Chương 8: Rescue

Ch 8 - Rescue All eyes were fixed on the Rift as it crackled with violent bursts of energy, scattering sparks into the air. The space along its edges rippled and warped, twitching in uneven spasms, while its shape subtly distorted every few moments before snapping back into place. [Warning: Rift Stability at Critical Levels. Structural Collapse Expected Shortly.] The blaring warning appeared on the screens of the Rift monitoring devices.

Reid stared at the red message, his hand reaching for his phone once more as he dialed the number he had contacted. It rang only once before someone picked up.

"Director Shin, the Rift is collapsing," Reid said, barely controlling the tension in his voice.

"... I've already contacted the higher-ups," Director Shin replied.

"The earliest they can get an A-rank here is six hours from now."

"That'll be too late," Reid said. There was no way the Rift would remain stable for another six hours. At this rate, it would collapse within the hour, if not sooner.

"Can't they ask the guilds for help? I'm sure they can spare an A-rank to come here."

"You know very well that the government's relationship with the guilds has been strained lately, Reid," Director Shin said. Reid did know. The two sides had spent years butting heads. The guilds hated government oversight, while the government refused to leave organizations capable of leveling city blocks without supervision.

"So they're not going to do more?" Reid asked. He had expected as much. At the end of the day, it was only a B-rank Rift. Since it was collapsing rather than breaking out, the damage would be limited. Four people would die: three civilian children and one C-rank Awakener. In the grand scheme of things, that wasn't much. People died every day. Some fell victim to monsters, others to ordinary crimes, disease, or old age. Awakeners also lost their lives clearing Rifts on a regular basis.

Compared to that, four deaths barely registered. There might be some public outrage if the story got out. A few headlines. A few angry comments. Then people would move on. It wasn't enough to stir the government into action.

"... I'm sorry. I'll try contacting some guild members personally. I know a few of them. I'm sure I can—""No need," Reid said.

"That'll put you in a tough spot, Director. I'll handle this."

"What are you talk—" Reid ended the call and pocketed his phone. Then he marched toward the Rift, drawing the attention of the crowd gathered nearby. The captain of the rescue team, who had been standing with his subordinates watching the Rift with conflicted eyes, shouted, "Hey! What are you doing?! Stay back from the Rift!"

"Sorry, but I need to save my brother." With that, Reid stretched out his hand and stepped into the Rift, disappearing from view.

"We're so dead," Yuyan said. Evan inwardly agreed. The four of them stared up at the towering monster before them. Evan didn't know what this thing was, but it was no B-rank monster. It was at least an A-rank boss. Was that why the Rift was considered a B-rank dungeon? Because the enemies were so weak that they could be handled by a single C-rank Awakener, but it made up for it by hiding a secret boss one rank above what it was supposed to have.

Perhaps the existence of this tree monster explained why the pixies and wolves had been hiding in their nests instead of roaming around and attacking them. There was a bigger creature that ruled this land. Not that understanding the reason would help them at all. No matter how Evan thought about it, they were going to die. Not even Harlan could do anything about it.

"Run, kids!" Harlan shouted as he dashed toward the monster's leg. He swung his sword at it, but only managed to leave a shallow scratch on the monster's thick trunk-like foot. Still, it was enough to draw the monster's attention. Evan grabbed Marcus and Yuyan, who were still frozen in shock, and dragged them away. The two stumbled before managing to regain their footing as the three of them tried to flee. The monster raised its massive arm and brought it crashing down toward Harlan.

Harlan roared and unleashed blades of wind at it, but they only left shallow gashes and failed to stop the attack. At the last second, he threw himself aside. THOOOM! The force of the impact and the resulting gust still sent him flying. He crashed into the distant trees, damaging several of the pixies' dwellings, but none of them dared come out. Meanwhile, the three students had barely crossed half the open field when they felt the monster's gaze settle on them. It didn't even bother raising its arm this time.

Instead, thick vine-like roots shot out from its body. They moved like snakes and rushed toward them with frightening speed. Evan and Marcus managed to dodge, but Yuyan wasn't so lucky. A vine wrapped tightly around her body, squeezing as if it intended to crush her.

"AAAAAHH!" Yuyan screamed.

"Yuyan!" Marcus shouted. He rushed forward and hacked at the vine with his knife, desperately trying to free her. It was useless. The blade bounced off without leaving so much as a mark. In the next instant, another vine lashed out and wrapped around him, coiling tightly around his body. Evan's eyes widened as he watched both of them get caught. His mind battled between helping them and running away. This time, the urge to run was much stronger than when he had faced the wolf.

The Six-Eyed Wolf might have been a monster of the Rift, but it was insignificant compared to the towering tree monster before him. He could still imagine himself defeating a Six-Eyed Wolf. But this thing... Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! It was impossible. Run. You have to run! Save yourself! And run Evan did. His eyes met Yuyan's. She was still trapped, her eyes wide with horror and desperation. Pleading.

He tore his gaze away and sprinted toward the distant forest, but it was futile. He barely managed to dodge two vines lashing toward him before a third swept his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground. A moment later, it coiled tightly around his body.

"Aargh!" Evan groaned as the vine tightened around him. His bones creaked under the pressure. It felt as though the vine was trying to crush him into pulp, squeezing him like a fruit. A bloody, meaty fruit.

"Let them go!" Harlan shouted. Bruises and cuts covered his body. His right arm hung at an unnatural angle, but he still swung his sword with his left hand.

