B-rank Gate – Western Residential District

The western district was eerily quiet. Residential streets, usually bustling with evening activity, were now empty. Evacuation orders had been issued an hour ago. The only sounds were the distant wail of sirens and the low, ominous hum coming from the gate ahead.

Andrey stood at the front of the group, his jacket discarded, sleeves rolled up past his elbows. No katana hung at his hip now. Just the white-and-gold pistol holstered on his right thigh and his bare hands.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "No sword?"

"Broken," Andrey said simply. "Didn’t have time to replace it."

Sein cracked her neck. "So you’re fighting with fists and a pistol against a B-rank gate?"

Andrey adjusted his glasses. "I’ll manage."

The gate shimmered before them, a swirling vortex of purple and black, larger than the usual C-ranks they’d been clearing. Its edges crackled with unstable energy, and the air around it was thick, oppressive.

Lisa gripped her mint-green wand tightly. "Everyone ready?"

"Let’s just get this over with," Sarah muttered, pink light already enveloping her.

They stepped through.

The interior was a twisted version of the residential district outside, houses, streets, streetlights. But everything was wrong. The buildings were warped, their walls covered in pulsing veins of dark mana. The sky above was a churning mass of purple clouds. And the streets were filled with goblins.

Dozens of them.

Not the small, scrappy goblins they’d fought in earlier gates. These were larger. Armored. Their eyes glowed with intelligence, and they moved with coordinated purpose.

At the center of the horde, standing on a raised platform of cracked asphalt and twisted metal, was the Goblin Lord.

He was massive, easily three times the size of the goblins around him. His skin was dark green, nearly black, crisscrossed with scars. A crude but massive axe rested on his shoulder, and his yellow eyes burned with malice.

Sarah’s wand flared. "Heartstorm Apocalypse!"

Pink energy rained down on the front line of goblins. They screeched, their armor cracking, but they didn’t fall. The Goblin Lord roared, and the horde surged forward.

Sein launched herself at the nearest cluster. "Crimson Impact!" Her fist connected with a goblin’s chest, flames erupting on impact. The creature flew backward, crashing into its companions.

Lisa’s hands moved quickly. "Reinforced Barrier!" A mint-green dome snapped into place around Sarah and Andrey, deflecting a volley of crude arrows from the rooftops.

Andrey didn’t wait. He sprinted toward the left flank, where a group of goblins was trying to circle around them. His pistol was in his hand, and he fired three shots in quick succession.

Each round found its mark—eyes, throats, joints. Three goblins dropped.

He holstered the pistol and met the next wave with his fists.

Ki flowed into his knuckles, the blue-white glow illuminating the dim street. He ducked under a goblin’s swing, drove his fist into its chest, and felt ribs crack beneath his knuckles. The creature crumpled.

Another lunged at his back. Andrey spun, caught its wrist, and used its own momentum to slam it into a third goblin. Both crashed into a warped streetlamp.

"Sein! Push left!" Andrey shouted.

Sein didn’t hesitate. "Crimson Charge!" She shot forward, a trail of fire behind her, and slammed into a cluster of goblins trying to reinforce the left flank. The impact sent them scattering, their armor melting from the heat.

Sarah kept up the pressure from the center. "Pink Rain!" A localized storm of pink energy erupted over the horde, continuous damage raining down on the goblins. Their movements slowed, their screams filling the air.

The Goblin Lord finally moved.

He leaped from his platform, his massive axe swinging toward Sarah’s barrier. The impact was deafening. Cracks spiderwebbed across Lisa’s reinforced dome.

"Ngh—!" Lisa stumbled, her concentration breaking. The barrier flickered but held.

"Lisa, stay focused!" Sarah shouted, firing another Heartstorm Apocalypse at the Goblin Lord. The pink hearts slammed into his chest, but he barely flinched. His yellow eyes fixed on Sarah.

Andrey saw it coming.

"Sarah, move!"

