Shadow Slave

Sunny remained on the southern wall for two days, silently staring at the ocean. In the meantime, thirty-six people vanished. Some of them were Awakened, and some of them were mundane. Despite safety measures growing more and more draconian, Verne had failed to prevent the disappearances. It was all futile.

And deeply, eerily frightening.

The stern Master came to talk to Sunny at some point, but left more frustrated than he had been before.

The fortress withstood another attack from a transient swarm of Nightmare Creatures. Just like the previous one, it came from the north. This time, Sunny did not participate in the battle, choosing instead to remain where he was. There were a few casualties.

The Awakened soldiers were all exhausted after remaining awake for more than a week. The stimulant patches were gradually losing their effectiveness. The mundane soldiers were better rested, but much more disturbed. They were all wary of the Nightmare Spell.

The civilians... were both exhausted and afraid. They had not been trained to withstand this kind of stress, and the seemingly unknowable nature of the vanishings was pushing them to the verge of panic. If not for the sense of order established and enforced by Verne's protocols and the hope of the Aridane's nearing arrival, they would have come completely undone by now.

The rescue ship was supposed to arrive in three or four days.

...Sunny silently looked at the water, deep in thought.

Hearing light steps, he glanced sideways and saw Beth, who was shivering in the cold as she approached him.

"Hey... Master Sunless."

He frowned.

"Hey."

The young woman looked at him silently for a while, then gritted her teeth.

"What are you doing? You've been stuck on this wall for days! You even ignored the last attack!"

Sunny tilted his head a little. When he responded, his voice sounded a bit strange:

"I'm investigating."

stared at

and expect me to believe that it's all a part of the investigation? Please! Both you and Verne have turned out to be completely useless! So many people are gone, and the two of you failed to produce even a tiny

them moved to let her pass, not paying any attention as the woman silently climbed over the

of a body hitting the rocks down below and shook

"Believe what you want."

glowered at him for a bit,

need to persevere for a few more days, until help arrives. But... you promised to protect the Professor. And yet, you left him alone to sit on this

can she be? Professor this, professor that... can't that girl think about herself for once?

He rolled his eyes.

been watching Professor Obel and you twenty-four hours a

She blinked.

"Uh... what? How?"

Sunny scoffed.

gaze follows. One of them had been keeping an eye on the Professor, so... how do you

him for a bit. Then, suddenly,

day? What kind

Sunny palmed his face.

Get over yourself. Do you think I have time to spy on mundane girls while all this crap is going on? The

and jumped down. Neither of them spared them a single look, although Sunny

to say something, then closed it again. After a long pause, she finally forced out

I guess I'll

Sunny nodded.

"Alright."

he suddenly called out to

know my soldiers? There's a big guy called Dorn. Can you ask

away, hoping to get away from the cold as soon as possible. Sunny

and returned some time later carrying recording equipment. These cameras were a

installed the cameras on the wall and stared at the screen of the terminal

more day passed. Twenty

while Sunny and Dorn were studying the recordings, they didn't seem to notice