Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

The initial several weeks of the Antarctica campaign were the most intense... at least for now. The divisions of the First Army steadily moved south, fighting through the swiftly growing swarms of Nightmare Creatures and establishing strategic encampments along the way. These encampments were going to serve as the transit points of the evacuation networks soon.

Moving through them, all the population of the Antarctic Center was going to be relocated to the siege capitals to await eventual salvation. The same thing, only on a much larger scale, was happening in East Antarctica, where most people of the Southern Quadrant lived.

As days went by, the Chain of Nightmares grew more rampant, with it came the effect on the mundane humans.

The Chain of Nightmares increased the rate of Gate manifestations manifold, and that rate, terribly, spread to mundane humans as well. Not only was there an anomalously high amount of young people falling prey to the Spell in Antarctica, but also - for the first time in half a century - people outside the usual age of infestation started to succumb to the First Nightmares en masse, as well.

Raphael looked at the night sky, this night was going to last for many months, and in this night many human will die.

He was now walking with his cohort through the encampment of the First Evacuation army, their armor covered in dents and painted by the blood of the Nightmare Creatures they had recently killed, will he was the only one wearing a suit, as an emperor how could he show himself in mannerless way.

The tense and tired soldiers hurried to get out of their way, throwing intense looks at the Irregulars.

"Look, it's the Devils! They're here."

"Thank the gods..."

Raphael sighed hearing the soldiers, in these weeks a lot of people were known in the campaign but four people stood out from the rest… The Soul Reaper, The Devil of Antarctica, The Guardian Angel of Antarctica, and The Fallen Angel of Blood.

And yeah he was the last just hearing the name Raphael shrugged in cringe.

'How did they even thought of such name?'

Shaking his head, Raphael looked ahead and caught a glimpse of the Rhino.

Walking behind Sunny he climbed into the Rhino.

Sunny glanced at Kim.

"Status?"

She studied her military communicator.

"Army Command designated this camp as a green zone. Last check was thirteen minutes ago."

He nodded. A green zone was one with no Gates close enough to affect the Dream Realm anchors of the Awakened. People could sleep safely within its confines.

"Okay. Quentin, tend to Dorn. Kimmy, Luster, Samara, and Belle - enjoy the first sleep shift. I'll stand watch until you guys return."

They nodded and soon disappeared inside the sleeping pods. Quentin got busy dealing with Dorn's injury, using both his Aspect and an extensive medkit. Sunny, meanwhile, walked over to the command and communication suite and sat behind a console.

Raphael looked at Sunny and asked:

"Captain, why don't take some rest it been weeks since you took a break."

"I'm fine you don't have to worry."

'You are absolutely not fine.'

Raphael walked to the coffee machine to make one for him and Sunny.

Almost simultaneously, the symbol of an incoming communication appeared on the console's screen.

'Fucking hell, couldn't they give us a break!'

Raphael sighed and continued making the coffee.

A moment later, a familiar face appeared on the screen. Despite the pressure of leading the First Irregular Company into the meat grinder of the Southern Quadrant campaign, Master Jet looked relaxed and at ease. Like she always did...

Soul Reaper flashed him a bright smile.

"Hey, Sunny. How is it going?"

He simply nodded.

"We cleared that Fallen nest. Dorn was wounded, though. He'll need a few days to recover."

From behind Raphael came and give a glass of coffee to Sunny. Sunny took the glass and thanked him.

Master Jet grinned and waved her hand in front of the camera. In it was a strange charm... no, actually, it was just a mundane... piece of jewelry? The thing looked like a golden circle with four stars engraved on it, beautiful filigree surrounding them, and a purple ribbon attached to the top.

'What the hell is that?"

Noticing his confusion, she shook her head.

"Gods, Sunny. Don't you know what that thing is? This is the Transcendent Star of Valor! The highest military decoration once can receive. It's your medal, fool. I finally managed to get the Army Command to issue it."

Sunny blinked.

"Oh. That's... great."

Master Jet let out an exasperated sigh.

"... It comes with a very sizable contribution point reward, too."

Instantly, his expression livened.

"Oh! That's great!"

"What about me?" Raphael asked.

"There is nothing for you, if you want you can ask the old man to give you one." Jet replied.

"It took some convincing to make happen. Anyway, I'll hold on to it until we meet in person. About that... plans changed a little, so you'll have to complete one more mission before that happens. Ah, but don't worry. This one is a calm one, so your man will have plenty of time to recover."

'Calm my ass.' Raphael thought.

He already know what was going to happen and he really isn't looking forward to it.

Raphael sighed and looked back at the screen.

