Shadow Slave

The coastal highway... that damned thing.

Sunny was, of course, aware that traveling by means of the highway was an option. An incredible option, even, considering that the highway was wide, flat, kept in good condition, and stretched most of the way to the very northern edge of the Antarctic Center as it skirted the whole landmass between the mountains and the ocean.

But that was exactly the problem with it. Built along the coast, it was both awfully close to the water and utterly exposed. Here in the mountains, they were hidden from most of the prowling Nightmare Creatures by the terrain, and could use it to their advantage. Out there on the coast, nothing would be protecting them from the hordes of abominations, both those on land and those hiding beneath the waves.

Sergeant Gere and the other survivors of the initial, much larger convoy could attest to the horrors of the coastal highway. They had barely escaped it once, losing most of the transports and every member of their Awakened escort in the process.

Indeed, the soldier looked incredibly tense at Luster's suggestion.

"With all due respect, you don't know what you are talking about. That place... it's a death trap. A handful of us managed to survive a shorter journey across the highway than what you are proposing, and even that was by some miracle."

Luster scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, but your situation back then was different."

Gere frowned.

"How so?"

The young man looked at him with surprise.

"I mean, isn't it obvious? You didn't have the Captain with you!"

'...What?'

Sunny stared at Luster for a few moments, dumbfounded. Did the fool finally lose his mind?

However, Sergeant Gere reaction to the ridiculous response was out of his expectation. Instead of mocking Luster, the soldier looked down and cleared his throat in embarrassment. "Well... that is true, indeed..."

Sunny blinked a couple of times.

"...Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I am not a miracle worker. I am afraid of the coastal highway, too."

There was a reason for why he had chosen a much longer, much more arduous journey through the mountains, after all. Even if the highway offered a convenient path to their destination, it held a much higher risk of running into something that none of them was prepared to handle. From hordes of Nightmare Creatures akin to the Devouring Cloud to the damned Terror that had slaughtered every living soul at LO49, to countless other horrors no one knew about.

Even running into a Titan was not out of the question. The Winter Beast was being contained somewhere in the north by Saint Tyris, but the location of the monstrosity that Army Command had designated as Goliath was currently unknown. Nothing was stopping the bastard from showing up the moment the convoy got stuck in the open.

However-

Traveling through the mountains had turned out much more dangerous than Sunny had anticipated, despite his habit of always expecting the worst. By now, he had successfully managed to lead the convoy into pretty much every possible terrible situation that they had been supposed to avoid by not choosing the highway.

With the path ahead so close to being impassable and the civilian transports falling apart on the steep, unreliable mountain roads... the more dangerous route was starting to look more and more attractive.

Kim sighed.

"Sorry... I hate to agree with Luster... but there are about six hundred kilometers between us and Erebus Field. That is if we go straight, of course. If we have to maneuver through the mountains and circle around them in search of passable roads, fighting Nightmare Creatures as we go... I doubt that many of us will make it."

She sighed, then threw a tentative glance at Sunny.

"If we descend to the coastal highway, however, and go at full speed... we can cover these six hundred kilometers in a matter of hours. Of course, this is a huge risk, b-but... isn't it an even bigger risk to stubbornly push forward through the mountains, if it means staying in the wild for days, maybe even weeks more?"

Sunny winced.

Kim was somewhat right. The coastal highway was dangerous, but so were the mountains. They were teeming with Nightmare Creatures of all sorts, and were too hard to navigate in the wake of the earthquake.

There was also the matter of time, which no one except for Sunny - and perhaps Professor Obel - seemed to be aware of, since they were not looking at the bigger picture.

And the bigger picture, from what he could tell, was not looking too swell. The First Army was not earning any victories against the tide of abominations... instead, its position was gradually worsening. Those additional days and weeks Kim had mentioned were much more important than she knew, for more than one reason.

Sunny sighed.

...In the end, both choices were terrible. Remaining in the mountains was a bit safer, but also a bit hopeless. Trying to charge the coastal highway was much more dangerous, but also offered a much more realistic chance of salvation.

It was like rolling a die.

'...Do I feel lucky today?'

He remained silent for a long time, then deactivated the projection and looked at the people gathered in the command suite. Everyone tensed, waiting to hear his decision.

Sunny tiredly rubbed his face.

"Prepare the vehicles to go all out. I want them to be able to keep their top speed for at least six hours without ever slowing down... do everything you can. I don't care if the transports completely fall apart and explode after that, just make sure that nothing breaks down on the road. Either way, it will probably be their last ride, so... prepare well. We will be taking the scenic route along the coast."

With that, everyone was suddenly extremely busy. Getting the convoy ready for a high-speed charge across the coastal highway was not a small task, especially considering that it was most likely going to turn into a rolling battle.

Sunny was one of the few soldiers that had nothing much to do, so he simply went outside and stared at the night sky, with a full moon staring back at him like a giant blind eye.

A few meters away from him, the lone Sleeper of the convoy was busy applying Black Venom to whatever bullets Sergeant Gere's soldiers had left. He was also doing the same to his arrows.

Suddenly curious, Sunny called out to the young man.

"Hey, you. What do you think? Will we make it?"

The Sleeper looked up at him with wide eyes. He was apparently not expecting to be addressed by the Captain.

"Sir? Yes, sir! Without a doubt, sir!"

Sunny chuckled.

"That's the spirit... oh, right. I was meaning to ask... what is your name, anyway?"

The Sleeper stared at him blankly for a few moments, then looked down and whispered under his nose:

"Goddammit... what the hell, really?"

Sunny frowned.

"What was that?"

The Sleeper flinched.

"Oh... sorry, sir! It's just that... uh... I have already told you my name, like twenty times. It's my Flaw, sir. Everyone seems to forget!" 'Huh?'

Sunny scratched the back of his head.

"Well... alright. As you were, then."

'What a strange Flaw. Not the worst one to have, though...'

He left the Sleeper alone and walked forward, stopping in front of the Rhino and looking ahead. Then, he started stretching his muscles. The road ahead was desolate and enveloped in darkness.

'This... is going to be a wild ride.'

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