At the 6th Haven, Irene received a message on the communications terminal that had been given to her by Ria.

'Activation of Void Pylon imminent. Awakened will feel a sudden bout of vertigo upon activation for a short few moments. Please bear with it. - Selene'

'It seems that we will be starting soon,' Irene thought to herself as she looked over the forces currently stationed here for the defense of the spillway.

The guards on duty on the walls were pulled from their posts and made to assist in the spillway's defense, while the guards who were exhausted from the battle against the army were made to take their place. The guards here manned the numerous gun emplacements within the spillway.

The Combat Droids lent by Ria were placed on the frontlines to hold off the revenant horde that would make its way through the tunnels. The Cobra Medium Tanks were placed behind the gun emplacements to allow them to anchor themselves and provide covering fire.

Earlier, Irene had controlled some of the droids to place rows of explosive charges in the spillway. These could be detonated when there was a need to quickly reduce the revenant numbers within the spillway, although it was obviously only a one-time-use mechanism.

Maya was also with her at the moment, though she was not very effective in combat, especially against revenants. Her job was to drag Irene and any titled class revenants into her pocket dimension so that Irene could safely eliminate them without the titled class revenant interfering with the rest of the battlefield.

All of a sudden, a massive tugging sensation could be felt from within her body. Soon after, her head started spinning incessantly, and she began to feel lightheaded as she collapsed onto her knees. Nearby, she could see Maya grabbing her head as she slid down a supporting pillar on her back, experiencing the same symptoms.

A minute passed, and the symptoms soon alleviated for both Irene and Maya. Although only a minute had passed, it felt like it had been going on for a much longer period of time.

Properly briefed beforehand, Irene and Maya both knew that this was one of the most telltale signs that the Void Pylon had been activated. "Guards! Get ready. It has begun. Relax for now, but once the early warning signal goes off, prepare for battle!" Irene commanded the guards. She also used the control terminal to switch the Combat Droids from standby mode to combat mode, allowing them to fire on any target that had not been previously whitelisted.

The defense force stood ready for around two hours. The air crackled with electrifying tension, a charged silence that hung heavily upon the battlefield. The guards, equipped with their rifles and manning the gun emplacements, waited with clenched fists and bated breath. Their eyes reflected a mixture of determination and trepidation.

In stark contrast to the cold, unfeeling Combat Droids, which stood unwaveringly in position, their weapons drawn and ready for anything that might come, be it hell or high water.

Even Irene and Maya began to doubt whether Revenants would appear, or if they and Ria were just overthinking things. However, such thoughts did not last. Just as they were about to relax, the ground slightly trembled beneath their feet.

At first, the rumbling was barely noticeable, but soon the shaking grew more intense. Out of the corner of her eye, Irene saw a bottle of water shaking violently before falling off the table and rolling onto the ground, the water inside still vibrating intensely.

Boom! An explosion rang out within the tunnel. It was the Early Warning System that had been crudely installed within the entrance to the spillway on the other side. This explosive device was rigged to motion detectors and pressure-sensitive devices, which would detonate when exposed to both constant pressure and multiple signs of movement.

"Get ready! They are coming!"

The end of the spillway below had been illuminated with chemical lights that had been thrown in earlier. Now the lights were flashing as something kept moving in front of it. Soon the light was completely blotted out as revenants rushed out from the abyss below.

The guards and Combat Droids opened fire into the spillway, spraying the incoming revenants down with gunfire. They had plenty of ammo stockpiled behind them in the staging area, so they had no worries about running out of ammunition, assuming the battle didn't extend for far too long.

The same could not be said for the Cobra Medium Tanks. There was limited ammunition available for them, so they couldn't fire down into the spillway without care. They would fire when there were huge groups of revenants bunched up and only when a designated officer requested it from the frontlines. Another target for the Cobra Medium Tanks was titled revenants up to Earl Class. Their armor-piercing (AP) ammunition was capable of effectively killing Baron and Viscount classes and sufficiently damaging Earl Classes. Anything stronger would have to be handled by Irene and Maya.

Waves of revenants threw themselves into the grinder without end. Their bodies dissipated as soon as they were killed, making way for the next wave of revenants to move forward. For now, the number of revenants was manageable with gunfire alone. But whether the situation would remain that way only time could tell.

