Shadow Slave

Getting close to the port turned out to be complicated. There were too many people and too many vehicles heading the same way — at some point, driving forward became simply impossible. The road was utterly jammed, which was a truly strange scene. Back in NQSC, PTVs were somewhat of a rare sight, but Falcon Scott was brimming with military transports of all kinds.

Understanding that their vehicle was truly stuck, Sunny grimaced and told everyone to get out. As they did, a litany of sounds assaulted their ears — the rumbling hum of engines, the ear-piercing wail of electric horns, the anxious shouts of countless people… all of it fused into a cacophonous cloud of noise.

Around them, a vast crowd of people was flowing through the congested road, the vehicles waiting hopelessly for a chance to move forward. There were men, women, and children — some carrying bags and backpacks containing their belongings, some empty-handed.

A driver of a massive transport was standing on the side of the cabin, screaming furiously for everyone to get out of his way and that he had orders to reach the port. His yells were useless, of course. Even if the crowd of people parted, there was another vehicle right in front of the transport, and another one after that, and another one after that — all similarly stuck.

The people moving toward the port on foot were acting senselessly, as well. It was not like they had a chance of getting on a ship simply by reaching the fortress — most of them had simply panicked and lost all reason. Some had not even wanted to go, but were swept up by the crowd.

In any case, the mob presented a serious obstacle to Sunny. Luckily, his uniform had turned out to be good enough of a deterrent — where he walked, a small bubble of empty space magically appeared, allowing his group to advance forward with sufficient speed. Even in this state, the people were able to recognize a Master.

Some moved aside out of respect and reverence, some out of fear.

'This is… damn…'

Sunny had considered himself an experienced person, and not without reason. From the starless void of the Forgotten Shore to the frozen hellscape of Antarctica, he had seen and lived through a lot of things, both incredible and terrifying. However, he had never experienced anything on the scale of what was currently happening in Falcon Scott.

Even the destruction of the Ivory City did not quite come close.

By the time the cohort reached the northern section of the wall, he was in a grim and sober mood. Here, there was another massive gate, its wings currently retracted into the framework of the barrier. Beyond it was a vast span of concrete that led directly to the edge of the tall cliffs.

Usually, there would be several organized lines of refugees waiting for their turn to use the elevators, and a lot of loader robots carrying cargo to and from the fortress. Now, however, the whole space was covered by a sea of people, all frantic to get closer to the edge and get a chance to descend to the coast.

Someone was still operating the elevators, but the personnel of the transfer station had clearly given up on trying to control the mob. People were pressed tightly against the alloy barriers that were meant to prevent them from falling down, and some were even trying to climb over them. Nothing but a deadly fall awaited them on the other side, but the climbers seemed completely crazed.

.

Sunny stared at the startling scene for a few moments, then looked away. He felt a chill that had nothing to do with the unbearable cold of the polar winter run down his spine.

A human mob… was a frightening thing. It was even more frightening because everything had been fine just half a day ago. In such a short time, the whole city seemed to have gone mad…

'What are these fools hoping to accomplish?'

Sunny flinched.

What was he hoping to accomplish?

Gritting his teeth, he pushed forward through the crowd. His uniform and aura of authority cleared a path, and when that was not enough, he simply pushed people away — with Sunny's strength, it was not at all hard. Remaining gentle enough not to crush anyone was much harder.

His soldiers followed. After experiencing the horrors of the Nightmare Spell and the tempering of countless battles, they all managed to remain composed. Beth and Professor Obel, however, looked deeply rattled. Still, they followed, too.

After some time, Sunny finally reached the entrance to one of the elevators. Currently, it was closed, since the platform had not yet arrived. The refugees moved slightly aside to give the Awakened some breathing room. However, he could still hear their voices.

"Look! A Master!"

"You there, officer! What the hell is happening?!"

"Please, take me with you!"

"Curse you!"

He kept looking forward, ignoring the yells. Some people tried to ingratiate themselves with Sunny, some cursed him out and demanded explanations. Some stupidly became overjoyed, as if the appearance of an Ascended was going to solve everything.

'At least it's not as cold.'

With so many bodies around, the oppressive cold had retreated a little.

Eventually, a massive platform arrived from the bottom of the cliffs, and the barrier retracted into the ground. Sunny led his group forward, taking a place near the opposite side of it.

From there, he could see the ocean, and the port fortress below. There was only one gargantuan ship currently anchored near it, with several large ferries coursing between the vessel and the pier to bring people aboard. The port itself was as crowded as the transfer station, and so was the pier. The situation inside seemed even more chaotic than here.

After around two thousand people and several large transport vehicles entered the platform, the barrier rose once again, and the elevator plummeted down. It seemed to be moving at a greater speed than usual, causing several passengers to yelp in fear. However, the platform safely reached the bottom of the cliffs in less than a minute.

There was a walled road leading from the elevators to the port. Half of it was designated for pedestrian traffic, half for the vehicles — that road was congested as well, but further away. Sunny noticed soldiers standing watch above it, carrying out their duty with lost expressions on their faces. Luckily, no Nightmare Creatures had chosen today to attack the city from the coast.

"Let's go."

Glancing at Kim, who was still carrying Luster, he continued toward the port.

It took some time to reach it, as well.

The closer they got to the pier, the more frantic the atmosphere became. Some of the people here arrived after the terrible news of Sky Tide's defeat had spread, but some had been here even earlier, happily waiting to be brought away to Eastern Antarctica as per the government queue. Now, their chances of getting a spot on the ship were suddenly uncertain.

"B—but… we were scheduled to be relocated today! Look! We have tickets!"

"Get the hell out of my way!"

"Sir! Please, just let me through!"

"When is the next ship arriving?! When is…"

The port officers were desperately trying to create some semblance of order, but it was useless. Still, only so many people could get aboard, so there were soldiers standing guard at the entrance to the pier, and a barrier of alloy mesh that slid up and down, letting groups of refugees proceed further from time to time.

Every time the barrier retracted, the crowd grew agitated and tried to push forward, only to be thrown back by the heavy gazes of the guards.

Sunny hesitated.

'What now…'