Sunny and the black steed plummeted down in a cloud of shattered stone. Far below them, the courtyard of the boundary fortress lay, shrouded in darkness. It was growing closer and closer, approaching with terrifying speed.
Neither paid it any attention, however.
The stallion bit down on Sunny's shoulder with all his might, his sharp fangs scraping against the stonelike metal of the Mantle of the Underworld. The fearsome onyx armor was an Ascended Memory of the sixth Tier, a whole Rank above the diabolical Shadow, so the courser was not supposed to be able to damage it.
However, to Sunny's shock and dismay, the metal plates actually groaned and bent, crushing his flesh. He roared with pain and anger, then thrust his four hands forward, ripping the Terror's chest with his claws.
Drops of blood fell down like rain.
Intertwined, the two of them hit the cobblestones of the desolate courtyard. However, instead of being broken by the fall, both simply submerged into the veil of shadows drowning it, as if the ancient stones had turned into a lake of liquid darkness.
For a moment, Sunny found himself floating in the tenebrous embrace of deep, unfathomable shadows. Usually, turning into a ghostly shade would have meant escaping to safety…
But today, his enemy was a similar creature himself.
A vast and terrifying presence lunged at him from the darkness, full of fury and boundless, chilling killing intent. The black steed had pursued him even into the shadows.
However, this time, Sunny was ready.
He had never fought anyone, or anything, as a shadow. But he had been attacked in this form twice, first by the Mirror Beast, and then by its insidious creator… Mordret of Valor, the Prince of Nothing. Both were able to steal his own ability, and use it against him.
What did it mean?
It meant that while Sunny could not damage mundane shadows, as Shadow Blade Kurt had been able to, he was capable of destroying other shadow creatures, just like they were capable of destroying him.
In his shadow state, Sunny was shapeless and formless… but that also meant that he could assume any shape and any form. It was just a matter of his will, mind, and imagination.
As the vast presence that was the nightmare steed lunged at him, he moved to meet it, turning into a long, narrow blade made of darkness. They clashed, tearing each other's souls apart. Sunny's whole being was instantly drowned by terrible suffering… but he also felt a silent scream of agony escaping from the rippling shadow that was trying to enshroud him.
Both the demon and the Terror were thrown back into the corporeal world, Sunny rolling away on the cold stones, the tenebrous steed sliding on them as his hooves struck sparks into the air.
'Kill… I'm gonna kill you, bastard… just you wait…'
Sunny roared and rose to his feet, outstretching one hand to summon the Cruel Sight, and another to summon the Moonlight Shard.
Two burning crimson eyes streaked through the darkness, and he was hit in the chest again. His lower hands grabbed the horns of the infernal stallion, and the Mantle of the Underworld suddenly grew as heavy as a mountain.
…That didn't slow down the courser one bit, however.
Together, they struck the wall of the dilapidated fortress. Sunny shrieked, feeling his spine come very close to snapping. If not for Bone Weave, he would have undoubtedly been shattered into pieces.
The wall of the fortress was shattered instead.
A whole section of it cracked, and then crumbled, making the ground tremble as a vast cloud of dust rose into the air and blotted out the stars. The damned Terror carried him through the cloud, emerging from the other side of it a split second later, and then threw Sunny to the ground, trying to impale him with the horns.
But his enemy never let go of them, so instead, the four-armed demon was dragged across the emerald grass, tearing the soil apart. One of his hands flashed forward, piercing one of the stallion's eyes with a ghostly stiletto.
Or at least, trying to.
At the last moment, the black horse snapped its head sideways and bit down on the blade of the Moonlight Shard with his fangs, then jerked his neck and sent Sunny flying through the air.
'Damnation!'
Sunny spun in the air and landed on his feet, sliding back a dozen meters as the soles of his armored boots tore the ground. A moment later, he grasped the shaft of the Cruel Sight from the air and raised the somber spear, ready to strike the enemy.
…But the black steed had somehow disappeared and was nowhere in sight.
His vertical pupils narrowed, and then Sunny spun, sensing a swift and vast shadow circling him from behind.
The blade of the Cruel Sight suddenly shone with pure light, tearing the darkness apart. The nightmarish courser was forced back into the corporeal form, and instantly came under attack. The tip of the spear bit deep into his shoulder, causing more blood to fall on the grass.
Uncaring, the Terror twisted and shifted his weight, standing on his front legs as both hind ones were thrown into the air, drawn like powerful springs.
Sunny shivered.
'Cra…'
In the next moment, the black horse struck backward with both legs, catching him square in the chest. The breastplate of the Mantle of the Underworld rang mournfully as a thin net of cracks appeared on it.
Stunned and blinded, Sunny was sent backward, flying above the ground with terrible speed. He collided against an ancient tree and went right through it, the thick trunk exploding into a cloud of splinters. Then, he hit the ground and bounced from it, flew some more, then crashed down again and rolled for dozens of meters, blood shooting out of his mouth.
'Hurt… argh, that hurt…'
His heart hurt, too.
It hurt way, way too much.
Gulping for air and unable to force it into his four lungs, Sunny shakily rose to his feet and stubbornly raised the Cruel Sight.
And then, the black steed shot from the darkness and rammed into him again.
…This time, both of them slid off the edge of the island.