Some time later, the members of his cohort approached the Rhino. Belle, Dorn, Samara, Kimmy, Luster… walking inside, they froze for a moment, studying the upturned interior of the APC and the cracks in its armored windows with stunned expressions.
After a while, Luster cleared his throat.
“Uh, sir… what happened?”
Sunny gave him a deadpan look.
“I had a lady over. She Transcended.”
The young man laughed nervously.
“Ah… good one, sir…”
After that, he practically ran to the pilot’s cabin to check on the internal systems of the Rhino. As Luster went through the diagnostics, he kept mumbling under his nose:
“Gods… did he crash it into a titan? This damage… oh, my poor baby…”
Sunny shook his head and addressed the rest of his soldiers, speaking loudly enough for Luster to hear, as well:
“Prepare yourselves. Army Command is certain that Goliath will reach the city either today or tomorrow. In any case, we won’t be leaving the wall until he does. This… is going to be the big one, guys.”
His soldiers grew somber, their eyes full of calm determination. Sunny nodded.
“Don’t worry about the titan himself. Colonel Jet and I will take care of the big bastard. However, Goliath is not going to show up alone… and, judging by how Erebus Field fell, there is a big chance that the wall will be breached. I don’t need to tell you how important it is to prevent the Nightmare Creatures from getting inside. However, if the situation becomes hopeless, be ready to retreat to the secondary line of defense within the city.”
He paused for a moment, looking at them with a serious expression.
“Don’t be stupid and die an unnecessary death. I need you alive… to fight tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and the day after that. Dying might as well be considered desertion, at this point. No one is allowed to die without my permission. Understood?”
The members of his cohort grinned, then saluted.
“Yes, sir!”
“Wouldn’t think of it!”
“I am scared of you way more than I’m scared of death, sir! I wouldn’t dare!”
Sunny blinked a couple of times at that last one, then nodded.
“That’s great. Let’s go, then.”
Soon, the Rhino started and moved forward with some effort. They drove across Falcon Scott, where a lot of streets were now empty, and a lot were unlit. Snow piled high in some areas, and in others, crowds of refugees were anxiously hurrying through the cold.
Luster was stubbornly sticking to only the well-illuminated roads, for some reason, which made the progress a bit slow. The wall steadily grew closer and closer.
Before they reached the secondary defense ring, however, Sunny suddenly ordered him to stop the APC. The young man looked back with a silent question.
Sunny hesitated for a few moments, then said:
“Wait for me here. I won’t be long.”
With that, he left the Rhino and walked toward a familiar dormitory tower, which happened to be nearby.
No one was cleaning the snow in front of its entrance, this time. Sunny stood there for a minute or two, staring at the flimsy doors with a grim expression. Eventually, he sighed.
‘Even if the whole city is destroyed, this damned dormitory must remain standing. I’ll make sure of it.’
With that, he turned around and started walking away.
…When he did, however, he almost stumbled into someone approaching the dormitory.
“Watch where you’re going, idi… huh? Sunny?”
He sighed and looked up, noticing Beth and Professor Obel. They must have been returning from their own shifts — Beth at the volunteer center, the old man at the engineering wing of the government complex.
The young woman blinked a couple of times, staring at him with surprise. Before Sunny could come up with something to say, she asked:
“Aren’t you cold?”
He opened his mouth, then looked down, at the thin silk tunic covering his body. Indeed, it did not look exactly like something a person should be wearing in the middle of winter.
Sunny cleared his throat.
“I’m not, actually. Uh… elemental resistance, you know.”
Beth scoffed.
“You’re still a human, are you not? Put something warm on, for Spell’s sake… I imagine fighting on the wall with a running nose is not a great idea. Ascended snot is still snot…”
He looked at her silently for a few moments, then suddenly laughed.
“Ah, yes. I am still a human, that’s true. Thanks. I’ll try to remember that.”
Professor Obel took a step forward, smiling.
“Were you on your way to visit us, Major Sunless? Come, come… there’s no point in standing here, in the cold…”
Sunny smiled, then lightly shook his head.
“No, I was actually on my way to start the shift on the wall. Army Command is expecting a big fight, so it’s all hands on deck… well, even more so than usual. In any case, make sure to remain inside and be careful in the next day or so. Things might get a little hectic.”
The old man nodded with a sigh.
“I see. Well, we won’t keep you, then. Please stay safe.”
He moved forward, but then paused and patted Sunny on the shoulder.
“Ah, maybe you’ll stop by after your shift, then? It’s nothing much, but Beth received a bit of extra rations today. We are planning to cook up a feast for everyone who is still waiting for a ticket, in our block. I will save you a portion.”
Sunny remained silent for one moment too long, then shrugged.
“Why not? It’s a promise.”
He watched Professor Obel and Beth disappear inside, then slowly turned around and walked back toward the Rhino.
As he walked, the smile disappeared from his face, replaced by a dark, ruthless expression.
Deep shadows nestled in his eyes.
‘It’s time to kill a titan.’
What happened at Erebus Field could not be allowed to repeat itself. Goliath had to die, and Sunny was just the person to kill him. And eye for an eye, a death for a death.
Sunny was a very petty and vindictive person, and the two of them… they had a score to settle.
