Chapter 108: What Lies Behind The Gate
The Gate pulsed again.
David felt it before he saw it.
A pressure rolled through the street, heavier than before, making the pavement tremble beneath his shoes. The civilians around him stumbled as if an invisible wave had swept through their legs.
David remained standing.
His eyes stayed fixed on the darkness.
[Dungeon Stabilization Process: 78%.]
The number had climbed again.
Too quickly.
Beside him, April grabbed his arm as another tremor passed beneath them.
"David."
"I’m here."
Her fingers tightened around his sleeve.
"Tell me we’re not still doing this."
David glanced at her.
"Depends what you mean by ’this.’"
"Standing near the giant monster while the giant magic door is trying to kill everyone."
He looked back at the Gate.
"Then yes."
April stared at him.
"You really need to work on your reassuring skills."
"I’ve been told."
Another tremor interrupted them.
This one was stronger.
A row of abandoned cars rocked against the curb. Somewhere farther down the street, glass shattered from a damaged building, followed by a burst of frightened shouting.
David’s attention shifted toward the sound.
The evacuation was still moving.
Association workers were pushing civilians through the secondary route while armed personnel continued retreating from the Gate.
But something had changed.
The Guardian wasn’t moving.
It stood several dozen meters away, surrounded by the Association’s remaining fighters.
Its body was covered in wounds.
Blood—or whatever passed for blood in that creature—ran down its chest and dripped onto the pavement.
Yet it wasn’t looking at them.
It was looking at the Gate.
David narrowed his eyes.
A few minutes ago, the creature had been tearing through the Association’s line.
It had killed people.
He hadn’t forgotten that.
Whatever was happening now didn’t erase it.
Then the Guardian slowly lowered its body.
One claw pressed into the pavement.
The other followed.
Its muscles tightened.
Several Association fighters immediately raised their weapons.
"Brace!"
"Don’t let it through!"
"Hold your positions!"
David’s gaze moved between them.
The Guardian wasn’t charging.
It was positioning itself.
Directly between the Gate and the street.
Between the Gate and everyone else.
His expression tightened.
’Why there?’
The commander apparently reached the same conclusion, because his voice cut through the chaos.
"Fire!"
Rifles erupted.
The sound slammed through the street.
The Guardian twisted as rounds tore into its shoulder and chest. Its body jerked from the impacts, but it didn’t turn toward the shooters.
It simply absorbed the attack.
Then it took one step.
Not toward the Association.
Toward the Gate.
David’s eyes sharpened.
Another volley followed.
The Guardian staggered.
Still, it kept moving.
"Stop!"
Someone shouted from the Association line.
The gunfire ceased.
For a moment, only the alarms and distant screams remained.
The Guardian stood between them and the Gate.
David stared at its back.
’It isn’t attacking them.’
The thought came naturally.
Then he corrected himself.
’No.’
His eyes dropped to the dead and injured Association workers scattered farther behind the line.
’It attacked them before.’
That distinction mattered.
The Guardian hadn’t suddenly become harmless.
Something had changed.
David looked toward the Gate.
The darkness rippled.
The Guardian’s head immediately snapped upward.
Its entire body tensed.
David felt the pressure in his chest return.
This time, it was accompanied by something else.
Fear.
Not his.
The Guardian’s.
His eyes narrowed.
’What did you see?’
The Gate pulsed.
The Guardian growled.
The sound was deeper than before, vibrating through the buildings and making the remaining windows tremble in their frames.
Several Association fighters took a step backward.
One of them lowered his weapon slightly.
"What the hell is it doing?"
Nobody answered.
The Guardian slowly turned its head toward the Association.
For a brief second, David thought it might attack them again.
Instead, the creature looked past them.
Toward the civilians.
Then toward the Gate.
Its gaze returned to the darkness.
David’s stomach tightened.
’It doesn’t care about us.’
The realization settled slowly.
’We’re not its target anymore.’
A senior Association officer seemed to realize the same thing.
"Hold your fire."
The commander turned toward him.
"What?"
"Hold your fire."
The officer pointed toward the Guardian.
"Look at it."
"I am looking at it."
"No. Look at where it’s standing."
The commander hesitated.
The Guardian was positioned directly between the Gate and the evacuation route.
The officer swallowed.
"It’s not trying to reach the civilians."
The commander stared at the creature.
"Then what is it doing?"
The Gate pulsed again.
The answer came without words.
The Guardian suddenly slammed both claws into the pavement.
A violent wave of energy burst outward.
The remaining containment barrier activated instantly.
Blue light spread across the street.
The Guardian turned toward it.
