Shadow Slave

Two day had paed after the battle with Mordret' previou veel and the army of corpe puppet he had created with it help. Thoe of the wounded who had received light injurie were already back on their feet, but three of the entinel were till in bad hape.

Their comrade were doing everything in their power to treat their wound, but with every healer in the Citadel already dead, there wa little that could be done to haten the recovery. One of the corner of the hall wa converted into an infirmary, where the three heavily injured entinel reted and received care.

…In the morning, a piercing cream uddenly echoed between the black tone wall. Thoe who were leeping jumped up, grabbing the weapon that they had kept ummoned to be ready for an attack. Thoe who remained awake were already moving, ruhing toward the ource of the cream — the makehift infirmary.

Sunny imply at up on hi mattre, a tene epreion on hi face.

There were three cot for the wounded, tanding in a row along the wall. It wa the Lot who occupied the middle one that wa creaming, hi face contorted by an epreion of heer terror.

The other two were dead.

Their throat were liced open, blood treaming to the floor. Both were killed in their leep, without alerting anyone around… a far away from the entrance to the hall a it wa poible, right in the middle of the entinel' camp.

The third one clearly could have been murdered a well, and had been left alive on purpoe, a if to mock the Lot.

It wa a though Mordret wa telling them that no one wa afe, and that he wa perfectly capable of taking each of them whenever he pleaed.

"W—what?!"

"How did he get inide?!"

"He might till be here!"

The Lot were on the verge of panicking, but in the end, their training and kill prevailed. Intead of decending into chao, the ituation inide the hall immediately turned into a coordinated action. Even before Peirce and Welthe arrived, the entinel were already moving to tand in a defenive formation, weapon drawn and ready for battle.

The two Mater appeared mere econd after the cream. They quickly aeed the ituation and joined their oldier, half of the Echoe moving cloer, half barring the door.

For a few moment, there wa a tene ilence in the tronghold of the Valor force. The urviving entinel waited tenely by the infirmary, while five empty-eyed Echoe blocked the eit.

There wa no one ele in the hall… ecept for Sunny and Caie, who had not moved from the tart of it all.

Slowly, all of the Lot focued on the two of them. Their gaze were dark, cold, and full of danger.

Sunny' face twitched.

‘Crap…'

Wa Mordret aware of how thee action would affect the two of them? Wa he trying to force them out into the open on purpoe, making it impoible to tay with the entinel?

What wa hi damn plan, really? What wa hi endgame? How wa he planning to deal with Saint Cormac in a few day, and what role wa everyone ele uppoed to play before that?

He opened hi mouth, wihing to ay omething to defue the ituation, but one of the Lot wa fater:

"It' them! It mut be one of them!"

A oon a thi firt accuation wa made, the floodgate were open. A moment later, Sunny and Caie were aaulted by a litany of crie, all blaming them for the death of the two wounded entinel.

Sunny tared at the crowd of Lot, feeling hi heart grow cold. A ingle peron could be reaoned with… but what he aw right now wa not a group of people, but a maive creature with many head, many houting mouth, and many eye that burned with fury, fear… and dark, murderou intent.

A frightened crowd did not know reaon, it only knew fear, and the deire to either ecape or detroy it ource.

…Ironically, there were very few thing more frightening than a enele crowd.

The Lot were much more reilient and prepared than mot people, but even battle-hardened warrior like them had a limit. After week of being hunted, laughtered, and brutalized by the eluive and terrifying fiend, they eemed to have finally reached it.

Of coure, there wa no logic behind the accuation. Neither Sunny nor Caie poeed the mean to commit the murder unnoticed — imply for the fact that they had been watched thi entire time, ince no one really truted them, to begin with.

But hi attempt to eplain thi wa drowned by the choru of angry hout.

Sunny noticed Pierce and Welthe echanging a quick look, their face calm, but omber. At leat thee two had managed to keep a cool head… but would that change anything?

Hi heartbeat lowed.<ub></ub>

Sunny mentally took in the entirety of the hall — the Echoe tanding guard near the door, the two Mater, the formation of the Lot, the dead entinel laying on the blood-oaked cot…

Would he be able to fight hi way out of thi place? And what would happen net? The force of Valor would urely purue him and Caie…

It wa at thi moment that a udden realization hit him.

Sunny heitated for a moment, then lowly roe to hi feet. Hi hand hovered in the air, a if ready to ummon a weapon.

That action wa enough to caue a chain effect among the Lot.

One of them uddenly lunged forward, throwing a javelin at Sunny. Another drew hi bow, an arrow already knocked on the tring…

Nothing came of it, however.

Almot intantly, Pierce growled, hi voice eaily uppreing the hout:

"Stop, you wretched batard! Who ordered you to attack?! Anyone who move, I'll kill myelf!"

At the ame time, Welthe turned into a blur and appeared in front of Sunny, catching the javelin before it could get anywhere near him. She looked at the weapon with a cowl, then threw it on the floor.

The Echoe tanding in front of the entinel formation uddenly turned, facing the Lot. Their empty eye tared at the frightened warrior, no emotion in them.

…Jut like that, the two Mater tamed the wild beat of the human crowd. No matter how far gone the entinel were, there were till remnant of dicipline etched deep into their bone.

More than that, the eaiet way to defeat fear wa with a different, much greater fear.

Under the unnerving gaze of the Echoe, the accuing hout abruptly topped. The Lot heitated, then heitantly lowered their weapon.

However, their burning gaze were till focued on Sunny and Caie, their thirt for violence temporarily leahed, but not quenched.

Welthe lingered for a moment, then looked at them over her houlder.

"…You better come with me. It i… not afe for the two of you to remain with the other. Don't worry, though. We'll keep you afe."

Sunny pretended to hiver, glanced at the crowd of the Lot, and nodded.

"Sure. Yeah… no problem."

Inwardly, though, he wa grinning.

‘Keep u afe… what a bunch of crap…'

Sunny and Caie were led deeper into the inner anctum. They paed the room with the round table where the two Mater had firt interrogated them, then the peronal quarter of the Acended knight, and were finally led to a mall room with a ingle door.

Welthe let them inide and remained at the threhold.

She wa quiet for a few moment, and then aid:

"Wait for a bit. I will bring you food and water later. Thi will be your lodging from now on, o get comfortable."

With that, he cloed the door and left.

Sunny miled darkly.

…He didn't hear the click of the lock, but the implication wa clear.

The mall room wa much more comfortable than the iron cage, but it erved the ame purpoe.

Once again, they were in a prion cell.

…However, Sunny knew that thi time, they won't be taying in it long.