CHAPTER 56
Now far away acroaa toyko began with a sound no one could quite describe a deep, metallic groan that seemed to come from beneath the city and the sky at the same time.
In the quiet residential streets of Takeda's district, dogs began barking, car alarms screamed, and glass rattled in windows. People stepped out onto balconies, confused, holding phones and cameras up toward the horizon.
And then the first gate cracked open.
It split the air like a wound, a vertical scar of swirling black and red energy, stretching so high it seemed to cut into the clouds themselves. The sky around it bled crimson, lightning arcing violently from its edges.
And just as the first gate stabilized, another opened.
And another.
And another.
By the time the fifth gate bloomed over the rooftops of Shibuya, Tokyo had fallen silent — as though holding its breath.
Then the screaming began.
THE CITY DESCENDS INTO PANIC
Across Tokyo, evacuation sirens wailed.
The ground itself seemed to hum with mana.
In a crowded market street in Ueno, shoppers dropped their bags and ran as the sky above them lit up with the eerie glow of the closest gate.
Mother (pulling her child): "Get inside! Get to the shelter!"
Bystander: "It's too close .... it's right above us!"
The air was heavy, suffocating. Low-ranked hunters and mana-sensitive civilians dropped to their knees, clutching their heads. The pressure was so intense it made breathing painful.
CIVILIANS SCREAMING EVERYWHERE!!!
In Shinjuku Crossing, a live news broadcast captured the chaos as pedestrians stampeded. A reporter with a trembling microphone tried to speak over the roar.
> Reporter (voice shaking): "W-we are coming to you live from Shinjuku, where — where a gate has just appeared! This is unlike anything we've ever seen! The mana readings are… we're told they're off the charts! Please remain calm and follow Bureau evacuation orders!"
Behind her, the colossal gate pulsed like a beating heart, each throb sending a wave of oppressive mana through the air. The camera caught an entire line of cars suddenly going dead, their electronics fried by the energy surge.
The broadcast cut for a moment as the signal distorted, replaced by the Bureau's official emergency message:
SIRENS RINGING OUT LOUD
»»»»BUREAU ALERT:
CODE BLACK – PROTOCOL OMEGA.
"All civilians proceed to the nearest underground shelter immediately. Hunters ranked A and above report to your nearest deployment zone. This is not a drill."
THE BUREAU – FULL CRISIS MODE
Inside the Hunter Bureau headquarters, the situation was worse.
The war room was a storm of sound alarms blaring, comm screens flashing red, analysts shouting over each other.
A massive holographic map of Tokyo showed five enormous red rings where the gates had appeared.
> Lead Analyst (shouting): "Mana density at all five locations is beyond SSS classification — the meters are maxed out! We don't even have numbers for this!"
-- Director (slamming hand on table): "Deploy every SS-rank we have. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!! He screamed... I want every single top-class hunter in Japan on standby!"
--Comms Officer: "Sir, evacuation is underway but we're seeing congestion on major roads. Civilian panic is spreading faster than we can control."
> Director: "Then use the shelters — open every single underground facility in Tokyo, even the old ones from the Hokkaido Disaster. We need every citizen underground before those gates open fully."
Another alarm went off — this one deeper, louder, the kind reserved for worst-case scenarios.
-- Analyst (horrified): "Director! The gates are stabilizing — faster than expected. Estimated time until first break… fifteen minutes."
Fifteen minutes.
Fifteen minutes before something came through.
This does make sense how could 5 sss gate appear at the same time and break open it takes a week before a dungeon break
What is going on
The Director felt sweat bead on the back of his neck.
-- Director: "Then move faster. If we lose Tokyo, we lose Japan."
THE CIVILIAN VIEW – TOKYO IN CHAOS
Across the city, Tokyo had become unrecognizable.
Train stations were overflowing with panicked civilians. People shoved to get inside as automated announcements blared:
> "This station is now an emergency shelter. Please proceed calmly. Please proceed calmly—"
But no one was calm.
