Chapter 82: —Don't worry be Effie

Sunny, Cassie, and Nephis had just reached the Dark City by scaling its dizzyingly high and colossal outer walls, finding themselves walking along its ancient, crumbling ramparts.

After getting their first panoramic view of the city—finding it teeming with abominations, devoid of any visible Awakened, and entirely lacking a gateway at sight—they spotted a luminous castle in the distance, the very same fortress Cassie had seen in her vision. The three made the unanimous decision to make it their next destination.

Then, right before the entrance of one of the massive gate towers breaking the continuity of the wall, Sunny heard strange, ambiguous noises, like a ferocious beast in the middle of a vicious feast. Unfortunately for him, what awaited him inside was far more dangerous—especially on a psychological level—than any wild animal.

“Sunny, what do you hear?” Nephis asked in a low voice, pressing her back against the wooden door with Cassie standing right behind her.

“Sounds like flesh being torn apart and bones being crushed. There’s something in there. Wait! I’ll send my shadow in to scout,” Sunny replied, crouching down on one knee on the opposite side.

He was giving a warning over nothing, because deep down he already knew precisely who was waiting for them on the other side of that door. However, reality had proven to him time and time again that a preconceived notion rarely survived contact with the truth.

He only needed to look at every single alteration that had occurred so far compared to the original timeline.

‘I’d say I’ve bumped my head hard enough to finally grasp that concept, wouldn’t you?’

<>

Rolling his eyes in sheer boredom, which earned him a puzzled look from Changing Star at his sudden sigh, Sunny detached his shadow, Gloomy, from his body, slipping it beneath the door gap to peer through its perspective.

***

As always, Effie was having a truly great day.

Today’s prey was delightfully plump, with thick, juicy red meat that made her mouth water just looking at it.

‘Oh, yeah, baby!’

Roasting the creature on a spit, the huntress Athena was currently relishing the carcass, enthusiastically filling her stomach.

BUUURP!

A notable pile of gnawed bones had already formed behind her, yet Effie was nowhere near full. It wasn’t an issue, however, as the hunted abomination had possessed enough meat to feed an eight-man squad, and she possessed an appetite to match.

Munch. Munch.

The huntress Athena continued her hearty, uninterrupted feast, tossing bone after bone into the pile behind her.

‘Now, this is living.’

Effie thought, savoring the flavor of the well-cooked meat dancing across her palate.

Compared to the life she had led back in the waking world—permanently chained to a wheelchair, barely able to move an inch, with her days numbered and living in constant dread of taking her next breath… well, a world crawling with creatures straight out of a nightmare didn’t seem so bad after all.

At least here, things were fun.

‘Gods, what kind of absurd anatomy did this thing have to sport so many delicious chops?’

She wondered internally, instantly giving up on finding an answer the moment she took another ravenous bite of the rib she held between her fingers.

“Huh?”

Then, all of a sudden, the huntress’s finely tuned combat instincts flared as she sensed a gaze locked directly onto her.

Effie jerked her head up, swallowing her mouthful in a hurry, wiping her mouth with the back of her arm out of sheer habit, and swiftly reaching for the heavy spear resting comfortably beside her.

“Is someone there?” she called out with a wide grin that looked far from intimidating. “Don’t be shy. Come out to play.”

Her voice practically hummed with hunting zeal, eager for a fresh target to add to her evening menu.

Unfortunately for her, the only thing she found when she stood up and grabbed a burning brand from the campfire to provide some light was a lone, writhing shadow plastered against the wall.

“What the—”

The dark silhouette was stretched out across the stone, moving as if it possessed a life of its own. Yet, there was no sign of the person casting it. Even more creepily, the shadow seemed to be reacting directly to her: it was frantically pressing both of its hands against its eyes, writhing back and forth as though it had just stared straight into the blazing midday sun and was suffering from agonizing burns.

“What the heck are you doing?” Effie asked aloud, the question slipping out instinctively.

Swiveling her head right and left, she continued to search in vain for the owner of the mysterious shadow.

She then lowered her gaze, blinking down at her own voluminous, sweaty, completely naked body.

***

‘Lord, help me!’

Sunny had dropped back to sit cross-legged on the ground, his tendons practically weakening from sheer secondhand embarrassment. One hand was pressed against his forehead, massaging his temples, while the other rested limp across his lap.

‘Of all the possible, imaginable ways I could have expected to meet Raised by Wolves for the first time, I never in a million years predicted she’d be buck naked!’

He had found Effie sitting down to eat, completely stripped of any clothing. A small campfire roasting meat on a spit illuminated her flawless, olive-toned skin, leaving very little to the imagination and putting her thoroughly uninhibited physique on full display. The huntress was smeared with grease and sweat, looking effortlessly captivating despite the absurdity of the situation.