Then it charged.
"Wait!"
The commander barely finished the word before the creature collided with the barrier.
BOOM!
The entire street shook.
The barrier bent inward.
Association workers were thrown off their feet.
David instinctively stepped in front of April as debris flew past them.
She grabbed the back of his shirt.
"David!"
"I’m fine."
"You keep saying that!"
"Because I keep being fine."
The barrier groaned.
Cracks of light spread across its surface.
The Guardian pushed harder.
Its claws dug into the pavement.
Its muscles strained beneath its damaged hide.
The Association workers scrambled toward the stabilizers.
"Increase output!"
"It’s already at maximum!"
"Then reroute power!"
"We don’t have enough!"
The Guardian roared.
Not at them.
At the Gate.
David stared.
The sound wasn’t anger.
It was desperation.
Then the darkness inside the Gate moved.
The Guardian immediately slammed itself harder against the barrier.
The cracks spread.
David’s expression changed.
’It’s trying to get through.’
He looked at the Gate.
Then at the Guardian.
’No.’
His eyes narrowed.
’It’s trying to get to the Gate.’
The difference sent a chill through him.
Another pulse rolled outward.
This one knocked several Association workers to their knees.
April’s grip tightened around his shirt.
"David..."
He didn’t answer.
His attention was locked on the darkness.
Something had moved inside.
Not the Gate.
Something behind it.
The Guardian suddenly stopped pushing.
Its head lifted.
Its entire body went rigid.
For the first time since David had seen it, the creature looked completely still.
Then it slowly lowered itself.
Its claws dug deeper into the pavement.
Its wounded body trembled.
David watched it carefully.
’It’s not attacking.’
Another faint movement passed through the darkness.
The Guardian growled.
David’s eyes narrowed.
’It’s waiting.’
The Gate pulsed.
[Dungeon Stabilization Process: 82%.]
David stared at the notification.
Then at the creature.
Then back at the Gate.
The Guardian hadn’t stopped being dangerous.
It hadn’t forgiven the Association.
It hadn’t suddenly decided to protect humanity.
Something else had simply become more important.
And whatever that something was...
The Guardian was afraid of it.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The Guardian remained crouched against the pavement, its claws buried deep enough to crack the concrete beneath them.
Even the Association fighters seemed uncertain.
Their weapons were still raised.
But nobody pulled the trigger.
David understood why.
The creature wasn’t looking at them anymore.
Its entire attention was fixed on the Gate.
David followed its gaze.
The darkness inside the opening seemed deeper now.
Not wider.
Deeper.
As if the Gate had stopped being an opening and had become a window into something impossibly far away.
April shifted closer to him.
"Do you see that?"
David nodded.
"I see something."
"What?"
"Not sure."
She stared at him.
"That’s not very helpful."
"I wasn’t trying to be."
"You really have one answer for everything."
"I have several."
"Name one."
David glanced at her.
"Run."
April’s expression flattened.
"You’re terrible."
"I’ve heard that too."
Another pulse rolled through the street.
This time, it didn’t feel like an explosion.
It felt like pressure.
The air became heavier.
David felt it settle across his shoulders.
Around them, people began dropping to their knees.
An Association worker tried to stand and immediately stumbled again.
"What’s happening?"
"Pressure’s increasing!"
"Get the civilians farther back!"
"Move!"
The evacuation line began moving again.
April looked toward the civilians.
Then back at David.
"We should go."
David didn’t answer immediately.
His eyes remained on the Guardian.
The creature was trembling.
Not from injury.
From strain.
Its head suddenly lifted.
A low growl escaped its throat.
David’s expression hardened.
Something was coming.
The darkness shifted.
Just slightly.
But this time, David saw it.
A shape.
Something enormous moved somewhere beyond the Gate.
He couldn’t see its body.
There wasn’t enough light.
There wasn’t even enough space to understand what he was looking at.
He only saw a portion of it.
Something curved.
Massive.
Slow.
Then two faint points of light appeared in the darkness.
David stopped breathing for a second.
The lights weren’t bright. They didn’t need to be. They were simply there. Watching.
April noticed his expression.
"David?"
He didn’t respond.
The Guardian suddenly roared.
The sound ripped through the street.
Several civilians screamed.
The remaining Association fighters flinched. One of the younger workers stumbled backward.
"What the hell was that?"
An older officer didn’t answer. He was staring at the Guardian. The creature’s body was lowered almost completely against the ground now.
Its claws were spread wide and itshead was raised toward the Gate.
It looked less like a predator preparing to attack... And more like an animal preparing to survive something.