Shadow Slave

They did not spend too much time trying to come up with a detailed plan. Firstly, because the Nightmare Creatures could have discovered the Irregulars at any moment. Secondly, because no plan they could come up with would have been reliable.

There was just too little information at their disposal. Without knowing what the Tyrant, the few Devils serving it, and the lesser soldiers of the stone hive were capable of, what was the point of creating rigid strategies?

The battle ahead was going to be decided by raw power, resolve, and ability to swiftly adapt to changing circumstances.

Luckily, the Irregulars had more than enough power at their disposal. With three elite Masters and an actual Saint leading them, there was hardly a more fearsome human force in the Antarctic Center.

Would that power be enough, though?

They were going to find out soon...

'How did I end up here?

Creeping up the slope of the mountain with a morose expression, Sunny bitterly remembered his dreams of becoming a rich, decadent, cowardly shop owner. What was he doing on a continent drowning in Nightmare Gates, preparing to battle a Corrupted Tyrant and its army?

He could have been relaxing in the hot springs of a luxurious spa with a a bunch of beauties right now... that was what rich people did, right?

Instead, Sunny hid behind a tall boulder, shivered in the cold, and glanced at the handful of people pressing against rocks around him. Sure, there were plenty of beauties among them, as well.. ah, but it wasn't the same...

It couldn't be more different, really.

'...Damn!'

was still a good stretch of the mountain slope remaining until the peak. That high, the air was not devoid of oxygen yet, but it surely tasted different. None of the Awakened would be hindered by the slight hypoxia or suffer from the high-altitude illness,

watched as Saint Tyris calmly walked forward. A swarm of sparks surrounded her hand, and then coalesced into a long javelin. At the same time, Winter summoned a strange silver bow and two arrows. She nocked one on the

insects wandered to the edge of a protruding rock outcropping and froze, its long antennae twitching in

Sunny frowned.

think... I

last step, raised her javelin... and silently threw

throw caused the snow around Saint Tyris to be cleared away by the gale of crushing wind.

accelerated toward the peak with terrifying speed. It streaked across the sky like a radiant star, and then collided against

chitin did not shatter,

The javelin shattered instead.

Tyris tilted her head a little, Winter shot an arrow almost straight up. It flew into the sky and then exploded with brilliant radiance,

Creatures hiding behind the

their bodies into tight spheres. Hundreds of these spheres then rolled down, approaching the hiding Irregulars like with terrible

felt his heart

to actual rock, it seemed as if the mountain itself was falling on

And that wasn't all.

opened its maw, disgorging a cloud of darkness from it. The cloud flowed down like an avalanche of volcanic ash, swallowing the figures of rolling drones as

"Bad!"

screaming that inhaling,