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.

a powerful alloy blade slid from underneath its barrel, turning the

'Come then, wretches!'

it was that counted as a day in the damned Southern Quadrant. The odds just seemed too slim. The Awakened abominations were bad

of all, a creature that resembled a giant, ancient, rotting carcass of a monstrous deer had just emerged from the Gate, sending the other ghastly beasts into a frenzy. It

and

to run. These bastards are going to learn what humans are capable of! Hell, who knows! Maybe reinforcements will arrive in

line of soldiers, making ranged fire useless. Ash caught a lunging Dormant beast on

'Strong…'

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

the damaged joint of his armor finally gave out, throwing him off balance. The bayonet

helplessly toppled to the ground. Before he could move, sharp fangs closed on his shoulder, easily crushing the tempered alloy of his armor and the complicated internals

am going

and stared at the ugly snout of the

then, the monster's head exploded

It was a black horse carrying a human rider that wore an intricate onyx armor…

Or a demon, perhaps.

the demonic knight continued forward, killing numerous abominations in passing. Suddenly, the

rider and his… hers?... nightmarish steed flew through the mass of rabid creatures, slaughtering one

'The sword…'

The sword he… she?... held was made out of black stone, and broken. Its edge,

Nightmare Creatures, getting closer and closer to the monstrous deer. At some point, the rider gracefully jumped off the black steed's back, soaring high

perceived was a chilling, absolutely inhuman shriek that suddenly rolled across the battlefield, so loud that the auditory systems of

'Gods…'

the ground. The battle was still not over… in fact, it was only starting. Even though Ash would have to struggle to do anything with only one functioning leg and a torn shoulder that reduced the range of motion of his right arm,

Nightmare Creatures. There was no sign of its demonic rider, but judging by the erratic movements of