The sight had been so thoroughly sublime and alluring that, in order to force his shadow to look away, Sunny had literally compelled Gloomy to jab two fingers into its own eyes—earning him a fierce, silent stream of mental curses from the poor shade.

“Sunny, what’s wrong? Is it an enemy?” Nephis asked with genuine concern, stepping closer and gently placing a hand on his right shoulder to snap him out of his daze.

Cassie stood right beside her, emerging just from behind her back.

Lifting his chin to meet her light gray eyes, Sunny gave a slow, defeated shake of his head.

“No, Neph. No enemy, just… please, don’t ask. It’s better that way,” Sunny groaned with a heavy sigh.

Then, standing up and brushing past the two girls, he marched straight toward the wooden door and hammered his fist against it.

TOCK. TOCK. TOCK.

“Coming!”

A mature, cheerful feminine voice rang out from deep within the tower.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me! Doesn’t this woman even bother to check whether visitors are friend or foe?!’ Sunny was genuinely baffled by Effie’s utterly carefree attitude.

The heavy door swung open right at that moment, and the instant the huntress’s fully exposed figure came into view, Nephis instinctively lunged forward to cover his eyes with her hands.

‘Of course she didn’t bother putting clothes on!’

Sunny sighed internally.

‘What is with this shameless nudism?! I mean, I’m not complaining, but have a little bit of decorum, woman!’

“Oh, well! I certainly wasn’t expecting guests. Especially not folks dressed to impress,” Effie said with a far too large grin, looking at the three of them, her eyes lingering in particular on Changing Star’s minimalist seaweed bikini.

Her almond-shaped eyes sparkled brightly, as if she had just stumbled upon a fresh batch of prime cuts to feast upon.

“Well, what are you standing out there for? Come on in! Name’s Effie, by the way.”

The huntress stepped aside, gesturing warmly toward the interior of the tower and revealing the stone steps leading downward. To Sunny, those stairs felt less like an entrance and more like a direct pathway straight down to social hell.

Perhaps the trio had no idea yet, but what awaited them inside was destined to be the most terrifying, excruciatingly embarrassing conversation of their entire lives.

The very first of a countless, chaotic many to come.

***

Invited by the huntress to dinner, Sunny, Cassie, and Nephis took their places around the campfire, sitting side by side and directly opposite their host.

After settling down—and thanks to Changing Star’s stubborn persistence—Effie had finally been persuaded to put on some clothing, allowing the sole male in the room to safely open his eyes.

‘Finally!’ Sunny breathed a sigh of immense relief.

<> the Jiminy Cricket reminded him like a proper little schoolmaster. <>

‘Yeah, yeah, I know!’ He rolled his eyes slowly.

Now that he had the chance to actually look at her, Sunny could finally take in a clear picture of Raised by Wolves.

‘I’ll be damned… the novel’s description didn’t do her justice.’

Effie was a tall, muscular young woman with a lean, athletic physique, smooth olive skin completely flawless, almond-shaped eyes, and vibrant brown hair tied in a braid that fell gracefully over her shoulder.

She was stunning, but not in a delicate or demure way. Her beauty radiated a unique, vibrant, and overflowing vitality. The white tunic she wore, reinforced with pieces of golden-bronze armor that clung to her curves, only served to accentuate her voluptuous and shaped figure.

“Like what you see, Doofus?” Effie asked, noticing his steady gaze with a mocking, knowing smirk.

‘Doofus? She doesn’t even know me and she’s already handing out nicknames?’

Sunny narrowed his eyes in feigned boredom at her words, while both Cassie and Nephis shot him pointed looks.

“I do. And you?” he retorted, skillfully flipping the script back on her.

“Mh!” Effie hummed in satisfaction, giving an approving nod.

The huntress proceeded to turn the meat roasting over the fire. The heat of the flame and the savory aroma of the barbecue filled the small room, warming their bodies and relaxing their tense nerves.

“Anyway,” Sunny said, gesturing toward himself. “My name is Sunless, Sunny to my friends. Nice to meet you.”

Right after him, his companions chimed in with their own introductions.

“Cassie.”

“Nephis. Changing Star.”

‘Doofus, Dolly and Silly,’ their host noted internally.

“Pleasure’s all mine, little chicks,” the huntress looked them over one by one, then gave a slight, amused shake of her head. “Wait, a True Name? Not bad at all, sweety!”

Nephis tilted her head slightly. “I’m not the only one. Sunny here also possesses a True Name.”

She glanced at him with the faintest hint of a smile playing on her lips.

“Really?” Effie widened her eyes in sheer disbelief.

With all eyes suddenly fixed on him, Sunny reached up to scratch the back of his neck.

“Yep! Everlasting Gloom. As if we hadn’t just introduced ourselves, nice to meet you too.”

“Yeah, Sunny is truly extraordinary,” Cassie said at that moment, reaching over to grab his hand and interlacing her fingers around his.

