No Return (Shadow Slave Fan-Fic)

"Halt!" Sunny whispered, observing the group of scavengers through his shadow.

As soon as the word left his lips, Nephis immediately summoned her sword. After studying the surroundings for a second, she turned her head and glanced at him with a question in her eyes.

Levi also had stopped , immediately taking a step back , getting ready to run away. He wasn't going to run away for himself of course.. since he had taken the role of Cassie's bodyguard he was going to take her away into safety.

"There are scavengers on the path ahead, six of them. They're slowly moving in our direction."

Nephis cast a gaze forward. There was a calculating look on her face.

"They're done with the carcass?"

Sunny thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"No, I don't think so. But maybe there's not enough meat for everyone anymore, so some stragglers had no choice but to leave with an empty stomach."

'Great..'

Nephis nodded and gestured to a nearby branching path.

"We'll circle around them."

The three Sleepers hastily moved forward and changed paths, giving a wide berth to the group of monsters. Tense and grim, they continued walking, trying to stay on course and not get lost in the labyrinth.

However, in the next hour, they had to turn in a random direction again and again, avoiding other scavengers. The distance between them and the giant statue was not shortening at all.

At some point, they were catching their breath near one of the numerous dead ends of the crimson labyrinth. They had no choice but to wait, since a large number of creatures was moving past their hiding spot, separated from them by a long length of a twisting coral passage.

Sunny sighed and shook his head.

"We can't go on like that. At this rate, we'll never make it to safety before sunset."

Cassie was the first one to react. Levi heard her worried tone over his shoulder.

"Maybe ... maybe we should turn back?"

That was a reasonable suggestion. However, Levi felt reluctant to agree.

Nephis shared his thoughts. With a blank expression, she said:

"It will only get harder tomorrow."

She was right. By tomorrow, there would be even more scavengers flooding the labyrinth , Sunless replied:

"Then what should we do?"

Changing Star tilted her head, thinking. After a while, she turned to Sunny.

"Fight."

Levi didn't react.. but he was reluctant to agree. He knew Changing Star was a good fighter.. and he could hold his own against a scavenger too , he was more worried about Sunless and Cassie.. However he was going to go with whatever Nephis and Sunny decided..

"I know that you are skilled with the sword, but have you forgotten that each of those things is a whole rank above us? We won't survive in a fight against many."

Nephis nodded.

"We avoid large groups. Cut down smaller ones."

After a moment, she added:

"If there's one or two of them, there's a chance."

"Fine."

Nephis stared at Sunless for a while. Then, she suddenly asked:

"Have you studied the corpse of the scavenger you had killed?"

What was that supposed to mean?

A bit surprised, Sunny shook his head.

"No."

Levi and Cassie was listening in on their conversation.. not making any unnecessary comments..

After a short pause, Nephis spoke:

"Scavengers have three weak points on their bodies. The first one is obvious: it's their joints. Anything that has to be flexible can't be too rigid. So, there's gaps in the armor above the joints. By targeting the joints, you can diminish their mobility and attack capacity."

"The second one is the same. It's where their torso connects to the carapace. If you manage to accurately hit that spot, you can heavily injure a scavenger and deal serious damage to its body. However, unless you succeed in severing its spine, the wound won't be fatal. It'll still be able to fight for a while."

Levi buried this information into his brain.. even if his main job was to protect Cassie , he would have to fight too if they were in big trouble..

"The last weak point is on their back, approximately at the level where the eyes are. There's a slightly concave, discolored cavity in their armor. It is where several armor plates connect. The chitin there is comparatively thin. If you can pierce through it, you can destroy the brain directly. That will be a killing blow. That weak point is very hard to target. Circling around a scavenger is almost impossible due to their size, speed and the attack range of their pincers."

She looked at him and calmly said:

"If we stumble on a single scavenger, I'll be the bait. My task will be to make it turn around and then restrain it, exposing the third weak point. Your task will be to kill it."

Sunny gulped.

"What if there's two of them?"

As usual, Nephis looked at Levi before answering.

"That's where he comes in."

Hearing this.. Levi couldn't help but let out a smug smirk.

***

It wasn't long before they were left with no choice but to attempt a fight against a scavenger. Behind them, there was a long stretch of the labyrinth with no suitable branching paths for them to turn onto. Ahead of them, there was a small clearing with only one other passage leading out of it.

Not far into that passage, a massive scavenger was moving slowly in their direction.

Sunny quickly described the situation and waited for Changing Star's feedback. Without much delay, she gave him a nod.

"We fight in the clearing."

After that Levi walked with Cassie to the wall of the labyrinth and helped her sit. He himself stood straight as he observed the other two. Cassie broke the silence.

"Do you think they will be alright?"

Levi looked at Cassie , Nephis had killed a Scavenger on her own , Sunny had done that too albeit had only been able to do it because the Scavenger was injured.. but a kill was a kill.

"Duh.. they both have killed a Scavenger on their own.. you should pity the beast , not them."

Cassie let out a chuckle , but he could feel that it died down.. as if something had came into her mind.

"Levi..?"

Levi had a hunch.. he was most likely wasn't going to like the next question..

"Yes?"

"Why did you choose to guard me or carry me around?"

Levi put a hand on his hip as he stared at Cassie with a side-long glance. There was no point in being secretive..

"You remind me of someone I cherished."

"Who is it if I may ask..?"

"My late younger sister. I lost her to the nightmare spell."

Cassie looked down , looking a bit guilty for asking that..

"I see... I'm sorry for your loss."

"Don't be.."

After a pause , she added.

"Thank you... for helping me."

"Don't mention it , Cassie."

He gave her a smile. Levi never really liked how his smile looked , but this time.. he wished that Cassie could have seen his smile..

***

At a distance.. Nephis was currently battling the massive Scavenger.. She was acting as the bait while Sunny secretly circled the Scavenger.

Sunny's aspect seemed to be very powerful in stealth , because currently even Levi was not seeing him clearly..

He closed the distance between himself and the monster and jumped with all his might, landing on top of its carapace. Then, he used all of his weight to thrust a hand forward.

Azure Blade shimmered into existence in his grip and was immediately swallowed by the shadow. A breath later, the dark blade hit precisely into the concave, discolorated cavity in the scavenger's armor. With a crack, the chitin broke, allowing the tip of the sword to sink deep into the scavenger's body.

The monster shuddered, and then heavily fell to the ground.

Sunny was thrown from its carapace, landing in the mud with a roll.

'Now.. lets just hope Sunny's attribute doesn't activate now , or we will be in a bad situation..'