Near dusk, with the sun wearily sinking toward the horizon, a strange creature was walking from the colorless remains of the labyrinth.
If 'walking' was even the right word…
Dragging its legs through the sand, the creature somehow floated forward without moving. It looked like a Carapace Centurion, or at least a very close approximation.
All the parts were in place. It wore a black carapace with a threatening crimson pattern, a humanoid torso, eight segmented legs and two arms ending in formidable bony scythes.
Yet each part seemed slightly misaligned and odd, as if the sculptor had never found a way to join them firmly.
Moreover, the centurion moved as if seriously drunk.
Its carapace slanted to one side, sometimes scraping the sand. Its torso swung back and forth for no apparent reason. The scythes were awkwardly strapped to its back, crossed at a strange angle.
The whole scene was nothing short of completely bizarre. But for better or worse, no one was around to witness it.
Unhindered, it crossed the desert toward the Ashen Barrow. Soon it stood almost at the foot of the tall hill.
The sunset was approaching.
...
The strange centurion collapsed to the ground at the base of the Ashen Barrow and stopped moving entirely. Awkward and crooked, it looked like a parody of the other monstrous pilgrim that had knelt gracefully in the same spot days before.
It had arrived without tribute. No transcendent soul fragment was in sight. Coupled with its disrespectful posture, that offense was more than enough to condemn the centurion to death.
Perhaps… it was suicidal.
Atop the barrow, the Carapace Demon rose from the ashen sand.
Its gleaming armor shimmered, reflecting the dying sunlight. Encased in radiant metal and crowned with horns, the demon looked fearsome and sinister.
It paused, gazing downward for a moment…
Two dark rubescent lights ignited in its eyes. Moving its terrible scythes, the monstrous giant advanced, descending the slope to face the strange visitor.
The ground trembled as it approached. Yet the bizarre centurion did not flinch. It remained completely motionless.
The Carapace Demon halted at a measured distance. It studied the creature, knowing that its pathetic appearance might be a trap.
The labyrinth teemed with unimaginable dangers. Rushing an unknown enemy was not something an awakened demon—possessing its own form of intelligence—would do.
Yet this was no ordinary demon.
A second later, the Corrupted Knight lunged.
Its scythe cut the air, bisecting the centurion's torso. The adamantine chitin sliced as if it were butter. The upper half of the monster's trunk flew away, revealing… only emptiness within.
...
On the far side of the Ashen Barrow, Sunless, sprinting uphill with all his might, muttered under his breath.
Too soon!
He wished it had lasted longer!
Why did the Carapace Demon have to be so audacious? Why do even ruined things unfold exactly as Ariandel predicts!?
With the bastard-flowered carrying Cassia on its back just ahead, Sunless ground his teeth and pushed himself to run faster.
Time to switch to Plan B…
A moment later, the strange centurion's carapace fell apart, releasing the Echo concealed beneath. Pushing the chitin shards aside with its powerful pincers, the scavenger charged the giant demon.
Its goal was to pass beneath him and, with luck, entangle his legs. Even if the demon tried to crush the scavenger under its weight, it could not kill it.
The demon understood that too.
Moving with astonishing speed, it shifted its torso and struck with a pincer. The Echo was flung aside like an irritating insect, flying through the air and crashing heavily to the ground.
Its carapace nearly cracked.
Grimacing, Sunless ran toward the great tree.
Ahead, Nephis approached the massive onyx trunk. She set her seaweed pack gently on the ground and began to climb, gripping the grooves in the tree's bark.
Meanwhile, the scavenger staggered to its feet. A stubborn light burned in its eyes. Screeching loudly, it snapped its pincers in the air and charged the demon once more.
'Hold on, friend!' Sunless thought desperately, hoping the plan would hold.
The smaller creature boldly ran at the steel giant, pincers raised to strike, followed by two shadows—one bestial, the other human.
Sunless passed the bastard-flowered, which was closing in on the great tree.
Below the slope, the Carapace Demon strode calmly toward its approaching foe.
Sunless acted on instruction—
Suddenly, the Echo's body began to glow with a soft light. Then it shimmered and dissolved into a stream of tiny sparks that drifted to the ground and vanished, leaving no trace of the enormous scavenger.
A split second later, the demon's scything arms slashed the air, and its giant pincers snapped shut on nothing.
... Yet the Carapace Demon was neither stunned by the vanishing act nor distracted by the light show. Instead, it stared at a specific point on the ground.
There, a lone human shadow stood frozen in confusion, uncertain what to do. With the Echo—and thus its shadow—gone, it had nowhere left to hide.