Looking down, he noticed that Changing Star was doing the exact same thing on his other side.

‘Uh-oh!’

His heart suddenly skipped a beat—then a second. A cold sweat broke out across his back.

Lifting his gaze, Sunny caught Effie wearing an expression he had previously thought existed only in his worst nightmares.

‘No! Gods, no, please!’

Taking in the full picture of the trio, the huntress opened her mouth and let out a sound of absolute, unadulterated mischief. “Ah… I see!”

She heavily emphasized the final vowel, drawing it out with maximum teasing potential.

‘No, no, no!’

“I imagine it must have been pretty rough for you guys the first time around, am I right?”

The question landed like a final verdict.

To make matters infinitely worse, Nephis decided to answer.

“It was, but thankfully Sunny guided us through it all.”

‘Nephis, what are you—’

A sharp, shrill snort burst from the huntress’s mouth as she struggled mightily to hold back a full-blown fit of laughter.

“Really? Tell me then, is Doofus good with his hands?”

Beside him, Cassie stiffened, instantly comprehending the sheer magnitude of his embarrassment. The blind seer began to blush furiously, ending up pressing herself even closer against the boy’s side to seek protection.

‘Hang in there, Cas, we only have to endure her for… the rest of our lives!’

Sunny seriously debated whether it was time to leave Effie behind as a conduit for the gateway.

Unfortunately for the two of them, Changing Star never learned when to quit.

“He’s very good. I have to admit, I’ve never been so satisf—”

“Nephis, for Spell’s sake, don’t finish that sentence!” He intervened, throwing his hand over her mouth to cut her off abruptly.

Meanwhile, Effie was having the time of her life.

“But it’s true,” Nephis pressed on, freeing her lips from his hand. “You’re so skilled, Sunny. I’ve never seen anyone starting out as talented as you.”

One of Sunny’s eyes twitched violently. ‘No, but—is she doing this on purpose or what?!’

Beside him, Cassie buried her face deep against his arm, letting out a mortified squeak as she fervently wished the stone floor would open up and swallow her whole.

‘You know what?’ Sunny told himself, his expression hardening with reckless defiance. ‘If I’m going down with this ship, I’m taking the rest of the passengers with me.’

Sunny slapped his thigh with one hand. “Really, Neph? Coming from you? What about all those nights I was used as a sleeping pillow and sucked dry—we gonna just ignore those?”

He stated clearly, deliberately omitting the word “hunt” at the end of the first clause to maximize the misunderstanding.

Changing Star tilted her head in genuine wonder. “I never drained you to the brink of death, Sunny. At most, I might have worn you out, but I’ve certainly never seen you dehydrated.”

“That’s because we took periodic breaks, but during the night I was constantly under attack.”

He elaborated, neatly sidestepping the tactical definition of the nocturnal skirmishes.

At that, Nephis took it personally. “I never attacked you, Sunless!” She frowned deeply.

Sunny raised a single, highly skeptical eyebrow in response.

She sighed. “Okay, fine! I tackled you to the ground and pinned you down the very first time we met in the Dream Realm, but that’s only because I woke up and found you hovering right over me!”

“NEPH! SUNNY! PLEASE, JUST STOP!”

Cassie cried out, lifting her head with a face as red as a ripe tomato.

The poor blind seer’s fragile heart simply could not take anymore.

“Ahahahahah!!!”

Unable to hold it in a single moment longer, Effie rolled backward onto the floor, roaring with laughter.

Grotesque, booming peals of laughter echoed through the stone tower, coming straight from the bottom of her lungs.

Once she finally managed to catch her breath, the three of them managed to properly explain their actual situation to the huntress.

“Well, I gotta say—spending over a month surviving out there in that labyrinth is no small feat,” Effie nodded in genuine approval. “Impressive!”

Judging by the rich, savory aroma flooding the room, the meat roasting over the campfire was finally done.

“Thanks, Effie. Now, if you don’t mind, could you point us toward the exit so we can return to the waking world?” Sunny asked, though internally he was already bracing himself: ‘I suppose now she’s going to launch into a full explanation about the Dark City’s political hierarchy and why we’re all trapped here.’

“Sure, no problem at all. Just head over to the Crimson Spire and use the gateway you’ll find right at the top,” the huntress nodded nonchalantly, scratching her armpit with absolute casualness while continuing to cook with her other hand.

“Oh, great. No, because—”

A dull, buzzing whine reminiscent of a broken old television set losing its signal suddenly reverberated inside his brain.

“WHAT THE—”

—–

Finally, one of the moments I dreaded writing the most: the first meeting with Effie.

To be honest, I never expected to make it this far, but I’m glad I did.

Now, let’s see how much further we can go as our next milestone.

If there are any typos or alike, please let me know.

Thanks for reading, see you next chapter!

Read also:

–Shadow Slave: No Rest for the Wicked;

–Shadow Slave: Corrupted files.