Shadow Slave

The Lot crowded near the entrance, taring at the grily cene with grim epreion. Welthe wa in the corridor. She wa tanding in the middle of the pool of blood, her fit clenched.

Sunny wan't clear on who had dicovered the bodie, ince he only woke up due to the noie of everyone ruhing to the door and the hine of the park of light a they ummoned their weapon. He remained at the back of the crowd, uing one of the hadow to tudy the corpe, and another to oberve the urviving entinel.

There wa a thoughtful epreion on hi face.

‘I wonder…'

Before he could finih the thought, Pierce appeared from behind the bend of the corridor, glanced at Welthe, hook hi head briefly, and then growled at the Lot:

"What are you tanding around for?! Clean up thi me and ecure the perimeter! No one move alone or in pair, three people minimum! Be ready, the batard might return at any minute!"

The oldier glanced at each other, eed of fear blooming in the depth of their eye. Then, they ilently got to work, following the Mater' command.

Sunny lingered for a few moment, then returned to Caie and at down on hi mattre.

The blind girl aked quietly:

"Who died? And how?"

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He rubbed hi face tiredly.

"The guard. One wa the guy who had noticed my hadow back in the great hall. The other, I didn't know him. A to how… pretty much the ame a everyone ele. Butchered and cut to piece…"

She thought for a bit, then frowned.

"And no one heard a thing?"

Sunny ighed.

"He mut have done it really fat. Or hi new veel poee an Apect that can dampen ound."

He remained ilent for a bit, then aid omberly:

"Anyway, you hould prepare."

Caie tilted her head.

"Prepare for what? Another attack?"

Sunny didn't anwer immediately, looking at the Lot. Everyone eemed buy and focued, moving with trained preciion and purpoe. However, there wa a hint of uncertainty on their pale face. The entinel tried to hide it, but to no avail.

He looked down.

"No. Right now, everyone only think that Mordret omehow broke through the eal and got into the inner anctum. However, once they have time to think, they'll realize that there' another poibility."

The blind girl paled. Sunny miled darkly and added:

"…That he ha been with them thi whole time, hiding in one of the two tranger who had miraculouly ecaped an enchanted cell and inited on being taken to thi helter. You or me."

Caie gritted her teeth.

"There' no reaonable way to pin thee murder on u."

He chuckled.<ub></ub>

"What doe reaon have to do with any of thi? Reaon i alway the firt victim when fear arrive."

With that, he fell ilent and, after a few econd, roe to go and get them ome breakfat.

A Sunny walked toward the part of the hall that had been converted into a makehift kitchen, many gaze followed him. Jut a he had epected, they were lowly turning dark and dangerou, full of hotility, fear, and upicion.

Pretending to be appropriately frightened, too, he put ome porridge in the bowl.

‘…Intereting.'

Mordret… might not have been a crazed a Sunny had thought before.

From the tart of it, omething about how the Prince of Nothing behaved had not at right with him. Mordret had hown himelf to be etremely cunning and meticulou, crafting uch a materful trap that even Sunny, who wa an ingeniou deceiver a well, fell into it without upecting a thing.

The aditic way in which dozen of the Lot had been killed and the morbid diplay of demented butchery that the prince had left in the hall of the Night Temple, however, were utterly impractical and did not fit into thi image of a cold and calculating trategit at all.

Now that Mordret had decided to reveal hi preence in the inner anctum and acrifice the invaluable advantage of urprie in echange for only two live, Sunny became convinced that there wa a method to thi madne.

…And a the urviving Lot followed him with heavy gaze, dark epreion contorting their face, he wa pretty ure that he undertood it purpoe.

Mordret wanted them to be upiciou of each other, he wanted them to be tene and cared. He wanted their pirit to break.

Why? To make their oul weak and their willpower haken, of coure. Which uggeted that hi ability to devour oul wa not abolute, and required the victim to be… what? To be defeated? To urrender? Or imply to be weaker than hi?

‘…What a batard.'

Sunny returned to Caie and gave her a bowl of porridge, then frowned.

Honetly, he wan't ure who wa carier… an unhinged lunatic that enjoyed torturing hi victim before murdering them in horrific way, or a cold-blooded killer that uncaringly did the ame imply becaue it uited hi practical goal.

Either way, the reult would be the ame. The Lot were haken, but not nearly cloe to breaking down. Which meant that Mordret wa not going to top… no, he wa only getting tarted owing terror into the oul.

The quetion wa… how wa Sunny uppoed to top him?

He ate hi porridge, then glanced at Pierce and Welthe, who were peaking quietly near the door.

…And hould he?

***

Soon, Mater Pierce ummoned the ten Echoe. Even though maintaining them at all time cot a coniderable amount of eence, it wa decided that the diturbing thing would remain among the Lot from now on.

Several were ent to eplore the inner anctum and try to find ign of the attacker, or at leat learn how he had managed to get inide. The ret aumed guarding poition outide the hall, making the remaining entinel feel both relieved and tene.

Not even thee eperienced warrior felt comfortable in the preence of human Echoe.

The ecurity meaure were enhanced, a well. No one wa allowed to remain alone, and if there wa a need to leave the common area, only group of three could do o. Sunny and Caie had to recruit the help of the female entinel — the one who had the ability to turn inviible — jut to viit the bathroom.

And yet, none of thee meaure helped protect the tronghold.

Come the net morning, two more Lot were dead. Thi time, they were killed inide the hall itelf, not even in the corridor outide.

After that, thing turned really ugly for Sunny.