The Anvil Headquarters Main Lobby.

The wall in the lobby was covered with a thick layer of protectives, blocking most of the demons' attacks. But at this moment, the wall next to the main door exploded with a loud bang sending chunks of rubble scattering across the room.

The sound was deafening followed by the screeching sound of tyre against asphalt, causing everyone present to stumble backwards in surprise.

Smoke and dust filled the air as more and more debris flew into the air, accompanied by screams and cries of panic.

As they hurriedly ran towards their assigned positions, they spotted several groups of soldiers rushing through the smoke from the explosion, joining them.

"Where's Commander Yueh?!" One of the officers shouted as he panted heavily. The officer clutched onto his weapon tightly and scanned the room. There wasn't much time to spare before more demons arrive through the gap in the wall.

Luckily a few military trucks parked outside and a few soldiers were already running towards the hole, firing at the incoming demons.

Within the midst of soldiers, a large crowd of refugees was ushered into the building with no time to stop.

"Everyone get inside!" Lieutenant Nagrix barked as he grabbed a soldier's arm, "we don't have time to waste!"

The lieutenant ran towards the entrance doors with his men following behind him, shooting down any demons that dared approach them.

It was chaotic outside, with soldiers fighting furiously against the horde of demons stumbling towards them. Several Humvecs were stationed around the perimeter, providing cover fire whenever necessary.

They fired their guns relentlessly, mowing down countless demons with every shot. The stench of blood hung in the air, adding to the chaos.

Several soldiers rushed inside, pulling wounded soldiers along with them, leaving a trail of red footprints behind them. They quickly made their way to the first floor where they found more soldiers and refugees waiting for them.

Lieutenant Nagrix panted heavily, "Get these people to the basement! We'll take care of those bastards!"

The lieutenant turned and saw a group of ten or so soldiers stumbling towards them with their arms full of injured civilians. Some of them had broken bones, others had cuts and bruises.

The lieutenant bit his lip hard as he clenched his fists tight, trying not to let anger consume him.

"Sir," a soldier panted out as he approached him with his squad, "the Commander has ordered me to report to your location."

"Good," Lieutenant Nagrix panted as he wiped sweat from his brow. "Tell him that I need reinforcements."

"Unfortunately, there aren't enough soldiers left to provide support." The soldier panted nervously, "Even the Crusaders were fully deployed to around the perimeter."

Lieutenant Nagrix snorted in frustration, pausing briefly to catch his breath before speaking again, "Then I guess it's up to us."

"Hold it right there!" A voice boomed through the building. It sounded like a female human with an angry tone.

A few soldiers poked their heads out from nearby rooms, peering out from their hiding spots cautiously.

Lieutenant Nagrix smirked when he caught a glimpse of Captain Nerissa strolling into view.

She was covered from head to toe in mud and grime, her blonde hair matted together in several places, her face dirty and red-cheeked. Blood dripped down her chin from her nose which was bleeding profusely.

"Captain!" The lieutenant smiled wide, glad that he'd found her still alive after what happened earlier. "How did you survive that attack?"

"I was lucky… Anyway, it's too early to celebrate," her voice quivered with rage and grief. "A truck carrying refugee children crashed into a tree just a few blocks away from here." She paused for a moment.

The lieutenant's mouth gaped open, staring at her speechless, it couldn't be possible. They were all driving at full speed towards this building right here, how could it crash a few blocks away?

He didn't think that the explosive blow from the monster would've caused that sort of damage. Then it hit him - the demonic monster that attacked them earlier wasn't exactly normal either.

It was massive, bigger than anything that they had ever seen before. If he recalled correctly, it stood nearly thirty meters tall, maybe even more.

The captain continued talking, "Grand Marshal Varda is currently defending the truck from a herd of Hellhounds. General Garius is trying to secure the area outside before more demons arrive."

She paced forward, gripping her sword tightly. "I'm going to help the Grand Marshal."

Lieutenant Nagrix panted heavily, it seemed like she wasn't joking. The thought of racing out there into the midst of demons terrified him. "We'll come with you." He gulped hard as he spoke.

The captain nodded softly, "I know you will."

"Oh! I just remember something important!" The lieutenant said suddenly, snapping his fingers as he remembered why they needed reinforcements. He looked at each soldier before pointing at one of them.

"Go and reinforce the Humvec outside and get some Crusaders or better yet a Paladin at the gap by the door. We need to plug the hole and keep those demons out."

The soldier saluted and ran out immediately, disappearing into the smoky hallways while the rest of the squad joins the Humvec outside.

Looks like the 'plan' kinda works out for us… Lieutenant Nagrix mused silently, hoping that things work out.

With most of the refugees moved into the deeper part of the building, he steered Captain Nerissa towards the stairwell leading to the basement.

"Where's Commander Yueh?" She asked.

"I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "He should be upstairs taking charge of the situation though."

"Alright, we'll find him when we get back." she panted loudly, wiping sweat from her brow with her sleeve.

They reached the bottom floor where underground hallways lead to the next block of buildings.

As they walked past several corridors, they came upon a number of soldiers scurrying about.

One of them panted excitedly as he strolled towards them, "Looks like they've managed to open the Portal!" He spoke in excitement.

"Finally…" Captain Nerissa panted as she stowed her sword at her waist. "We can finally move the refugees in."

"That's right," another soldier panted, holding his gun tightly in his hands, "Wait a minute, Captain! Lieutenant Nagrix!?"

They turned around and saw a familiar face, "Private Xiv? How're you still alive?"

The private grinned widely, "I'm just lucky. I came to visit the Department of Homeland Defense before this all happened. They had me on standby for a month to help with security and stuff. When the demons attacked, I was already inside."

Lieutenant Nagrix sighed in relief, "Glad to hear it. You've got the worst grades in the entire military school. You must've been really lucky to survive."

"Well, I wouldn't deny that. Are you guys going anywhere?"

Captain Nerissa shook her head, "Yes, we're going up to Block H where Grand Marshal Varda is fighting off the demons."

"Maybe you can join us, we'd like every luck we can get." Lieutenant Nagrix smiled.

Private Xiv smiled back, "I'll try my best. But I'll only join you after I deliver the message to Commander Yueh."

He jogged off to deliver his message to the commander. As for the captain and lieutenant, they ran down the passageway towards the stairs leading to Block H's basement level.