Back inside the Bone Ridge, the five of them sat around a small fire hidden deep within the hollow remains of the leviathan's spine.
The sll of roasting at slowly filled the air, rich and savory enough to make Sunny's stomach growl embarrassingly loud every few minutes. Normally, he would have already started eating without sha, but right now everyone's attention was focused on sothing far more important.
Sunny was explaining everything he had seen at the Ashen Barrow.
"…After the centurion knelt," he said slowly, "another carapace creature ca down from the top of the hill. But it wasn't like the others we've fought before. That thing was enormous. Easily six or seven ters tall. It looked less like a monster and more like a moving fortress."
Nephis frowned faintly, clearly displeased by the existence of such a creature blocking their path west.
"What's worse," Sunny continued, "its armor wasn't made of normal chitin. The whole thing looked like polished tal… so kind of alloy. I couldn't see a single weak point. No gaps around the joints. No exposed flesh. Nothing."
Cassie quietly gulped.
Elysia leaned slightly closer to the fire, listening carefully while absentmindedly twirling a small knife between her fingers.
Senrix, anwhile, sat silently against one of the giant bones of the ridge, his crimson eyes lowered in thought.
Sunny sighed.
"And that thing had four arms. Two with giant pincers and two with scythes even bigger than the centurion's. Its armor was covered in spikes, and its face looked… almost human."
He grimaced.
"Honestly, it was ugly enough to haunt my dreams."
Elysia chuckled softly.
"That bad?"
Sunny looked at her deadpan.
"I would rather fight ten scavengers than look at that thing again."
Nephis ignored the small exchange and spoke calmly:
"It is probably an Awakened Demon."
Sunny nodded imdiately.
Nightmare Creatures with one soul core were called beasts. Two cores made a monster. Three made a demon.
And demons were already far beyond what ordinary Sleepers should be capable of fighting.
"Or maybe even a devil," Sunny muttered. "Either way, I vote that we avoid that terrifying bastard forever."
"No," Senrix suddenly said. "It's almost certainly a demon."
Everyone turned toward him.
He lazily rested his chin on his palm before continuing:
"A devil would've sensed us almost imdiately. That thing didn't. Which ans it's dangerous… but not impossible."
Sunny stared at him for several seconds.
Then slowly narrowed his eyes.
"…You want to kill it."
Senrix looked up.
Beside him, Nephis calmly nodded once.
"It's only a demon," she said in her usual indifferent tone.
Sunny looked between the two of them in complete disbelief.
"…I suddenly understand why the Immortal Fla Clan is insane."
Elysia burst into quiet laughter while Cassie covered her mouth, trying not to smile.
Sunny pointed accusingly at the silver-haired siblings.
"One of you casually says it's 'only a demon,' while the other looks disappointed that it's not stronger!"
Senrix shrugged lazily.
"If it bleeds, it dies."
"That is NOT comforting!"
The roasting at crackled softly in the fire while silence settled over the group once more.
After a few monts, Sunny rubbed his forehead tiredly.
"At least tell you two have a plan."
This ti, Senrix snapped his fingers confidently.
"It's simple," he said.
Everyone waited.
"I'll hold the demon down while the rest of you attack."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even Cassie sohow managed to give him a deadpan stare despite being blind.
Sunny looked genuinely offended.
"That's not a plan. That's suicide with extra steps."
Elysia sighed while smiling faintly.
"I think he forgot that most people can't wrestle demons for fun."
Senrix looked mildly confused.
"Why not?"
"…You are ntally ill," Sunny muttered.
The others silently nodded in agreent.
—
The night passed quietly afterward.
Compared to the other places they had camped at since arriving on the Forgotten Shore, the Bone Ridge was probably the safest. Surrounded by enormous walls of ancient bone, protected from the winds and the sea, it almost felt comfortable.
At least by Forgotten Shore standards.
Sunny even briefly entertained the thought of staying there for weeks… maybe months.
They could hunt nearby Nightmare Creatures, gather soul shards, grow stronger, collect more mories, perhaps even gain more Echoes.
Only then would they challenge the Carapace Demon.
But the more he thought about it, the more he realized how dangerous that idea truly was.
The Forgotten Shore was not a place where safety lasted.
One mistake.
