As Sunny met up with Kai, they entered the dream realm, and like last time, they appeared at the altar once again in the middle of the night.
"You ready?"
Kai stretched and cracked his neck.
"Yes, I might reach the peak of an awakened if I meet some fallen or corrupted beasts. What about you, Sunny?"
"Well, I think I still need at least a thousand more, but it all depends on how this night will go."
"Well, good hunting to you, my friend."
As they fistbumped, they shadowstepped and appeared on the chain and after that on the first island, then second and at the edge of the third, Sunny and Kai stopped.
"Alright, I will go look for the ship, and you stay here. If anything happens, tell me."
Kai looked around as Gloomy, Happy, Creepy, and Haughty emerged in their battle gear together with Mia and Saint.
"Are you missing someone, or am I remembering wrong?"
Sunny looked at Saint and said casually.
"Oh yeah, actually I had a Guardian until recently, but Cassia and I were going over the potential of my shades and...."
"Wait, what?"
"What do you mean by...What?"
"I had no idea Cassia could do that."
"Oh yeah. We discussed it after school, after those check-ins, you know."
"Yes, I remember you saying something about needing to do something. "
"Well, anyway, she said that Guardian would stop at Transcendent Terror mainly because he was an incomplete. Saint, on the other hand, has limitless potential. She is someone who has the potential to become something very interesting."
As he said that, he looked at Saint with a prideful expression.
As he stopped talking, Kai rubbed his forehead and said.
"So let me get this straight. Cassia told you that Guardian could at most reach transcendent terror and that Saint potential is limitless, and because of that, you...merged Guardian with Saint?"
"No, not merged. I let her consume him, and look at her now, isn't she the beauty? Almost peak ascended terror closing up to tyrent. At this rate, I might get her to Titan. This is amazing. Don't you think so?"
"But you sacrificed one of your shades. Aren't you sad?"
"No, why should I. In the end, I'd have to do it anyway. I just did what would happen in the future anyway."
Kai looked at his friend and chuckled.
"Fair enough. Also, why is Mia here?"
"You got a problem with that?"
Kai smirked and tilted his head slightly while saying.
"Why are you so hostile, Mia? Is it because of your lost duel?"
Mia gritted her teeth and scoffed.
"Don't tempt me, Kai."
Kai smiled and looked at her while pulling out his bow.
"Or what. Will you try your luck with me next? Warning in advance, you'd lose. Well, anyway, have a good hunt."
With that, he gave a gentle smile and waved while flying away into the woods.
Mia looked in Kai's direction, but before she could say anything, Gloomy said.
"From this distance, you wouldn't even know how you lost. As an archer, he is great. Pick your fights wisely. Mia."
As he said that, he walked towards Sunny with the rest of his brothers.
Mia approached, but Creepy lifted his gauze, and she bumped into it with her chest, looking up at him.
"Not you. You stay here."
"Why?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Creepy finally looked at her as he lowered his hand and said nonchalantly.
"You are far too weak to go any further than this island. Tell you what. If you hunt more and stronger nightmare creatures than Kai, we will take you with us next time."
Mia smirked and nodded, agreeing rather quickly and running into the forest where Kai was already stationed, invisible in the trees, blending in and erasing his presence.
As Sunny summoned his weapon, he looked at Creepy and said.
"You know there is no way she will get more than him, right?"
"That's the point. She has to learn that herself at her current level is not as strong as she thinks. This might push her higher..."
"Or break her spirit"
Finished Gloomy.
Sunny just smiled and looked at his shadows.
"Let's go, guys."
All of them nodded and said in unison, with the exception of Saint, who only nodded in agreement.
"Yes, master."
As they were descending into the outer reaches of the chained islands, Haughty notted.
"You didn't disagree with Gloomy."
"So?"
"Alright, that's good to hear. Master."
After some time of fighting, Sunny found his match. Great Demon. He wasn't planning on fighting something so strong, but fate is unpredictable...or is it? His fight with the beast left devastating destruction across the third island, destroying everything that got in the way of their rampage, including some poor corrupted monsters, mostly counted to Sunny but some counted to the great demon. It was a massive pitch black lizard. Not dragon. Just some very annoying lizard that was starting to get on Sunny's nerves. Every time he was about to strike the lizard, it either changed its size or tried to bend the world laws to its will. Normally, Sunny would just attack the weak points, but for some reason, they were appearing everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Shadows were distorting themself when they were close to the lizard, and since his existence was stronger by a significant amount than Sunny, Sunny was in a great disadvantage. But this was exactly what Sunny needed. Something that would push him further, make him stronger and expand his shadow step understanding even more. After Sunny delivered his slash, sending the lizard crashing into the chain connecting it to the 5th island, Sunny received a message from Kai.
"Sunny, we have a problem."
"Kinda busy here, Kai. I know we are late for school already."
Sunny cracked his neck and changed his attack stance slightly while looking at Luna
"What? No, not that. School you mentioned, the one your disciple is at..."
Sunny froze for a split second, letting the lizard pin him to the 5th island's ground.
"Gate opened there."
