As soon as the strange crow appeared, Sunny was ready to kill it. Summoning the Moonlight Shard would have only taken a split second, and a swift strike of his armored fist was going to do the job just as well.
If it was an ordinary bird, of course. Which he seriously doubted.
He did not expect the crow to speak, though.
"Sah-nee! Sah-nee!"
'...Is it calling my name?'
Sunny temporary postponed his plans of killing the crow and stared at it for a bit. The crow tilted its head and stared back.
"Sah-nee!"
He blinked, then shifted his vision and looked into the bird's soul. Sunny expected to see an orb of repulsive darkness, but what he saw instead were two radiant cores. The crow was an Awakened Monster... however, it was not a Nightmare Creature.
'Is it an Echo, or am I losing my mind? Again?'
He hesitated for a little while, then said cautiously:
"Yes, I am Sunny."
The bird jumped closer with a satisfied look, shook its entire body to get rid of flakes of ash clinging to the black feathers, and then cawed again.
"Jet! Jet!"
A spark of hope ignited in Sunny's heart. He studied the crow some more, then leaned closer and whispered:
"Did Master Jet send you?"
The small monster bobbed its head up and down several times.
"Jet! Send!"
Sunny closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply.
'So she did not forget about me after all, huh...
The crow appeared to be Soul Reaper's Echo, which she had sent to find Sunny. It felt... nice... to be remembered. However, he was not sure how the black bird was supposed to help him, if that was Jet's intention at all.
Was it simply a messenger to deliver new orders? Someone to guide him to Davis and his cohort of elite assassins?
He hesitated for a moment.
"Why did Master Jet send you to find me?"
The small monster jumped a couple of times.
"Crow! Help!"
So it was not just a messenger. The Echo was meant to assist him, somehow. Sunny tried not to get too excited.
"How are you going to help me? Are you going to lead me to Davis?"
The black bird silently shook its head, making Sunny frown.
"Why not?"
The crow tilted its head.
"Da-vees! Dead..."
Sunny let out a heavy sigh. So, Pride was gone... his men probably hadn't made it out of Erebus Field, either. He did not know the cold man too well, but the loss of a full cohort of Irregulars still hit him hard.
...Not to mention that Sunny's hopes of linking up with another powerful Master were crushed.
From what he knew, that was the first serious casualties the Irregulars had suffered from the start of the campaign. His information was outdated, though.
'Who says that any of them are still alive?'
The Irregulars, and especially their captains, were elites among elites. But with how unreasonably dreadful the Chain of Nightmares was turning out to be, at least in the Antarctic Center, there were no guarantees.
Hell, he himself had all but died just a few hours ago.
At least Soul Reaper was still out there, somewhere...
A dark grimace appeared on Sunny's face. Looking back at the small bird, he asked in a dubious tone:
"How are you supposed to help me, then?"
The crow flapped its wings.
"Crow! Show!"
Sunny frowned.
"Show what?"
The bird stared at him for a few moments, then cawed again:
"Crow! Show!"
Then, it added:
"Sah-nee! Follow!"
'It wants me to follow it?'
He did not have too much trust in the mere Awakened Monster's abilities, but if Master Jet had sent it, then there had to be a good reason. In any case, Sunny did not have too many choices.
Although he did not want to think it aloud, the convoy's situation was more or less hopeless. With failing vehicles and an ocean of NighLinare Creatures surrounding them, the chances that he would be able to keep the refugees alive were not too high.
Sunny sighed, then nodded.
"Alright. We'll follow you. Just give me a bit of time to get my people on the road."
The crow stared at him for a bit, then flopped its wings again.
"Hur-ry!"
'You don't need to remind me...'
Standing up, Sunny descended toward the convoy's camp and ordered everyone to prepare for departure. Soon, the column of vehicles left its temporary shelter and followed a narrow mountain road that circled the former Erebus Field from a good distance.
The crow flew above them, guiding the convoy deeper into the mountains. The bird had turned out to be an amazing scout. Not only was it able to notice swarms of Nightmare Creatures from high above long before they could threaten the column, but it was also smart enough to lead Sunny and his people around the prowling abominations.
After about an hour of tense, but uneventful driving, they left the sight of the destroyed city behind. The scene of devastation was now obscured by the slopes and peaks, but the plume of smoke rising from the crater of Mount Erebus and the angry orange glow of the burning stronghold could still be seen.
The crow guided the convoy to a wide crossroad, and then dove down, landing near a small structure standing at the side of it.
The convoy came to a halt, the civilian transports looking like they might not ever be able to get their engines running again. Sparing them an uneasy glance, Sunny jumped down from the roof of the Rhino and approached the structure.
It seemed freshly built, and was most likely constructed by the First Army just a month or two ago. He had no idea what its purpose was, though.
Uncertain, Sunny glanced at the black bird, who looked very proud of itself.
"What am I supposed to do with that?"
The crow tilted its head.
"Door! Open!"
'Oh.'
Despite its small size, the structure had actual blast doors blocking its entrance. The gate was large enough to be rammed by the Rhino, but of course, Sunny was not going to order Luster to do something that stupid.
He briefly thought about cutting through the blast doors with the Cruel Sight, but then shook his head with a roll of eyes, walked over to a small panel at the side of the gate, and placed his palm on it. The panel lit up, and then, a mechanical voice came from the in-built dynamics.
"Captain Sunless. Verified. Sufficient clearance."
The blast doors opened, revealing the entrance to a wide tunnel.
'Oh. Hell. No.'
Sunny remained motionless for a while, cursing his fate, then reluctantly sent one of his shadows into the tunnel.
Despite his newly established aversion to tunnels of all kinds, that one turned out to be rather short, leading to a vast underground chamber. It was rectangular in shape, and large enough for the several convoy's the size of the one Sunny was leading to take shelter inside.
'It's a hidden supply depot... a big one, at th... huh?'
Sunny's eyes widened.
Inside the underground garage...
Rows and rows of pristine military vehicles stood, ready to be powered up and armed with full compliments of heavy assault weapons.
