Inside the building of the White Hawks guild, the guild master Gavynn Guilliermo was sipping his coffee as he gazed out the window. His eyes lingered on the sight when the secretary stormed into his office with the news.
"Guild master, an umbrella gate has broken out in the Bulacan State High School," the guild secretary reported in a nuetral tone.
"I'm aware," Gavynn responded as the peak of the purplish-dark barrier rose through the lofty buildings in sight of his office window.
"The radar estimated it's a D-level umbrella gate and the barrier encompasses the entire school premises. Although D-level is not an existential threat, everyone in that school is not a demon hunter."
The coffee in Gavynn's hand began to sizzle and boil.
The secretary catches the strong, arid energy emanating from Gavynn's temperance, searing through the air.
Concerned, the secretary asked, "What's the verdict, sir?"
"Gather every DH and prepare a rescue operation."
"But sir, that school falls under the Twilight Guild's jurisdiction. We have no authority to interfere with their gate."
Demon gates are managed by territory. Each guild is either assigned or permitted to claim a specific area by the Demon Hunter Association (DHA). A guild usually oversees an entire city, or sometimes just a small district, and it's their duty to handle any gates that appear within their borders. Other guilds are forbidden to interfere unless authorized by the DHA or if the outbreak spirals beyond control.
"I don't care!"
The mug in Gavynn's hand flared a molten red. The ceramic melted like a wax, then scalding coffee seeped through his fingers before dripping onto the floor with a sharp hiss, like a drop of water in a hot pan. Not even the burn could make Gavynn flinch.
"This is a rare chance to secure the White Hawks' influence in this town. I know the repercussions… Now, gather all of our DHs(Demon Hunters) and send them in."
Finally cooling his boiling head, Gavynn added, "Also, bring Ermit into the operation."
~~~~~~~~~~
Demon gates are an unpredictable occurrence. There is no device yet that could forecast the appearance of the gate.
Gates are like earthquakes, no one knows where or when they will strike. Similar to earthquakes, they also come with different levels; some Gates are filled with high-level demons, and some are low-level.
There are two different kinds of Gates: the Umbrella Gate, and the Gate.
Gate is the original version and it is far more dangerous than the umbrella gate. Gate typically contains mephistophelian demons and can appear literally anywhere.
On the other hand, umbrella gates are normally a weaker gate. They always have a dark barrier which is where the term umbrella is derived from. Inside this barrier, cellular connections are hindered by the demonic force, meaning phone calls wouldn't be possible inside the barrier. However, an alternative solution for this problem is radio transmission since they are not affected by the barrier.
Although the barrier may seem like bad news since it cuts the network transmission, it actually benefits humans since they can cross the barrier in and out whereas demons can't.
Basically, demons are stuck inside the barrier. However, after a certain time, the gate will close, including the barrier. Hence, demons can break free and rampage everywhere.
That's why the common protocol for umbrella gates is to eliminate all demons before the gate closes.
~~~~~~~~~~
'When a demon perishes, they crumble into dust, leaving no trace.'
Hayden finally grasped the weird situation.
'But this thing… it leaves a corpse. It could only mean one thing; this is a human who mutated to a demon.'
Although he had figured it out, more mysteries arose and it's making him puzzled.
'Who cursed this human to transform? Is there a demon with curse abilities on the loose? Is this human cursed prior to the gate opening? And how many more cursed humans are taken as hosts?'
These questions run through Hayden's head.
Hayden decided to leave the thing behind and proceeded to his classroom building. He found the area packed with students forming slow-moving lines, each carefully watched by their teachers. A confused murmur filled the hall as the lines of students marched like baby ducklings.
He scanned the crowd until he spotted his section somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, Aubrey wasn't there.
Hayden approached their teacher and asked, "Sir, where's Aubrey?"
"Hayden! Great, you're here. Join the line, quick. We have to evacuate through the entrance," the teacher replied.
Hayden felt a sharp spike of disbelief. 'Evacuate through the entrance? That's where the gate opened.'
"Where's Aubrey?" Hayden repeated, holding his voice down.
The teacher sneered. "Forget about those delinquents. Their lives are in danger because of their own ignorance."
'Can he even hear himself? What kind of teacher wishes their students harm?'
Hayden couldn't hold back. He stepped away from the line and yelled, his voice rippling through the halls, "What level of stupidity is this?! You're heading straight into the danger! The demon gate opened at the entrance… that exit is a death trap! This isn't a drill! Everyone needs to turn back!"
"Contain your gibberish mouth!" the teacher barked, embarrassed by the disruption. "We are following protocol. Get in line, Mr. know-it-all, before you cause a panic."
The commotion made the marching ducklings freeze, glancing around in confusion.
"Is he serious?"
"Demons? At the entrance gate?"
Their voices trembled, unsure who to believe.
Hayden, being fed up and frustrated, turned sharply to his classmates, "Did none of you see Aubrey?!"