Two more hours passed since the onslaught began, totaling 4 hours since the start. With around one or two more hours remaining in the planned timeline, they only had to hold on a bit longer.

"Hey! Supply team, I need more ammo here. I'm down to my last two mags!" A guard on the frontline shouted to the rear, where logistics teams were carrying boxes of ammunition from the staging room to the frontlines. "Conserve your damn ammo better! We're busy here!" A logistic member shot back.

Throughout the hours, the frontline had been pushed further and further back from where it had first begun. The revenant onslaught was growing fiercer and more numerous.

"Cobra-1, I need fire support here!" One of the designated officers shouted into the comms as he fired his handheld rifle into the approaching swarm. "Please be more specific. There are revenants everywhere!" One of the guards in charge of directing the Cobra Tank's shots responded over the comms. "Damn it, then shoot everywhere! We're about to be overrun here!"

The Cobra tank adjusted its barrel and fired multiple shots into the spillway, blasting away large portions of the approaching revenant swarm, providing a moment of reprieve to the troops in front. "Damn it, fall back! We can't hold that position anymore!" Irene ordered. Without the Cobra support fire, the position where the front was located would have undoubtedly been overrun.

"I don't know how much longer we can hold here. We've been pushed back so much. There are only two more battle lines remaining before they reach the Repulsion Field, and I don't trust that thing to hold on for long." Irene was pretty battered and exhausted. She had to single-handedly kill a total of 10 Earl Classes and 4 Marquess Class Revenants in combat throughout the entire battle.

Maya was also not doing well. Even though she never directly participated in the fights, drawing the strong revenants into her ability was very taxing on her mental strength. If she forcibly drew in something that did not want to be drawn in, it would consume loads of mental energy on her part, increasing with the difference in strength between the enemy and herself.

"Commander Irene, there's another Marquess class on the frontlines." A guard reported on the battle comms. Hearing the report, Irene picked up her spear from the ground and stood up. As she took her first step, she slightly stumbled, almost falling completely over, but was caught by Maya before she did so.

"Are you okay?" Maya asked, her eyes slightly blank and empty, showing signs of extreme exhaustion. "I can still fight... but thanks..." Irene mumbled as she separated herself from Maya. "Sorry, but I don't think I can use my ability anymore. I will likely collapse if I do..." Maya said apologetically, looking at Irene with worry.

The only reason Irene had managed to fight for this long was that when Maya dragged the enemy into her domain, she had purposely made it so that the inner environment perfectly countered the strengths of the revenant, allowing Irene to have an easier time fighting them.

"No problem. I can fight without it this time... I have no choice but to fight. If not, the frontline will collapse..." Irene muttered, fatigue evident in her voice as she rushed toward the front to intercept the Marquess-Class Revenant.

At the front, the Marquess-Class Revenant blitzed through its allies as it rushed toward the guards' position. Cobra Medium Tank fire impacted the revenant's body relentlessly in an attempt to halt its advance. However, each shot only slightly staggered the revenant due to the force of the explosion, without dealing any damage to its body.

The Marquess-class revenant's advance was essentially unimpeded, and soon it was just in front of the first line of Combat Droids. The revenant leapt into the air, prepared to slam down on the droids, creating a hole in the defenders' formation and allowing the revenants behind to pass through.

Before the revenant could impact the ground, a bright red streak impacted it, disrupting its momentum and knocking it back. The spear, Gae Bolg, did not penetrate the revenant's skin and fell to the ground. Irene caught the Gae Bolg and got into an attacking stance. She had to take the offensive; fighting defensively would exhaust her too quickly. She had to kill the revenant before her stamina ran out.

The revenant, tall and with very long and lanky limbs disproportionate to the rest of its body, had no known special abilities but had extreme physical capabilities. It had no eyes on its smooth, blank face, seeing with its various heightened senses. A large and wide grin was permanently plastered on its face, earning it the name "Smiling Man."

The Smiling Man was not bothered by Irene's interruption and simply charged toward her with extreme speed, breaking the sound barrier and causing a sonic boom. Irene instinctively reacted to its movements and parried the strike. The revenant bared down on her with the same smiling face as always, despite its attack being parried.