"Your mission is to reach the installation, secure the VIP currently residing there, and bring him back to the nearest siege capital. There is a garrison of local Awakened commanded by a Master at the installation, too. They will be responsible for evacuating the regular staff and scientists. You can choose to go back on your own, but... that would be a jerk move, considering that they are expecting reinforcements to help them make the journey."

Sunny thought for a bit, then nodded.

"Sounds easy."

'..Yeah, no way. Something bad is definitely going to happen.'

'Believe me Sunny it's not easy…'

Master Jet smiled.

"It does, doesn't it? In any case, after that is done, we will probably remain within the walls of siege capitals for a long time, and finally have time to rest. Good luck!"

————————————————————

It's been four days since they left camp and started their journey to LO49.

Raphael looked at Kimmy and sighed, they couldn't contact the research facility nor could they communicate the Army Command.

Form the back of the Rhino Sunny came out, Raphael looked at him and said:

"Captain, we have a problem we can't communicate the research facility."

"Contact Army Command then, ask them for an update on the installation's status." Sunny replied.

"We couldn't do that either."

Sunny remained silent for a few moments.

"So we're completely cut off from everyone? Is it because of the blizzard?"

Kim who was beside Raphael hesitated.

"I can't say, sir. A simple blizzard is not supposed to mess with the signal so much."

Sunny rubbed his face.

'That doesn't sound good...'

After half an hour Raphael saw a facility from the projectors of the Rhino.

The facility looked more like a small fortress settlement than a scientific base. It was perched dangerously close to the ocean shore, and had a thick wall surrounding it, with powerful turrets aiming at the dark waves. There was a large dome-like structure towering above the formidable fortress, painted white on the backdrop of the black sky. It resembled a giant, perfectly smooth egg.

Reaching the facility, the turrets above the gates moved, taking aim at the approaching APC. Powerful spotlights ignited on the wall, cutting through the snow and flooding the immediate area with stark light.

The Rhino drove to the fleet of transport vehicles and parked nearby. At the same time, the heavy gates of the fortress opened, and a lone human figure walked into the blizzard.

With a sigh, Sunny opened the hatch of the Rhino and climbed out into the cold.

He walked forward and studied the stranger.

The man was tall. strong, and looked to be around forty. He was dressed in a black bodysuit similar to one Sunny wore, with an unzipped parka resting on top of it. He had dark hair and calm, intelligent eyes. There was a composed expression on his stern and weary face.

Overall, everything about the stranger spoke of experience and discipline.

Sunny stopped a few steps away and gave him a nod.

"I am Ascended Sunless, captain of the First Irregular Company of the Evacuation Army. You should have been informed of our arrival."

The tall man lingered for a few moments, studying him, then returned his nod.

"I am Ascended Verne."

He offered his hand to Sunny and said in a steady voice:

"..Welcome to LO49, Master Sunless."

———————————————————

Raphael stood near the coast watching the sea in front of him.

After 10 minutes Raphael sighed and entered LO49, walking the hallways he found Sunny walking with Master Verne.

Joining them they walked toward the sleeping pods.

In front of him the sleeping pods came to life, announcing that the people occupying them were waking up.

Samara, Kim, and Luster returned almost at the same time. They climbed out of the pods and put on their clothes with dark expressions on their faces.

At that moment, Luster blurted:

"Captain, sir! Bad... it's really bad!"

Sunny looked at him darkly.

"...I gathered as much. Speak."

The three Awakened looked at each other. Eventually, it was Kim who addressed the Masters:

"The situation is still unclear, but there was some sort of earthquake, followed by the manifestation of multiple Category Three Gates. There were also several titans that emerged. The three Saints fought one of them above the strait between West Antarctica and the Center... and then, communications across all the Southern Quadrant went down. By the time we left the Citadel, people were still trying to understand what happened."

Sunny's face darkened. All of that sounded very troublesome. It seemed that the Chain of Nightmares had reached a qualitative change, plunging Antarctica in chaos.

"What about our orders? Have you heard from Colonel Jet?"

Samara spoke in a subdued tone:

"She did pass on instructions, sir."

'Well, at least something went well.'

Judging by the heavy gazes of his subordinates, however, he would not like what they were about to say.

Master Verne frowned as he looked at the beautiful sharpshooter.

"Well? What does Army Command want us to do?"

Samara sighed.

"The region between this installation and the nearest siege capital is judged to be too dangerous to traverse. All the Antarctic Center is affected, but its southern edge was seemingly hit the worst. So... we can't go back. The previous evacuation plan was scrapped."

Raphael looked at Samara and asked:

"Are they planning to evacuate us using the sea?"

