The Anomaly's Path

"So... to sum it up, the boss monster from the Gate is coming out, the barrier between the city and the valley is broken, and we’re stuck right in the middle of it."

Roan stood a few steps away, hands shoved deep into his pockets, though his eyes were scanning the thick purple fog around us with sharp focus.

"Pretty much," I muttered, adjusting my grip on Malva as I held her in my arms. She was surprisingly light, her head resting weakly against my chest. Her breathing was shallow but steady, her pale face covered in dust.

It had been a few minutes since Roan and Elisabeth first cut through the mist, and honestly, seeing the two of them together had thrown me off. I hadn’t expected either of them to show up here, let alone forming a team to track me down in the middle of a disaster.

When they first arrived, Elisabeth took one look at Malva lying unconscious in my arms and started firing questions. Why was I this close to the valley? What happened to her? Why was the whole area full of broken space and twisted energy?

I gave them just enough to satisfy them: we were clearing out leftover monsters, got caught in an illusion, and then Damon fell out of the sky like a meteor, knocked Malva out, and flew back toward the ridge.

I left out the important part, using my skill to see her past, her broken mind, and the blade I had held to her throat.

Both Roan and Elisabeth were too sharp. I could tell by the way Elisabeth’s violet eyes stayed on the broken stones that she knew I was hiding half the truth. But neither pushed me. They knew I was keeping secrets, but I didn’t owe them everything, and right now we had a much bigger disaster to deal with.

"And you’re just carrying her around like a sack of grain?" Roan looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "Not that I care, brother, but are you sure about this? What if Seris hears that you were wandering around in the mist carrying another girl in your arms?"

"Or worse, what if she thinks you’re stealing her away?" Roan added with a grin. "I’d hate to be in your shoes when the rumors start."

I glared at him, my eyes narrowing. "Shut up, Roan. What do you want me to do, drop her on the rocks? She’s out cold because that bastard Damon crashed into her. Besides, I don’t like her like that, and I’m pretty sure Malva feels the same way."

"I’m just pointing out the obvious," Roan chuckled softly, though the humor didn’t reach his eyes. "You look completely absurd."

"If you two are quite finished," Elisabeth cut in, her cold, smooth voice breaking through our arguing. She stood slightly behind Roan, her black and purple dress still clean despite the chaos, her deep violet eyes fixed on the wall behind us.

"The mana is rising. The Gate is expanding, and the barrier along the ridge is breaking down. We don’t have time to stand here joking."

I let out a heavy breath, shifting Malva slightly to balance her weight against my shoulder.

"So what’s the plan?" Roan asked, looking between me and Elisabeth. "Are we going up to the ridge to fight a Grade 8 Gate boss?"

"No..." I said instantly. "We’re not going anywhere near that ridge."

Roan raised his eyebrows. "Oh? I thought you were the type to jump headfirst into danger."

"I’m not suicidal," I snapped, my voice turning serious.

"Maybe before, I would have done something stupid. But I know my limits. Up on that ridge, there’s a fucking Sovereign-rank boss coming out from the gate, surrounded by high-grade monsters. If we go up there, we won’t be helping Morgana or Damon, we’ll just be in the way. I’m not arrogant enough to think I can fight something like that."

I paused, looking back toward the faint outline of the Academy tower through the purple haze.

"Besides," I continued, "...the barrier is dead. The monsters from the valley are going to flood the city streets. The seniors and instructors will have to handle the big threats at the breach. Our job, where our rank actually matters, is down in the city, protecting the weaker students and civilians."

Roan stared at me for a long moment, then let out a low whistle. "Look at you, actually knowing your place and using your brain for once. I’m almost proud."

"Fuck you," I grunted, turning toward the city path. "Let’s move."

Elisabeth fell into step beside us, watching our back. "The shelters near the central plaza should still be active. We take her there first, then reinforce the defenses."

We moved quickly through the swirling purple fog, three shadows cutting through the broken trees toward the burning lights of the city.

_

Deep inside the main tower of Aegis Academy, in the high Security Command Room, the air was heavy and tense.

Large glowing screens lined the walls, showing blue and amber maps of the Academy’s barrier, the wall of stone and runes built along the ridge to keep the Sealed Valley separate from the Academy grounds. Normally, the barrier could handle up to Grade 7 corruption without breaking.

Right now, most of the screens were flashing dark red. Through the tall windows, the sky was a bruised purple.

"The outer barrier is failing!" an operator shouted over the blaring alarms. "Corrupted mana from the valley has passed the limit! The runes along the ridge are burning out!"

Vice President Helene Draven stood at the main table, her short silver hair wet with sweat. Her sharp grey eyes moved across the map with cold focus, her presence keeping the panicked staff in the room steady.

"Send power from the residential sector to the main barrier!" Helene ordered, her voice sharp and strong. "Keep the main gate closed as long as you can! Where is Zane?"

"Professor Zane is holding the shields over the central VIP shelter," a staff member replied quickly. "The nobles and non-combatants are safe there, but he can’t leave without the shields falling."

Helene gritted her teeth. Damn it. So we’re short on people here too.

Standing near the main control panel was Professor Vance. His thin coat was unbuttoned, his messy brown hair falling over his hazel eyes as his hands moved quickly across the glowing screen. Beside him stood Professor Dain, his sharp eyes locked on the readings from the Sealed Valley.

"It’s not just physical force," Vance muttered, his voice shaking slightly as he stared at the numbers flowing down his screen.

