By the ti dawn finally arrived, the nightmare beneath the Ashen Barrow had already co to an end.
The horrifying shrieks born from the Hollow Mist had disappeared.
The violent tremors shaking the island apart had ceased.
Even the endless crashing of the dark sea against the shores of the Ashen Barrow sounded strangely subdued now, as though the black waters themselves had grown silent after witnessing the terrifying battle between two ancient horrors.
For a long while, none of the five Sleepers dared to move.
They remained hidden amidst the enormous crimson branches of the great tree, breathing quietly while listening for even the faintest sound from below.
Sunny's entire body hurt.
His muscles ached from exhaustion, his lungs still burned from the frantic sprint across the island the previous night, and his mind remained unsettled after enduring the Hollow Mist.
Every ti he rembered that thing whispering beside his ear with Cassie's perfect voice, cold shivers crawled down his spine.
Beside him, Cassie sat quietly with both hands wrapped around her staff. Her face looked pale and drained of color, as though the previous night had taken far more from her than simple exhaustion.
Nephis remained seated nearby, calm and motionless as always. Her silver hair swayed softly in the cold morning wind while her grey eyes stared toward the ruined island below.
She looked composed on the surface, but even she appeared slightly worn down after surviving the horrors of the night.
A short distance away, Elysia leaned weakly against the trunk of the giant tree while holding her bow close to her chest.
Her fingers trembled faintly.
Blindly firing arrows into a nightmare hidden within living fog while keeping her eyes closed the entire ti had clearly pushed her to her limits.
anwhile, Senrix sat near the edge of the branch in complete silence, staring downward at the devastated battlefield below.
Which honestly felt deeply unnatural.
Sunny had grown used to the lazy swordsman joking around constantly, so seeing him this quiet sohow made the atmosphere feel even heavier.
For several long minutes, no one spoke.
Then Nephis slowly opened her eyes fully and looked toward the island beneath them.
"We can look now."
Sunny hesitated briefly before lowering his hands from his face.
The pale light of dawn greeted him imdiately.
And what he saw made his expression darken.
The Ashen Barrow was ruined.
The once smooth landscape of grey ash had been completely torn apart beyond recognition. Massive trenches scarred the island in every direction. Huge craters littered the surface.
Entire sections of the hill looked crushed flat, while others appeared ripped open as though giant claws had carved through them.
It looked less like an island and more like the aftermath of a war between gods.
Azure blood stained the ash everywhere.
Broken fragnts of tallic armor lay scattered across the battlefield.
And amidst all that devastation—
Sothing moved.
Sunny stared for a second before cursing under his breath.
"…You've got to be kidding ."
The Carapace Demon was still alive.
The enormous creature limped slowly across the ruined island, dragging its broken body through the ash while leaving behind a long trail of glowing azure blood.
Several of its limbs were missing entirely.
Only one giant scythe arm remained.
One pincer.
Most of its rear legs had either been crushed or severed during the battle against the creature hidden within the Hollow Mist, forcing the demon to move with a grotesque and uneven gait.
Its once flawless tallic carapace was now covered in deep fractures and spiderweb cracks.
One of its scarlet eyes was gone completely.
Its horns were shattered.
And yet—
Despite looking half-dead, the demon remained terrifying.
If anything, it looked even more frightening now than before.
Because there was no pride left in its gaze anymore.
Only hatred.
Cold, murderous hatred.
Sunny clenched his fists unconsciously.
"No way…"
Elysia slowly exhaled beside the trunk.
"That thing is absurdly durable…"
Even Senrix frowned slightly as he observed the crippled monster.
"Tough bastard," he muttered quietly.
For once, there was no laziness or amusent in his voice.
Nephis stared at the wounded demon silently for several seconds before slowly summoning her sword.
The silver blade appeared in her hand with a soft shimr.
Then white flas slowly ignited around it.
