Shadow Slave: Eternal Dawn

As soon as Nico finished speaking, there was a slight ripple in the air across the ruined square, and a flash of crimson light as something streaked through the sky and exploded against the stone slab Gemma and him had been using as cover. Faster than a bullet, it shattered their cover and punched a hole clean through the leader of the Hunter's armor, skewering his heart like a morbid pike.

He grimaced as it exited through the back of his armor, but, like water, the wound rippled and closed the next second without a trace.

His voice boomed over the rooftop:

"Hunters, we've been spotted! Our target is here! Find cover!"

Without so much as a moment of consideration, the seasoned warriors leapt from their positions on the roof and disappeared in the alleyways beneath, congregating on the side of the building hidden away from the incoming projectiles.

Nico and Gemma followed after them, the former dodging as another arrow loosed across the sky in a wide arc before colliding with the rooftop in front of them.

Grimacing, he leapt across the collapsing section and shot to Gemma:

"The Demon will sense our position now! If we try to fight it in the streets, the noise will attract Fallen!"

As they both vaulted over the side of the roof, landing in the shade of an alleyway beneath, the man retorted, thickening the air with grim tension:

"The hunter will pick us off in the clearing too easily... we either retreat or risk the fight."

Heavy shadows veiled Nico's gaze as he paused for half a moment, then shook his head sternly, resummoning his helmet. His voice came out deep from under the engraved steel:

"We do neither. I will distract the hunter, and you will slay the Demon. Then we will join together and finish it off."

His grip on the [Mourning Star] became tighter as he sent a pulse of essence into the weapon and then extended it to his companion. 

"Take the mace. I've charged it plenty, and its strike will cause a massive conflagration. Use it at the right moment to hasten the fight."

Gemma frowned. The proud Hunter knew the extent of Nico's abilities well, but to fight a Devil? That was too much even for him. His gaze wandered to pathetic, rusted blade in Nico's hand.

"You plan to fight with just that thing?" he questioned.

Shrugging, Nico replied:

"I have a tool... and I'll summon my mace back after I see the flames, too."

The lieutenant clicked his tongue and sighed, then accepted the weapon and turned back to his Hunters with a stern expression. The two parties and Andel had already congregated around them, waiting for orders, so when he spoke, they listened raptly.

"We wait for Nico to begin stalling the Devil, then enter battle with the Demon."

The Hunters nodded stiffly, gripping their weapons tighter.

Each man had seen their fair share of horrors but today might be the one to top them all. A group of Sleepers going into battle against an Awakened Demon and Devil wasn't just unheard of, it was unbelievable. Yet, all the Sleepers of the Forgotten Shore were unusual, and these men even more so.

They whole heartedly believed they could prevail.

Nico listened to the whispers of their emotions, then unstrapped a gauntlet from his forearm and handed it to the Pathfinder, Andel.

"What is that for?" he asked, tone tense.

After a sharp glance, Nico turned around and began marching further into the ruined streets, answering over his shoulder:

"When it disappears, know that I have engaged the hunter."

***

In the distance, buried within a heap of rubble and stone, something began to stir. Awakening from a great slumber, the Demon's profane senses stretched like the yawn of a slumber giant, homing in on the commotion that spawned from somewhere within its domain. A second later, the scent of untainted souls became known, and its massive body began to unfurl from beneath the mound.

Slowly it rose, reaching a staggering five meters, chunks of debris fell around it and crashing on the ground like deadfall. Four powerful arms spread from a vaguely humanoid, fleshy figure, each bearing four scaled fingers and stone claws. Two unguligrade legs ended with wide hooves, and connected to both was a wide, exposed torso that opened like the creature's second maw. On its back, skewering the beast through its vertebrae, were a scattering of blood-red spikes.

Most disturbing, however, was the leech-like mouth that extended from its neck and pulsated wildly, expanding and contracting as it dropped to all six limbs and lurched towards the scent of human souls.

...By the time Nico caught sight of it, he had already circled half-way around the square, and the beast had just begun to awaken.

'I need to hurry... If the creature reaches them before I reach the Devil, then this could go horribly.'

Gritting his teeth, he called upon all the strength that being a Monster allowed him, adding a pulse of essence with his Dormant Ability for good measure.

Nico flew through the streets of the Dark City like a wraith — unstoppable, intangible, and swift. The Dark City was a maze of its own. Shattered walls and gnawed bones left behind by the combat between the Fallen creatures littered the streets. However, they proved a meager obstacle. He vaulted over the remains of shattered buildings and skirted between obstacles while winding through the intersecting streets. Eventually, he took to the rooftops, ascending five meters in a single, powerful leap.

