CHAPTER: 57
The ground in Takeda's district had been trembling for minutes now, but this was different.
The gate that hung over the district was no longer just a swirling vortex it was alive.
Red lightning danced across its surface, each flash louder than thunder. The mana pressure was so heavy that the air felt like molten lead pressing down on everyone's shoulders.
Takeda stood with his naginata buried in the ground, staring up at the gate with grim eyes.
Beside him, Hiroto casually spun his daggers between his fingers, as if he were itching to fight.
Renji's golden aura pulsed around him like a storm barely contained under his skin.
Choji clutched Lily's hand tightly behind them, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
And then it happened.
THE GATE BREAKS
The surface of the gate exploded outward, shards of glowing black crystal raining down like meteors.
A massive, clawed hand burst through first each talon the size of a car. It gripped the edge of the gate's frame and pulled, widening the rift.
--Genzo (voice rising): "What the hell is that?!"
The rest of the creature followed a scaled snout, glowing eyes like twin furnaces, teeth like swords.
---Genzo (eyes wide): "DRAGONS!!"
The first one tore through the gate with a roar that shook the district, and then another followed.
And another.
Within seconds, dozens of dragons were pushing their way through the colossal rift, their massive wings blotting out the sky.
RENJI'S RESOLVE...
Renji's teeth clenched so hard they almost cracked.
His memory flashed back to the vision Januza had shown him — mountains of corpses, cities burning, dragons flying over fields of ash.
--Renji (under his breath): "is this it ??."
His golden aura flared hotter, whipping the snow-covered ground into a spiraling gale around him.
Hiroto starred at him Renji-san
He turned his head sharply toward Choji.
Renji (snapping): "CHOJI! Get Lily out of here NOW!"
Choji nodded so fast his head nearly fell off, scooping Lily up and running toward the reinforced shelter at the far end of the district.
The moment they were clear, Renji's body vanished.
THE FIRST STRIKE..
The ground erupted where he had been standing, leaving a smoking crater.
Renji shot forward like a golden missile, the sheer force of his takeoff blasting debris into the air.
He reached the nearest dragon mid-flight, appearing in front of its massive chest before it even realized he was there.
Renji's fist glowed white-hot as he drove it through the dragon's torso, the sound of bones shattering like splintering steel.
> BOOM!
The dragon's entire body was ripped backward by the force, crashing into the street below and carving a trench through the asphalt.
Renji landed on its spine, slammed his foot down — and the impact sent a shockwave tearing through the ground, shattering windows for blocks.
The other dragons roared in unison, their wings beating furiously as if they were enraged that one of their kin had been brought down so easily.
Renji only stood there, his aura flaring like a second sun.
HIROTO AND TAKEDA JOIN IN
Hiroto whistled low, a wicked grin spreading across his face.
--Hiroto (smirking): "Alright, Renji… guess it's my turn."
In a blur, he was gone — moving almost as fast as Renji, twin daggers slicing through the air.
He leapt onto the head of the nearest dragon, drove both blades into its skull, and flipped backward as the beast thrashed violently before collapsing into the street.
Takeda finally moved, his naginata spinning in a graceful arc before he launched himself forward.
-- Takeda (coldly): "No survivors."
With a single sweeping motion, he cleaved the neck off a dragon mid-flight. The headless body crashed into a nearby warehouse, flattening it instantly.
The three of them moved like a storm Renji's golden light, Hiroto's silver flashes, Takeda's deadly arcs cutting down dragons as they poured from the gate.
GENZO'S FLAMES
Behind them, Genzo slammed both hands into the ground.
--Genzo (roaring): "PILLAR OF FIRE!"
The earth split open, a tower of roaring flames shooting upward around Choji and Lily's retreat path, forming a wall that no monster could cross.
Genzo's coat flared as he turned back to the fight, his entire body igniting in searing orange light.
--Genzo (grinning wildly): "Alright, lizards. Let's dance."
He hurled a fireball the size of a car into the chest of another dragon, the explosion lighting up the entire district.
THE BATTLE ERUPTS
The district had become a warzone.
Dragons swooped overhead, their screeches deafening, breathing gouts of fire that turned parked cars into molten slag.
Renji blurred through their ranks, each movement like a thunderclap. He vaulted onto one dragon's back, grabbed its horns, and ripped its head off with his bare hands before jumping to another.
Hiroto danced between flames, his daggers singing, severing tendons and arteries with surgical precision.
Takeda moved like a reaper, each sweep of his naginata leaving behind severed wings and heads.
Genzo's flames consumed everything that got too close, each blast a miniature sun.
But Renji's mind wasn't calm.
As he crushed another dragon's chest under his heel, he couldn't shake the image of Januza's vision the endless dead, the feeling of dread that had wrapped around his soul.
.. Renji (gritting his teeth): "If this is just the beginning… what the hell is coming next?"
He could feel something deeper inside the gate a presence, massive and cold, watching them.
One of the dragons larger than the rest forced its way halfway through the gate, its horns scraping the frame.
Renji's golden aura flared brighter than ever, his eyes glowing.
--Renji (growling): "Not this time.
He crouched low, the ground cracking under him ready to launch himself like a spear.
But before he could move, the ground shook even harder — not from a dragon, but from something far bigger on the other side trying to force its way through.
Takeda, Hiroto, and Genzo all paused for a split second, staring at the massive silhouette looming behind the dragons still crawling out.
And then, somewhere deep inside the gate, a sound like a massive heartbeat echoed.
..DOOM.
..DOOM.
..DOOM
The dragons suddenly recoiled, as if even they were afraid.
Renji's heart skipped a beat.
Renji (whispering): "…What the hell is coming through?"