As evening crept closer, the sun, a weary disc of fire, began its slow descent toward the horizon. From the colorless, skeletal remains of the labyrinth, a strange creature emerged. To say it "walked" would have been a generous interpretation. It dragged its legs through the sand, yet somehow, it floated forward without truly moving them. It resembled a carapace centurion, or at least a crude approximation of one.
All the essential components were there: a black carapace emblazoned with a menacing crimson pattern, a humanoid torso, eight segmented legs, and two arms culminating in formidable bone scythes. Yet, these parts appeared mismatched and oddly assembled, as if cobbled together by a clumsy sculptor. Compounding its bizarre appearance, the centurion moved as though profoundly intoxicated. Its carapace listed severely to one side, occasionally scraping against the gritty sand. The torso swung erratically back and forth for no discernible reason. The scythes, instead of resting naturally, were awkwardly lodged behind the creature's back, crossed at an unnatural angle.
At one point, one of the scythe arms simply clattered to the ground. The centurion halted, hesitating for a few seconds as if unsure how to proceed. Then, as if nothing had occurred, it left the detached limb behind and continued on its way.
A truly perceptive observer would have noticed that the creature seemed to possess two shadows. The first was precisely as one would expect, a dark silhouette identical to the centurion itself. The second, however, resembled a human. It briefly flickered into view from beneath the larger shadow when the centurion abandoned its errant limb. The human shadow then performed a dramatic facepalm and shook its head in utter contempt.
The entire scene was nothing short of completely bizarre. But, for better or worse, there was nobody around to witness this peculiar creature. Unobstructed, it traversed the barren wasteland, moving steadily toward the Ashen Barrow. Soon, it was almost at the base of the tall hill.
The sunset was rapidly approaching, painting the desolate landscape in hues of orange and deep red.
The strange centurion plopped unceremoniously onto the ground at the base of the Ashen Barrow and ceased all movement. Awkward and lopsided, it looked like a grotesque parody of the other monster of its kind who had knelt gracefully at the same spot only a few days prior.
Adding to its blatant disrespect, it arrived without a tribute. There was no transcendent soul shard in sight. This transgression, coupled with its undignified posture, was more than enough to get the centurion instantly killed. Perhaps… it was suicidal.
High above on the barrow's summit, the Carapace Demon stirred, rising from the ashen sand. His shining armor glistened, reflecting the last rays of the setting sun. Encased in bright, metallic plates, with a crown of horns adorning his monstrous head, the demon looked truly fearsome and sinister. Gazing down at the strange visitor, he lingered for a few moments, his presence radiating an oppressive aura.
Two dark scarlet embers ignited in the depths of the demon's eyes, burning with an intense, predatory glow. Shifting his terrifying scythes, the colossal monster began to move forward, slowly descending from the hill to confront the unusual arrival. The very ground trembled with each deliberate step he took. However, the bizarre centurion did not even flinch. In fact, it remained completely motionless, an unmoving, lopsided lump at the base of the hill.
The Carapace Demon stopped a short distance away from the suspicious creature. He observed it intently, clearly discerning that its pathetic appearance might be a cunning trap. The labyrinth was teeming with unimaginable dangers. Rashly approaching an unknown foe was not something an awakened demon, possessing its own form of dark intelligence, would do.
At least, that was what the four Sleepers had assumed.
However, they were gravely mistaken.
Just a second later, the Carapace Demon lunged forward. Its scythe flashed through the air with terrifying speed, severing the centurion's torso clean in half. The adamantine chitin was cleaved apart as though it were made of butter. The upper half of the monster's torso flew off, revealing… only emptiness inside.
On the other side of the Ashen Barrow, Sunny, who was running up the slope with all his might, cursed under his breath.
That was too soon.
With Cassie riding piggyback on his back, Kane thought, Sunny's Echo should have been a deception, but it failed. Time to switch to Plan B.
A moment later, the weird centurion's carapace came apart, setting the Echo that had been hiding underneath it free. Pushing the discarded pieces of chitin away with its powerful pincers, the scavenger rushed toward the towering demon. It aimed to duck underneath its massive body and, hopefully, entangle or mess up the giant's legs.
The first part of Sunny's plan had been rather simple. They were going to use the remains of a dead carapace centurion to disguise the Echo, which was much smaller in comparison, as one of the officers of the carapace legion. Then, they would send it to the base of the Ashen Barrow to lure the demon away. The four of them were going to circle the hill and hide themselves under the grey sand in advance, then run up the slope and to the center of the island as soon as the demon had left.
