Chapter 2630 — 2630: This Much

Sunny did not want to admit it, but he was troubled.

The battle had been intense, and the enemy was powerful… but that was not the reason for his unease.

The fact that the abomination had turned out to be immortal wasn't, either.

Even the knowledge that there was a vast horde of these undying fiends populating the Eternal City was not the reason why he felt so somber.

No…

The real reason why Sunny was troubled was that he could not make sense of the monstrous youth.

There was something quite strange about this Nightmare Creature, to the point that he was not even sure if he was correct to call it one.

First, Sunny did not see what he usually saw when peering into the souls of abominations — there was the vile darkness of Corruption, true, but it did not possess the usual nodes that served as sources of the spreading, tumorous infection. So, he could not even guess the Class of the creature, only tell that it was roughly of the Great Rank.

Second, even Cassie could not tell what the horrid fiend was. All she could say after peering at its essence was a few cryptic words:

[It is… like a part of a greater whole hiding inside an usurped vessel.]

Then, after falling silent for a while, she added in a hesitant tone:

[But the greater whole it is a part of is itself incomplete, longing to be mended.]

The fact that Cassie's Dormant Ability could not draw knowledge about the eldritch horror was already a cause for concern. Her words describing what little she did glimpse were even more worrisome.

'A part of a greater whole, usurped vessel, incomplete…'

What the hell did it mean?

And what the hell was the corrupted immortal, really?

Sunny sighed.

The cocoon of black chains continued to stir subtly, since the horrid fiend was still struggling to break free. Sunny could keep it bound without too much trouble… but he could only do so by maintaining the manifested shadows personally. Making the chains permanent would weaken them, which would allow the monstrous youth to escape.

Which meant that while he could contain this particular abomination — or maybe even a thousand of them — he could not contain them all. He could not even contain most of them, which was a problem.

He grimaced and looked at the black underside of the rolling sea above them, with silver light reflecting from its restless surface.

Suddenly, it occurred to him that this was a kind of black sky, as well.

"Ah… this is going to be quite a spectacle."

Jet wore a somber expression, her icy gaze hiding a hint of some dark emotion.

She lingered for a while, glanced at her scythe briefly, and then said in a neutral tone:

"We can still retreat, you know."

Sunny slowly shook his head.

"No. There's nowhere to retreat."

He looked away from the pile of black chains and turned to her.

"It might seem like we can escape to safer waters, but that is an illusion. There is nowhere safe in this world… in two worlds, even. Anywhere and everywhere can and will turn into a worse hell. All of existence is a warzone, so if we can't deal even with this much, then what's the point of seeking safety somewhere else?"

Jet let out a hollow chuckle.

"This much is a city full of immortal Great Ones, though. With an army of wraiths added as a free bonus. So what are we going to do?"

Sunny studied her for a while, then smiled darkly.

"For now… I suggest you take a few steps back."

Jet frowned.

"Why? What are you going to do?"

Sunny looked around, noting that he could not see the wharf from behind the tall buildings.

"Let me show you. This should be far enough, I think."

Saying that, he reached into his soul…

And summoned something.

***

Not long before that, Aiko made her way to the throne room of the Dark Castle, carrying the latest report. Her boss was lounging on his throne, as usual, looking into the distance with an amused expression.

She yawned, then belatedly covered her mouth with her dainty hand.

At the moment, Aiko really missed her opulent bedroom on the highest floor of the castle.

"Hey, boss. About our investigation into the strange trends on the Black Market…"

He waved his hand lazily, interrupting her, and then looked at her with a sly smile.

'Uh-oh.'

Suddenly, Aiko had a very, very bad feeling.

Sunny seemed inordinately happy. Why was he so happy?!

"Hey, Aiko. Let me ask you a question. How would you go about conquering a city full of immortal Nightmare Creatures?"

She frowned.

"I wouldn't. I'd turn around and run away. No, actually, I would never end up anywhere near such a dreadful place, to begin with. Only a complete, irremediable idiot would. No, really."

Her boss blinked a few times with an offended expression on his pale face.

"Hey! That's harsh!"

Aiko suppressed the desire to palm her face.

"Wait, that was not a hypothetical question? What the… where the hell did you find a city full of immortal abominations?! And why?! Why would you do something like that?!"

Sunny raised his chin.

"No, it wasn't. Under the sea. And… why, because there's treasure involved!"

Aiko was about to say more, but froze instead.

A moment later, her eyes glistened.

Her expression changed subtly.

"Treasure? Huh. What kind of…"

But her boss shook his head.

"Nope. Since you're apparently full of prejudice against immortal abominations, I am not taking you with me. Not a chance. Don't even ask!"

She just stared at him for a moment.

"I wasn't going to, though?"

Her boss nodded.

"Great. Then… if you really don't want to go, I suggest you vacate the premises. Fast."

Aiko stared at him in confusion.

At that moment, something eerie happened.

Three more versions of Sunny appeared from the shadows behind her, walking toward the throne.

"And I mean really fast."

"Immediately would be best."

"You can set up a temporary office in the Nameless Temple. There's a cot in the inner sanctum, I think? Oh, and don't forget to water my tree!"

'This is bad…'

The various incarnations of her boss very rarely gathered in one place.

And every time they did, something terrible happened.

"Oh, no!"

Not wasting any time, Aiko dashed forward, sprinted past the throne… and jumped out of the window.

As she hovered in the lightless sky of the Forgotten Shorer, looking down at the magnificent edifice of the Dark Castle…

The castle suddenly vanished without a trace.

'Oh, no! My bedroom!'

And just a few moments later, it appeared again somewhere else.

To be precise, it appeared on an empty, pristine plaza in the Eternal City.

Jet had barely managed to take a few steps back before the black spires of the Dark Castle suddenly rose from the shadows enveloping the square.

Soon enough, a magnificent black fortress appeared out of nowhere between the ornate buildings, casting a deep shadow upon them.

Then, its gates opened with a chilling groan…

And out of the darkness inside, a vast legion of silent shades marched onto the ancient streets.