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Chapter 181 Rules Of Hospitality

Effie regarded the cathedral for some time, then glanced at Sunny with doubt.

"I know for a fact that nothing comes out alive from that temple. Are you sure that this is where you live?"

With a carefree smile, Sunny shrugged. The fact that Effie knew about the danger hiding inside the ruined church did not surprise him. Even if it was situated outside of her usual hunting grounds, she had extensive knowledge of the Dark City, some from her own exploration, some from sharing information with other hunters.

Dead tired and longing to return to the peaceful silence of his home, he didn't waste any time and told her about the Black Knight who guarded the cathedral.

The unruly huntress scratched the back of her head.

"So… there's a Fallen Devil inside? He's the roommate you were talking about?"

Sunny gave her a nod.

"The bastard endlessly patrols the ground floor and kills anything that comes through the doors. However, if we enter through the roof and stay hidden, we can reach my living quarters without any problem. More than that, nothing will bother us once we're there, because the bastard never comes that way and obliterates anything that tries."

Effie was silent for a while, then grinned.

"So, you basically have a devil for a butler. Pretty smart…"

Sunny chuckled.

'Was that a compliment?'

"...for a doofus like you."

'Ah, there it is.'

Once they climbed up to the roof, there was a slight problem. Sunny failed to consider that the hole in the tiles that he used to enter the cathedral, while wide enough for his small frame, would be too tight for the tall and robust huntress to crawl through. Looking at the narrow gap between the massive plates of dark marble, Effie gave him a gloomy look.

However, before Sunny could come up with an alternative plan, she simply bent down, grabbed one of the incredibly heavy plates, and moved it aside. The words died on his lips.

'S—strong. So strong. I wonder who is stronger, she or the Stone Saint.'

Honestly, he wasn't sure.

Before proceeding further, Sunny instructed Effie on how they were going to get her inside the hidden chamber and watched as the huntress reluctantly dismissed her bronze armor. With only a short white tunic covering her lovely olive skin and abundant figure, she looked very… uh… comely. For a moment, his displeasure of having someone intrude upon the secluded peacefulness of his lair evaporated.

…But only for a moment.

"Don't you get any strange ideas. Your armor is just too much of a risk. We can't allow ourselves to make any noise, that's all."

Effie grinned.

"Strange ideas? Why are you talking about having strange ideas all of a sudden, huh Sunny?"

He gritted his teeth, turned away to hide his blushing face, and crawled into the hole between tiles.

'Damn woman!'

Once they landed on the support beam of the cathedral, Sunny guided Effie's hands to rest on his shoulders. Although the sun was still high in the sky, there wasn't any sunlight around them. Only the floor of the ancient temple beneath them was bathed in it.

But even then, large areas of the grand hall were drowned in deep shadow.

Only it wasn't really shadow. It was darkness. Not one born from the absence of light, but true darkness, one which even his sight could not pierce. Sunny didn't know if it was summoned here by the Black Knight or simply obeyed him, but this was how the bastard had managed to sneak up on him unnoticed back when they first met.

In any case, he had to guide Effie across the beams of the cathedral. One wrong step, and they would plunge to their deaths.

'What a bother.'

Feeling rather awkward because of how close their bodies were to each other, Sunny quietly sighed and took a step forward. It was hard to concentrate…

'Strange ideas… who's having strange ideas? Not me!'

A few minutes later, they reached the hidden balcony behind the statue of the unknown goddess. Despite the fact that nothing out of the ordinary had happened, Sunny was rather on edge.

Something told him that this was going to be a really long week.

Once they entered his hidden chamber, Sunny informed Effie that she was free to create light and speak. Not wasting any time, the unruly huntress summoned a radiant Memory and looked around with curiosity.

The beautiful and spacious room that had once belonged to the priestess of this ancient temple was suddenly flooded with soft light. The intricate engravings on the walls created an atmosphere of sanctity and elegance. Here and there stood various pieces of furniture, most made out of opulent pale wood, with a few mismatched pieces that Sunny had scavenged from the ruins.

Effie whistled.

"Have to give it to you, Sunny. You sure know how to live in style. Who would have thought?"

He smiled.

"Jealous?"

She sighed.

"The important thing is that even if Gunlaug tracks us here, none of his people would be able to enter. So we're indeed safe."

Slightly disappointed, Sunny shrugged.

