Shadow Slave

Trying to guard the Ash Castle was a failing tactic.

They might potentially handle the three Snow Beasts, but that would require time. And during that time, stronger entities would probably reach the Ash Castle, resulting in defeat.

Sunny had become accustomed to solving problems with overwhelming might lately. But here in Ariel’s game, he was once again feeble — he lacked his shades, his Shadows, his Memories. He didn’t even possess a single shadow to boost himself.

If a few Demons of a high enough Rank appeared, surrounded by Monsters and Beasts, his finish would be quick and certain. To survive, Sunny needed to operate with cleverness and vision.

He squinted and asked Kai calmly:

”So, what course should we take?”

Kai shrugged.

”The identical move Ki Song made at Greater Crossing, I suppose. Leave the secured location and strike instead, hoping to smash the enemy troops while they remain separated from each other.”

He gazed at Sunny with interest and asked:

”Am I accurate?”

Sunny stayed quiet for several seconds.

”You aren’t precisely wrong, but you aren’t precisely right either.”

He sighed and motioned to where Slayer’s arrow was protruding from the ash.

”Slayer appears to grasp the core of this struggle better. Look, Kai, your reply stems from solid military thinking, but it’s an outdated military thinking — one shaped by innumerable years of battles and fights in the waking world. The nature of our world has shifted, though... but our minds haven’t been swift enough to adjust.”

He gestured to the grid.

”I hear that chess is a game meant to portray a military clash — a regular military clash. Death Game, however, is a game that depicts a supernatural military clash, one where Demons and Devils serve as troops. And naturally, there exists a Tyrant.”

This time, Sunny pointed at himself.

”In a regular war, eliminating the opposing army is a key goal — indeed, it equals victory. But in a realm infected by the Nightmare Spell, one person can wield greater force than an army. The army is merely a tool the Tyrant uses. It exists for ease. Thus, the key goal is to eliminate the Tyrant.”

Sunny examined the runes describing the three Snow Beasts.

”In other words, your basic premise is flawed — because you view the act of destroying the enemy forces as fundamentally worthwhile. But actually, it isn’t. It’s only worthwhile if killing them brings us nearer to defeating the Snow Tyrant, and if it doesn’t, then there’s no reason to engage with them at all.”

He grinned.

”Which isn’t to claim that killing them is completely useless. It’s just... of small significance. Or it would have been, if not for one factor — a factor that makes killing these Beasts actually harmful to us.”

Kai raised an eyebrow.

”I can somewhat track your reasoning that fighting the Snow Abominations might not have any merit for our current situation. But... harmful? Certainly, removing them from the field will at least provide us more space. Plus, no matter how mighty the Snow Tyrant is, the Snow Tyrant encircled by the Snow Army would still be mightier.”

Sunny nodded.

”Indeed. But you’re overlooking the initial point Slayer made.”

He motioned to the rune the silent Shadow had marked in the ash.

”Sacrifice. There actually exists a method to kill the Snow Abominations that will make us stronger. Because of that, killing them in any other fashion will actually be no different from denying ourselves power — power we badly need to kill the Snow Tyrant.” ꞦαNоᛒÈṩ

Next, he indicated the squares on the edges of the grid where the Shrines typically stood. One was protected by several Snow figures, while the other one was vacant.

”Killing our foes at first chance holds nearly no value. In fact, it holds negative value. Just because we can defeat them doesn’t mean we should... unless we defeat them in one of these Shrines. Do you comprehend now?”

Kai remained silent for a long while, pondering.

Eventually, he asked in a quiet tone:

”Are you certain you’re not a talented chess player, Sunny?”

Sunny scoffed.

”What are you discussing? This has nothing to do with chess. It’s just basic sense.”

Kai gave him a skeptical look.

”I wouldn’t label such sense basic, though.”

Then, he turned and glanced at Slayer with interest.

”It’s also remarkable that your... employee... was able to not only understand the essence of this game, but also explain it by marking a single rune and sticking her arrow into the ash. She is quite expressive.”

Sunny couldn’t help but chuckle. Actually, he almost fell over from laughter.

”Oh? Do you admire her now? I notice you have a preference... my employees...”

He smirked.

”Be wary, though. This one is a true heartbreaker. Actually, that’s how we met.”

Kai looked at him in puzzlement.

”She... broke your heart?”

Sunny nodded vigorously.

”Exactly! Well, to be specific, she shot an arrow through my heart. Stung terribly.”

Turning to Slayer, Sunny smiled pleasantly.

”But don’t worry. The next time we met, we struggled inside a dead god... who was moving around inside the remains of another, greater dead god... and when the dead god collapsed, I returned the favor. By killing her. Oh, and after I killed her, we battled for about another year, this time inside my own soul. I even died myself meanwhile. Quite a thorough selection process, as you can see! But how else can one discover good employees?”

Kai stared at him blankly.

Meeting his empty gaze, Sunny raised an eyebrow.

”What? Do you use a different hiring method for the Nightsingers?”

Kai shut his eyes for a moment and asked, his voice lacking all emotion:

”Sunny, can I ask you something?”

Sunny blinked a couple of times.

”Sure. You can.”

Kai breathed in deeply.

”Do you, perhaps, suffer from some kind of mental disorder?”

Sunny frowned.

”What? Of course not.”

When Kai breathed out slowly, he added with a smile:

”Suffering from mental disorders? How common. If anything, mental disorders suffer from me...”

Kai’s eyes trembled.