountered no problems for the most part, a scavenger blocked our path.

"What now?" I asked her, to which she looekd around and simply answered.

"We kill it." she went to the right but stopped and looked at me, "I'll distract it, you deal the finishing blow."

Giving her a thumbs up, she just went forward and i got ready.

[Sunny Dearest! Would you permit this one to use your sword?]

(Don't call me That, it makes my shiver.)

Releasing an audible tsk, I saw the [Azure Blade] weaving itself into existence and then comftorably slide into my hands grip.

The beautiful blade manifested, and I examined it before looking over at her.

She paused for a moment before looking over at the scavenger. "What kind of aspect do you have?" she asked without hesitation.

My aspect? Well it's only Supreme, and i don't like using it much

"My aspect? Well it's only Supreme, and i don't like using it much, but Sunny's can be used to double the strength of anything his shadow is wrapped around. I'll be using sorcery instead of my Aspect."

Contemplating what I said for a few seconds, she nodded. "Then we'll go with that. I'll distract it and you deal the finishing blow. But how certain are you that you can kill it, and how are you planning to use this… sorcery?"

"Completely certain, and I can use it without any preparations, which would be weaker, or with them, but that could be taxing on me so I'd rather not resort to it."

Absorbing everything I said, she stood up and looked at the scavenger with cold eyes.

I stood up as well, and Cassie stood behind us with a complicated expression on her face. Nephis ran to the right and began to circle the scavenger.

Noticing her, the scavenger swung its pincer at her. She dodged, and I quickly made my way toward the scavenger, who was showing its back to me.

Focusing on the task at hand, I directed Sunny to wrap his shadow around the [Azure Blade], enhancing its power.

As the blade was augmented by the shadow, I moved in closer, ensuring my steps were silent and using [Bad Cassie] to conceal my presence from the scavanger.

Nephis continued to distract the scavenger, her movements agile and precise. The scavenger, growing more agitated, tried to land a blow on her, but she was too quick.

Taking advantage of the distraction, I positioned myself directly behind the scavenger.

Activating [Energizer], the blade hummed with power, ready to strike.

With a swift and powerful motion, I lunged forward, aiming for the unprotected spot between the scavenger's carapace plates.

The [Azure Blade] pierced through its tough hide effortlessly, the combined force of Sunny's shadow and my ability delivering a lethal blow.

The scavenger let out a guttural screech before collapsing to the ground, its limbs twitching in its final moments.Stepping back, I watched as the life drained from the scavenger's eyes.

Then, the spell whispered into my ears.

[You have slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger].

Nephis approached, her expression calm while looking at where the blade had pierced it. Cassie, sitting behind a large batch of coral, peeked out and looked at us.

"Well done".

"Thanks. Now, let's keep moving. We need to reach the statue before anything else shows up,"

(Hey, I received a Shadow Fragment,) Sunny's voice echoed in my mind.

Gulping, I felt my eyes widen. [How many did you get?]

(Two, like last time. Now I'm at sixteen.)

[You do realize what this means, right?]

(…You can kill things and I get shadow fragments, but would you get memories or would I?)

[Good question. We'll figure that out later, but this is a major development.]Still holding onto the [Azure Blade], we made our way toward the statue.

The rest of the journey to the statue was calm, aside from encountering another scavenger.

I killed it with a single projected slash, and Sunny received two more Shadow Fragments, bringing his total to eighteen.

More than he would have normally reached by now.

'I am very handy, huh?'

Afterward, we made our way to the foot of the statue. There, Nephis found the massive fissure and examined it with a stoic expression. Her eyes narrowed as she turned toward me, clearly suspicious.

(You've done it now.)

[Glad you're getting comfortable with me, but is this really necessary?] I thought back at him, trying to maintain calm.

Nephis didn't press me for answers, and we started to scale the statue, just barely escaping the reach of the ocean waves.

As the waves hit the statue, it shook slightly. I knew I needed to keep watch that night, as Nephis seemed more suspicious than ever.

But as we climbed, something else caught my attention.

During our first night here, the ocean's water barely left the statue's head free from submersion, but now, it was much lower, only reaching up to the statue's neck.

That in itself was strange.

'Hmmm, I did notice the waves were smaller as well... it's almost as if the ocean is—'

Then, a jolt of realization struck me.

The fissure! It had been caused by the World Slash, and its scale was far more devastating than I had anticipated.

I took a peek at the other side of the statue, looking out past it, and just as I feared, the fissure stretched further into the distance.

One of my ravens had been following the trail of the slash for three whole days, and yet still hadn't reached the end.

I had focused so much on the length of the fissure, I had completely overlooked its depth.

[Hey, Sunny, could you do me a favor?] I asked, trying to confirm my suspicions.

Sunny's groggy voice responded after a few moments. (What is it?)

[Could you send Gloomy down the fissure? I want to check something.]

Though confused, Sunny complied, sending his shadow, Gloomy, creeping down the statue. After a while, Sunny signaled it to stop.

(The shadow can't go any further, but I still don't see an end. And there's something else—i feel… uncomfortable. Or maybe it's better to say that the shadow does and im feeling it?)

[Is it because of the darkness?] I asked, striking a nerve of surprise in Sunny.

(How di... Never mind. You're right. Looking at it, a sense of dread overcame me.)

[That makes sense. Your affinity is with shadows, which is just the absence of light. But darkness is different—it negates all light. In short, darkness is a greater form of shadows, so in simpler terms, shadows are just a discounted form of Darkness.]

'That's what sunny mentioned in Antarctica, right?'

Sunny processed this information in silence. Gloomy returned shortly after, but the facts were now undeniable: the fissure extended for kilometers and was likely just as deep.

The repercussions of using World Slash were far greater than I expected.

'Damn it! What a troublesome situation… I shouldn't have used it... But damn me if it didn't fell great, i would have looked cool if i weren't so damn short!'

Frustrated, I wished the two girls a good night and lay down to sleep.