Pure white radiance spread across the branch like sacred fire, illuminating the crimson leaves around them with ghostly light.
"We kill it now," she said calmly.
Sunny imdiately turned toward her.
"Seriously?"
Nephis nodded once.
"It's weakened."
Sunny stared at her blankly.
"Weakened? That thing survived fighting whatever nightmare crawled out of the Hollow Mist!"
"And now it's injured."
Sunny opened his mouth to argue—
Then stopped.
Because she was right.
This was probably the weakest the Carapace Demon would ever beco.
If they allowed it to recover, they would never get another opportunity like this again.
Senrix slowly rose to his feet and stretched his shoulders lazily before summoning his own sword.
Unlike Nephis's pure white flas, deep crimson fire slowly spread along the dark blade, twisting through the air like flowing blood.
The temperature around him rose instantly.
"Well," he muttered, staring down at the demon with narrowed eyes, "guess we finally kill the oversized lobster."
Sunny blinked.
"The oversized lobster almost killed an ancient sea horror."
Senrix shrugged casually.
"Then we just kill it before it kills us."
"That is not a reassuring sentence!"
Elysia sighed softly before stepping closer and nocking an arrow onto her bowstring.
"We don't really have any tricks left anymore," she said quietly.
And she was right.
Everything until now had relied on manipulation.
Running.
Scheming.
Deception.
But now?
Now it ca down to blades.
Kill or be killed.
Nephis walked toward the golden rope tied securely around the branch while Sunny crouched beside Cassie.
The blind girl tilted her head slightly toward him.
"It survived… didn't it?"
Sunny sighed dramatically.
"Unfortunately."
Cassie lowered her head slightly.
Even without seeing her expression, Sunny could tell she was worried.
Trying to lighten the atmosphere, he suddenly said:
"Hey. Once this is over, I'm making everyone demon steak."
Cassie blinked.
"…What?"
"Demon steak."
Senrix imdiately raised a hand.
"I want the legs."
Elysia looked at both of them with disbelief.
"That sounds horrifying."
Sunny pointed accusingly at her.
"This is why humanity struggles to evolve. No ambition."
"You are talking about eating a giant murderous insect."
"A giant murderous gourt insect."
Cassie couldn't help but laugh softly.
Even Nephis looked mildly disturbed by the conversation.
Seeing Cassie smile made Sunny feel slightly lighter inside.
Good.
At least soone was smiling before they potentially died horribly.
anwhile, Senrix stepped toward the edge of the branch while crimson flas slowly intensified around his blade.
The fire reflected in his crimson eyes, making him look strangely dangerous.
"…I'll hold it down," he said calmly.
Sunny stared at him like he had completely lost his mind.
"That thing can split buildings apart with one swing!"
Senrix glanced sideways at him.
"Then I'll avoid getting split apart."
"That is still not reassuring!"
Elysia stepped beside them and slowly raised her bow.
"The cracks in its armor widened after the battle last night," she said quietly. "I can hit the exposed areas now."
Nephis nodded once.
"I'll finish it."
Sunny sighed deeply.
Of course.
Nephis would deliver the killing blow.
Senrix would sohow block attacks that should logically crush him into paste.
Elysia would support flawlessly from afar.
And Sunny?
Professional bait as usual.
Nephis suddenly looked toward him.
"Can you create an opening?"
Sunny slowly glanced toward the crippled demon below.
His shadow wrapped itself around his body instinctively, strengthening his muscles as darkness flowed across his skin like living armor.
"…Yeah," he muttered quietly.
Far below them, the Carapace Demon suddenly stopped moving.
Its remaining scarlet eye slowly lifted upward.
Toward the giant tree.
Toward them.
Sunny imdiately felt chills run down his spine.
"It knows we're here."
The demon stared at them silently for several long seconds.
Then—
It began moving toward the tree.
Senrix rolled his neck lazily while crimson flas burst violently around his sword.
