Serein was still frozen, staring at the widening gate, when the store's glass door was yanked shut with a violent slam.
"Are you insane? Just standing there like a statue?"
It was the red-haired boy from earlier. His reaction was quick, he pulled the door closed and looped a chain around it to keep the orcs from barging in. His hands trembled, clumsy, as if this was his first time confronting a gate and the monsters it spewed.
"It's not just—" Serein almost blurted something dangerous, then bit her tongue. She couldn't reveal her identity.
But the boy spoke the thought aloud for her.
"Shit. Why is a gate opening at ground level?"
Yes. That was the problem. Gates almost always tore open in the sky. Even Serein, with all her experience, had never once witnessed one clawing open directly on the street.
While she stood there stunned, the boy yanked out his phone and tapped at an emergency alert app.
Only Awakeners were authorized to download that app.
Surprised, Serein's gaze flicked up to him. Only now did she sense the faint energy seeping from his body, so weak she'd almost missed it.
A Hunter?!
"Fuck, battery's dead."
The phone buzzed weakly, fired off a single ping, then went black in his palm. He swore under his breath, frustration flashing in his eyes.
He spun toward the gaggle of kids still cowering by the magazine rack, their faces pale and shaking. His voice cracked into a harsh bark.
"Find a place to hide! Don't they teach you gate protocols at school?"
The urgency in his voice jolted the children into motion. They scattered instinctively, some diving under tables, others squeezing into cupboards. Training drills finally kicking in.
Serein didn't waste time either. She pivoted on her heel, sprinting deeper into the store while snapping orders at the children.
"Go as deep inside as you can. And stay quiet."
Startled, they obeyed. Instinct—or perhaps long-buried lessons from school drills—kicked in.
Some squeezed themselves beneath tables, others slipped inside cabinets, vanishing into the dark gaps of the convenience store.
"You're a Hunter, aren't you?" Serein asked, scanning the shelves for anything sharp enough to serve as a weapon.
The red-haired boy froze at the direct question. For a heartbeat his mask cracked, then he admitted in a low voice, "Y-yeah… But I'm only a trainee."
Serein's hand paused midway to a kitchen knife hanging on a rack. Her eyes flicked back toward him.
He was trembling where he stood, staring at the door that shook beneath the pounding of orc fists. His gaze was wide, unfocused, the pupils darting with panic.
A trainee?
Was that luck, or was it misfortune?
Trainees lacked battlefield experience. Against a B-rank gate, his chances of survival were less than zero.
And yet… if he was only a trainee, then she could guide him without the risk of immediate detection.
"Where's your weapon?" Serein tore the plastic wrapping from the kitchen knife and tightened her grip around the handle.
The boy flinched. Fear rippled through him, but he gritted his teeth and tried anyway, forcing his levo to coalesce in his arm.
Sparks flared in his palm, then sputtered out. His curse cracked like glass.
"Come on—ignite!"
He tried again. And again. But nothing formed. His panic was consuming him, scattering his focus before the power could take shape.
"Damn it!"
The door rattled violently, the hinges screaming. It wouldn't hold much longer.
Their survival—hers, and the children's—now hung on the shoulders of a trembling trainee.
How absurd.
A low-rank Hunter could take down a higher-rank monster… if guided by a powerful enough Guide.
But if she lent him her power, her levo would leave traces inside him. And once the GIRD swept in, they'd detect it.
Serein clenched her jaw. Help him, and she risked exposure.
Don't help, and she'd likely die here, torn apart by orc fangs all over again.
"Mom… help me…"
The whimper came from a boy curled under a nearby table. His small body shook so hard his teeth chattered. His pale face was wet with tears.
The trainee Hunter's eyes flicked to Serein, then to the boy under the table. His lips pressed tight, trembling with conflict.
Deja vu.
Serein had lived through this exact moment once before.
The man she had once loved—her guild master, the one she had given everything to—had hesitated the same way.
For the briefest heartbeat, he had struggled… only to ultimately abandon her, choosing instead to save the teammates who still had value.
The boy's wavering gaze told her the same thing. That he was already leaning toward flight, toward leaving her behind.
CRASH!
The door burst apart under the assault. Glass shattered, spraying across the floor.
Serein lunged forward, grabbing the boy under the table and pulling him tight against her chest.
A jagged shard sliced across her shoulder, burning like fire, but she bit down on the pain. She would not make a sound, cries only riled orcs further.
Her eyes lifted.
Through the smoke and dust, hulking silhouettes emerged. Orcs.
Massive and brutish, they filled the doorway, blocking out the light. Streetlamps behind them glinted off steel axes scarred with old bloodstains. Their rancid breath seeped in, the stench of rot coating the air.
But what froze her heart wasn't the monsters.
It was the fact that the spot where the trainee had been standing was empty.
He was gone.
For a moment, Serein's chest caved inward.
Of course. That was humanity's nature—self-preservation first, everything else second.
She wasn't surprised. She didn't even blame him.
Her gaze dropped to the little boy sobbing in her arms. And she knew: if she wanted to live, she could abandon him too. Alone, she had a slim chance to carve a path out.
But… did she really want to become like them? Like the people who had once left her to die in the dark?
"Damn it." The word tore through her clenched teeth. She shoved the boy toward the back of the store. "Run. Go!"
He stumbled, shaking, and scurried away.
Serein dragged herself upright. Her shoulder throbbed, her body trembled. She had no Hunter's strength, but she still had her training.
The knife felt pitifully small in her grip. Still, she steadied it, forcing her hand not to shake. She had to aim true—neck or heart. That was the only way.
The orcs stomped inside, overturning shelves. One ripped a refrigerator open, tearing raw meat into its maw with slobbering delight.
The sight stabbed through Serein's mind like lightning, dragging her back into the dungeon where they had feasted on her body the same way.
Her stomach churned. Her knees threatened to buckle. But she stepped forward anyway.
She wasn't just fighting them. She was fighting herself.
Maybe she didn't want to be like those who had betrayed her.
Or maybe, she simply wanted to protect this fragile, ordinary peace she had finally found.
If the signal had gone through, help would arrive in five minutes. She only had to last that long.
The orcs noticed her. They roared, the walls trembling from the force, their breath hot and foul against her face.
Serein inhaled sharply, biting the inside of her cheek until she tasted iron.
She crouched, ready to spring—
"Move!"
A shout rang out behind her. Serein froze, eyes widening.
The trainee hadn't run after all.
He came barreling out of the shadows with a fire extinguisher in his arms, planting himself in front of her like a living shield. His fingers fumbled at the pin, desperation on his face.
Why…? Why hadn't he run?
He'd had every chance. Every reason. Yet here he was.
PFFFT—
The extinguisher coughed out a weak puff of smoke… then died. Empty.
His face blanched. His lips pressed into a bloodless line.
"Fuck!"
With a shout, he hurled the useless canister at the nearest orc. It clanged off armor with a hollow thud.
Serein's stomach dropped.
Idiot. That would only enrage them further.
***
[Official Document – Central Bureau of Awakened Affairs (CABB)]
Levo
Levo is the awakened energy within every Awakened. Its form varies—some channel it into elemental control, while others forge weapons or unique abilities from it.
Each Levo is exclusive to its wielder. No Awakened can use another's Levo without severe consequences.
Levo is the core source of power, dictating combat strength and survival within Gates.
Issued by: Central Bureau of Awakened Affairs (CABB)
***