As the convoy desperately drove toward the distant entrance of an old tunnel, the Devouring Cloud finally reached the gorge. The sky disappeared, blotted out by a slithering mass of the winged abominations, and submerged the world into impenetrable darkness. Even the dim glint of the shimmering stars was extinguished.
The swarm flowed down the slopes of the mountains like a tidal wave.
Penetrating the armored frame of the Rhino, a deafening rustle of countless beating wings assaulted Sunny's ears. He grimaced, glanced at the screens one last time, and dashed back to the roof hatch. Once he climbed outside, the noise grew many times more violent, making it seem as though a hurricane was raging around him.
The mass of Nightmare Creatures was seconds from swallowing the rearmost vehicles of the convoy. The overheated barrels of the turrets continued to discharge a barrage of bullets into the rushing wave of abominations, long tongues of flame blooming from their glowing muzzles. At that point, the soldiers did not even have to aim to hit the enemy… however, all their efforts were in vain.
Sunny would have needed thousands of soldiers and hundreds of heavy artillery vehicles to put a dent into the swarm of abhorrent abominations.
But he just needed to buy a little time…
"Saint!"
Following his mental command, the Shadow turned and threw Morgan's Warbow in his direction. Catching it, Sunny took a moment to balance himself on the swaying roof, and then drew the string with furious determination.
All four of his shadows flowed forward from his fingers.
A bolt of lightning streaked through the air, striking one of the Brood beasts. The creature's body disintegrated in a blinding flash, and then, dancing arcs of electricity spread through the swarm, stretching in all directions for dozens of meters. For a moment, the whole world was illuminated by a stark radiance.
…That bought the convoy a few more seconds, at most.
'Not enough…'
Even if Sunny had essence to spare, he could not use the Strike of Thunder repeatedly. Like almost all Memories, it needed time to be summoned and dismissed. Although the whole process took no more than a dozen seconds, right now, that was enough of a delay to doom them all.
If Winter was here, she would have had a solution… but, sadly, Sunny was all alone.
Well, not quite.
On the roof of one of the civilian transports, Samara overcharged her powerful rifle, causing some of the circuitry inside of it to melt in a rain of sparks. The usual electric whine of the activating coil was devoured by the cacophony of thousands of beating wings, but the thunderous roar of the resulting shot was not.
A brilliant particle of light traveled toward the swarm at a tremendous speed, and then detonated with staggering violence. A huge explosion shook the ground, swallowing a whole swath of attacking abominations.
Samara swayed and spat a mouthful of blood, showing signs of severe essence depletion, but the rest of the Irregulars were not remaining idle, either. The deluge of poisoned bullets and their Memories were doing their job, buying the convoy precious time. The tunnel was getting closer and closer…
But it was still not enough.
The rearmost military vehicle was already suffering under an onslaught of attacks. Its armored hull was being cut open and peeled off, and blood was flowing down its sides. The soldier that had been operating the turret was nowhere to be seen, but another had already taken his place — only to scream a moment later when the razor-sharp fangs of a frenzied Brood beast sunk into his arm.
As blood rained down, the soldier gritted his teeth and drew his sidearm, discharging several mundane bullets into the creature's neck without any result.
Sunny did not see the rest.
The Strike of Thunder had finally manifested itself back into existence, and the shadows had just returned, so he sent the caged lightning into the swarm once again.
Attracted by the Dying Wish, many abominations were ignoring the rest of the convoy and lunging at the Rhino. For now, none of them had gotten past Saint, who brandished the Sin of Solace as she protected him. However, Sunny knew that he was not going to remain safe for much longer.
Their salvation was so close…
And yet, their time was up.
Despite all their efforts, Sunny and his soldiers could not hold the Devouring Cloud back anymore. The convoy was already surrounded by the mass of Nightmare Creatures from all sides.
In stunned horror, Sunny watched as the rear vehicle was swallowed by the swarm of abominations. Its armor disintegrated as if made of paper, shredded into nothingness in a mere second. What followed…
'To hell with this!'
Before Sunny knew what he was doing, his body moved forward. Dashing to the back of the Rhino, he flooded his muscles with essence… and jumped.
'...I must have… gone crazy…'
Sunny soared into the air above the convoy, sensing sharp fangs scraping against the bleak steel of the Undying Chain. On his belt, a beautiful lantern cut of black stone suddenly opened, letting out a surge of darkness. Wreathed in that darkness, he plummeted down and landed on the roof of the damaged vehicle.
Dozens of tentacles exploded from the kneeling figure that was shrouded in shadows, tearing countless Brood beasts apart. More shadows flowed down like water, covering the breaches in the vehicle's hull and solidifying into impenetrable armor.
At the same time, black walls rose from the ground, surrounding the convoy. Hundreds of Brood beasts furiously crashed into them, causing the walls to shudder.
However, at least for the moment… they held.
Ahead of the column, the Rhino finally reached the tunnel and drove through its entrance, disappearing into the lightless emptiness within. One after another, the other vehicles, as well as a few Nightmare Creatures, followed. The abominations were swiftly gunned down or killed by the Irregulars.
The damaged vehicle that Sunny had landed on entered the old tunnel last, rolled forward for a few seconds, and then came to a screeching halt.
He fell down from its roof and hit the ground hard, then stood up with a stagger. Another wall of shadows rose, blocking the mouth of the tunnel behind them, this one much thicker than the previous ones.
Instantly, it came under a savage attack. Its black surface trembled, not cracking yet, but also visibly struggling to withstand the neverending rain of blows.
In the echoing silence of the tunnel, Sunny bent over, spat blood, and then tiredly looked up.
His voice sounded stifled:
"Someone better blow up that entrance, fast…"