One unlucky encounter.
One stronger monster appearing at the wrong mont.
That was all it would take for them to die.
And worse still, there were things hidden within the labyrinth and beneath the dark sea that made even centurions seem harmless.
The longer they stayed, the greater the chance that sothing unavoidable would eventually find them.
Their best chance of survival was moving forward.
Even if forward ant facing a demon.
Sunny tossed and turned the entire night, unable to sleep properly as countless plans and terrible ideas circled inside his head.
Eventually, close to dawn, exhaustion finally dragged him into sleep.
Only for him to be shaken awake half an hour later.
Sunny blinked blearily.
Cassie was kneeling beside him, her expression pale and tense.
"What is it?" he asked groggily.
The blind girl gestured quietly toward Nephis.
When the silver-haired girl approached, Cassie took a small breath before speaking:
"I had another vision."
Sunny instantly beca fully awake.
"A vision about the Carapace Demon," Cassie whispered.
Elysia, who had been quietly sitting near the extinguished fire, imdiately looked over with interest.
Senrix slowly opened one eye from where he had been resting against the bone wall.
Nephis sat beside Cassie calmly.
"Past or future?" she asked.
Sunny blinked.
Right.
That mattered now.
Cassie hesitated.
"I think… the past."
A few monts later, her uncertain expression hardened slightly.
"No. I'm sure of it."
Nephis tilted her head slightly.
"What did you see?"
Cassie took a deep breath.
"I saw the Ashen Barrow at night."
Her voice beca quieter.
"There was a terrible storm. The winds bent the branches of the giant tree like they wanted to break it apart. Lightning constantly struck the island, and rain fell so heavily it looked like the sky itself was collapsing."
Everyone listened silently.
"The Carapace Demon stood beneath the storm," Cassie continued softly. "Completely unmoving. Lightning crawled across its steel armor, but it ignored it entirely. It looked… terrifying. Like so ancient guardian standing against the wrath of heaven itself."
Sunny grimaced slightly.
"Great. So lightning won't work."
Senrix crossed his arms.
"Would've been too easy otherwise."
Cassie nodded weakly before continuing.
"Eventually, the storm began to weaken. The rain slowed. The winds faded. But then… one final bolt of lightning struck the Ashen Barrow."
Her face paled.
"It ignited the fallen crimson leaves."
Elysia's expression changed slightly.
"And the entire hill burned," Cassie whispered.
"In the darkness of night, the fire looked like a beacon."
Sunny imdiately understood the problem.
Light attracted monsters.
Especially at night.
Especially near the dark sea.
Cassie trembled slightly.
"Sothing ca out of the water."
The atmosphere around the group instantly beca heavier.
"It was enormous," she whispered. "A mass of bones, rotten flesh, black seaweed, and countless eyes staring in every direction. Tentacles covered its body like nests of serpents."
Even rembering the vision made her visibly nauseous.
"It crawled onto the Ashen Barrow… and the Carapace Demon attacked it imdiately."
Nephis narrowed her eyes.
"It fought sothing larger than itself?"
Cassie nodded slowly.
"It looked enraged. Like it completely lost its mind protecting the tree."
Senrix suddenly frowned.
"…Protecting?"
Cassie slowly nodded again.
"I didn't see the entire battle. Only the beginning… and the end."
Her voice lowered.
"By dawn, the demon crawled back beneath the tree. Several of its legs were gone. Its scythes were cracked. Its armor was shattered."
Sunny listened carefully.
Then Cassie continued quietly:
"The worst wound was on its chest."
Everyone froze.
"The steel armor there had split apart. Beneath it… I could see its beating heart."
Silence filled the Bone Ridge.
"Azure blood poured from the wound and stained the ash beneath the tree," Cassie whispered. "The demon laid itself between the roots and remained there for a very long ti."
Elysia looked thoughtful now.
"So that thing can regenerate…"
Cassie nodded.
"Yes. Eventually its legs regrew. Its armor repaired itself. Even the cracks in its scythes disappeared."
She paused.
"But…"
Nephis's gaze sharpened.
"But what?"
Cassie slowly lifted her head.
"The wound on its chest never healed completely."
For the first ti since the conversation began, Senrix smiled.
A cold smile.
"So it does have a weak point after all."
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