"Well, make yourself at home. I'll show you the back exit and other stuff later."

With that, he furtively glanced around and tried to quickly hide a few things from sight to make his home more presentable. If he had known that there was going to be a guest here, he would have cleaned up the mess a little in advance.

Not that Effie paid it much attention. She walked around with curiosity, studying the engravings on the walls and ancient furniture.

…But then, suddenly, Sunny heard a loud giggle coming from behind.

Turning around, he saw Effie standing in front of the wardrobe hidden behind a stone panel. The wardrobe was currently open, showcasing the garments left behind by the priestess.

The huntress looked at him with a strange smile.

'Why… why is she staring at me?'

"What?"

Effie shook her head.

"No, nothing. It's just… you know, Sunny, when I first saw you, I thought — look at this tiny boy! He's just like a toy! You just want to dress him up like a doll and play with him…"

Sunny blinked a couple of times, then scowled angrily.

"Who are you calling tiny? I'm not tiny… in any way, you beanpole!"

Not paying him any attention, the huntress glanced at the wardrobe and giggled again.

Then, suppressing laughter, she said:

"Who knew that you are into… playing another kind of dress-up, huh?"

It took Sunny a couple of seconds to realize what she was implying. When he did, he turned bright red from outrage.

The nerve! The gall! How dare she! fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"What are you talking about?! Those aren't mine! The priestess who lived here before left them behind!"

Effie nodded a couple of times.

"Sure, sure. You just happened to have a wardrobe full of pretty dresses. By accident…"

"That's the truth! I never lie!"

She looked at him with a wide smile.

"But of course! It must be the truth. I totally believe you. Definitely."

Sunny stared at her with his mouth wide open, not knowing what to say.

Effie, meanwhile, looked around and innocently fluttered her eyelashes.

"But, Sunny… we have another problem."

Gritting his teeth in irritation, he snapped:

"What is it?!"

She lingered for a few moments, then said teasingly:

"There's only one bed. Ah, what a predicament! Whatever should we do?"

Sunny glared at her for a long time, then spat:

"You take the damn bed! I'll sleep on the floor!"

With that, he turned away a tried to take a deep breath.

'Why did I ever agree to this?! Women… damn women… they're the true terror!'

…Indeed, this was going to be a very long week.frёewebnoѵēl.com

Chapter 182 Dinner Time

After Sunny calmed down a little and had time to think about it, he realized that things weren't as bad as he had thought.

Yes, living this close to the rambunctious huntress was a very special kind of trial, especially due to how much joy she seemed to derive from tormenting him, but there was one redeeming aspect to all of this… aside from the fact that he would get to constantly feast his eyes on… wait… back to the topic!

It was that Sunny was a nocturnal creature. He didn't have to sleep on the cold floor or interact with the vigorous huntress that much, because he would be asleep during the day and out hunting during the night. The window of time when they would both be awake and stuck in the hidden chamber together was not that large.

More than that, Effie had brought enough food to satiate her unnatural hunger in that bottomless bag of hers, so he didn't even have to feed her. So hosting her was not going to be as bothersome as he had initially assumed.

After showing the huntress around and enduring several more good-natured jabs, he finally had some time to himself.

Finally!

Sitting down in a remote corner of the chamber, he closed his eyes and dove into the Soul Sea.

As always, the tranquil sea met him with calming darkness and peaceful silence. Not paying any attention to motionless shadows that stood at the edge of the visible part of it… not even to gaunt and pitiful Harper… he walked over and stood beneath the black sun of his Shadow Core.

Then, Sunny summoned the Stone Saint.

"Hey there, darling. Guess what? I brought dinner…"

Before commanding the Memories he had purchased with the help of Kai down, he quickly glanced at the runes surrounding the taciturn monster:

Shadow: Stone Saint.

Shadow Rank: Awakened.

Shadow Class: Monster.

Shadow Attributes: [Battle Master], [Stalwart], [Spark of Divinity].

Shadow Fragments: [6/200].

Only six fragments, and she was already so strong. He couldn't wait to see his monster grow even more ferocious.

Not wasting any more time, Sunny summoned the first Memory — a strange sword with a stupid amount of useless gems embedded into its blade, for some idiotic reason — and handed it to the Shadow. She took the sword without showing any emotion and ruthlessly shattered it with her gauntlets.

[Your Memory has been destroyed.]

Sunny made a face.