"Yes… Although evacuation by land seems to be impossible at the moment, the naval convoy that delivered us to Antarctica is already on the way back to pick up the second batch of refugees. One of the vessels, battleship Ariadne, is going to be rerouted to the southern edge of the Antarctic Center. If all goes well, it will reach us in two to three weeks. We are ordered to fortify LO49's defenses and await its arrival."

Verne let out a relieved sigh.

"I see. Three weeks... that should be doable."

Raphael sighed and walked out of the room, he knew that the ship will be destroyed and no one will come.

The only way was to evacuate now, but that would be impossible since there was no evidence.

A few days passed in relative peace. and then a week. The news coming from the north were still strangely vague and fragmented.

Then. however, that peace was spoiled by a sudden and dangerous development.

———————————————————

Raphael wielded his greatsword, cutting down every abomination around him. Half an hour ago, a Category Three gate had manifested.

Now, all the Awakened and the three Masters were engaged in battle. Two Corrupted abominations stood out — one, the guardian, was a Demon, while the other was a Monster.

The honor of slaying the Monster had been given to Raphael. As for the Demon, that task belonged to his captain, Sunny.

With his ability [Seer], Raphael predicted every attack, dodging effortlessly.

Raising his greatsword, he swung it with precision, cleaving nearby enemies in two.

Once the lesser abominations lay defeated, Raphael advanced toward the Corrupted Monster.

He unsummoned his greatsword and raised his hand. Claws of blood emerged from his fingers, gleaming in the dim light.

Fixing his gaze on the Monster, Raphael dashed forward.

Not only was he a Titan, but he also used his ability to enhance his speed, moving like a crimson blur across the battlefield.

In mere seconds, he closed the distance, slashing at the Monster's abdomen.

The creature barely had time to react, swinging its massive hand where Raphael had been moments before.

Seizing the opportunity, Raphael kicked the Monster's leg with enough force to bring it crashing to its knees.

He followed up with a savage uppercut, his claws piercing through the Monster's armor, driving deep into its skull.

The Monster went still.

Raphael withdrew his bloodied claws, letting the lifeless body slump to the ground.

Looking back across the battlefield, he saw no sign of the Demon. It seemed Sunny had already taken care of the guardian.

As Raphael began walking back, his sharp eyes caught a small figure darting away — a tiny Scavenger, missing two fingers, fleeing from the chaos.

Raphael smirked. He knew exactly who this imp was. How could he not? He had laughed countless times reading about him in the novel.

Letting the imp go, Raphael decided not to interfere. Messing with Sunny's fate wasn't something he was willing to risk.

With a sigh, Raphael turned and made his way back to the facility.

————————————————————

Raphael was now standing on coast watching the sea just like a week before, but this time is different there was a gate deep in the ocean.

Raphael clicked his teeth and walked back into the facility.

A day passed and Raphael is now standing on the coast, behind him was a man wearing a soldier uniform was walking aimlessly to the ocean.

Raphael didn't stop the man, and let him go to his death.

There was nothing he can do, if he stopped the man the Corrupted Terror will be angry and will kill every living being in the facility.

He looked back and entered the facility.

————————————————————

One week passed and the moon was gone, but Sunny and Dorn were still on the wall overseeing the ocean.

Standing there, Sunny looked at the dark waves, then at the screen showing the feed from the cameras... then back at the cold black water.

Finally, he scratched the back of his head, pulled the memory storage device from the terminal and turned to Dorn.

"... We're done here. Let's go."

Not waiting for a response. he turned around and headed in the direction of the security center. As Sunny walked through the settlement, many people looked at him. Some of them seemed frightened, some of them seemed angry. Some were simply numb.

Everyone was exhausted.

Arriving at the security center. Sunny found Verne and Professor Obel sitting in silence with dark, tired expressions on their faces. The old man looked even more fragile and ancient than usual.

Sunny placed the memory storage on the table in front of them.

Verne stared at it for a moment. then looked up. "Why are you here?"

Sunny sat down and rubbed his hands together to warm them. A dark. ominous smile appeared on his lips.

"..My investigation is complete. I know why people are vanishing."

————————————————————

Raphael stood near the dark beach like every day.

From behind, Sunny walked toward Raphael and stood beside him.

"Captain, did you find why people were vanishing?"

Sunny looked at Raphael and replied:

"Yes… when did you know?"

Raphael smiled and said:

"From when it started."

Sunny gritted his teeth and spoke:

"Then why didn't you stop it? Why did you let people die?!"

"I didn't stop it so that people can live… If I stopped them, the Corrupted Terror would be angered and kill everyone here."

"If he wasn't taking his time killing everybody, we would have already died a long time ago."

Sunny glanced at Raphael and spoke with anger:

"Then why didn't you tell me?!"

"I did… I told everyone, but they forgot everything after a few seconds."

