Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

'What does that old man want now?'

Jet was on her way to Saint Cor's office. As the Leader of the First Irregular Company, she had plenty on her plate.

Out of nowhere, Saint Cor had summoned her back to NSQC.

'If he doesn't give me a good reason, I'll rip his soul apart.'

Reaching the office door, she opened it and said:

"You know I'm really busy, old man. Why did you call me back?"

To her surprise, another person was in the room.

The man sat on the ornate sofa, calm and confident. His dark hair was neatly styled, and glasses framed his sharp eyes. He wore a black coat over a burgundy vest and white shirt, looking polished and composed. One gloved hand rested against his face as if in thought, his expression steady and unreadable.

Saint Cor sighed as he looked at Jet.

"Jet, sit. We need to talk."

Jet glanced at the man, then back at Cor, before nodding and sitting down.

"So, what do you want?" Jet asked.

Cor studied her for a moment before replying:

"Jet, you mentioned before that you were going to choose one of your friends as a captain for one of the First Irregular Company's Cohorts."

"Yes, and you already gave me the green light."

Cor nodded in agreement.

"Jet, I want this man to join that Cohort."

Jet was stunned. The request didn't make sense.

"What do you mean? You want a Master to join another Master's Cohort?"

"Jet, maybe you trust that man, but I don't. He might be a spy from one of the clans."

Jet was livid. She had already told Cor everything about Sunny, and he had accepted. Why was he changing his mind now?

"Sigh… even though having two Masters in a single Cohort is too much."

"Not really. My abilities make me deadly against one enemy, but against a horde of monsters, I'm no different from any other Awakened."

Jet turned to the man and asked:

"By the way, who are you?"

"Ah, right. I forgot to introduce you two," Cor interjected. "Jet, this is Master Gehrman Sparrow. Gehrman, this is Jet, aka Soul Reaper."

Gehrman nodded politely.

"It's nice to meet you."

Jet didn't respond, merely giving a curt nod in return.

She turned back to Cor.

"The other Masters won't be happy."

"Just tell them it was an order from me," Cor replied firmly.

Jet sighed, standing up.

"Are you leaving now?" Cor asked.

"Yes, I've got a lot to do at the port."

"Take him with you."

Jet gestured for Gehrman to follow her.

"I've done everything you asked for," Cor said once she was gone.

Raphael looked at Cor and replied:

"You don't have to worry. I'll uphold my end of the deal."

With that, Raphael left the office and followed Jet.

——————————————

Raphael stood before the train station, his sharp gaze falling on the massive long-range transcontinental train. It was a heavily armored metal beast stretching hundreds of meters, its segments bulky and imposing.

He studied it with an approving nod before stepping aboard.

As a Master, he was entitled to the lavishly furnished car reserved for high-ranking officials, Legacy clan members, and other prominent figures. The cabin he was assigned was spacious, comparable in size to his Academy quarters but far more luxurious.

Placing his belongings on the shelf, Raphael settled into a seat by the window.

"How is everything going, Mohg?"

A faint, ethereal voice echoed in his mind.

"Just as you predicted, my liege. They are diverting more forces to Antarctica."

"Good. Keep watching them and report everything."

"As you command, Your Majesty."

Raphael leaned back, his sharp features softening slightly as he gazed out the window, enjoying the passing view.

——————————————-

Two days later, Raphael found himself standing in the bustling port alongside Jet. They were awaiting Sunny's arrival.

In those two days, Raphael had met the other captains and gone over his role in detail with Jet.

A faint whistle signaled the train's arrival. As it came to a stop, the doors opened, and Sunny emerged.

"Hey, Sunny! Welcome to our small port."

Sunny turned his head slowly.

Master Jet had had not changed much. She was still the same — confident, beautiful, with raven black hair and cold, icy blue eyes. Her usual uniform was gone, though, replaced by a deep blue military trench coat.

There was a satisfied smile on her lips.

The crowd of people parted as she walked closer and glanced at the anchored ships.

"Impressive, aren't they?"

Sunny lingered for a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah… now that I see them, I am starting to understand how we are going to evacuate eight hundred million people from Antarctica."

Soul Reaper shook her head.

"Don't be so sure. This is just one of the several convoys that is going to sail to the Southern Quadrant. They are going to deliver the First Evacuation Army to Antarctica, load up a few millions of refugees, and sail back. If everything goes well, by the time the ships return, the mobilization would have already started. The fleets will bring us reinforcements, take more civilians aboard… and repeat the process as many times as it takes."

She sighed.

"Of course, there's more or less zero chance that everything will go well. Even if it does, it will take us at least a year to gather everyone… if we are still alive by then. Who knows, maybe we will be all overwhelmed and devoured by abominations in the first few months."

Sunny glanced sideways at her, his expression bleak.

"...You really know how to raise morale, you know?"

