One by one, people stepped forward and laid flowers beneath the Pillar of Heroes.
Fresh lilies, white roses, and handwritten letters slowly covered the black stone.
Children stretched onto their toes to place tiny bouquets beside the newly carved names.
For a brief, fleeting moment, Sector 135 forgot about the Rifts.
The towering Apex Sentinel remained before the monument, his fingers brushing lightly across the cold stone.
Thousands of names were carved into its surface.
Each belonged to someone who had given their life to buy humanity another day.
A little girl stepped forward, carefully placing a single white lily beneath the monument before hurrying back to her mother.
The Sentinel lowered his head.
A faint, deep vibration passed through the soles of his boots, drawing his sharp gaze toward the distant tree line beyond the city.
Something about the frequency felt terribly familiar.
Before the thought could settle— Every Federation wristband in the plaza lit up at once.
BEEP…..BEEP….BEEP….
Within seconds, the mechanical shrieking echoed across the entire plaza.
Every Federation-issued wristband, hunters, Operators, and Sentinels alike, flashed red.
[LEVEL ONE MAYDAY…] Across the plaza, Hunters exchanged silent, horrified glances.
A second later, the city’s emergency sirens came alive.
A calm, automated voice boomed from every speaker across Sector 135.
“Emergency Directive.
All civilians are ordered to proceed immediately to the nearest underground shelter.
Remain calm and follow all Federation instructions.
Failure to comply will endanger public safety.” The peaceful silence shattered.
“What happened?” “Is it another drill?” “Why now?!” Panic rippled through the crowd.
People instinctively turned toward the Hunters, desperately searching their faces for answers while parents pulled their children closer.
A few rows back, Kai never looked up.
His eyes remained fixed on the glowing text displayed across his wristband.
His grip tightened around the strap of his baton.
“The flower shop…Lucen.” He had to get back.
His body leaned forward before his rational mind could stop him.
One sprint.
That was all it would take to reach the basement.
Just one sprint— “Hunters!” a Sentinel’s amplified command cut through the plaza.
Every Hunter snapped to attention.
“Evacuate the civilians!” The order propelled the Guilds into the crowd.
“This way!” “Keep moving!” “Stay together!” People hesitated for only a fraction of a second before total chaos erupted.
Some sprinted toward the designated shelters.
Others broke away from the designated paths, screaming names as they searched desperately for their families.
An elderly man struggled against two Hollow Hunters.
“My wife!
She’s still in the market!” “We’ll find her, sir!
You have to move!” Kai stood frozen in the rushing tide of bodies.
The road leading home lay only a few streets away.
He could make it.
He instinctively took a half-step toward the street.
A firm, heavy hand clamped onto his shoulder before his foot hit the pavement.
“Don’t.” He turned back.
His squad leader stood there, looking at the sheer desperation written across Kai’s face.
“My brother…” Kai’s voice shook.
“He’s still there.” The veteran’s grip tightened, his tone remaining dead calm.
“If you leave your post now, they’ll shoot you for desertion before you reach the next intersection.” Kai looked toward the road leading home.
His jaw clenched tight enough to crack his teeth.
“Then what am I supposed to do?” The squad leader looked ahead as Hunters shoved civilians toward the safety routes.
“There are more lives at stake right now than just one.” After a long, agonizing moment, Kai closed his eyes.
“…Understood.” But as he moved to push the crowd forward, his stubborn, terrified eyes remained locked on the way home.
*** At the far end of the commercial stalls, grandpa stood frozen.
His eyes were no longer on his cart of unsold flowers.
They frantically tracked the blocked streets leading back toward his shop.
“Lucen…” Beside him, Raina wiped at the tears gathering in her eyes.
“Grandpa…” He turned to her, his face pale.
“Go to the shelter.” “What?” “I’ll bring your brother back.” Raina grabbed his sleeve with both hands.
“I’m coming with you!” “No.” His answer came harder and sharper than she had ever heard in her life.
“You will go to the shelter.” Without another word, he pushed through the panicked crowd, sprinting toward the street.
He didn’t get far.
Two Hunters stepped directly into his path, their guns held horizontally.
“The shelters are this way, sir.” “My grandson is still at home.
Move.” The Hunters didn’t budge.
He tried to force his way past them.
One Hunter caught his arm, effortlessly locking him in place.
“Please…” The old man’s voice cracked, the fight draining from his weak limbs.
“He’s completely alone.” Raina rushed between them before he could struggle again.
“We’ll go…” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around her grandfather’s side.
“We’ll go to the shelter.” The Hunters slowly stepped aside, guiding them back into the evacuation current.
Neither of them resisted.
They walked.
But every few steps, they looked back over their shoulders.
For the very first time in her life, Raina saw her grandfather’s broad shoulders slump.
He had never looked so small.
So helpless.
*** Inside RESCU Headquarters, the command center had erupted into a calculated frenzy.
Operators darted between consoles as crimson warning lights bathed the room.