The Echo was supposed to buy them enough time to climb the great tree and conceal themselves in its colossal branches. Then, Sunny would dismiss the Echo, thus finishing the first stage of the plan. He never intended for the scavenger to actually fight the fearsome demon!
However, the Carapace Demon's unusually swift act of aggression had completely messed up the timing of the whole scheme. The decoy was already destroyed, yet they weren't even halfway to the safety of the tree. In this desperate situation, there was no choice but to order the Echo to attack, hoping that it could stall the giant monster, even for a few precious seconds. That way, of course, Sunny was putting his loyal scavenger at grave risk.
But there was no other alternative.
Just as he was about to reach the crest of the hill, the Echo tried to hide itself beneath the Carapace Demon's massive body. It was attempting the same tactic that Nephis and Kane had employed when fighting the first carapace centurion, intending to use the sheer size of the enemy against it. The crucial difference was that this time, the smaller participant in the fight was clad in a sturdy carapace, as opposed to a squishy human girl who had no protection and a normal boy with only flexible armor. Even if the demon tried to crush the scavenger with its immense weight, it wouldn't be able to kill it outright.
However, the demon, with its terrifying intelligence, understood this too. Moving with incredible speed, it shifted its torso and struck out with a massive pincer. The scavenger was swatted away like an irritating insect, sent flying through the air before heavily crashing onto the ground. Its carapace had almost cracked under the impact.
Running desperately toward the great tree, Kane shifted Cassie to Sunny's back and signaled him to accelerate. Sunny wanted to dismiss the Echo, but he knew it was far too soon. They needed more time, even a few seconds could be the difference between life and death.
Ahead of him, Nephis and Kane, who had joined her stride for stride, were already approaching the enormous black trunk of the tree. Not wasting a single precious second, Nephis removed the seaweed rucksack from her back, gently laid it on the ground, and began climbing with surprising agility, grabbing onto the natural cracks in the onyx bark.
Meanwhile, the Echo was shakily rising to its legs. A stubborn, defiant light burned in its eyes. Producing a loud, guttural screech, it clacked its pincers in the air and once again rushed toward the demon, a silent declaration of its unwavering loyalty.
Below the hill, the Carapace Demon calmly stepped toward the rushing enemy, its four arms moving in chilling unison.
Suddenly, the scavenger's arms were sliced off with terrifying precision. Its body was then gripped in two of the giant pincers and raised into the air, completely helpless.
A fraction of a second later, the demon effortlessly strained its powerful arms and brutally tore the Echo in two, separating its torso from the carapace and crushing both halves into a bloody pulp.
The Echo was destroyed.
"Sunny? What happened?" Cassie's whisper sounded worried and tense. She must have felt the profound change in his mood through his posture and body language, even without her sight.
Sunny spoke, his voice a raw mixture of rage and profound sadness. "He killed the Echo."
At that very moment, Nephis and Kane reached the lower branches of the tree. Sunny, driven by a desperate urgency, began to climb the massive trunk. Immediately, Kane's armor shifted, transforming into four sharp claws. He instantly latched onto the tree's bark, securing himself. As soon as Sunny reached the trunk, Kane swiftly climbed down, reaching out to Cassie.
"Ready?" Kane asked.
Cassie nodded, and he once again piggybacked her. Nephis then threw the golden rope to Sunny, and he began ascending rapidly. In the barest nick of time, all four of them reached the safety of the lowest branches.
A moment later, the furious, spike-laden mass of polished metal that was the Carapace Demon appeared directly beneath them. It abruptly stopped, gazing around with its burning scarlet eyes. Its massive pincers clicked ominously, as if thirsty to tear flesh apart. The terrifying scythes were raised into the air, ready to slash and sever.
But there was nothing to kill underneath the great tree.
The demon lingered, its head turning slowly from left to right, searching. Then, it raised its head and looked directly up. Thankfully, the branch the four Sleepers were hiding on was immensely wide, more than enough to completely conceal them from his sight. They remained motionless and absolutely silent, terrified to produce even the smallest of sounds, lest they betray their position.
After a tense period, the behemoth finally lowered its gaze and carefully observed the ground once more, searching for any traces of possible intruders. However, the grey desert below was desolate and empty, with no living creature in sight. It was colored a deep crimson by the lingering light of the setting sun.
At that moment, the ground shook slightly, and a thunderous rumble resonated throughout the labyrinth, bringing with it a chilling wind and the unmistakable smell of salt.
The dark sea was returning.
Throwing one last hateful gaze toward the barren wasteland, the Carapace Demon turned around and slowly headed back to the top of its barrow.
For the first time in this place, Kane thought, I wish for the darkness to come fast. As soon as the shroud of darkness descended, it would be time to proceed with the second stage of their perilous plan.