Shadow Slave

The vehicle stable of the battleship was quiet and tense. Hundreds of people were moving with somber haste as they secured various tools and pieces of machinery. Thankfully, most of the vehicles were safely fastened in their cradles. As Sunny stepped out of the shadows, he had to make way for a lumbering loader that thundered past, carrying a half-disassembled bulk of a massive engine.

All around them, the colossal vessel was trembling as its cannons continued to fire without stop. Muffled sounds of heavy ordnance sliding into the feeding mechanisms spread through the deck. From time to time, an especially loud noise announced that a powerful torpedo or a salvo of ballistic missiles were launched from their nests.

Sunny was not the only person who felt a grim sense of powerlessness as the titanic battle continued to unfold in this nameless patch of the deep, dark ocean. While the crews of the battleships and the Awakened serving the House of Night were locked in a furious fight with whatever ancient horror it was that had attacked the convoy, the hundred thousand soldiers of the First Army had nothing to do but wait and beg the dead gods for salvation.

He was better off than most, at least. Sunny had left one of his shadows on the upper deck to observe the battle. Even though it could only see the turbulent surface of the seething water and not the true confrontation that was taking place deep beneath, there was some relief in knowing what was going on.

The rest did not enjoy such a privilege. They could only infer what was happening beyond the metal confines of the vehicle stable by paying attention to the sounds and vibrations spreading through the ship.

Occasionally, a loud and startling bang would roll through the massive compartment, indicating that something had collided against the hull of the vessel from the outside.

Full of dark thoughts, Sunny walked toward the cradle holding the Rhino. Many people threw furtive glances at the passing Master, hoping to find comfort and reassurance in his authority. Noticing that, he made an effort to hide his unease and project an image of absolute confidence.

It seemed to have worked, calming the people down a little.

'Poor fools. What can I do that they can't?'

Reaching the Rhino, Sunny saw four Awakened standing near it with reserved expressions on their faces. Dorn, Quentin, Kim, Luster…

He frowned.

"Where are Belle and Samara?"

Quentin straightened a little when he saw his superior approaching.

"They are in the Dream Realm, Captain. We have already secured their bodies in the sleeping pods inside the Rhino."

Sunny sighed.

Well… it was not outside the expectations. In fact, Sunny had lucked out, considering that only two of his subordinates had happened to be asleep when the battle started.

'At least everyone is alive.'

Sunny had almost expected to find Luster missing. The dolt was exactly the kind of guy to be lured to his death by a vision of young beauties singing sweet songs.

He stared at the young man, who shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, and then turned to the Rhino.

The armored APC was, theoretically, seaworthy. So, it was going to be their last hope in case the battleship went down.. getting the massive machine out of the vehicle stable was a tall task, of course.

In fact, Sunny doubted that it was possible at all.

He glanced at the sealed blast doors of the giant compartment, then at the solid alloy bulkheads. Would he be able to tear through the hull of the ship, should the need arise?

After thinking for a few moments, Sunny judged that he stood a good chance of breaching the heavy armor of the colossal vessel, provided that he used his most powerful Memories and had enough time. However, there was a big difference between creating an opening that a person could squeeze through and one that a vehicle the size of the Rhino could.

Things would have been different if Nephis was here… with her flames and the shadows resonating with each other and augmenting Sunny, he could have ripped through the thick armor plates with ease. Better yet, Changing Star could have simply melted a giant hole through the side of the battleship.

But she wasn't here. There was also the mass of black water outside. Why was he even entertaining these thoughts?

Sunny sighed and shook his head.

"Get comfortable. This will probably take a while."

His soldiers obeyed, sitting down on crates or leaning against the side of the Rhino. However, none of the four looked particularly at ease.

Luster lingered for a moment, and then asked in a cautious tone:

"Uh… Captain… sorry, but what exactly is going on?"

Sunny shrugged.

"Something big and scary is trying to take a bite out of the convoy, what else? Don't worry too much… House of Night probably has things under control. I personally saw their Saint joining the battle."

Despite the precarious situation, Luster's eyes suddenly gleamed with excitement.

"Really? Wow… I hope I can see a Saint fight, one day!"

Sunny's face turned bleak as he threw a dark glance at the young man.

"Be careful what you wish for, fool. If you are ever close enough to see Saints fight, then something has definitely gone horribly wrong. Believe me… I should know…"

Luster opened his mouth to respond, but at that moment, something collided against the hull of the ship again, making him flinch and lose his train of thought.

Despite the fact that these loud bangs had been occasionally resounding across the vehicle stable for some time now, each was still extremely jarring. People trapped in the vast compartment could not treat them with indifference, no matter how much they might have wished to. Still, slowly but surely, they were growing accustomed to the startling noise of the collisions.

This last one, though…

Sunny scowled.

The last one was different.

He slowly turned around and stared at a certain spot on the opposite wall of the stable.

Was Sunny imagining it… or did the bulkhead look a little deformed?

Before he could finish the thought, something collided against the ship once again, and the alloy wall visibly bent inward.