Shadow Slave: Monochrome

The Chimera Mass moved first, with its whole body shifting and grumbling in order to fire several more of its fleshy tentacles, all sharpened like spears. They all flew straight towards the Night Sleeper, who didn't react in the slightest up until the very last moment.

Bob who was silently observing, watched the battle patiently. His fate and existence rested on its outcome after all, but the things he saw next were all but a blur. Literally.

Night Sleepers movements were so quick, he thought he saw 4 of them all fighting in unison. Each tearing and ripping apart the tentacles that came flying towards it in a single strike, relying only on the sharpness of its claws.

By the end, a pile of flesh tendrils had formed around it, but even then, the Chimera Mass did not give up. 

The tendril pile shifted, all fusing with each other before rising to form a cage around the Night Sleeper. Of course it did not sit still. It began to cut away at it, stripping the cage into ribbons, but much like how water quickly filled any empty space that it could, the flesh cage just sewed itself back up the moment the Night Sleepers claws tore through it.

The Chimera Mass was especially resistant to physical attacks. Unless it suffered from an injury like the anti heal properties of Ki Song's Dormant ability, or the explosive shock from the Silverbacks roar, it was near unkillable.

So against the Night sleeper who was only capable of cutting, it was at an advantageous match up.

The walls shuddered, warm and wet, slick with blood and sinew. It ripped through muscle, tore through tissue, and peeled back layers of living meat, but no matter how deep it clawed, the wounds sealed behind him, knitting itself closed with a sickening squelch.

Of course, the Chimera Mass wasn't just going to leave it like this either. If left to its own devices, the Night Sleeper would just break out eventually. It controlled the fleshy prison, manipulating it to form several spikes on the inside, transforming the coffin into a iron maiden.

All at once they skewered the Night Sleeper trapped inside, and after a while, it stopped moving completely.

'Is it dead?'

The Iron Maiden was torn to shreds in an instant, reduced to mere fibres that blew in the wind. It tired to reform, but the Night Sleeper had already left, leaving behind only a blur. It shot towards the Chimera Mass, carving a tunnel straight through its body as it flung through one side and exited the next.

Its body was riddled with holes, but it didn't bleed. Instead, a strange black fog seeped out of its wounds but it didn't hinder its movements one bit. In fact, it was maybe even faster, and certainly more agitated.

It dashed right back into it, tearing at the Chimera Masses flesh yet again, but already it was starting to regenerate.

This time however, it did something rather sinister. Opening whatever it had that resembled a jaw, it sunk its blackened teeth right into the Chimera Mass, before tearing away at its flesh and then swallowing that piece whole.

Shaken, the Mass summoned and wrapped another one of its tentacles around the Night sleepers leg, but the creature instantly noticed and severed it in two, devouring that as well.

The Mass tried to shake it off, but the sleeper only clung tighter, sinking its claws even deeper for support before gnashing at it once more.

The Mass tried to control the pieces of itself that the Night Sleeper had consumed, but there was nothing.

The Mass tried to run, but the Sleeper simply followed.

It was being eaten alive, and there was nothing it could do about it.

**

Scattered across the ground lay bits and pieces of thin lines of flesh, strewn in uneven patches. Some were still twitching, as if echoing the last spasms of a thing violently unmade, while the very being responsible for that violence stood in the centre of it all.

The Night sleeper observed its wonderful works, quickly catching sight of small clump trying to escape. Quickly, it snatched it from the ground before tossing it in its mouth.

Bob was ecstatic,

'It won? Eyyy it won!!'

The Night Sleeper then turned its head to Epsilon, before slowly walking up towards him. Despite its wounds, it didn't even stumble or struggle. It was calm, and willing to take its time.

'Oh no! It Won!'

It was then Bob realized, that it had simply changed its target. Now that the Chimera Mass was dead, nothing could distract it from eating Epsilon.

Walking over to him, the Night sleeper grabbed him by the neck, picking him up. He brought his blood soaked face right towards his own, getting a strange but good look at the boy. For a moment, it seemed to be contemplating what to do.

'???'

Bob was confused by this behaviour too, but it looked like he second guessed himself when the fiend opened its jaws, and shoved Epsilons head right inside.

"Hey! Wait! Don't do that, you'll get a stomach cramp! Trust me, he tastes like outdated corn soup! In fact! Isn't your throat dry from that big buffet you just had? Why don't you go take a sip of water at that very faraway lake instead? Please? Pretty please? PLEASE!!!"

Rather than taking a bite out of him there and then, it just spat Epsilons head out before tossing the boy back at the stone formation. It then scratched his cheek a little, taking a small sip of his blood before turning towards the forest.

There it heard the sound of its next victim. The Silverback who was still massacring the last of the chimeras with its pack.

Smiling, the Night Sleeper rushed onwards.

"It.. worked?!"

Did it somehow hear him begging for mercy? It was truly a divine miracle that could only be performed by his kingly qualities.

Still though, there was another issue.

"The damn contract!"

He was relying on it to force Epsilon to go back, but now that the danger had been averted and the Night Sleeper had no interest in him, Epsilon had no reason to sign it anymore.

"No! NO! WAKE UP ALREADY YOU... humble customer!"

Looking at the shattered remains of Smile Of Heavens sword, Bob could faintly feel a soul dwelling inside of each piece. Despite how terribly fragmented she was, the girl was somehow still alive, although barely.

In truth, she did not have much time left, unless Bob were to exercise some of his authority. However, that was impossible right now. He needed a conduit in order to do so, and currently the best candidate for that was..

'...whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy did I have to be stuck with this guy???'

As it despaired over its situation, it suddenly heard bushes rustling close by. Turning its spiritual body towards it, Bob prepared to attack even though there was nothing it could do.

But rather than feeling distressed at what came out, he was overcome by a wave of relief, and then confusion.

"It's you! Wait, whose that?"