'Damn!'
The demon tilted its head and, in an instant, lunged like lightning, piercing the shadow with a scythe.
Sunless tensed, bracing for blinding pain…
But nothing happened. The shadow, hands raised in fear, glanced down at the deep blade in its chest… and scratched its head.
It was completely fine.
Of course… it was only a shadow. A body was required to suffer such wounds.
'Right. What else did I expect?'
Meanwhile, the demon fixed its gaze on the unsuspecting shadow. The scarlet glow in its eyes burned brighter.
The Star of Change was nearly at the lower branches of the great tree.
'Just… a bit… more!'
They had every chance. The shadow need only distract the monstrous giant a moment longer…
But luck was not with them today.
Below, the Carapace Demon withdrew its scythe. Instead of attacking the human shadow again, it suddenly turned and cast a dark glance toward the summit of the Ashen Barrow, where the giant tree stood in all its magnificent beauty.
The bastard was clever, after all.
'Damn it!'
Forgetting the shadow, the giant charged, racing back up the steep slope. It moved with increasing speed, covering dozens of meters each second.
'Come back!' Sunless shouted to the shadow as he grabbed his seaweed pack and held the end of the golden rope Nephis had dropped.
...
With Cassia still on his back, Ariandel watched Sunless seize the Evertwine and pull himself upward, climbing with the frantic speed of one fleeing death in the form of a dodecapodal arachnid knight.
'Adorable,' he thought, ironically out of context.
Reaching the end of their ascent, Cassia silently summoned her wooden staff—the Memory that could call forth fierce winds.
Ariandel pivoted and calmly held the staff's tip, guiding the girl's delicate hand as needed.
Then he steadied himself.
In the next moment, a powerful gale erupted around them, whipping fallen leaves and ashen sand through the air. Instantly, a large portion of the island's surface was swept clean.
Below, more sand was revealed.
The Illustrious Artisan of Fantasy observed the effect of the magic tool with curious satisfaction—a spectacle worthy of a magical world of fantasies.
"Cas, we're done," he said evenly.
Cassia ended the spell; the staff dissolved into subtly glowing sparks. She wrapped her arms around Ariandel again and settled back on his shoulders.
"Aria, how can you always be so relaxed?" she teased softly.
The Illustrious Artisan of Fantasy let out a genteel chuckle. Cassia smiled at his familiar pleasant voice and felt the gesture resonate through her body in their closeness.
Ariandel gripped the golden rope, braced his foot against the Devourer of Souls tree's bark, and Cassia tightened her hold as she felt the climb's strain.
She could already hear the distant but rapidly approaching sound of the Carapace Demon's eight imposing legs pounding the sand.
... Sunless's shadow slipped to the base of the great tree, beginning its own urgent ascent toward the promised branch.
With the Illustrious Artisan of Fantasy closing in, Nephis stepped forward to pull Cassia from his back, then released the golden rope, making the Memory vanish into thin air. The four crouched, hidden and silent.
... A moment later, a furious mass of spikes and polished metal appeared below them.
The Carapace Demon stopped abruptly, surveying the area with its burning scarlet eyes. Its pincers clicked, hungry to tear flesh. Its terrifying scythes rose, ready to slice and cleave.
But there was nothing to kill beneath the great tree.
The demon hesitated, looking right and left. Then it lifted its head and gazed upward.
Fortunately, the branch where the four Sleepers hid was wide enough to conceal them completely. The dark shadow joined them. They remained motionless, silent, afraid even of the slightest sound.
After a time, the creature finally lowered its gaze and scoured the ground for signs of intruders. None remained; all traces of the Sleepers's passage had been erased by Cassia's wind magic.
Finding nothing, the Carapace Demon had no choice but to withdraw, moving on to explore other parts of the island.
Nephis returned the Evertwine to Ariandel, and he pondered why she had done so without hesitation.
At a distance, the demon reached the edge of the wind-swept area. There it finally found three sets of footprints—left by Nephis, Ariandel and Sunless.
With a roar of rage like metal ripping, the giant charged down the Ashen Barrow's slope, following the tracks into the desert below.
The ashen wasteland was desolate and empty, with no living creature in sight.
It glowed crimson in the sunset.
In that moment, the ground trembled slightly, and a thunderous boom echoed through the labyrinth, bringing a cold wind and the scent of salt.
The dark sea was returning…
Casting one last hateful glance toward the desert, the Carapace Demon turned slowly and climbed back to the top of its barrow.