"Captain… if you're waiting for the Ariadne to help us, then we're all going to die. The Ariadne will not come."

With this, Raphael walked back to the facility.

————————————————————

Two days passed, and just like in the novel, Sunny found the Ariadne shipwreck deep in the ocean.

Raphael was inside the Rhino. After a few minutes, Sunny came with Professor Obel and his assistant, Beth.

They entered the Rhino and closed the hatch. While Beth looked around with subdued curiosity, Luster sent the heavy vehicle moving.

The sentries had already been informed by Verne, so they opened the gate and allowed the Irregulars to drive through.

Raphael, who was sitting on the couch, whispered to himself.

"Mohg…"

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Make sure to save them all. Don't let anyone die."

"As you command."

Raphael leaned back and closed his eyes.

————————————————————

Master Verne watched the Rhino enter the blizzard. He turned away and walked back to the facility.

Suddenly, a crack sounded. He looked back and saw the space around him splitting.

The cracking continued, creating what seemed to be a portal.

From the portal, a man emerged. He had black hair, red eyes, and wore a black robe with red accents.

Master Verne looked at the man in fear. Just being near him made Verne feel the urge to submit.

"You must be Master Verne. I was sent by the Emperor to deliver you salvation. Come with me, and all the people here shall live. Stay, and you will die by the Corrupted Terror. Choose, Master Verne, and remember: hundreds of lives are in your hands."

Master Verne looked at the man, then at the ocean. He remembered what Master Sunless said about the destruction of the Ariadne, but he still hoped for a miracle.

Master Verne gritted his teeth and spoke:

"We… will come with you."

The man nodded his head and said:

"You have made the right decision. Now bring the others and come with me."

Master Verne nodded, and after a few minutes, all the residents of LO49 entered the portal.

————————————————————

Sunny inhaled deeply and looked at the others.

"The Call is not too strong here. It should be condition green, so... congratulations, guys. You can finally rest."

Despite their unease and doubts, his soldiers reacted to that statement with visible excitement. They, too, were on the verge of collapse from fatigue and exhaustion.

"Luster, Kim, and Dorn. You guys sleep first. The other three, keep watch and take care of our guests."

They nodded, already knowing their roles.

"Yes, sir! But... uh... Captain, what about you?"

Sunny looked at Belle with a dark expression.

"...I have something to do."

He headed for the exit hatch. Beth tried to get in his way with a question, but he simply looked at her, and the young woman suddenly backed away.

Exiting the Rhino, Sunny walked into the blizzard, and then summoned the Nightmare. His loyal steed rose from the shadows, its eyes burning with dreadful crimson flames. Jumping into the saddle, Sunny sent it galloping through the snow.

He left one shadow to stand guard near the Rhino, of course.

He flew back south, summoning the closed featureless helmet of the Undying Chain to protect himself from the cutting wind. His shadow sense spread outward, replacing sight that was useless in the furious snowstorm.

Stopping at the very edge of Shadow Control's range, Sunny remained in the saddle, and sent another shadow forward. It slid south with tremendous speed, and eventually reached the walls of the facility.

There were formidable turrets on them, powerful spotlights flooding the immediate vicinity of the fortress with light, snowflakes dancing in the wide beams. The gates that the Rhino had left no more than an hour ago were tightly shut. A fleet of transport vehicles was parked in front of it, covered in snow, their initial purpose long forgotten.

The blizzard obscured the world, and for a moment - just like when he had first arrived - Sunny felt a pang of fear. It was as though the whole facility was empty, with only ghosts populating its streets.

...Only, this time, his fear came true.

There was no one standing watch on the walls. No soldiers patrolled the deserted streets. The buildings stood empty, with screens still showing recordings of entertainment programs, food laying on the plates, and coffee growing cold in the mugs.

But there were no people.

There were no scientists in the research laboratory, and no officers in the security center. The feed of the functioning security cameras showed no movement throughout the whole settlement.

The doors of the living quarters where the civilians had been confined were still locked. but there was no one inside. There were no signs of struggle, and no fresh footprints in the snow covering the ground outside.

Everything was just... still.

Fourteen hundred people had disappeared into thin air. They seemed to have simply vanished. like they had never existed at all.

...Many kilometers away, Sunny looked at the southern wall of the fortress through the eyes of his shadows. He felt compelled to send the shadow forward, and gaze at the dark ocean once more.

But in the end. with a shiver, he decided against it.

Soon, the shadow returned. Wrapping it around his body, Sunny commanded Nightmare to turn around, and rode into the blizzard without looking back.

Maybe he did not want to...

And maybe he simply did not dare.

————————————————————

3,683 words this is the longest chapter I've ever written. Will I hope that I summarized the LO49 arc good.

Anyway see you tomorrow👋