Marching orders came down like the hand of God. Every guild within range agreed to join the Association’s clearing team, but a serious issue reared its ugly head. Normally in the event of national crises the Hero Portal would facilitate the movement of troops to aid in defense, but America’s Weapon, Portal, could not be reached.

  “WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE CAN’T GET AHOLD OF HER?”

  “President, sir, please don’t yell. We’re doing our best.”

  “Dammit.” The Association President punched a concrete barricade, sending shards and dust flying. Sirens could be heard in the distance. The night stretched ominously. Rubbing his face, the President looked ten years older. He leaned against the broken concrete and groaned.

  “Watergss and Princess Scale are also unavaible too—”

  “Stop. Stop talking.”

  “President, we tried tracking their phones…”

  “And?”

  “We found all three of their phones together. Accidentally forgotten at the Belligrand House.”

  “Abandoned?”

  “The three of them were drinking and, according to the staff, they left behind Watergss’s card and vanished.”

  “So you’re telling me three of the strongest Awakeners in the country, including one that’s probably the strongest in the entire world, are now wandering off somewhere on a drunken adventure?”

  “According to the wait staff we interviewed…” The Association suit paused mid report. He wiped the sweat from his brow. “Only one of them was drunk. A young woman—”

  “No…” The President’s eyes wavered. A terrible premonition made him flinch.

  “—with white hair. She alone drank over twenty bottles of wine.”

  “Fuck.”

  “The CCTV footage we recovered is pretty bad. Almost looked like a hostage situation.”

  “I don’t know what’ll cause more damage before the night is through.” The president sighed and looked at the looming Gate that spanned the entire Mississippi river. The Gate’s ominous energy couldn’t match one tenth the terror he felt imagining a drunk Scale.

  It was just past midnight. The Gate was scheduled to break within two hours. The moonless sky sparkled with a river of stars.

  Evacuation orders were underway in St. Louis and in all other nearby cities and towns. The airports were overwhelmed with a sudden surge of outgoing and incoming flights. High ranking Awakeners, without the assistance of Portal, were forced to rely on traditional transportation to arrive. Due to the short timeframe most couldn’t even attempt the trip.

  “Gate analysis shows one hour until break!”

  “We need more barricades. Someone get—”

  “The National Guard has been called in. We’ll have air support…”

  “Erosion rate at 86%!”

  Conversations mixed in the chaotic scene forming a wall of noise that blended into static. Some people were preparing equipment and armor. Some were calling their families. Some were writing wills. Some prayed. It all combined into a hectic hodgepodge that firmly showed the human condition.

  An executive decision was made to not enter the Gate but to wait for the break. Splitting their forces at this point was pointless. No team could clear the Gate fast enough before the outbreak.

  News crews arrived one after another. Most filmed at a distance but a few managed to slip through the cracks and arrive at the front line.

  “This is Hana the Gossip coming at you live!”

  —Hana what are you doing?

  —No streamer get away from there!

  —[Bald Emoj [Fire Emoj [Bald Emoj [Fire Emoj

  “I know everyone is concerned about me but there’s no reason to fear. I’m sure our super tough Association Heroes will handle the Gate!” The camera panned over to show the Association President and the number of emojis in the chat exploded. “Now,” Hana continued her antics, “Let’s go find someone to hara—interview. I mean interview.”

  —She was totally going to say harass

  —caught in 4k

  —[Bald Emote] [Fire Emote]

  “Excuse me, Association President, do you have time for a quick interview?”

  “Hana? Who the hell let you past the line?”

  “Is it true that the Hero Portal has been kidnapped?”

  “What?” The Association President almost jumped out of his own skin. “Where did you hear that?”

  “I have my sources. Now answer the question!”

  “Hey Tomtom, get over here and take Hana back to the press line!”

  “Don’t ignore me, Buddha!” Hana bristled like an angry cat. “I’ve also heard that Watergss and that monster Princess Scale aren’t here either! What exactly is the Association hiding, huh?”

  The President sighed. Hana normally didn’t cause problems considering she worked with the Association as a propagandist, but occasionally her spitfire nature got the better of her.

  “Considering the proximity, all the Heroes from Response City should be here, but so far I’ve only seen three of our S-ranks! Tell me, Mr. President, where did you send them—Hey get your hands off me, Tomtom! I’ll sue you for vioting my first amendment rights! FREEDOM OF THE PRESS! SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!”

