The gate wasn't just an open in space.
It is a passage that even the laws in science can't explain.
One after another, thirty-nine hunters stepped into the swirling black-and-red vortex—until the last figure vanished, and the portal behind them slammed shut with a low, heavy rumble on could feel the power just in that sound alome. Just like that, the second S-rank gate in South Korea history raid, had officially begin.
It didn't seem real on the other side of the gate.
The sky was a sickly hue—sick shades of purple and gray. Clouds above were like rotted meat, and earth under their feet was cracked black stone which expelled intimidating mana as it's surges, diffusing into every corner as if it were a living, breathing creature. The very air stank of mana—thick, bitter, and wrong.
And then,
BOOM
Without warning and out of nowhere
They came.
From over the ridge, hulking shadows burst forward. Dozens of scaled, armored, snarling monster, came rushing today's them.
Draconic Maulers. AA-Rank. Tough as hell. High resistance to both physically and magical damages. Fast. Angry. Hungry.
"Tanks up front!" Commander Ahn Kang-ho shouted, planting his massive shield in the ground, acting as a wall of protection for the party. "Healers, backline! Spread out!"
The formation barely had time to shift before chaos exploded
****
Park Ji-woo moved without thinking.
"Da-eun, shield up—now!"
Earth trembled when the first Mauler hit him in the guts. He grunted, but remained standing, his feet planted deep into the Earth.
"Hyo-rin, right side! Min-suk, peel left! Jae-hoon—eyes on the healer!"
"Already on it!" Jae-hoon's voice came from somewhere behind him, sharp and focused.
Their unit moved like a machine—polished, efficient. It wasn't perfect, but it worked.
Until it didn't.
Out of nowhere, a stream of ice shot forth—almost knocking Hyo-rin as she swung.
"What the hell!?" Ji-woo spun, already angry
Tall, thin, with blue tattoos down his arms, a Frost Veil spellcaster stood much too close, mana still sizzling around his fingers.
"You almost hit my team!" Ji-woo shouted.
"You are getting in the way of my shit, we are in the front line!" the man shot back. "You think you own the field just 'cause you wear the Fallen Sword crest?"
"We're maintaining aggro! You're breaking positioning!"
"Cry about it later—there's a Mauler right there!"
Too late.
A beast slammed into Da-eun again—this time hard enough, to push Da-eun a number of feet back. Da-eun grunted, stumbling back, but behind her, a young B-rank healer wasn't as fortunate.
One minute he was fine, healing the injured and giving bluffs, the next—a hole through his chest.
Gone.
Just like that.
Da-eun's eyes burned. Ji-woo clenched his jaw. He didn't say it, but they were both thinking the same thing:
That didn't have to happen.
And would have happen if not for the other guild
****
OVER AT Yoon Ha-ri – Frost Veil Guild
Ha-ri dodged a huge rock thrown at her, her robe flying behind her as another piece of frozen ice was shot through the charging Mauler's champing jaws. It let out a loud screech, even though it didn't fall down.
"We need assistance!" she yelled, looking about for extra help. "We cannot cover this side alone!"
She could see a Red Ace brute just a little metres away, tearing beasts apart like a lunatic. Blood was flying everywhere.
"Can you cover our flank!?"
The guy didn't even glance at her. He just laughed and cleaved another Mauler down the middle.
"Frost mages belong in the back!" he barked without turning.
Ha-ri swore under her breath. "You're in our quadrant, you meathead!"
Another of her guildmates screamed—and went down hard. Crushed under a Mauler's tail. Blood seeped across the obsidian ground.
She could feel her stomach twist.
"This isn't a battlefield. It was just a damn ego contest where everyone just want to shine."
****
Choi Hyun-woo from the Red-ace guild was having the time of his life.
He laughed aloud as his own sword went through the guts of another Mauler, splattering his own face with the black blood.
"Die, you ugly bastard!"
Fire crackled in his other hand. Without a second thought, he flung it into a group of monsters—and some allies.
"Oops," he grinned.
Another hunter—not from his guild—was trying to keep up. An A-rank girl with a spear. She stumbled over a corpse, dropped her weapon.
One of the drakes pounced.
Too slow.
Her scream was cut short.
Choi didn't blink. "She shouldn't have been standing there."
Behind him, Red Ace continued their rampage, ignoring formations, commands, and allies alike.
They were there to kill.
Everything else was background noise.
****
Even in the chaos there was still some guild that was trying to at least survive the struggle
Like the Black Haze guild, with Baek Joon-sang, the vice guild master if the Black Haze guild
As he gazed out upon the battlefield as a wearied pawn.
Shadows coiled about his boots, restless.
"Hold," he said to the remaining party members.
"We have lost three already," they murmured. "We have the right side to stabilize."
"And how. We'll have spent half our mana before the true boss spawns."
Another man went down—this boy, his face contorted with fright as the scimitar-like claw of a Mauler tore him apart limb from limb.
Baek remained quiet
"We only just begun and we have lost a lot of our forces
****
Even the a academy students where not playing.
Kang Hye ducked under a claw, wind magic flaring around her boots as she launched herself back.
"I need backup! Min-jae—!"
"Hold up girl," came a annoyed voice.
A burst of flame lit up the sky.
Ryu Min-jae landed beside her, his sword glowing red-hot. He didn't even look her way.
His first strike tore straight through a Mauler's face. The second cut its legs out. The third snapped its neck.
It dropped down softly.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked expressionlessly
She nodded, gasping.
"Stay with the group. Do not try to become a hero," he grumbled, " just try surviving first, that the best you can afford to do"
Hye-Jin just nodded in obedience
---
POV: Commander Ahn Kang-ho
Ahn's vision was swimming.
He didn't remember the moment the claw got him—just the warmth spreading across his side. His armor was cracked, soaked with blood. Every breath was harder than the last.
But he couldn't stop.
Not yet.
A Mauler lunged toward one of the younger mages. Ahn shoved forward, planting his shield like a wall.
The impact drove him to one knee.
Another beast came from the side.
He turned too slow.
Claws raked across his ribs.
Ahn grunted, blood spraying from his mouth as he dropped to both knees.
"Commander!!"
Someone shouted, but it was distant, muffled, like underwater.
His vision blurred.
But he held his ground.
"Not… yet…"
Final Glance Across the Battlefield…
The first wave was finally thinning—but it had cost them dearly.
Fourteen hunters down. At least seven confirmed dead. Most of them younger. B to A-rank. Too green. Too unlucky.
They'd died in the opening act.
The guilds were barely holding together. The trust was gone. All that remained were glares.
Fallen Sword blamed Frost Veil.
Frost Veil blamed Red Ace.
Red Ace didn't care.
And Black Haze?
Still watching.
Still untouched.
Many hours later
Commander Ahn clutched his ribs, vision swimming.
Somewhere far ahead, behind the twisted ridgeline, a deep rumble echoed.
Like something… waking up.
The ground shook.
All eyes turned.
A shadow rose in the distance—tall, wide, and wrong.
The real enemy was coming.
And they weren't ready.
To Be Continued...