Leaning into his soul sense, he narrowed in on the Devil. However, it seemed to be trying to circle the opposite way, hoping to delay the Sleeper from reaching him for as long as possible.

'Devils truly have their own horrifying intellect.'

Making a split-second decision, he pivoted towards the clearing, crossed one more rooftop, ran across its length, and jumped down to the edge of the dilapidated square — filled with such piles that when the ground beneath was revealed it looked like the bottom of a weathered crater.

Nico stared across hundreds of meters, eyes scouring as his soul sense narrowed on the Devil like an inescapable trap.

'Come on. I'm right in the open. Just try and hit me, abomination.'

Beginning a mad dash across the sea of demolished buildings, his eyes glinted when a blood-red spark appeared in the distance, and he snapped his head to the left just in time to avoid the deadly arrow.

He didn't avoid it completely, however, and it caught the edge of his helmet, slicing through the [Silver Wraith] like it was wet paper and opening a bloodless gash on his cheek.

A faint blue glow swirled inside the wound, but nothing leaked out.

Dismissing his helmet without a second thought, Nico pressed forward across the sunlit crater. Even while running, he tracked the movement of the revolting Demon far to his right in his peripheral vision. The Demon could spin around and chase him at any moment.

Yet, it was also almost upon Gemma and the others.

Doubling his speed, he pressed forward, closing in on the elusive Devil's makeshift perch.

Two more arrows flew to meet him, skimming past his shoulder and thigh. But, before any more could be fired, it finally revealed itself.

Walking free from the shadowy embrace of the ruined buildings, a third figure appeared on the battlefield's edge. It was three meters tall, with gaunt, gnarled skin as black as charcoal stretched across a desiccated, humanoid figure. Rotten leather and fur composed a basic armor around its body, with rusted strips of bronze metal strung on randomly. Two malevolent, hungry red flames burned in its empty eye sockets, and two more on a harrowing beast skull that rested atop its head.

As soon as Nico's eyes met those strange flames, his head felt heavy, and he dismissed the vambrace he'd left with Gemma.

'That's a mind attack, alright,' he grimaced.

An overwhelming urge to kneel — to submit and die — was projected onto him by the Awakened Devil. Before he could properly register what was happening, a crimson arrow was flying towards him, and his body moved on instinct, darting out of the way just in time to keep it from hitting anything vital.

He let out a stifled scream as his right side was pierced clean through by the arrow instead of his heart, seeping a sparkling blue liquid as he rolled across the shattered field and landed at the bottom of a small divot in a disorderly heap.

The pain dispelled the fog in his mind.

"Fuck," he groaned, then pulled himself up and reached for the [Wilted Dagger], summoning the [Hollowed Horn] a second later.

He found the dagger a few meters away from him, and after a moment, a cleanly cut blackened horn appeared in his hand.

He gripped the tool tightly. The strange Memory had been his reward for defeating the first creature of his trials — an Awakened Demon — during the First Nightmare. It was a very irritable tool, possessing two enchantments. One which made it more durable than it should've been, and the other... well, it was pain. Literally.

'I hate using this thing.'

After one long inhale, Nico blew straight into the horn, listening as a deep, baritone hum resounded through the debris and made the ground shake slightly.

A surge of agony spread through his body.

***

...Standing above the shattered plane, the hunter kept its bow at its hip, arrow nocked to string, walking forward with madness gleaming in the four hungry flames that constituted as its eyes. It watched the pile that its foe had disappeared behind for a moment, then began to turn away and gaze upon the battlefield where Gemma and his Hunters had engaged the Awakened Demon.

Just as it began to pull on the string of its bow, an armored hand reached above the jagged field and pulled itself up, glaring at the Devil with a pained expression.

'Look at me, bastard...'

He staggered to a stand, clutching his side, and the profane creature reared its ugly head.

All at once, the powerful mind attack returned, willing him into submission.

This time he did not falter.

The pain brought by the horn was its enchantment, and the cleanser that protected him. Despite the massive difference in rank and class between him and the devilish hunter, the Memory was only one tier below, and the lineage of Heart God fortified it further.

Nico brandished his dagger and discarded the horn to the ground, walking towards the creature with measured steps. Then, just as the bow turned towards him, a deafening boom rolled across the battlefield, and a miniature sun was born, followed by the maddened shriek of an abomination. Shockwaves spread from the epicenter, and a furious wind made his hair flutter in waves.

Nico felt a hint of someone's pleasure as he willed his morning star to return.

Now, the odds were stacked against the evil hunter, and all he had to do was stall until Gemma arrived to support him.

As the creeping terror within him was relentlessly purged by his Flaw, Nico dashed forward, and the Devil shot another deathblow, its powerful tremors shattering the tattered city below them.