Opening Act

Sunny studied the swarm of abominations that flooded the small valley. These ones didn't seem as dangerous as the primal hunters he had once fought in front of Rain's school. The creatures had bestial bodies, with four bony limbs that ended in sharp claws and long, slithering tails. Ridges of jagged spikes rose from their spines, and their maws were full of sharp fangs.

Most disturbingly, all except for the Fallen ones seemed to have had their eyes violently torn out. Now, only darkness nestles in the empty, gaping holes of their eye sockets. The abominations did not move as if they were blind, though. There was a strange, predatory precision to their subdued motions.

…The Devil was different from the eyeless beasts, though. It resembled them outwardly, but possessed a more humanoid body. The creature stood on its hind legs, while his front limbs resembled human hands. Its eyes were closed, and even seemed sewn shut. Something constantly moved behind the eyelids, giving Sunny the creeps.

The powerful abomination towered above its ilk, reaching almost three meters in height.

Two hundred and seventy-four Nightmare Creatures… was a lot. Most cohorts of Awakened would not have even considered attacking that many abominations, and quietly retreated instead.

'I need to be careful about this.'

Sunny thought for a few long moments, and then spoke:

"Samara, move forward and assume a position higher up the slope, where you'll be able to shoot over the crest of the road. Vanguard, prepare to advance and secure the crest. Kimmy… work your magic."

His words reached the melee fighters of the cohort without any problem. Of course, he could have used the usual technological solutions to ensure good communication… but with how unstable tech was near Nightmare Gates, it was always good to have a backup.

For that reason, Luster was currently in possession of an extremely ordinary, very unassuming rock… which, nevertheless, was somehow able to speak with their captain's voice.

One of Sunny's shadows was following the vanguard, as well, so he had no trouble hearing their responses.

As the cohort's ranged specialist hoisted the heavy rifle on her shoulder and jumped down off the Rhino, the melee vanguard crept forward. Quentin served as the center of the formation, with Belle and Dorn flanking him. Luster stayed behind, to cover their backs and prevent any monsters from escaping toward the Rhino.

He was confidently wielding a beautifully etched halberd in his hands, which both gave him some range and allowed the young man to support the three fighters from the back, should the need arise. Its versatility also gave him a lot of options on how to engage the enemy.

During the past weeks, Sunny had done all he could to raise the battle effectiveness of the cohort and enhance the Memories of his soldiers. The weapons received most of his attention, but he also augmented their armors by transplanting the [Tenacious] enchantment of the Patient Avenger into their weaves. With its help, the survivability of the cohort had reached a new level.

The Patient Avenger itself had been entrusted to Quentin. Sunny also transferred the Blood Blossom to Belle… with much reluctance, of course. With his current strength, the augmentation granted by the morbid charm could not benefit him in any substantial way. It was a different story for the Awakened swordsman, however, so the decision, sadly, made too much sense.

Each member of the cohort was additionally protected by a charm that gave them slight resistance to cold, which is why they were able to all but ignore the slowly falling snow and the chilling wind that blew through the mountains.

…Standing near Sunny on the roof of the Rhino, Kim — who was wielding a round buckler, a sharp rapier, and had a snub-nosed automatic carbine slung around her back — concentrated and unleashed her ability.

First, she borrowed Sunny's sight. This also allowed her to see what his shadows saw, even though receiving so many different perspectives put an immense strain on her mind. Then, she used her Dormant Ability to concentrate on the Fallen Devil and find its weaknesses. Finally, she shared her own perception back to Sunny, allowing him to see where to strike, as well.

The shadows did not see color, so to him, the body of the towering abomination became painted in different shades of grey. The lighter areas were the most resilient, while those that were darker were less protected.

Strangely enough, a small spot at the very center of the Devil's forehead was almost entirely black.

That was where Sunny aimed.

As he wrapped two shadows around his body and strained his muscles, the black bow bent... despite possessing an enchantment called [Unbending]. Because of it, Morgan's Warbow required a giant's strength to draw, but was also capable of sending arrows very far, and translated devastating force to them.

Luckily, Sunny was incredibly strong, even for a Master.

A ghostly shade appeared on the string of the bow, and then turned into a black arrow with dark fletching a narrow arrowhead that seemed to have been crafted from a long, sharp piece of obsidian. The shadow arrows were swift, flew without producing any sound, and had an unnatural ability to find cracks in the enemy's armor.

Sunny closed his eyes and moved the bow higher. Aiming at an abomination that was more than a kilometer away and was only seen by his shadow was not an easy task, but he had not trained with Kai for nothing. He held his breath, and then corrected his aim by a couple millimeters when the wind suddenly picked up.

Lastly, Sunny poured his essence into the bow, instantly emptying one of his four cores. The [Death Dealer] enchantment was a gluttonous one, as far as essence was concerned.

But it was worth it.

A moment later, Sunny relaxed his fingers, allowing the string to slide off them on its own. The black arrow noiselessly disappeared into the sky, so fast that it was hard to see it at all.

It arched above the crest of the road, soared high, and then fell down. The Fallen Devil might have still dodged if it knew what was coming, but the shadow arrow was so swift and silent that the abomination never stood a chance.

A black streak flashed in the air, piercing the center of the Gate Guardian's forehead with stunnig ease and exiting from the back of its head a split second later.

The Devil's eyes suddenly opened, revealing…

Sunny never learned what had been hiding behind the creature's eyelids, because a moment after his shadow arrow disappeared into the ground, the creatures' entire skull suddenly deformed and violently exploded. Every bone in its upper body was shattered by the residual force of the impact. The misshapen, headless corpse was thrown back with so much momentum that it killed several Nightmare Creatures that just happened to stand in the way.

Just like that, the Fallen Devil who guarded the Nightmare Gate was gone.

All members of his cohort froze for a moment, astonished by the ghastly sight.

The Nightmare Creatures seemed to have been stunned by the sudden and gruesome death of their leader, as well.

…Standing on top of the Rhino, Sunny lowered his bow and smiled with vicious glee.

'Not a bad start…'

A second later, the small valley exploded with movements as hundreds of abominations lunged in the direction from which the black arrow had arrived.