"Why thank you, Spell! I wouldn't have guessed if it weren't for you. So helpful."

Two torrents of ethereal sparks entered Stone Saint's body and were absorbed by the dark embers burning in the depths of the living shadow that hid in her body.

[Stone Saint has grown stronger.]

Was it just him or did the Spell sound a bit hurt?

'Well, tough. I didn't hear you complaining when Neph was promising to rip you to shreds.'

He grinned and glanced at the runes again.

Shadow Fragments: [7/200].

Satisfied, Sunny summoned the next Memory. The process repeated itself.

[...Stone Saint has grown stronger.]

[...Stone Saint has grown stronger.]

[...Stone Saint has grown stronger.]

As the number of shadow fragments saturating the core remnants inside his pet monster grew, his mood continued improving. This was the best feeling ever!

Shadow Fragments: [8/200]

Shadow Fragments: [10/200]

Shadow Fragments: [11/200]

Finally, after the ninth Memory was consumed, the runes describing the number changed to twenty out of two hundred. The Stone Saint looked considerably stronger already. Remembering the changes that happened to his own body after his first few kills, Sunny could more or less gauge how much her condition has improved.

The increment wasn't really that substantial… but in battle, the tiniest advantage could often decide everything. Especially considering that it was going to be doubled by the augmenting effect of his indispensable, but impudent shadow.

All of this was just a prelude, anyway. The main event was yet to come.

Full of anticipation, Sunny called the onyx armor down. If his calculations were correct, this relic alone should give the Stone Saint twelve shadow fragments — almost as much as the nine lesser Memories Combined.

The jet black suit of ancient plate armor appeared in the air in front of him. Surrounded by the lightless vastness of the silent sea, the feeling of dark grace it emanated was even more pronounced. Sunny clicked his tongue.

'Ah, what a beauty.' ƒгeewёbnovel.com

It was almost a shame to destroy it.

…Almost.

Slightly reluctant to part with the ancient armor yet, Sunny read the runes describing it.

Stev was right. Even the Spell couldn't make sense of the damaged Memory.

Memory: [M… Un…old].

Memory Rank: ?

Memory Tier: ?

Memory Type: unknown.

Memory Description: [...Pr… …first …army …shed …own…]

Memory Enchantments: —

Many of the runes were missing, and those that did appear refused to coalesce into any sort of comprehensible words. However, Sunny did notice a few of the strange runes that made his head hurt, the same ones present whenever the Spell mentioned the mysterious Unknown.

'Just as I thought.'

The armor was clearly connected to the same tribe of Nightmare Creatures that the Stone Saint had belonged to before becoming a Shadow. The origin of the strange living statues was tied to the Unknown, so it was logical to assume that the onyx armor had something to do with them too.

Well, no matter. He knew that this Memory was severely damaged when he bought it. Sunny was never planning on using it, anyway, only feeding it to the Saint.

"Time for dessert!"

With a wide smile, he pushed the beautiful black armor to the stone monster.

However, the smile soon froze on his face.

Because the Stone Saint did not move to take and shatter the armor like she did with all the other Memories. Instead, she simply turned her head and looked at it. The hue of the crimson flames burning in her ruby eyes ever so slightly changed.

It was almost as though they were filled with the tiniest shadow of… sorrow.

"Come on! Eat it!"

But no matter how much he tried to get the Stone Saint to destroy the armor, she refused. The living statue just stood there and did nothing.

After a while, disappointed, Sunny stared at the onyx armor and sighed.

Well… serves him right. To be honest, he had a slight inkling that this would happen.

Nevertheless, Sunny had decided to buy the armor anyway. It's not every day that you stumble upon a tier-six Fallen Memory, even if it's damaged beyond your ability to repair.

Perhaps he would don it one day... if Nephis would actually manage to open the path to the Gateway and he would somehow find himself among those lucky few to reach it alive and become Awakened.

Until then, the awesome black armor was pretty much useless.

With a deep frown, he left the Soul Sea and summoned it into existence. Soon, the armor appeared on the floor of the hidden chamber.

Effie looked at it with interest:

"Wow. What is this?"

Sunny lingered for a long time, and then finally answered:

"A decoration… I guess."

The huntress raised her eyebrows.

"Really? Well, what are you staring at me for?"

He gritted his teeth.

A few awkward moments later, Sunny said:

"Uh, can you help me move it? It's… too heavy for me to lift…"