"Which category?"
Kai didn't respond for a second, and after a while, he said.
"Category...4"
The instant Sunny received that message, 2 things happened at the same time. First. Luna merged with him, and Second Sunny's eyes narrowed, and his existence vanished and despite he was just split second pinned under that lizard's claws, he was gone.
"I don't have time to play with you. Trash."
As he said that, he appeared in front of the lizard standing on nothing, and as he breathed in and out, he released his killing intent outward, covering the entire island, drowning everything in fear and death. The slash that followed wasn't even registered in the eyes of the lizard. Sunny was standing in front of him, and that was the last thing he saw. His slash wasn't aimed at the lizard anymore. It was aimed at the existence of this specific lizard itself. His slash cut the lizard like a hot knife cutting butter, cutting almost the entire island in half in the process. A flood of essence entered his body, and a spell gave him some excellent news as well. which Sunny couldn't care less about right now.
As he landed on the island, he faced Kai's direction and boosted himself from the island, covering the distance to where Kai and Mia stood in a matter of seconds.
Sunny did not wait for anything and covered Kai in his shadows, jumping back to the real world somewhere in the air. After that, he simply faced Rain's school and rushed in that direction.
"I feel so much stronger. Why is that?"
"Oooooooh Maaaaster?"
Sunny ignored the new voice and sent his message to Saint and Haughty
"Find Rain and protect her, rest. Kill anything that comes out of that gate, don't let a single creature escape alive."
The nodded as Sunny put on the Wiever mask and summoned his gear and weapons.
While he was flying across the sky new guy appeared next to him with only as if sweatpants and no shirt and short, messy hair. The Serpent tattoo covered most of his back, but its head was situated on his right breast.
"Let me handle this gate, please."
Sunny was flying and started to calm down as he saw Haughty and Saint reach Rain's school.
"Fine. Prove yourself..."
"Naughty. That's me."
As the great demon exited the gate and a couple of awakened stood frozen, they heard a loud bang after which something crashed into the great demon instantly killing it and shattering every window across the entire street, making the asphalt collapse as dust settled, they saw a figure standing on top of that demon facing the gate.
"OH, this feeling of my legs smashing something. It's so gooood. How I have missed it. Oh, please entertain me more."
As he said that his bloodlust covered the area, creating an almost red glow to the sky around him. It wasn't just for show; it froze every nightmare creature, and as it looked as if they were about to be released, they exploded into a pile of bloody mess. The man standing half naked on top of the corpse was now covered in blood from head to toe, with a wide grin dancing on his face.
While that was happening, he ran with his fingers through his hair backwards as if wiping the blood from his hair.
"Run if you want to die."
"Oh? Is that how this mask works? This is so much fun."
A Wavier mask appeared on his face, covering everything except his mouth, and his serpent expanded, covering both of his hands now in a pitch blackness.
Nightmare creatures started to come out, but Naughty just stepped forward and extended his palms as if they were spears of some kind. Every slash he made dealt devastating damage to its target, and weaker creatures were simply sliced in half.
The stunned awakened behind him were horrified and amazed at the same time. One of the females said.
"How can someone look so dreadful and elegant at the same time?"
The guy next to her followed.
"Doesn't his mask look familiar?"
As they both looked at each other, they said.
"Mongrel?"
"That's him, right?"
"Well, they may just look similar. I don't know. The Mongrel I saw was using a sword. He isn't, so I don't really know."
"Masteeeer, are you satisfied with my performance?"
Sunny looked at Naughty as he stepped out of the alleyway covered in shadow,s it's as if shadows themself responded instead of Sunny himself.
"You certainly are something, Naughty."
"Thank you....Master..."
"Is young miss safe?"
Sunny looked in the direction where Rain's school is.
Meanwhile, at Rain's school, she was about to get attacked by a tall bear-human monster, but as it was about to swing its blade, it froze because Rain's shadow grew, unseen by others' fear, but out of her shadow stepped out a beautiful, deadly, but still graceful female knight. She looked like a goddess. But her power was on a whole different level of beauty. As Sain swung her great sword, the beast as if evaporated into nothingness. Saint was now merged with Haughty. There was no real reason for her to have help from Haughty, but this was the order given to them.
"Yes, she will be alright. Anyway. We should finish this."
"Understood."
Not long after saying that Massive demon stepped from the gate, making awakened that were stunned in awe, collapsing from fear the moment they looked at the creature standing in front of them.
"Is that a Great Demon? How cute, isn't it? Master."
Sunny sighed and reached for his blade, but Naughty stopped him by lifting his palm.
"There is no need for that. Let me show you what pure martial arts at their peak can do."
As he said that demon swung his massive axe, aiming at Naughty, but his serpent tattoo expanded once again, covering him whole, and his grin changed to a ruthless but absolute expression of concentration. He crushed the ground under his feet and disappeared, only to reappear in front of the Demon's core location, which was around the solar plexus area and with his fist just before touching its skin, he opened his palm, blasting a hole through that Demon killing him instantly and as he landed, he fell on his knee,s and Sunny touched his shoulder.