Shadow Slave

Sunny had been relying on Army Command to keep him alive for about half a year now, but weirdly enough, he had never been to the actual headquarters of the Evacuation Army.

To be fair, Army Command had no definite location. It was spread across many siege capitals, strongholds, and even continents, all of them connected into a seamless network both by technology and Aspect Abilities of the Awakened officers. Most of the staff was here in Antarctica - like the members of the department where Kim was currently working - but not all of them.

That said, the underground fortress below the building where the reception hall was located seemed like the closest thing to the heart of Army Command. It was a hive of activity, with countless people - both mundane and Awakened - hurrying feverishly to accomplish a myriad of tasks in a timely manner.

Their work might not have seemed as dire as what the soldiers on the frontlines were going through, but it was nevertheless just as vital. Without efficient and timely support and management, the evacuation campaign would be doomed to end in a bloody disaster. From updating the status of various areas in relation to the strength of the Call in them to compiling data about countless Nightmare Creatures and guiding troop movements, Army Command was the brain of the army. Without the brain, the body would be utterly useless.

...Somewhere in here, there was also an office where the allocation of contribution points was decided. In any other circumstances, Sunny would have felt his heart start to beat faster, but right now, he was fully concentrating on something else.

His eyes were glued to the bleak man, who was walking behind Beastmaster and Seishan while acting perfectly unassuming. Or at least as unassuming as a Master could be.

Army Command was, indeed, absolutely vital to the war effort. It was also a treasure trove of access and information.

It would certainly be a shame if a particular psychopath got loose in its very heart.

'But what can I do?'

Sunny might have known who Mordret was and what he was capable of, but as far as stopping the Prince of Nothing went... there was little to be done.

Which was both unnerving and incredibly frustrating.

Luckily, Sunny was not alone in his frustration. Morgan and Madoc also threw somber glances at the unassuming Master from time to time, their eyes cold and sharp. Sky Tide had a complicated expression on her usually stoic face, as well.

Only Nephis seemed unconcerned... and why would she be? Of the five of them, she was the only one who had never met the Prince of Nothing.

She would learn to be wary of him soon, though.

'...Probably.'

their goals were closely aligned. There was no telling what Changing Star would do if she met Mordret

hostility, the Prince of Nothing was not necessarily his enemy. It was just that Sunny knew how inhumanly ruthless and blood-chillingly cruel Mordret could be,

how cunning he

calm at the prospect of

care how many innocent people

Most definitely not.

can

killed at the spot by Wake or Ruin or Beastmaster. He

The guy might really be a random Master the emissaries of Song chose to

the soul cores of humans and Nightmare Creatures, but that ability was useless against the Prince of Nothing. When Mordret possessed a body, he also possessed the soul, or at least enough of it to mimic how

I shouldn't rush to conclusions. Wait for now, observe,

a large chamber that was filled with all kinds of equipment to display information, much of it being updated in real time. Sunny looked curiously at a large projected map of East Antarctica, with countless symbols denoting masses of Nightmare Creatures moving

of Nightmare Gates. He paled

littered the entire map like pustules, as if the continent was being slowly devoured from the inside by a lethal disease. There were a staggering amount of them in the wilderness, but the concentration grew exponentially in

first, but if one

doom and destruction

what the Evacuation Army was

up his spine, Sunny lingered for a few moments, and then glanced at the people walking in front of him. His eyes grew darker, and the shadows nestling in the corners of the strategy room

'...Unforgivable.'

fists if he had not made a

heart, however, was dark

'Unforgivable.'

knowing what was happening in Antarctica, these mighty people had come here to make it all worse. Sunny thought back to what Wake of

hard he

was no different from the outskirts. The whole world was like that. No one cared if you lived or died in the outskirts, and the people who had the power

The Chain of Nightmares had happened in the Southern Quadrant, but the next time, it might happen somewhere else. Then, too, they would remain