Shadow Slave

A soldier named Ash was not having a great day. Early into the battle, his powerful exoskeleton armor suit sustained damage to one of its knee joints. Although he could still fight and shoot his rifle, not to mention more than willing to face the abominations despite having his mobility severely reduced, the command judged that the risk was not worth it.

As a result, he had to abandon his fellow infantrymen and retreat to the supply train of the division, where a team of techs tried to repair his suit as fast as possible.

…Sadly, they weren't fast enough.

Who knew that a bunch of new Gates would open, with one of them appearing almost on top of the scarcely defended supply train?

While the techs and other non-combatants desperately tried to retreat closer to the main formation, Ash and a small number of soldiers that happened to be nearby had no choice but to face the advancing Nightmare Creatures alone.

They unleashed a torrent of bullets at the monsters, but there were just too many of them. Even when he emptied his shoulder-mounted launcher to send a hail of miniature rockets into the mass of rabid abominations, the surprisingly potent explosive load his missiles carried failed to make any difference.

He had managed to slaughter a number of Dormant bastards with that salvo, but those of them that were Awakened…

You needed an Awakened to kill another Awakened. All mundane soldiers knew that, more or less.

Slowly, Ash's blood turned cold in his veins.

'Bad, bad, bad…'

An officer's shout reached his ears through the communication system of the armor suit, barely legible because of all the distortion produced by the mass of Gates:

"...tach… bayonets!"

Attach bayonets…

That was the order that every soldier dreaded.

pressed a button on the side of his rifle. A moment later, a powerful alloy blade slid from underneath its barrel, turning the weapon into an

'Come then, wretches!'

a day in the damned Southern Quadrant. The odds just seemed too slim. The

had just emerged from the Gate, sending the other ghastly beasts into a frenzy.

and

give the supply guys time to run. These bastards are going to learn what humans are capable of! Hell, who knows!

thin line of soldiers, making ranged fire useless. Ash caught a

'Strong…'

exoskeleton ignited, pushing him forward. Ash sliced through the flesh of the revolting creature,

off balance. The bayonet slid off the hide of the Awakened monster

move, sharp fangs closed on his shoulder, easily crushing the tempered alloy of his armor and the complicated

I am going

and stared at the ugly snout of the monster that was going to kill him, his

then, the monster's head exploded into bloody

visage out of a nightmare flashed past him. It was a black horse carrying a human rider that wore an intricate onyx armor… at

Or a demon, perhaps.

had crushed the Nightmare Creature's head. Without ever slowing down, the demonic knight continued

steed flew through the mass

'The sword…'

was made out of

closer and closer to the monstrous deer. At some point, the rider gracefully jumped off the black steed's

a chilling, absolutely inhuman shriek that suddenly rolled across the battlefield, so loud that the auditory systems of his exosuit failed to filter the

'Gods…'

in fact, it was only starting. Even though Ash would have to struggle to do anything with

black horse rampaging among the Nightmare Creatures. There was no sign of its demonic rider, but judging by the erratic