Shadow Slave

Three more people gone, and zero new clues were found. This time, the vanished were not Awakened. One was a mundane soldier, one was a scientist, and one was a member of the civilian support staff. They did not have anything particular in common, no thread that connected them together or to the first victim. All three vanished from different locations, and had been last seen at different times.

Sunny and Verne silently investigated their living quarters, the areas they had been known to frequent in the settlement, and their last known locations. They did not find anything.

In the process, both of them grew more and more somber.

...At some point, Sunny threw a suspicious look at the other Master. What did he really know about Verne? Verne was a local of Antarctica, a career serviceman with a stellar record, a competent fighter, and a leader that was loved and respected by his men. His Aspect centered around heat transference and physical augmentation.

Not exactly something that could have been used to dispose of bodies... but then again, who said that it had to be done with an Aspect Ability?

Almost at the same time, Verne suddenly glanced at Sunny with his usual stoic expression. His eyes, however, were cold and heavy.

"I heard that you have a spatial storage Memory."

Sunny looked at him darkly.

"...So what if I do?"

Verne held his gaze for a few long moments, then turned away with a sigh.

"This is not good."

Sunny had to agree.

If the two of them were already paranoid enough to suspect each other, then the rest of the installation residents had to really be on edge.

A bit of vigilance was never a bad thing, but with how pressured people already felt, one additional burden could become a spark that had the potential to cause a violent explosion.

He sighed.

have to... be ready

gave him a

"What kind of measures?"

stared at him

...He was so tired.

"Whatever kind that works."

remained silent for

and sleep-deprived, they will remain disciplined. The civilians, however... that might be a challenge. However, the best way to resolve this

few moments. Eventually, he

let's hope

they moved to the next item on the

all three victims were mundanes. That meant that they had been assigned a partner by the updated safety protocols that

And yet, they had.

day, but

away to concentrate on servicing

victims had been acting strangely or revealed any discomfort prior to their vanishing. There was simply nothing for Sunny

grew darker

inside the settlement. One was a scientist that had reported symptoms of being infected by the Spell a day prior, was confined to a secure room in the installation's medical

preventing the repeat

that he stole a batch of military stimulants from the same medical center. Inevitably, these stimulants, developed for Awakened soldiers, had put too much strain on his body.

and Verne received the report about the deaths

room, where

gritted

a bit suffocating,