No Return (Shadow Slave Fan-Fic)

Levi and Cassie came back to the duo , he was carrying Cassie , Sunless was dazed off currently.

Since he had spaced out for quite a bit, Nephis was looking at him with a silent question in her eyes.

Sunny grinned:

"I got an Echo."

Her pupils slightly widened.

Cassie, on the other hand, was more expressive:

"An Echo? You actually got an Echo ?! "

"Yes."

Since the larger group of monsters was now minutes away from catching up with them, Sunny didn't waste any time and summoned the Scavenger.

The hulking beast immediately appeared in front of him, seemingly sewn together from tiny sparks of light. Soon, its black chitin became fully corporeal. Following Sunny's command, it shifted a little and raised its mighty pincers.

Nephis observed the Echo with an unreadable expression. Then, a corner of her lip slightly curled up. 

"Good."

"Better than my useless echo."

Sunny looked at them with a smile.

"I think we can task it with carrying Cassie. Outside of battle, it will help us the most."

The blind girl's mouth fell open.

"Carry me? Like ... like a mount?"

He chuckled and slapped the scavenger on its carapace.

"This bad boy can fit a petite girl like you with no problem at all. Trust me! I've been clambering these things a lot for the past few days. It's actually quite spacious on top of them. Especially if they're not trying to kill you."

Cassie hesitated.

"Well ... okay. If you think it's for the best."

"It seems my job as a mount got stollen." Levi said sarcastically , making Cassie chuckle.

He helped Cassie get onto the back of the Scavenger. Then, they used the golden rope to create makeshift reins for Cassie to hold onto.

After quickly retrieving soul shards from the dead scavengers, the Sleepers hastily left the passage, narrowly avoiding another battle.

***

With Cassie riding comfortably atop the scavenger, their overall speed dramatically increased. Sunny , Nephis and Levi were jogging in the front, hoping to recoup the time lost in the first half of the day and reach the high point with an hour or two to spare.

From time to time, they had to take detours to avoid fighting groups of carapace monsters. However, with a monster of their own by their side, the mood and mental state of the three Sleepers were much better.

But there was a nagging feeling in Levi's mind. He had noticed that he was able to sense violent emotions.. such as a lust for destruction and killing intent , after facing a few scavengers , he had discovered this point of his ability. He didn't know to what it was connected to , but it was most likely his aspect.

At some point, he noticed that the wind had picked up a bit. Almost simultaneously, Cassie asked them to stop.

The three of them looked at her with deep frowns. It seemed that they both had a bad premonition.

"What is it?"

The blind girl let go of the reins.

"Do you hear anything?"

They looked at each other, then shook their heads.

"No. Why?"

Cassie scowled.

"Help me get off this thing."

After they helped her, she stood motionless for a while, listening. Her scowl deepened. Then the blind girl cautiously kneeled and put her ear to the ground.

"What do you hear?"

Cassie licked her lips.

"It's murmuring."

Suddenly, a drop of water fell on Sunny's face. He raised his head and looked at the sky.

There, dark stormy clouds were gathering with unnatural speed. Pretty soon, they were bound to cover it completely.

Including the sun.

And when that happened ...

Levi's eyes widened.

***

"We need to move, now."

As Nephis turned to him, Sunny grabbed Cassie and helped her stand up. His face was even paler than usual, and there was a panicked look in his eyes.

"Now! Help me get her back on the scavenger!"

Levi immediately lifted up Cassie by activating his [Corrosion] , empowering his body to help her.

Cassie seemed a bit disoriented. She grabbed the reins and helplessly turned to her friend:

"Neph? What is going on?"

Changing Star glanced at her. When she eventually spoke, her voice sounded heavy.

"A storm is coming."

Levi was feeling surprised.. why was he sensing killing intent from the storm..? It was making him feel disoriented..

He turned to Nephis:

"We're about three or four kilometers away from the cliffs. Do ... do you think we can make it?"

She scowled.

"If we take the most direct route. Maybe."

Sunny hesitated, then asked:

"What about the monsters?"

Changing Star looked ahead and gritted her teeth.

"We'll have to cut through."

"She is right.. going back now would be suicide , we have no choice." Levi told in a hurried tone.

"What are you waiting for? Run!"

***

As they darted forward, heavy drops of rain were starting to fall on the ground. Strong winds were howling between the coral blades, sending bits of mud and seaweed flying. With storm clouds gathering in the sky, sunlight dimmed, and a cold twilight descended upon the labyrinth.

Sunny was leading their small group since he had his shadow running up ahead too.. He was running with all his might , Levi and Nephis was just step behind him. The scavenger carrying Cassie was stomping through the mud with its eight legs in the back.

Without the need to avoid monsters and death breathing down their necks, they moved with amazing speed. Side passages and crimson walls were flashing past them in a blur. There was no need to hold back and conserve strength for the long run if they were late to reach the cliffs by a minute, their lives would be over. They had to give it their all.