Parents screamed for lost children. Shopkeepers abandoned their stores. Streets were jammed with honking cars, some abandoned as their owners fled on foot.
In Shibuya, a young college student livestreamed as she ran.
--- Student (breathless): "I can't believe this — there's another gate over Ikebukuro — oh my god, that's five now, five! Where are the hunters?!"
Her stream cut out when the sky lit up again, another ripple of mana bursting from the Shibuya gate.
At the same time, hunter guild halls across Tokyo erupted into chaos.
Guild leaders shouted orders, summoning every active member to the staging areas. SS- and S-rank hunters were being flown in by helicopter to get closer to the five gates.
Some hunters were pale and shaken even the strongest of them could feel the weight of the mana pouring from the rifts.
-- Veteran Hunter: "…I fought in three Dragon-class raids and I've never felt anything like this. It's like the air itself wants us dead."
-- Another: "If these gates all break at once, we're finished."
There was no bravado, no jokes just grim silence as weapons were checked, armor tightened, and mana was drawn up for war.
THE SKY BOILS
At exactly 3:00 PM, the gates pulsed again, simultaneously.
All across Tokyo, everyone felt it like a giant invisible hand pressing down on the city. Windows shattered. Power grids flickered, throwing entire districts into darkness.
The sky turned blood-red.
And then…
The first gate opened fully.
A sound like a thousand screams tore through the air. The swirling darkness within the gate stretched wide, forming a perfect circle, and something massive moved within.
The civilians still outside screamed and ran harder.
The Bureau's sensors went wild, alarms shrieking.
-- Lead Analyst (shouting): "First contact imminent! We have movement on all five gates!"
.. Director: "Deploy all first-response squads now! And for god's sake, get me eyes on what's coming through!"
Helicopter cameras zoomed in on the Shinjuku gate but the feed cut to static just as a colossal shadow began to emerge....
The Bureau HQ was no longer a place of order.
The moment the colossal gates appeared, the once-quiet halls had erupted into chaos. The entire facility pulsed red with emergency lighting. The low, droning sirens gave the entire building the feeling of a sinking submarine.
The teleportation bay normally used only for S-class incidents had been opened for the first time in years.
Five SS-ranked hunters stood in the center of the glowing array, their presence like a storm compressed into human form.
THE SS-RANKED HUNTERS
Fujimoto Kaoru – Iron Blossom Guild
A tall woman with a long braid of black hair that reached past her back, her armor gleaming with crimson lacquer. She was known for her calm, almost regal composure. Today, though, her brows were furrowed.
Kaoru (quietly): "I can feel it even through these walls… Whatever's behind those gates, it's not ordinary."
Sasaki Taro – Scarlet Fang Guild
A broad-shouldered man with a wolfish grin, his fur-lined cloak shifting as he stretched. The infamous brawler who relished the hunt.
> Taro (grinning): "Good. I was getting bored. About time we had something worth swinging at."
Kobayashi Ren – Thunderclaw Guild
Youngest of the five, barely in his mid-twenties. His spear rested against his shoulder, crackling faintly with mana.
> Ren (voice tight): "This… doesn't feel like a normal gate. Are we sure even SS-ranks are enough for this?"
Ito Masaki – Storm Serpent Guild
A stoic man with sharp eyes and a naginata on his back. He didn't answer Ren, only glanced at the mana monitors and tightened his grip.
Minamoto Rikuya – Azure Shadow Guild
Silent, hooded, his face half-hidden in shadow. No one had heard him speak yet, but the air around him was so heavy that even the Bureau technicians avoided eye contact.
Technicians ran from console to console, setting coordinates.
The massive teleportation circle on the floor began to glow a deep cerulean, runes spinning like clockwork gears.
> Chief Teleporter: "Coordinates locked! All five gates synchronized!"
> Operator: "Warning — mana surges may destabilize transfer. Recommend rapid deployment."
--Director (grim): "Do it. Get them out there now."
The five hunters exchanged brief nods. They didn't need speeches — they all understood what was at stake.
SPLIT DEPLOYMENT
In a flash of light, they were gone.