"RAAAAAAGH!" He activated his wind blades once more, unleashing a barrage of compressed air. This time, the attacks carved deep into the vines. They recoiled and released the three students, who crumpled to the ground. Evan could feel broken bones throughout his body, each movement sending fresh pain through him. There was no way he could run anymore. At best, he could crawl. But how was he supposed to escape this towering monster when he was moving no faster than a snail? Harlan was wheezing heavily.

That last attack had taken a lot out of him. The monster didn't give him a chance to recover. It attacked again, performing a sweeping strike that sent all four of them flying. Evan slammed into a tree. WHAM! Pain exploded through his body as his broken bones shattered further. He coughed up blood as his vision blurred and his ears rang. He barely felt himself hit the ground, every inch of his body screaming in agony. God damn it… Just kill me already.

The monster could have killed them all with ease, yet it continued to toy with them. Through his blurred vision, he could barely make out its silhouette, but he didn't even bother trying to understand what he was seeing. Instead, he closed his eyes, knowing he was going to die. There was no point in searching for a way out anymore. Finally, some rest... Accepting his impending death was surprisingly easy. Evan wondered why he had struggled so desperately before.

The fear, the panic, and the desperate need to survive all seemed so distant now. Perhaps that was the contradiction of being human. Many people talked about wanting everything to end, yet when death finally stood before them, they still fought with everything they had to keep living. Evan had done the same, but there was nothing left to fight with now. His body was broken, his vision was fading, and no rescue was coming. So he gave up.

Life had beaten him down again and again, and even transmigration had not freed him from his terrible luck. It had only given fate another chance to mock him. Maybe he should have accepted it long ago. Maybe things would have been easier if he had stopped struggling from the start. Yeah... He should just give up. And yet, as the cold embrace of death began to creep closer, a strange but intense warmth suddenly washed over him. Like light chasing away darkness, the warmth spread through his body.

Evan found himself slowly regaining feeling in his limbs, no longer overwhelmed by agony. He struggled to open his eyes. A familiar handsome face greeted him. It was a face that looked as though it had been sculpted by a master artist, every feature perfectly symmetrical. He had seen that face before, yet something was different. The eyes that were supposed to be dark now glowed with a brilliant golden light.

"... Brother?" Evan muttered.

"I'm here," Reid said as he pulled him close.

When Reid entered the Rift, it wasn't difficult to locate his brother. The massive towering monster in the distance was impossible to miss. With his sharp hearing, he could even make out the distant screams coming from that direction. As he ran, his mind conjured one horrific scenario after another. His brother lying dead, his body mangled beyond recognition. Torn in half. Crushed into a bloody mess, nothing left but gore staining the ground. Reid cursed himself for not entering sooner.

For allowing his hesitation to stop him from taking matters into his own hands. He should have known it would end up like this when the Rift could only allow one more person to enter. And now, because of him, his brother was going to die. A scene from the past flashed through his mind. Bloodied hands clutching a small child. Reid sprinted even faster. After years of locking that power away, ignoring it and pretending it didn't exist, he finally reached for it again.

It answered immediately, stretching toward him as though it had been waiting all this time. He seized it without hesitation. Decades of experience, forged through countless battles, were not so easily erased by years of mundane living. Reid channeled the power of the Sacred Light throughout his body, strengthening every muscle and sharpening every sense. His speed, already beyond that of elite athletes, increased even further. The world blurred around him as he crossed the remaining distance in seconds.

Leaping into the air, he scanned the battlefield below. Four bloodied and battered bodies lay scattered across the area. His gaze locked onto a youth with red hair, the crimson strands blending into the blood-soaked mess that covered him. Evan. Reid landed beside him and gently pulled his brother into his arms. His heart twisted as Evan's limp body collapsed against him like a broken doll. Without a moment's hesitation, he poured Sacred Light into Evan's body.

Golden radiance spread through shattered bones and torn flesh, knitting them back together piece by piece. Evan's closed eyes fluttered open. For a moment, those dark eyes stared up at him in confusion.

"... Brother?" Evan muttered.

"I'm here," Reid said as he pulled him closer. He really wished he could comfort his brother longer, but he could feel the monster's gaze now locked onto him. It seemed it had finally realized that a new opponent was standing before it.

"Grooooaaarrr!" the monster roared and sent its fist toward them. Reid dodged the creature's attack. One look was enough for him to recognize it. It was an Awakened Thornwood Tree, a rare mutated monster born from the twisted bond with the Queen of the Woodbound Pixies. It drained the life force of its caretaker, but in return became far stronger and deadlier than its original form. To think an A-rank boss would appear here. Reid's expression darkened.

He retreated deeper into the forest until they were well outside the boss arena, then gently laid Evan on the ground. The Sacred Light had already healed the worst of his injuries, leaving him battered but conscious.

"You stay here and don't move around," Reid said, ruffling Evan's hair.

"I'll handle the boss."

"You need to save the others!" Evan said, clutching Reid's sleeve.

"Of course. Just leave everything to me," Reid smiled. With that, he dashed back toward the boss arena. The Awakened Thornwood Tree lashed out with another wave of vines as it locked onto Reid once more, but he slipped between them with ease. Moving swiftly, he retrieved the two injured students and carried them to safety before returning for the unconscious C-rank Awakener.

"Now then, to deal with you," Reid said, gazing up at the towering monster before him. Any other person would have felt fear facing such a massive creature, but this was not his first encounter with a monster, and he had faced far more terrifying foes than an oversized plant. He drew the standard-issue sidearm carried by Rift Support Technicians, a compact black pistol intended for emergencies rather than combat, and leveled it at the monster. Against an A-rank boss, it should have been useless.

Most Awakeners abandoned firearms long ago, leaving them to soldiers and government personnel. Reid smiled.

"This should be enough."