All of them were ready to fight a series of bloody skirmishes all along the way, but, to his surprise, the inhabitants of the labyrinth did not give them much trouble. The scavengers seemed to be as panicked as they were. The bulky beasts were busy trying to hide inside the coral mounds or burrowing underground.

On the rare occasions when one of them showed aggression, a quick slash of the sword or a threatening clack of a pincer was enough to make the monster change its mind.

However, no matter how fast they were moving, the storm was faster. The rain quickly turned into a pelting downpour, each drop becoming a torrent. The winds grew in strength, striking against their bodies with enough force to make them stumble. The light dimmed even further, reducing visibility to almost zero.

Finally, a blinding bolt of lightning tore through the darkness, followed almost immediately by a deafening thunderclap.

In the next moment, the ground under Sunny's feet trembled, causing him to lose balance and fall. He rolled in the mud and tried to stand up, but slipped and fell again.

Levi immediately slid to Sunny , picking him up in a bridal carry as he ran , as he was running he slowly put Sunny onto his feet.

"Don't stop bastard! Run!"

He yelled at Sunny.

By the time Sunny began to move, the dark, salty water was already as high as his shins. He gritted his teeth.

The sea was coming back.

Levi couldn't determine where the water was coming from, but with each minute, it was rising higher. Soon, it was up to his knee, then up to his waist, making running almost impossible. The speed of the group slowed down considerably.

It was then, in a sudden flash of lightning, when they saw a dark mass of stone ahead.

They had made it to the cliffs.

Almost at the same time, a terrible rumbling sound came from the depths of the labyrinth. Turning back, Sunny saw a colossal, crushing torrent of black water rushing through the crimson forest. Some distance away, a tardy scavenger was caught by it and thrown against the coral walls. The unbreakable carapace of the mighty creature cracked and burst open like a rotten egg.

Sunny turned to Nephis:

"Time is up! Start climbing!'

She caught him by the arm.

"Dismiss your Echo!"

Sunny didn't know whether the scavenger could scale the cliff. In any case, Cassie wouldn't have been able to hold on if it did. He helped the blind girl get down and then sent the monster back to the Sea of Soul.

Levi immediately lowered herself to let Cassie climb on her back, then tied them together with the golden rope. Not wasting any time, he gritted her teeth and stepped forward to grab onto the wet rocks of the cliff wall.

They began the ascent, rushing to get as high as possible before the black torrent hit. Some time later, Sunny screamed:

"Brace!"

In the next moment, a wall of dark water hit the rocks mere meters beneath their feet. As Sunny held for dear life, the whole cliff shuddered. A few boulders fell from somewhere high above, missing Sunny's head only by chance.

However.. Levi suddenly felt something pierce his chest when the dark water hit them. He let out a painful scream , a sharp rock had stabbed into his chest , right next to his heart. If he was a bit closer his heart would have been pierced.

"Levi! Are you alright??" Cassie shouted behind his back.

"I'm fine!"

He immediately pulled himself out the rock and started climbing once again.. The killing intent coming from the dark sea was suffocating , and even if Levi was immortal he still felt the pain and his body could get tired. His vision was hazy , but currently he was carrying Cassie with him. He would not let himself fall.

However, things were far from being over. The black water was still rising, now with frightening speed, threatening to swallow them at any second. They had to keep climbing, and they had to be faster than the surging sea.

The torrential rain and hurricane wind made everything even worse.

And yet, there was no choice.

He frantically kept climbing, tearing his skin on sharp rocks. Every muscle in his body was in agony. If not for the empowerment of [Corrosion] , he would have been long dead. But even with its help, the surging dark water was getting closer and closer.

"Damn it! Damn it all!"

No matter how hard Sunny tried, he couldn't win back any distance. Soon, the water was at his feet. The sea slowly swallowed his legs, then his torso. He kept climbing, now fighting against the weight of the water and the force of the tide that was trying to tear him away from the cliff.

But it was useless in the end.

"Levi..!" Cassie shouted his name as she was getting submerged with him..

After hearing that shout Levi's mind went blank as he started climbing with all his might.. This blind girl.. who looked so much like her sister.. He did not want her to die..

'No..'

'I wont let her die..!'

Finally, a strong hand grabbed him from above and dragged his body over the edge of the cliff along with Cassie.

Levi let Cassie go and finally collapsed onto the ground.. After some time, he looked at Nephis and Sunless who was lying in a similar position to his right, equally as drained. She was still clutching the golden rope in her hand. Cassie was sitting a few steps away from them. With that.. he let himself rest..

As he was slowly going unconscious a pair of hands were placed onto his chest... he felt the wound on his chest closing itself.. When he looked ahead.. he saw a pair of red eyes.. and finally lost his consciousness.