“All Guilds reporting in.” “Communication channels secured.” “Sector 135 evacuation has begun.” “The Spiral Gate is entering its final stage!” Moscove stood at the center of the room, his eyes scanning the data feeds.
“Status, Sophia.” The Vice-Commander expanded the holographic battlefield map across the table.
“Evacuation has reached forty-two percent.
Six Guilds are in position at the Mutated Forest.
The remaining defensive forces will arrive in four minutes.” Blue markers shifted across the hologram as Hunter formations moved into a tight perimeter around the anomaly.
“The RES reading is still climbing,” Sophia warned.
Commander Moscove studied the battlefield in silence, his eyes following the shifting Hunter formations instead of the glowing Gate itself.
“Move the Iron Vanguard to the eastern ridge.” An operator hesitated over his keyboard.
“Commander…
that sector isn’t under attack.” “It will be.” The operator immediately relayed the order.
A second later, another console chimed.
“Commander!
The Federation Council is requesting confirmation before authorizing full mobilization.” Moscove answered without looking away from the holographic display.
“Denied.
There’s no time for bureaucracy.” “Commander,” another operator called out.
“A secure line from the plaza.
It’s Voss.” The channel connected, and the Voss’s hologram flickered to life above the console.
“Sector 135 is your responsibility, Voss,” Moscove barked.
“Hold your position.” The Apex Sentinel remained entirely still.
“I felt the tremors, commander.” “So did every sensor in this command center.” Voss shook his head.
“Something’s different.
It doesn’t feel like a single Rift.” Moscove’s eyes stayed glued to the battlefield map.
“The forest has our largest deployment.
They’ll contain it.” “They won’t.” For the first time, Moscove looked up from the table, meeting the hologram’s eyes.
“You’ve already made your assessment?” Voss held his gaze.
“I request permission to move to the forest.” “Request denied.” A tense, heavy silence followed.
“Commander—” “That is a direct order, Apex Sentinel.” Voss’s jaw tightened visibly through the holographic static.
“…Understood.” The transmission ended.
Moscove’s gaze immediately fell back to the flashing crimson marker representing the Spiral Gate.
*** The tremor rolled violently beneath the Mutated Forest, drawing every eye toward the crater as wristbands across the valley flashed red.
[LEVEL ONE MAYDAY] A second later, the field commander’s earpiece crackled.
“High Command.
Prepare for battle.” Lucy swept her eyes across the defensive line.
Nearly seven hundred Hollow Hunters from six different Guilds stood waiting for her command.
Her grip tightened around the shaft of her energy spear.
This was the largest force she had ever led.
“Lucy.” Kellan’s voice pulled her back to the present.
She took a slow, steadying breath and raised her spear high into the air.
“Shield Units.
Anchor!” Four lines of Hunters stepped forward, their heavy tower shields striking the earth in perfect unison.
THOOM.
Violet Resonance spread across the metal plating, locking together to form a single, massive barrier.
“Ranged Units!” Resonance guns clicked and locked into position behind the shield wall.
“Melee Units!” The final line lowered their stances, mono-molecular blades drawn and ready.
“Charge.” A low, lethal hum rolled across the valley as hundreds of weapons awakened, casting an eerie purple glow against the mutated trees.
Kellan glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
“You’re holding your breath.” “Does it show?” Lucy murmured.
A faint smile crossed his face.
“Only to me.” Before she could answer, the forest fell completely, terrifyingly silent.
No birds.
No insects.
Nothing.
Lucy’s eyes swept across the twisted canopy.
Not a single living creature remained.
“Something’s wrong.” Down in the crater, the Spiral Gate rippled.
The pale blue surface collapsed inward.
A millisecond later, an explosion of blinding crimson light swallowed the entire valley.
The shockwave slammed into the defensive line, bending the giant trees backward and throwing a massive cloud of dust into the air.
THUD.
A heavy impact shook the ground inside the crater.
Closer.
THUD.
The dust slowly parted.
A Monolithic figure stepped from the haze.
Three meters tall.
Black, jagged chitin.
Massive, scythe-like claws.
It had no eyes, only a grotesque, splitting jaw that stretched entirely across its face.
Another landed silently beside it.
Then another.
Kellan’s voice barely escaped his lips.
“Mawbacks?” A freezing chill spread through the Hunter formation.
Veterans tightened their grips until their knuckles turned white.
The younger rookies forgot how to breathe.
Lucy kept counting.
Ten…Twenty…Thirty…
They didn’t stop coming.
But none of them roared.
None of them charged the shield wall.
The horde of eyeless monsters simply stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the swirling dust…
watching.
Waiting.
We have officially reached the end of the first major phase of Bloodhorn.
Everyone in Sector 135 thinks they can just get through the Memorial Festival and go back to normal tomorrow, completely unaware that a giant, reality-breaking bad day is about to drop out of the sky.
A massive thank you to everyone who has been reading, following, and quietly lurking so far!
We are officially stepping out of the basement and into the fire starting next chapter.
Warning for the upcoming chapters: Please keep your emotional support snacks nearby.
Legal responsibility for any emotional trauma is hereby denied.