Master Jet grinned:

"Ah, don't be so serious. In any case, I am really glad that you decided to join the party, Sunny. I really need someone who I can trust by my side. Don't get me wrong, my other subordinates are all honorable and accomplished warriors… but they're not you."

He blinked a couple of times.

"I didn't know I was so special."

She looked at him, then shrugged and started walking away, prompting Sunny to follow.

"It takes a certain kind of person to face the very depths of despair, and still continue to fight. You are one such person, Sunny."

Soul Reaper glanced at him, then added in a voice that was devoid of any humor:

"...And we will all experience a lot of despair in the coming months. I have a feeling."

Sunny stayed silent.

Breaking the moment, he asked:

"By the way, who's the man behind you?"

Hearing the question, Raphael stepped forward, a faint smile on his face.

"You must be Captain Sunless. My name is Gehrman Sparrow. From now on, I'll be under your care."

Jet sighed before speaking.

"Sunny, I'll explain everything later. For now, let's go."

——————————————

Sunny sat inside a Military PTV, staring out the window at the port.:

He lingered for a few moments, then asked in a slightly hoarse voice:

"...You said that there would be several such convoys?"

Master Jet nodded as she easily controlled the PTV:

"Yes. Four, for now. Two will sail from the Northern Quadrant, one from both the Eastern and the Western. Each will transport around a hundred thousand soldiers to Antarctica in the coming month. That will also include around twenty thousand Awakened, and fifty or so Masters."

She paused, and then added:

"If the mobilization goes well, we will eventually have at least sixty thousand Awakened and anywhere between a hundred and three hundred Masters participating in the evacuation efforts."

Sunny took a deep breath.

These numbers… while the amount of mundane humans being sent to Antarctica was much more immense, it were the latter two that gave him pause. Sixty thousand might not have seemed like much, but it meant that a quarter of all Awakened in the world was going to be concentrated on one continent… and that was without even counting those who had already been based in the Southern Quadrant.

The number of Masters was even more unbelievable. Three hundred was more than a half of all Ascended alive today! The government was truly pulling out all the stops.

From the front seat, Raphael turned to glance at them.

"Even with all these soldiers, evacuating everyone from South Antarctica is nearly impossible. Many will die—especially since the three clans don't care about what's happening there."

The PTV fell silent.

Once inside the fortress, the human traffic thinned considerably, though plenty of people still moved with urgency.

Raphael exited the PTV and watched Jet hand Sunny a pile of papers while explaining something.

When they were finished, the group headed inside, eventually arriving at a spacious chamber housing a large, round table.

Five individuals were already seated, quietly waiting for the briefing to begin.

The captains of the First Irregular Company, Raphael recognized them all. Three men and two women. The oldest among them seemed close to fifty, while the youngest was only slightly older than Jet. All of them wore serious expressions, standing and saluting as she entered.

She waved a hand.

"At ease. We are all Ascended here. There's no need for ceremony."

The Masters hesitated for a few moments, then relaxed and sat down.

Master Jet unbuttoned her navy blue trench coat, then threw it on the backrest of an empty chair.

Raphael remained standing, watching silently.

Jet motioned for Sunny to take a seat. When Sunny sat, Raphael followed, standing behind him.

Sunny glanced back at Raphael, clearly confused, but Raphael offered no explanation.

One of the captains broke the silence.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Who is this… young man? Is he your new adjutant?"

She glanced at them, remained silent for a moment, and then smiled.

"He? Gods, no… this "young man" is Master Sunless, the latest and final additions to the command structure of the First Irregular Company. He is not only one of the youngest humans in history to reach the Rank of an Ascended, but also has a kill count higher than most of you combined. So… give him a warm welcome, I guess…"

The captains exchanged glances before nodding.

Sunny raised an eyebrow, an asked:

"Ah, Master Jet… may I ask why this man is standing behind me?"

Jet chuckled.

"Ah, right. Gehrman will be joining your Cohort as your Vice-Captain."

Sunny's eyes widened. He hadn't even been briefed on the operation, let alone the details of his Cohort.

Raphael stepped forward with a faint smile.

"What she's trying to say is that, since you're not part of the government, I was sent to watch and monitor you. You know, just to make sure you don't try anything funny, Captain."

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I'm back, boys and girls🗣️🗣️! And I bring with me both good news and bad news. Which one do you want to start with?

Let's kick things off with the good news: I've finally finished writing the summary, plot, plot twists, opening quote—everything—for the 4th volume.

Now, the bad news… I haven't actually written anything for this volume yet. The reason? The Antarctica arc is packed with main arcs, sub-arcs, and mini-arcs, each of them crucial for the story's development. That's why this volume might end up being really long.

On top of that, I've forgotten a lot of details from the Antarctica arc, which means I'll need to go back and re-read both volumes 5 and 6 to get everything straight.

Now that we've got that out of the way… have you all seen G3's announcement about a Shadow Slave webtoon?! We're eating good, boys 😭🙏.

And look at my glorious king Sunny—he's absolutely majestic.