Shadow Slave

Led by Nephis, Sunny, and Jet, the Fire Keepers surged forward. They were aiming for the section of the joint army's formation where the flood of Nightmare Creatures had broken through the dam of human bodies, threatening to consume them all.

Somewhere out there, far ahead, Effie and Kai were already trying to stall the fatal advance of the frenzied abominations as they waited for reinforcements to arrive. Their soldiers were fighting fiercely, without a doubt - and yet, the horde had already gained momentum, so the Wolves and the Nightsingers had no hope of stopping it on their own.

They were just two hundred men and women who had volunteered to join the Second Army, after all - no matter how elite of a status the two companies earned because of their strength, valor, and the fame of their commanders, they were still ordinary Awakened.

The Fire Keepers were different.

Even though there were just about fifty of them, each of the people following Changing Star was a seasoned veteran of the Dark City - they were the best and the brightest of what humanity had to offer, simply for the fact that nothing less would have allowed one to survive the cruel crucible of the Forgotten Shore.

They had only grown stronger and more experienced under Cassie's guidance after escaping that starless abyss, too, and especially now that the mighty - and opulent - clan Valor stood behind the personal troops of its adopted daughter. The Fire Keepers had undergone a comprehensive upgrade of their soul arsenals, with those who needed it receiving enough shards to finish fully saturating their cores.

There were seven cohorts of them, each more than comparable to the most elite household troops of the great clans in terms of power. So, despite their modest numbers, the Fire Keepers were a force to be reckoned with.

...And that was without even mentioning the three masters who were leading them into battle.

Due to their superior physical prowess, Sunny, Nephis, and Jet naturally ended up at the head of the rushing force. There was no clever plan to their advance - the situation prohibited careful maneuvering and strategic placement of the Awakened according to their specializations. But there was no real need to waste time on it, either.

machine. They all knew what their comrades were good at, what quirks their Aspects and Memories possessed, and how to work together

exactly. He was more or less familiar with what the members of Cassie's former personal cohort were capable of, as well as a few other people with whom he had fought side by side during the civil war of

more than happy to leave all that to Nephis today. His role was quite simple - to wreak as much havoc and destruction among the Nightmare Creatures as he could. That way, he would bring the most benefit to the men and women fighting by

well. Sunny wanted the others - Morgan and Seishan in particular - to witness how much of a fierce force he was on the battlefield. Having some respect from the representatives of the great clans would be convenient in the coming months... but

people specializing in subterfuge were usually less capable in direct combat. Of course, there were always

the harder it would become for people who didn't know him to assume that he

was a different

sadly, had long sailed - after coming to Antarctica, he was forced to reveal enough of his strength so that no sane person would

today was the day he would

me... look at the Devil of Antarctica. Am I not strong? Am I not fearsome? Am I not a frenzied beast, just like what a lofty Legacy

in one hand, the Cruel Sight in another - the other two remained free, to be used to

Shell. A fearsome armor of black onyx suddenly encased the tenebrous Shadowspawn into an impervious carapace,

use finesse and cunning tricks today... no, what he was going for was

some pent-up anger to

ahead, stubbornly refusing to give ground to the onslaught of abomination. A glimpse of Effie's lustrous steel figure ignited his heart, flooding his body

a lot of

'Damn.'