《A Hunter's Second Life Aggression》2. The Red Gate - Part 2
Advertisement
“This is the last stop. The route on Nether Street was blocked by the authorities. Heard from the news a Red Gate opened over there.” The old bus driver shook his head.
“Thanks, sir.” Kino stepped out of the bus and was immediately greeted by the hot, strong winds coming from the north, where Nether Street is. Looking up he saw lightning sparks hiding in the red skies above the establishments. The Red Gate must be pretty strong.
Strong winds and bad weather are some of the effects of an opened gate. People call it the “Calamity Effect.” The calamity effect’s power depends on a gate’s rank and size.
Kino checked if there were any police or military around. None. Despite being outside the 2-mile radius, no people can be found. He sprinted in the direction of Nether Street, where people started appearing.
That’s why there’s not a single person outside the 2-mile radius; they’re all inside it!
After running for 5 minutes straight, he stopped by the sidewalk to catch his breath. He hates running and working out in general. He doesn’t even chase the ping-pong ball from very far away. It consumes a lot of energy–something his coach hates about him.
“C’mon, let’s see how the hunters fight!” Two younger girls attending his school ran ahead to see the Red Gate. Like the others, Kino followed. He texted Morris, saying he was already there, but the signal died. Phones lose signals close to the gates. In some cases, electricity too. In rare cases, an EMP happens.
The winds were hotter inside than in the outside radius. He was sweating very hard. Trying to breathe the hot air, Kino finally spotted the red Gate in the middle of the wide road. It was inside a much bigger transparent, black circle: the fold. His mouth gaped open in fascination. It was big, bright red, and floating above the ground.
It’s an oblong shape with red, smoky lights surrounding its whole form, but with a dark purple center. According to his English teacher, who worked as a hunter in his younger days, there’s nothing to see in its black hole, but pure terrifying nothingness.
Advertisement
“Attention, civilians! You need to get out of the vicinity for your safety! We don’t want to have any casualties! Please leave now!” The patrolling police arrived and shielded the barrier tape around the fold. Teenagers love destroying them to get a closer look. Kino looked up at the red gate despite getting squeezed into the crowd. Thanks to his height, he can see a decent view.
From there, he saw the tall building of Reno’s school. He groaned in frustration. He cannot contact him. He’ll have to wait for the gate to close before he can see him.
“The fold broke!” People started screaming when a hole in the fold shattered like glass pieces. Kino’s phone almost dropped from his hold. He was just about to film.
“Shit!”
A fold is made of strong dark energy made by ergo-herald hunters. This barrier made of intense energy is enchanted around a Gate to prevent the wraiths from scattering out. It is also to protect civilians from getting involved.
A wraith hunter in a dark trench coat came to the rescue. From the transparent fold, the civilians watched him cover the shattered hole using a supernatural power with his hands. The herald brooch hanging on his uniform glowed brightly as he built the barrier as fast as he could.
“A herald!” A girl beside Kino screamed. The crowd cheered.
“Leave the radius, now!” The police captain in the patrolling truck ordered once again, but no one paid him any attention.
“RAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” Something roared behind the ergo-herald hunter. It was a large B-type ogre. With unbelievable raging speed, it suddenly attacked from the back. The ergo-herald didn’t have the time to escape as he was smashed from shoulder to groin with its large axe in a flash. His body was cut in half. The upper body was thrown in the direction of the civilians, smearing that side of the fold with a show of blood and guts.
Advertisement
“KYAAAAAAAAHHH!!!” Everyone else started screaming and running while Kino trembled and was glued to the spot.
If he wants to be a hunter, he should start being used to seeing things like this.
“R-Run…” the ergo-herald weakly mouthed one last time, looking him in the eye.
“A-AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!” That's where he only found his voice and screamed.
Is this what’s going to happen to me?
People left in fear. The police officers sitting in their cars laughed in unison. “See where it got you? Now go home to your parents! Leave the gate to the hunters!” The police captain shouted. The middle-aged officer met Kino’s eye. “You, boy! You might want to go now and do your homework? You don’t want to worry your mama----”
“The fold is cracking again!” A random man pointed out. Kino turned around and his eyes followed the cracks going in random directions of the fold.
“Shit!” he cursed.
It’ll break this time for good.
He started running away as fast as he could, like he was getting chased by demons. Another series of screams echoed in the wide road of Nether street. The whole fold shattered completely.
“KYAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!”
“Fuck! What are these hunters doing? They can’t even make a strong enough fold!” The police captain ranted angrily.
“Get out of the way!” Kino was pushed to the side making him stumble on the dusty ground. He tasted blood on his lips.
“RAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” He turned around trying to get up. It was another ogre, but this one was two times bigger than the first one who’d killed the sorcerer a minute ago.
“I-Is this the time I…” The ogre charged in Kino’s direction with a halberd engulfed by its large hands.
The greyish-skin monster smashed the halberd towards him, but due to the adrenaline rush and desperation to live, Kino happened to avoid it on reflex just by crawling backward and dragging his ass on the ground. But still pelted with dirt and small rocks.
“AAAAAAHHHH!!!”
I don’t wanna die!