  The small ‘journalist’ was finally subdued and dragged away. Her antics had, at the very least, provided some levity in the bleak situation. The mood lightened just a little bit on this te July night.

  The Association President, Heavy Tomtom, and Ryan Sheltney (the only three S-ranks to arrive from Response City) gathered together. Soon, S-ranks from other cities started to join them. The numbers weren’t great. The final tally came out at 9 S-ranks. A paltry amount and a dangerously small number to tackle an S-rank break with. Casualties seemed almost unavoidable. The mood was heavy.

  “I’m not going to give a big speech.” The Association President stepped forward. The background noises seemed to fade away. Cameras zoomed in on him from a distance. “Do your best, everyone. Fight hard and stay alive.”

  The sound of gss breaking thundered through the makeshift arena. The massive dimensional Gate started to split open. A torrent of monsters surged through the whirling magic, each more horrific than the st.

  There was no grand charge. There was no rallying battle cry. Men and women took to the battlefield without fanfare or direction. The river parted like the red sea as magic power raged.

  Heavy Tomtom, dressed in pte mail, stepped onto the dry riverbed like a mountain. He shook the earth as his shield crushed the stampeding beasts that piled against it.

  The Association President’s body bulked up, his muscles shredding his suit, and he dove into the sea of demons barehanded. His fists struck like missiles, detonating the bodies of the enemy vanguard.

  Ranged magic bombardments rained down from the sky. The gathered Awakeners with spellcasting abilities were currently gathered in a formation designed to augment their output. Trails of fire looked like shooting stars.

  The monsters pouring from the Gate were weak at first. That changed within the first few minutes. Creatures that died in one punch from the President now took two or three. Demons that previously broke on Tomtom’s shield now bounced back to their feet. Despite the slowly fading momentum, the forces of humanity were prevailing. Were.

  A pair of bckened hands pierced the Gate. The creature looked humanoid at first but on a second gnce its uncanny features became more pronounced. It had crooked teeth that were a little too sharp, dancing fingers that trailed vile bck mana, and two twisting horns on its head. Bck demonic mana writhed like maggots across its skin. The creature raised its gangly arms and a whirlwind appeared that devoured the lights from the sky. The magic bombardment disappeared like smoke on the wind.

  “Unknown magic type enemy! I’m engaging in close combat!” Tomtom charged. His physical might stood near the top for Awakened tanks. His shield charge spttered a swath of foes between him and the new monster. “Die, beast!”

  The ground trembled and dust arose in an explosion of force. Several fighters cheered, assuming Tomtom’s attack succeeded.

  All the mirth faded in an instant. When the smoke and dust cleared, Tomtom’s speared body was raised like a trophy. The demon had stabbed through his shield and armor with its spindly hand like a knife through butter. Heavy Tomtom coughed up a spurt of blood.

  “Kurrack!” The monster spoke in a nguage no one could understand. It wiped the blood from its face with its free hand.

  “TOMTOM!” The Association President rushed forward to help his friend. The wind howled. The previously receded water started to backfill the riverbed. Another magic bombardment lit up the sky.

  The Association President arrived and kicked the monster backwards. Its body flew away and Tomtom fell forward but caught himself by stomping his feet. He coughed and looked at his friend with gratitude. The two men nodded at each other and then looked up at the rising demon ahead of them. The creature seemed unharmed after taking the strong kick. It ughed a chittering ugh.

  “Its hands can cut through mana,” said Tomtom with grit teeth. “You have to dodge its hits.”

  “Its body is tough, too,” said the President. “Kicking it felt like kicking a steel pte.”

  The creature raised its hands and bck mana seethed. Once again it somehow stopped the magic artillery, devouring the fire spells with a bck membrane that covered the width of the river.

  “We have to take it down. We need the mage support fire.”

  “Agreed.”

  The two men dashed forward at the same time. Despite his injury, Tomtom appeared confident. The earth shook as the battle raged.

  Meanwhile, somewhere in the stratosphere, a massive white dragon floated on its back. Two human women were being pinned to its belly by huge arms in the world’s strongest hug.

  “Ah *hic*,” Scale looked up at the sky. “Was it supposed to be a new moon?” She was too drunk to remember. The two girls in her arms were fighting each other again and tears started to fall from Scale’s eyes. “No fighting!” She squeezed the air from their lungs, stopping the argument.