“Miles, sorry mate, but we have to fail you once again.” Xavic looked embarrassed, as he gazed at the ground. They promised Miles to move into the same stronghold with him, so they could hunt together after he saved them, but they had to delay it for almost a year. Now that their final contract had been completed, they still couldn’t. It was embarrassing for both of them.

“What happened? Is anyone giving you a hard time?” Miles looked at the duo, perplexed. He knew Zall and Xavic were honest, and wouldn’t fail their promises for something whimsical.

“Monsters are quite rampant lately.” Zall started as he looked afar. “Word is…”

“Monsters will attack a stronghold soon.” Xavic finished for his buddy.

“What?!” Miles looked at the duo with a dumbfounded expression. “How can that be?”

Monsters, as humanity’s arch-enemy, would always attack them. But mass stampedes were so rare in G-Circle. There probably haven't been more than 20 cases ever since humanity settled in Portal World.

“It is not certain yet, but experts say the Ice Dragonoid caused this.” Xavic cussed silently.

“Which stronghold will they hit?” Miles sat on the dirt, as he looked afar. This was bad news. Strongholds in G-Circle were feeble against a big number of monsters. Although weaponry and defense were strong enough to stand against Pinnacle-Tier monsters, tens of thousands of monsters marching against cold stone was scary to think of.

“It is not quite certain yet.” Zall shook his head. “That is why we can’t leave.”

“I understand.” Miles nodded as he formulated a plan in his head. “I am sorry, but I can’t leave my stronghold, in case they attack. I have a few friends there, but I promise I will rush to your help if they attack yours.

“We cannot expect you to abandon yours.” Zall shook his head.

“Yeah, just… just be careful.” Xavic patted Miles's shoulder.

————

“Miles, where the hell are you?” Merlin asked. His voice was panicked.

“I was in Portal World. What’s up?” The younger Cross answered.

“There will be a stampede close to your stronghold. You cannot go back.” Merlin answered.

“You know as much as I do that I cannot abandon them.” Miles shook his head as he gazed at his brother’s virtual eyes. “Abandoning the stronghold is a serious crime.”

“I will fix it. You just stay on Earth.” Merlin answered hastily.

“Sorry, Merlin. I know you mean good, but I can’t do that.” Miles answered with a sigh and ended the call. Next, Quinn called. She didn’t ask for him to leave but wished him good luck and wanted him to use all his power. He couldn’t hold back now.

His Family, Carl, Mae, Cale, and his buddies from the army, Hassan, Kai, Sina, and some others called him to ask about his situation or if he needed anything. His family even offered loads of orbs but he rejected them all.

“Rayen, I am home.”

“Brother, welcome!” Rayen jumped on him as he entered through the door.

“How was school?” Miles asked as he patted the girl.

“It was great. We will learn a new pistol art tomorrow. And today I was the best at the kicking art I picked…”

Miles looked at his little sister with a smile and forgot about what was happening in Portal World. For now, for this small frame of time, he just wanted to listen to Rayen and support her with his presence.

Rayen was too excited to realize what was going on. She was also unaware of where Miles was in Portal World. So, even if she heard what was going on, she couldn't connect it back to her big brother. But over time, she also learned to trust Miles. Even if the world collapsed, Miles could solve it somehow. This was the trust Miles cultivated in her feeble heart.

As Miles listened to Rayen, the Portal World was boiling.

————

“What is the meaning of this, Miles?” Lucy looked at the war-ready Miles. He was at the gate of the stronghold, but soldiers stopped him and let Lucy know about his request to leave.

“I have friends in one of the potential strongholds. So I will camp in the middle of both, and rush to the stronghold that will be attacked.” Miles looked at Lucy’s forest-green eyes and spoke about what he was planning.

Lucy gazed back piercingly and nodded after a minute. “You may leave.”

“Thanks.” Miles nodded with gratitude.

“Wait!” A voice reverberated in the air. “You are trying to escape, I know it!”

Miles turned to look at the speaker and sighed. “Porseila, if I wanted to escape or abandon, I wouldn’t show up.”

“Then everyone would know what a coward you are, Miles Cross,” Porseila smirked. “You are acting like a hero.” She emphasized the last word.

“You showed up, and now tell lies about helping either stronghold, but in truth, you will run away. You are a traitor.”

“Whatever.” Miles shook his head and left after nodding at Lucy once again. The hunting team was behind her, and they too looked at Miles with uncertain eyes. They knew Miles by now and knew he was not a person who would flee from the battle, but what Porseila said made them think.

They didn’t know, but the name of Cross had such an effect. Unknowingly, everyone started to think about Miles and branded him as a traitor. It was how things were. Even before Unity was created, Cross was branded as a traitor. Over the years, Mercer and Malcolm washed away their last names and convinced the public of their trustworthiness, but the idea which was planted decades ago wasn’t easy to root out. At the smallest sight of untoward action, the public was ready to brand them as traitors once again.

But Miles never cared about what people had thought. His only concern was his own conscience, and wouldn’t even be fazed by what people were saying behind his back.