He sprinted toward her, Phantom Step closing the distance in an instant. He grabbed her arm and yanked her sideways just as the Goblin Lord’s axe crashed into the ground where she’d been standing. The asphalt shattered, debris flying.

Sarah’s eyes were wide. "Thanks..."

"Stay behind me." Andrey positioned himself between her and the Goblin Lord, his fists raised.

The Goblin Lord snarled, ripping his axe from the ground. He swung again—a wide, horizontal arc meant to cut them both down.

Andrey ducked under it, rolled forward, and drove his Ki-enhanced fist into the creature’s knee.

The Goblin Lord roared, staggering. His leg buckled, but only slightly.

"His joints are weak!" Andrey called out. "Sein, hit the other knee!"

Sein was already moving. "Crimson Impact—MAX!" Her fist slammed into the Goblin Lord’s right knee, flames erupting on impact. The creature’s leg gave way, and he crashed down onto one knee.

"Now, Sarah!"

Sarah raised her wand high, pink light gathering into a concentrated beam. "Love’s Apocalypse—FOCUS FIRE!"

The beam struck the Goblin Lord directly in the chest. He howled, dark mana spilling from the wound, his body convulsing. But he didn’t fall.

He swung his axe blindly, forcing them back.

Andrey’s mind raced. ’The armor is too thick. We need to strip it first.’

"Lisa! Can you use your chain skill on him?"

Lisa nodded, sweat beading on her forehead. "Starlight Burst—chain mode!" Green stars streaked from her wand, ricocheting off the Goblin Lord’s body. Each hit left a glowing mark on his chest, his arms, his neck.

Sein’s eyes locked onto the marks. "Those are the weak points."

Andrey drew his pistol. "Sein, draw his attention. Sarah, hit the marks. I’ll take the finishing shot."

Sein launched herself at the Goblin Lord, her gauntlets blazing. She punched, dodged, punched again, each strike driving him back, keeping him focused on her.

Sarah targeted the glowing marks one by one. "Heartstorm Apocalypse—precision fire!" Pink hearts struck each weak point in sequence, cracking the Goblin Lord’s armor, exposing the dark, pulsing flesh beneath.

The Goblin Lord roared in pain, swinging wildly. His axe caught Sein’s shoulder, sending her crashing into a warped house. She groaned, pushing herself up, her arm bleeding.

"Sein!" Lisa’s wand glowed. "Refreshing Breeze!" Healing energy washed over Sein, closing the wound.

Andrey raised his pistol.

Ki flowed into the barrel, layering over the bullet. The blue-white glow intensified, illuminating the dark street.

The Goblin Lord’s yellow eyes fixed on him.

"Phantom Step."

Andrey vanished, reappeared directly in front of the creature’s face, and pressed the barrel against the exposed flesh of its throat.

"Goodbye."

He fired.

The Ki-infused bullet tore through the Goblin Lord’s neck, emerging from the other side in a spray of dark ichor. The creature’s eyes went wide. His massive hands reached for Andrey, but his body was already dissolving, crumbling into mana particles that drifted away like ash.

Around them, the last of the goblin stragglers crumbled into mana particles.

Sarah deactivated her transformation first, leaning against a cracked lamppost. "Finally... my arms feel like noodles."

Lisa sat on the curb, her mint-green dress fading back to her normal clothes. "That took a lot out of me... I need to rest before we go home."

Sein walked past them, heading toward a relatively intact section of sidewalk. She sat down heavily, her gauntlets dimming. Her face was pale, but her eyes still held their usual sharpness.

"Tch. That Goblin Lord hit harder than expected."

Andrey holstered his pistol, then crouched beside Lisa, checking her pulse. "Everyone’s vitals are stable. Minor injuries, but nothing serious."

He stood and surveyed the gate around them. The warp was already beginning to fade, the sky’s purple churn slowing, the twisted houses losing their unnatural edge. In a few minutes, the gate would collapse entirely.

Then the familiar chime echoed in all their heads.

System: B-rank gate cleared. Goblin Lord defeated. Performance rating: A. Rewards calculating...