A black regal sedan sped into the streets of Blossom Avenue and drifted to a stop just before the pedestrian paths. The door to the driver’s seat popped open and a tall grey-skin man exited from the car.

Jacob Eames gave the area a short but thorough glance before striding towards the crowd that had formed around the centre of Blossom Avenue. He waded and squeezed his way through the massive crowd with much difficulty. When he finally arrived before the barricade tapes, he flashed his badge to the officer standing watch.

The officer gulped at the sight of Eames’ badge and waved him through.

“Who’s in charge?” Eames asked.

“That would be Captain Williams.” The officer pointed towards an officer that was half a head taller than the other cops around and he had a cap clasped under his armpit.

Eames thanked the officer and strode towards the captain that was barking orders to all those around him. Paramedics were rushing to and from around the scene. At a single glance, Eames could already tell the casualties must be high. His attention was then robbed by the sight of ripples and fractures on the fabric of space itself.

“No way…” Eames muttered gravely to himself. Though it had been twenty years, the memories of his time as a Hunter were still clear in his head. They weren’t something he could easily forget even if he wanted to. The distortion of the very fabric of space splashed a huge sense of unease on him.

The captain eventually took notice of Eames’ presence and he quickly trotted over to him. “You must be Sentinel Eames. I’m Captain Williams. I’m sure you have already been informed of the situation, yes?”

Eames took the captain’s outstretched hand and shook it. “I have, Captain.” 

“That’s good. Then, I’ll—”

“May I ask why you haven't cleared the area of civilians?”

The captain gave Eames a dumbfounded look. “We already have. This area is already fenced off. The civilians are around thirty metres away from the crime scene.”

“Only thirty metres? Captain, do you not realise what that is?” Eames pointed at the distorted space.

“Forensics say that’s a residual mark of the bomb that went off.”

“The forensics is mistaken. That’s a residual mark of a dungeon portal.”

“That’s impossible. Dungeon portals have stopped spawning since the vanquishment of the Alpha Umbral twenty years ago.”

“I’m well aware of that, Captain. I was part of the expedition team that took the Alpha down.”

“You were a Hunter?”

“Which is why you better listen to me when I say you should immediately clear this area of civilians. Even if I’m wrong, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Won’t you agree, Captain?”

The Captain swallowed his doubts and nodded. “I’ll see to it at once.” He left Eames’ side and quickly went around the scene, shouting orders to the other officers.

Left to his own device, Eames lightly pressed the earpiece on his left ear. “Harker,” he spoke.

“Eames, you’re on scene?”

“I am.”

“Report.”

“There’s a residual mark of a Dungeon Portal.”

There was a short pause before Harker responded. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. You can’t forget something like that even if you wanted to.”

“Very well. Then I’ll dispatch the Reapers as a contingency.”

“Copy that, Harker. I’ll be— Huh?”

“Eames?”

“Harker, make haste with the Reaper’s dispatch.”

“Make haste?”

“Everyone, code red!” Eames shouted. “Get the civilians out of here fast!”

“Eames, what’s wrong!?” Harker shouted in response.

“The portal is opening, Harker.”

The distorted part of the space began to tremble and the cracks began to widen, spilling out purple rays of light.

“Not good, Eames. Is the area not clear of civilians yet?”

“Clearing.”

“Can you hold the Abyssals at bay?”

“That will depend on what kind of Abyssals the portal will be popping out. I will try my best, Harker, but I am underprepared for this.”

“Just do your best to hold them off. The Reapers are already on the way. ETA fifteen minutes.”

“Can’t it be faster?”

“I’m afraid not, Eames. Good luck.”

“Ah, damn it.”

Just then, a scream erupted from somewhere, presumably because the screamer saw a long and gaunt hand with claws for nails squirming its way out of the spatial cracks.

“A Stygian!” Eames shouted and brandished his handgun, which he then aimed at the flailing arm.

“Eames, be careful. They’re—”

“I know! I still remember the tenacious fuck they are.”

The fractures continued to expand as more long and gaunt claws protruded from the cracks. Eventually, the crevices became large enough for a Stygian to fit through. It sprang right out of the portal. A near six feet tall humanoid monster that moved around mostly on four. It had no eyes but it had a very sharp nose and a wide set of maw filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

Eames pulled the trigger. The shot echoed loudly and clearly in spite of the panic and screams in the background. The shot hit the Stygian square in the head. It staggered backwards from the impact of the bullet but it didn’t tumble. The Stygian turned its non-existent gaze to Eames, largely unfazed by the shot to its head, and screeched before breaking into a sprint towards Eames.

Eames let out a short sigh. “Figures,” he said and holstered his gun. He drew his sword out instead.

The Stygian leapt at Eames once it was close enough. Eames held his hand out. A magic shield manifested in front of his palm. The Stygian collided into the shield. Eames could hear the fracturing of the Stygian’s nose and other parts of its face. Once the Stygian went stumbling, Eames lunged in and cleanly decapitated the Stygian with Mana infused to the blade of his sword.

“Captain!” Eames bellowed.

“Sentinel Eames!” the Captain responded in an instant, trotting over to him with a hectic expression, a gun in hand. “You were right… This is a Dungeon Portal…”

“Captain, set up a barricade around this area.”

“What good will a barricade do? Those things are strong. They can even move a car.”