The boy won’t stop screaming in fear for his life. The ogre swung the weapon again, and Kino continued to barely avoid it in a life or death game of whack-a-mole. It swung a powerful blow through the air with all its might, Kino took his bag and covered his face. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
I’m sorry, Reno! I’m such a worthless older bro! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!
“LEAVE!!!” Two pairs of swords swiftly slashed the ogre’s neck and its head flew away like a soccer ball, hitting a police car’s windshield nearby, haphazardly spraying arterial blood.
Kino slowly opened his watery eyes and found a hunter in front of him holding a saber in each hand. The blonde man in a navy blue trench coat whipped his weaponry to each side to clean off the blood and fixed his rounded glasses.
“T-Thank you, S-Sir.” The man looked Kino in the eye. He looked angry, not at him though, but for the world.
“There’s no more time. Throw this kid out and make another bigger and stronger fold. Now!”
“Yes, sir!”
A new ergo-herald stepped in and used an energy attack with her hands to throw him out of the way. Kino stumbled on the ground like a sack of potatoes. Tasting more blood on his lips and face, he panicked.
“A-Ahh… Agh… my f-face! Full of—“ He can already imagine his brother’s worried expression.
He tried to glance at the wraith hunters using his remaining strength and saw another fold was already being formed.
Advertisement
Force of Will
This is my attempt at blending a typical fantasy isekai of sword and sorcery with a xianxia cultivation style. Hopefully its a good attempt. I am a first time writer, so feel free to critique me! Comments, ratings, messages whatever! I'm taking it all as constructive feedback I promise! =========================================================================================================================== There was William a bright young lad who, through his father's rigorous training starting at a young age, managed to be accepted as a Page with a potential for knighthood with enough hard work. The kid was going to go places. There was also William, fresh out of college and just aimlessly working at local restaurants and bars just enjoying life and not doing anything with his degree. Pretty much just spending his life having a good time doing whatever he wants. Obviously these are two different Williams. Or are they? Join the second Will as he awakes in a new body and discovers exactly what this new experience entails for him.
8 193journal teleport science something
superscience genius girl good at teleports alive Discord
8 193The Unbreakable Sword God is a Doting Mom?! Cultivation of the Strongest Bond Between a Mother and Son!
Yi Zen has a problem, his mother is too powerful! In a world where martial strength rules, and everyone is born with their own unique “Skill,” his overbearing and overprotective mother has the strongest Skill and is the world’s greatest hero! Yi Zen, who’s Skill is Zero, can’t escape his mother’s gigantic shadow, and he is constantly made fun of for his lack of power by other students. Forcefully enrolled in the hero academy as everyone expected him to be as strong as his mom, he just wants to relax and live a normal life. The awkward comedy of a boy trying to have a normal teenage life but his mom won’t leave him alone in a wuxia world begins!
8 252Living With Job System On Earth
So, i get Job System from my parents, you see, my father is a hero (former) that got summoned to the other world, met and married my mother, residence of that world. After defeating the demon lord, he can choose one reward from the goddess, the reward he chooses is "bring my mother back to earth with him" Having a three kid, having a job, living a normal life and etc. Until he got summoned to the other world again along with my mother, and leaving the three of us alone I need to make a living for my siblings all of sudden! how do i do that!? Quest system? completes the quest and get a reward? The Quest that i have: kill 10 lions, kill 25 wolves, kill 10 bandits, capture a Yeti, nope sorry sis, don't want to spend the rest of my life in jail and don't expect me to fly all the way to Himalaya to capture a Yeti...wait Yeti exist?
8 166The Calamity Girls (Book 1)
Trapped in the world of Amphibia, former BFF's, Anne Boonchuy, and Rowena Warbler have crazy adventures with the Plantar's as they try to help the girls return home.I DON'T OWN AMPHIBIA!
8 182The Girl Who Kept Running
He ran into her at street theater.She was a force of nature, not a casual first time hire.She brought the house down with her performance, literally pulled the audience to their feet in standing ovation.Her performance was too real, unnerving, deeply unsettling to him. He spent all his energy keeping up with her.At the end of the play, she snatched her earnings from the director's hands and ran away, leaving a trail of questions behind her, the most burning one in his mind was:Would he ever see her again?____________________This ongoing novel imagines a world that our younger generations inherit after a series of successive presidencies in the same vein as the current model. There is no need for erecting walls, as the biggest divide created by humanity - that of social class - takes care of a post modern segregation. The poor are literally marginalized into slum-like townships and tend to be of color. The names of these townships would be enough to tell you their story. The rich, well, remain happily oblivious in the big American cities. In this world find a mysterious girl whose identity must be hidden or she would be hunted down and a young street actor who falls for her intrigue. Discover how they survive, born into a society not prepared to give them a chance.For them, the dystopia came without an apocalypse. Copyrighted 2018_________________________________________________Updates every 5-6 days. Currently on hiatus for revisions.Most impressive rank: #87 in dystopia/dystopian #90 in future (17/09/18)________________________________________________________Cover credits: Thanks are due to the amazing New Zealand artist Shane Rebenschied who allowed me to use one of his illustrations on his portfolio at http://blot.com. I used basic photoshopping to add some shades and used the awesome text effects from http://picturetopeople.com
8 230