One girl quickly replied, "She went to the cafeteria with Liam and a few others."
Getting the information he needed, Hayden didn't waste another word. He spun on his heel and took off running in the direction of the cafeteria.
Hey! Stop! Where are you going?!" the teacher yelled, but Hayden didn't slow down.
A few seconds later, when Hayden was about 20 meters away, a bloodcurdling scream erupted from the crowd behind him.
*SHRIEK*
Hayden glanced back, and right before his eyes, a few students in the surging mass began to transfigure. Their bodies distort, limbs stretching into something monstrous.
The cursed student had transformed.
Total panic erupted. Students fell, teachers fled, and the rush to escape turned into a dangerous stampede. Hayden watched as the transfigured students tore a classmate apart with razor-sharp teeth and claws.
Blood sprayed across the floor.
'My speculations are correct; there are many hosts of the curse inside the campus,' Hayden concluded. 'It became evident that the curses are planted on the students preemptively. But what evil creature has the knowledge to plan such a thing?'
Hayden was an inch close to figuring out the culprit behind this, but some pieces still needed to be linked.
Hayden then proceeded to the cafeteria, leaving the chaos behind him.
He had the power to kill the transfigured humans, but he didn't see the point
All that matters to him is the success of the mission. It doesn't concern him that there are multitudes of people getting inhumanely slaughtered behind him. His vision is already set to fulfil one goal—and that is to get protectee, Aubrey, outside the barrier… and he will pursue that by any means necessary.
~~~~~~~~~~
Inside the cafeteria, Aubrey and her friends were gazing up at the purple barrier when the electricity died, the cafeteria lights flickered to death.
"You see where the thing shoots from? That's probably where the demon gate is," Liam said.
"I think that's around the school's entrance," Aubrey said.
"Same guess here. That means the demons will emerge on that side, so we must exit on the opposite side of the campus. The route to the truck area where I got into a fight yesterday seemed off the barrier coverage. We should escape there."
"You sure know a lot about this thing, Liam."
"My father is a DH, so I know the basics about gates."
Suddenly, screams came from a distance. A surge of people getting chased by a galloping four-legged demonic beast is headed their direction. It eventually caught on to the slowest student and mauled the poor guy alive.
The demon towers over a human even in a dog-stand, its body is as wide as an elephant. Its muscular frame was wrapped in coarse black fur that hung over its eyes, faintly steaming with dark mist. From its gaping maw jutted rows of protruding teeth, gums glistening with blood.
The cracking ribs sounded like crunchy chips as the demon chewed the guy's torso.
"Hide, quick!" Liam bellowed.
As everyone fled the cafeteria, Aubrey froze in her place, trembling horribly as she beheld the guy in the demon's mouth begging for help.
Having no other option, Liam forcefully dragged Aubrey under a table to hide before locking the cafeteria door shut.
"That demon gallops like a cheetah. We can't outrun that fucker," Liam said, trying to limit the volume of his voice. "We have to wait and hide…" he hushed.
The demon had already finished its meal and was now prowling outside, searching for its next prey.
Aubrey steadied her breathing and looked around, only she and her friends were left in the cafeteria.
But they weren't alone.
"Th… there are demons outside…" the personnel grumbled, fear crippling in her tone.
"Be quiet, ma'am. It might hear us…" Liam said in a whispering manner.
Unfortunately, it appears that the personnel don't hear him, or perhaps, she just blatantly ignores Liam's warning.
"My son… I… I have to save my son."
Her voice quivered as panic overtook her. She began moving toward the door, trembling uncontrollably.
Aubrey rushed over and caught her gently, wrapping her arms around the personnel to stop her from going any farther.
"You're getting all of us in danger, ma'am…"
However, that only triggers her panic attack to break out. She broke down in tears and retaliated by pushing Aubrey to tumble off the tables.
"My son!!! I need my son!!!" she screamed as tears streamed down her face.
She then makes a run for it as she weeps uncontrollably.
But when she's about to open the door, the demon is already alerted.
The demon crashes through the door, crushing the personnel with the door on its feet.
*AHHHHH!!!*
Screams sounded from Aubrey's friend.
Aubrey got back up to her feet and they all shuffled to the corner of the cafeteria, huddling together.
The cafeteria was engulfed in darkness, but unfortunately for them, the demon can see through the dark and it's now prodding slowly towards them with a ravenous growl.
Aubrey can see the blood stains on its teeth illuminating through the dark.
Having no way out, Liam stood in front of the girls. "Get behind me! I can go toe-to-toe with this fucker," he bravely roared despite knowing he stood no chance.
Unfazed, the demon kept prodding forward, its heavy feet crushing the tables and chairs on its path.
Liam picked up two chairs, one in each hand, ready to fight back.
The demon roared, then pounced on Liam.
But suddenly, the cafeteria window combusts.
*CRASH*