His mind raced as he studied the energy readings. The mana coming out of a rift like this wasn’t normal mana, it was raw, twisted energy, often called dark mana or Abyss energy. Monsters could handle it easily because their bodies and cores were built to withstand it.

Humans, however, had refined, delicate mana channels.

Strong fighters like Helene or Transcendents could resist the corruption because their power and will let them push back against the dark mana. In small Gates, the corrupted energy was weak enough for normal fighters to handle.

But a Grade 8 Gate was a different nightmare. A Sovereign-rank monster warped reality around it, giving off corrupted mana so thick that weaker rankers would have their channels shattered from the pain of being near it.

"A classic overflow," Dain said grimly, adjusting his coat. "The Gate is pulling too much mana. Unless someone fixes the main relay tower on the ridge, the whole wall will fall in less than ten minutes."

Vance stopped moving. His eyes widened as the truth hit him.

The command room here in the main tower was safe for now, but the main relay tower was far away, sitting exposed on the high ridge right at the edge of the cliff facing the valley. It was the heart of the whole barrier.

Vance slowly pulled his hands back from the screen.

"...I have to go to the main relay tower," Vance said quietly.

The command room went dead silent for a fraction of a second.

Helene turned her head, her grey eyes locking onto the young professor with shock. "What did you just say?"

"The main relay tower on the ridge needs to be fixed by hand," Vance said, his voice steadier now, though his hands were still shaking. "If I don’t go there through the Academy grounds and fix the runes, the whole wall will fall. Thousands of monsters will pour straight into the city."

"Are you insane, Vance?" Helene stepped forward, her heavy power flaring. "That tower is out in the open on the ridge, right in front of the Gate! The corrupted mist there is thick enough to destroy your mana channels! You’re a researcher, Vance, not a fighter!"

"And who else in this room knows how to fix the barrier when it’s about to break?" Vance said, looking directly into Helene’s eyes.

"Dain understands the rifts, but he doesn’t know the Academy’s rune system. You have the power, but you don’t have the knowledge. It has to be me. Besides, if we don’t hold that barrier, both Morgana and Damon will fall out there. They can’t fight a Gate boss and a horde of monsters if the whole wall is collapsing beneath them."

"I am the acting commander here, Professor Vance, and I am ordering you to stay at your station!" Helene barked, her composure cracking slightly.

Vance looked at her, a small, timid smile touching his lips.

"You’re not my commander, Helene," he whispered softly. "You’re my friend."

He saw the flash of desperation in her eyes as she opened her mouth to argue, clearly preparing to come with him herself.

"And don’t even think about leaving this room," Vance added gently, cutting her off. "The Academy needs you right here, Helene. If you leave, who’s going to run the defenses, keep the staff calm, and hold things together when the city panics? I know what I’m doing. You just have to trust me this once."

He closed his eyes for a split second, Morgana’s final words echoing sharply in his mind.

Stay here, run the arrays, and make sure these kids don’t end up like my old team... Keep the barrier stable. That’s an order.

She had ordered him to stay safe in the command room. She had told him not to die for her. But sitting here in this tower while she fought alone on the ridge, watching the barrier break while doing nothing... was something he couldn’t live with.

"Morgana told me to do my job today," Vance said, opening his eyes with quiet resolve. "...And keeping this barrier standing is my job."

Helene froze, her breath catching in her throat. She stared at him, her lips trembling slightly as the sheer weight of his decision settled in the quiet room. She wanted to stop him, to force him back to his desk, but deep down, she knew he was right.

Without waiting for another reply, Vance turned and walked out. He headed down the hallway and stepped outside into the open grounds, making his way toward the ridge.

_

At the coastal city of Valenfall, over three hundred miles away, the sky was tearing apart.

The Grade 8 Gate over the eastern bay hung like a giant, rotting eye over the black water. Massive sea monsters with barnacle-covered limbs and glowing yellow eyes were crawling out of the churning waves, smashing into the docks and crushing ships like toys.

A flash of blinding, blue-white light split the storm clouds.

Boom!

A loud shockwave blasted across the harbor as Zephyr von Celestial dropped from the sky like a falling rock. He hit the wooden pier with huge force, the air around him exploding as a wave of lightning shot outward, turning a hundred beasts into black ash before his feet even touched the ground.

Zephyr stood in the middle of the smoking crater, his black hair whipping in the wind, his ocean-blue eyes glowing with raw power. He wore a simple dark tunic, and resting on his shoulder was his huge black steel sword, a weapon too heavy for a normal person to lift.

He swung the greatsword casually with one hand. A line of lightning cut through the bay, splitting the sea and carving through the floating horde of monsters. The water exploded into towers of steam and boiling foam.

Zephyr didn’t even look at the dying beasts. His gaze was turned north, staring past the dark sky toward the distant direction of Aegis Academy.

His grip tightened on his sword until the metal groaned under his hand. He had come to Valenfall first because the coastal barrier had broken, and if this city fell, the whole eastern coast would drown in blood.

But every second he spent here was a second he wasn’t at the Academy protecting his family.

A huge tentacle erupted from the boiling ocean behind him, covered in sharp teeth and black venom, crashing down toward his head with enough force to crush a building. Zephyr didn’t turn around.

He just raised his left hand, caught the giant tentacle in mid-air with his bare palm, and let out a cold, angry scoff. "Is that all you’ve got?"

With a hard twist, he ripped the limb off the creature’s body, letting out a roar of lightning that lit up the whole bay.

"Die faster," Zephyr growled, his voice echoing like thunder across the dark ocean. "I have a family to get back to..."