A quick flurry of blows were exchanged between Irene and the Smiling Man. At first, they were on even footing, attacking and defending without mistakes. However, over time, Irene, having been unable to land a fatal blow, began to falter. Her movements became increasingly sloppy as she took glancing blows from the Smiling Man. Her frequency of attacks lessened as her exhausted mind and body could no longer effectively take advantage of the Smiling Man's openings.

The Smiling Man also noticed this change and increased the tempo of its attacks. Soon, Irene could no longer keep up, and she took a massive hit to her body and was sent flying into a wall, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.

The impact caused massive damage to Irene's body. Unbeknownst to her, multiple ribs were broken, and the bones in both her forearms were fractured as she tried to soften the blow from the Smiling Man.

The Smiling Man walked toward Irene slowly, as if mocking her efforts, while she tried to stand up and defend herself. However, each time she attempted to stand up, waves of pain wracked her body, sending her back to the ground. Her Gae Bolg also turned translucent before being broken into fragments and fading away, her stamina no longer sufficient to maintain its materialization.

Seeing the scene, the guards and Combat Droids fired upon the Smiling Man in an attempt to draw it away from their fallen commander, but to no avail. The bullets and laser fire impacted the Smiling Man's thick skin and simply ricocheted off.

The Smiling Man glanced toward the futile efforts of the guards and Combat Droids, its wide grin conveying its amusement.

Ignoring the pitiful humans who could do nothing to stop it, the Smiling Man continued to approach the fallen Irene, stopping right in front of her. It stared down at Irene, and she met its mocking gaze.

Perhaps offended by Irene's show of defiance, the Smiling Man grabbed her body and lifted her up toward its face, seemingly preferring to torture her slowly rather than outright killing her. It began to apply pressure to Irene's body, attempting to crush her slowly.

Irene experienced intense pain as her bones were slowly crushed by the increasing pressure. Despite this, she didn't scream, determined not to let the Smiling Man have the satisfaction.

As the Smiling Man relished in Irene's suffering, it failed to notice its surroundings. It didn't realize that gunfire around them had ceased, a large shadow looming over it.

Seeing the figure behind the Smiling Man, Irene returned a smile to it. "Though I might survive on pure luck, it seems I'll have the last laugh in the end." The Smiling Man appeared momentarily confused by her words before a large paw crushed it, killing it.

With the Smiling Man's death, its grip on Irene was released, and she was sent rolling along the ground, gasping for breath.

"Pant... pant... I didn't expect you to show up, but I'm glad you're here." Irene spoke to the large wolf that had saved her. "My Master likely doesn't need my help, so I chose to come here instead. It seems like it was a good choice."

"Definitely... sorry, but I'm about to pass out soon... I leave... the rest... to you... Thetis..." With her final words, Irene collapsed, and her consciousness faded as she drifted into slumber.

From Thetis' shadow emerged a smaller wolf. It moved toward Irene, placing her unconscious body on its back. Once it ensured that Irene was securely placed, it retreated to the rear of the defenders' positions to get Irene medical aid.

"Well then, let's begin... Come, let the Wild Hunt Commence!" Thetis' shadow expanded and enveloped the entire area. From within the shadows, a black misty fog rolled through the battlefield. Various sizes of canines and felines manifested from within the fog, each exhaling a black billowing mist.

Thetis raised her hands into the air and then pointed forward, signaling the wild hunt to attack. The Shadow Canines and Felines rushed toward the revenant horde, tearing them apart quickly. The revenants fought back, but the beasts were much stronger and agile, even when the revenants managed to take out one of the beasts, it simply reformed from the mist soon after.

With Thetis and the Wild Hunt's arrival, the situation within the spillway stabilized, leaving the guards and Combat Droids with little to do as they watched the revenants being torn apart. An hour passed, and at the five-hour mark since the Void Pylon's activation, the revenant numbers slowly decreased until there were none left approaching the spillway.

"Well, I suppose my job here is done," Thetis muttered to herself as she looked into the spillway. She recalled the Wild Hunt, absorbing the mist back into her shadow. Just as she was about to leave to return to Inanna, a massive shockwave occurred above ground, causing the ground to tremble violently.

'Seriously... what are they doing up there?'