“The barricade can slow them down at the very least. We need to contain them for only around fifteen minutes. The Reapers are on their way.”

“The Reapers? Thank god…”

“Don’t be relieved just yet, Captain. Fifteen minutes is more than enough for a single Stygian to cause a bloodbath if it ran loose.”

The Captain nodded. “I know… I know…” Though Williams was used to handling extreme and devastating violence, he had zero experience when it came to dealing with creatures of the Abyss. He was no Manavir and everything he knew about the Abyss and the Dungeons was through the net and television. 

“Captain, I want you and your men to stay behind the barricade after you have put them up.”

“What about you?”

“Someone has to contain these cretins until the Reaper arrives.”

“Will you be alright, Sentinel Eames? I can have my men provide you with some support.”

“No need, Captain. Bullets are ineffective against these cretins and I want all of their attention on me. Less chance of them trying to run astray that way.”

“As you say. But if you need any support, we will be ready to provide you at any given moment.”

“Understand, Captain.”

The two exchanged nods and the Captain briskly made his way to his officers and began ordering them to set up a barricade around the area.

While the barricade was being hastily set up, Eames stood his ground and kept constant vigilance on the expanding portal. The fabric of reality crumbled piece by piece as the Stygians zealously forced their way into the mundane planes of Earth. They were ferocious and ruthless but their intelligence left much to be desired. Despite the amassing numbers of Stygians at the portal, only one had gotten through since the others were all stuck together due to their dullness and impatience. But their stupidity would not hold them back forever as the cracks were only getting larger and larger.

Eventually, two Stygians popped out of the portal. The pair immediately charged at Eames, the closest flesh being to them. 

Eames threw a flashbang at the two Stygians. He hid his eyes behind his arm as the flashbang went off. Immediately after, Eames rushed at the two dazed Stygians. He easily decapitated the one on the right but when he went for the left one, it had already recovered from its blindness.

Eames put up his magic shield just in time as the Stygian took a swipe at him. He deflected the Stygian’s claw with the shield and countered with a slash. The Stygian went under the slash and thrust its claw at Eames’ belly. Eames dismissed the shield and gathered Mana around his belly. The Stygian’s claw bounced off of him. 

Eames swung his sword in full force, lopping the Stygian’s arm off. The Stygian cried and immediately retaliated with a wild hook of its other claws. Eames ducked down and sliced that arm off. While the Stygian was screeching in agony, Eames severed its head from its neck, ending its misery.

“Five minutes out, Eames,” Harker said.

“It has only been five minutes?” Eames scoffed in disbelief.

“Hang in there, Eames.”

“Been doing that for the past five minutes.”

There was a sound of an explosion of glass, drawing Eames’ attention. It was the sound of the portal, bursting further apart. A dozen or so Stygians poured through the portal.

“Oh… fuck,” Eames muttered. He tapped his pockets. “Great. I’m out of shit.”

The Stygians wandered their gazes for a brief second before all of them set their sights on Eames. One of the Stygians had its head instantly burst into smithereens by a bolt of energy. 

Needless to say, it was the work of Eames. “The old way, it is.” It was a small precise blast of condensed Mana. This skill was given the name, Arcane Bolt, but the name itself was seldom used as most Manavirs considered the name to be too awkward to say out loud.

They Stygians did not mourn their dead and started charging toward Eames together, tripping over one another. Eames made quick work of seven more Stygians before his world began to spin and blur.

“God damn it… I’m way too out of practice,” Eames uttered in between his strained breaths. Using Arcane Bolts was not physically tiring but it was tremendously mentally tasking. In turn, it would indirectly affect his physical constitution.

Just as the Stygians were thinning out, the portal expanded further and more Stygians came pouring out. These ones spared no moment looking around and rushed at Eames directly. 

As Eames braced himself to expend himself until he couldn’t anymore, a whip of chains shot over him and streaked around the battlefield, quickly piling up the body count of the Stygians.

Eames spun around with relief and amazement spreading across his face. He expected to see an individual in complete black with a mask covering the entirety of their head. However, what he saw was a girl with near chalk-white skin, dressed in slacks and a dress shirt, hopping over the barricade that was around her height. Her black and short hair framed her sharp face perfectly. Her eyes were akin to a pair of amethyst. 

No matter how Eames looked at her, she looked like a simple civilian, but he knew that appearance can be deceiving.

“Jacob Eames?” the girl asked.

“I am. You are?”

“Ilona Crane,” the girl replied and flashed a badge of a white lozenge symbol with a red four-point star in the centre.

“You’re a Reaper. Has it already been fifteen minutes?”

“I won’t know," the girl answered with a deadpan face. "I was off-duty. I was just passing by when I stumbled upon this commotion.”

“You have your earpiece?”

The girl nodded and tapped on her right ear. 

“Harker.”

“Yeah, I heard the exchange. Identity confirmed. She is indeed a Reaper. I’m connecting to her earpiece and… there. Connected. Testing, testing. Crane, can you hear me?”

“Loud and Clear.”

“I’m Ilya Harker. I’ll spare you the details for later. For now, your task is simple. Just kill every Abyssals that came out of the portal and make sure none of them went out of the barricade. Hold out until the other Reapers arrive.”

“Understood,” Crane said and retracted her chains from the countless Stygians it had ploughed through. “Just like always.”