And across Tokyo, five separate storms landed.
GATE ONE – SHIBUYA – FUJIMOTO KAORU
Kaoru materialized atop a high-rise building overlooking the Shibuya gate.
The sight made even her stomach tighten — the gate was massive, taking up nearly the entire intersection below. Civilians were still running, their screams carried up to her like wind.
--Kaoru (softly): "Iron Blossom, respond. Begin evacuation of perimeter blocks 3 through 6. No civilians stay in this kill zone."
Her voice was steady, but her fingers flexed against the hilt of her blade.
The gate pulsed.
GATE TWO – IKEBUKURO – SASAKI TARO
Taro landed on cracked asphalt, immediately grinning like a predator.
--Taro (shouting): "Scarlet Fang! Form perimeter! If anything comes through, we take its head!"
His subordinates, S- and A-ranks, scrambled into position, weapons ready.
But even Taro's smile faltered as the air grew heavy enough to make his teeth ache.
Taro (low growl): "…What the hell is this pressure?"
The gate cracked — a jagged line of red lightning shooting across its surface.
GATE THREE – SHINJUKU – KOBAYASHI REN
Ren landed on top of a parking garage near the gate and immediately staggered to one knee.
> Ren (breathing hard): "…This mana— it's like standing at the bottom of the ocean."
His spear thrummed with energy on its own, reacting to the gate.
Below him, civilians were still stampeding, Bureau drones shouting evacuation instructions through speakers.
-- Ren (into comm): "Thunderclaw Guild reporting. If this thing breaks… we're going to need every hunter in Tokyo."
GATE FOUR – SUMIDA – ITO MASAKI
Masaki landed in a quiet district near the Sumida river — but there was no quiet anymore.
Water rippled violently as the gate spun overhead, sucking in air like a vortex.
Fishing boats were capsizing one by one.
--Masaki (grim): "Storm Serpent — prepare water barriers. This thing's going to pull half the river into it before it's done."
GATE FIVE – UENO – MINAMOTO RIKUYA
Rikuya appeared on the roof of a museum, shadow already spilling from under his cloak.
He said nothing.
But the shadows around him writhed, forming into blades, waiting.
The gate here was the darkest of all — so black it seemed to devour light.
Even the street lamps below were dimming.
BACK AT THE BUREAU – FULL PANIC
--Lead Analyst: "Mana levels spiking across all five gates — they're resonating with each other!"
--Director: "Resonating? As in connected?"
--Analyst: "Yes, sir — if one breaks, they all might break simultaneously."
A deadly silence filled the room.
--Comms Officer: "Hunters reporting increased resistance just standing near the gates. Some A-ranks are collapsing."
-- Director: "Pull them back — leave only S-rank and higher on the frontlines!"
Another alarm blared — louder than before.
--Technician: "Sir! All gates are… cracking. Estimated break time: less than five minutes!"
CUT BACK TO THE GATES
Kaoru's POV (Shibuya):
The entire sky above her fractured like glass. She drew her sword, petals of mana spiraling around her like a storm.
-- Kaoru (to her guild): "Hold steady. We buy as much time as we can."
Taro's POV (Ikebukuro):
The ground split under his boots as the gate let out a deafening roar.
--Taro (grinning despite himself): "Finally. Something worth killing."
Ren's POV (Shinjuku):
Ren's spear thrummed so violently he thought it would shatter.
--Ren (muttering): "…Takeda should be here. We need him."
Masaki's POV (Sumida):
Water lifted off the river, forming a spiraling column toward the gate.
--Masaki: "This is going to drown half the district if we don't end it fast."
Rikuya's POV (Ueno):
His shadows extended, forming a dome of darkness.
-- Rikuya (whispering): "…Come then. I'll cut you down before you take my city."
Inside HQ, the air was electric with fear.
Screens were flashing red.
-- Lead Analyst (shouting): "Cracks widening! They're about to open!"
The Director slammed his hand on the table.
--Director (roaring): "Where is TAKEDA?!"
The entire room froze.
Because no one had an answer.