"Well," he muttered quietly, "guess the peaceful conversation phase is over."
Nephis grabbed the golden rope first and descended from the branch without hesitation.
Sunny imdiately followed after her.
The mont his feet touched the ruined ground, he felt overwhelming pressure slam into him.
The Carapace Demon's remaining eye locked onto him instantly.
At close range, the creature looked even worse than before.
And sohow—
Even more terrifying.
Its tallic shell was cracked from head to toe.
Azure blood dripped constantly from beneath broken armor plates.
One entire side of its body looked mangled almost beyond repair.
And still—
Its posture remained steady.
Its murderous intent remained overwhelming.
The first rays of dawn reflected across the shattered steel covering its body, painting the giant creature in burning crimson light.
Sunny slowly summoned the Azure Blade.
"Careful," he muttered quietly. "It's still insanely fast."
Nephis nodded silently while white flas slowly ignited around her silver sword.
Behind them, Elysia climbed atop a fractured mound of stone and raised her bow.
Senrix stepped forward slightly, resting his crimson-flad blade over one shoulder.
The fire around him distorted the cold morning air violently.
"I'll stop the first attack," he said calmly.
Sunny looked at him blankly.
"That thing survived a battle with a sea horror."
Senrix smirked faintly.
"And now it gets to fight too. Poor thing."
"…Your confidence is terrifying."
The five of them slowly advanced across the devastated battlefield.
The wounded demon watched them approach without moving.
Then—
Its body shifted slightly.
Sunny's instincts scread instantly.
"MOVE!"
The Carapace Demon exploded forward.
Despite its catastrophic injuries, the giant monster still moved with horrifying speed.
Its massive scythe tore through the air toward Sunny like a falling guillotine—
BOOM!
Crimson flas erupted violently.
Senrix intercepted the strike head-on.
The impact shattered the ground beneath his feet instantly.
Ash exploded into the air everywhere.
Sunny's eyes widened.
Senrix was actually holding it back.
Barely.
Veins bulged across his arms while crimson fire surged wildly around his blade. The giant scythe forced him backward through the ash, carving a deep trench beneath his feet.
Still—
He grinned.
"Told you," he growled through clenched teeth. "Oversized lobster."
The Carapace Demon roared furiously.
At the sa mont, Nephis and Sunny split apart, circling opposite sides of the giant monster.
Elysia's arrows imdiately followed.
Sharp whistles echoed across the battlefield as glowing arrows slamd into exposed cracks and damaged joints.
One arrow pierced directly into the ruined eye socket.
The demon staggered violently.
"Nice shot!" Sunny shouted.
"Focus!" Elysia snapped back instantly.
Sunny lunged low.
The azure Blade slashed across one damaged rear leg.
This ti, instead of bouncing harmlessly away, the sword bit into an existing fracture.
Azure blood sprayed outward.
The demon roared again.
Nephis moved instantly.
White flas exploded around her silver blade as she slashed downward like a falling star.
CRACK!
A deep slash carved through the creature's already weakened front leg.
The enormous limb collapsed instantly.
The giant demon staggered violently.
For one glorious second—
It almost fell.
But the monster adapted imdiately.
Its remaining pincer slamd downward toward Nephis with terrifying speed.
"NEPH!"
Before the strike could land—
Senrix suddenly appeared between them in an eruption of crimson fire.
BOOM!
The massive pincer smashed directly into his blade.
The impact sent him skidding backward across the ruined battlefield while blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
But he stopped it.
Nephis did not waste the opportunity.
White radiance ignited around her sword even brighter than before.
The terrifying light illuminated the battlefield like the rising sun itself.
Even the demon hesitated.
Sunny's heartbeat thundered violently inside his chest.
That attack—
That attack would decide everything.
But first—
They needed one final opening.
Gritting his teeth, Sunny glanced up at the towering monster.
Then, without hesitation—
He ducked directly beneath the Carapace Demon's steel abdon.
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