«I killed the original as a Sleeper, after all. It was a long time ago.»
The beautiful archer paled.
«S-sleeper? You killed that… as a Sleeper?»
Sunny remained silent for a moment, then shrugged.
«Sure. Come to think of it, among the Nightmare Creatures I killed as a Sleeper, she was one of the weakest as well.»
Saint had been a mere Awakened Monster back then, and Sunny had killed plenty of abominations of higher Rank and Class on the Forgotten Shore… including a Great Devil. So, if one only took pure strength into account, Saint had indeed been in the lower tier of the creatures slain by him there.
Kai opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.
Finally, not knowing what to say, he turned away stiffly.
Sunny chuckled Internally.
«Ah! I missed teasing this guy!»
In front of the Nightmare Gate, Saint had mercilessly obliterated the first wave of the abominations.
The same fate awaited the second wave, and the third. Not a single Nightmare Creature managed to escape her blade.
Observing the scene of chilling carnage, Sunny couldn't help but feel a little wistful.
He remembered vividly the first time he had encountered a Nightmare Gate. How desperate he had fought, and how impossible the task of stemming the tide of abominations had seemed. In the end, he would have failed if not for Jet's timely arrival.
Yet, this time… the Category of the Gate was one Rank above the one he had defended against as Mongrel. However, Sunny did not even have to move a finger. Just one of his Shadows was enough to contain the threat, and he did not even have to bestow the full augmentation of all his shadows upon her.
So much time had passed, and so many things had changed. Some for the better, some for the worst.
Sunny secretly glanced at Nephis and Kai as the Gate Guardian finally emerged from the fissure.
The creature looked like a mountain of grey flesh, its towering body brimming with bulging muscles, sharp tusks, bloodied spikes, and ghastly bone armor, It bellowed furiously, making the entire park quake.
A Corrupted Tyrant, from the looks of it.
Standing on a pile of corpses, Saint glanced at it and finally deigned it necessary to summon the elemental darkness from her heart. A dark aura enveloped her black sword, and a cold chill ran down Sunny's spine.
Her ruby eyes flashed with furious crimson light.
The Tyrant surged forward, and at the same time, the black blade slashed the world apart.
«…Now who's showing off?»
A thin line slowly revealed itself on the towering abomination's powerful body, cleanly dividing it into two vertical halves. Then, it slowly oozed blood.
The Tyrant stumbled, then slowly crumbled to the ground, its body falling apart into two bloody chunks.
The Handy Bracelet spoke into Sunny's ear:
[You have slain a Corrupted Tyrant.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
These were the only fragments Sunny had received from this fight.
Looking at the carcasses of the massacred Nightmare Creatures, which piled high in the suddenly silent park, he sighed.
«What a waste.»
Saint stared at the bleeding chunks of the dead tyrant with indifference, then turned and glanced at Sunny.
Receiving his nod, she took a step back and dissolved into shadows.
A few moments later, creepy and crazy silently returned to him and fused with naughty, who had been pretending to be a normal shadow all along, resting leisurely on the ground beneath his feet.
Sunny looked at Morgan and remained silent for a moment.
«My apologies. I'll try to give you an opportunity to witness my prowess some other time.»