Outside the swirling tear, Yejin gripped the hilt of her sword, keeping her eyes locked on the portal. She refused to leave her post, ready to strike down anything that tried to crawl into the village.
Footsteps rushed up behind her as Tsuyu, Hajun, and the rest of her retainers arrived to back her up.
"What is that thing?" Tsuyu asked, her eyes wide as she drew her blade.
Before Yejin could answer, Vincent stepped up beside them, his expression grim. "That's a Gate of Abaddon." He turned to Yejin. "Is Kei already inside?"
"Yes, he dove right in," Yejin said, her voice tight with worry. "Will he be all right? I wanted to go after him, but I couldn't leave the perimeter unguarded. I have to protect the village out here."
"Don't worry, Princess Yejin," Vincent reassured her with a calm nod. "Kei can handle himself. We've spent plenty of time hunting fiends and shutting down these gates. Looking at your face, I'm guessing this is your first time facing fiends?"
Yejin's stiff posture softened just a bit. "I'm going in to help him," she insisted, taking a step toward the rift.
Vincent held out an arm, blocking her path. "Stay here and protect the perimeter, Princess. I'll go back him up."
Without waiting for an argument, Vincent sprinted toward the portal and leaped straight through the swirling void.
"Vincent!" Tsuyu yelled after him. She hurried to Yejin's side, her knuckles white around her sword. "My lady, what is he doing?"
"Just let them. We have to trust them," Yejin said firmly, steadying her breath. "This is their specialty. Everyone, hold your ground! If any fiend slips past them, cut it down on sight!"
Inside the rift, the battle raged on the narrow cosmic bridge.
Nine red Goliaths already lay dead, their massive bodies piled up on the ground. The violent struggle had taken a heavy toll on the cosmic bridge — deep cracks webbed through the glowing stone, and jagged chunks were already tumbling off into the endless black void around them. At the far end of the bridge, a fresh swarm of Crawlers and Gouls hissed as they scrambled on top of the corpses, rushing forward.
The portal flared, and Vincent landed on the walkway. He took in the crumbling stone and the pack of monsters charging toward Kei.
"Kei! Jump!" Vincent roared.
Bright orange flames burst to life across Vincent's hands and forearms, crackling with intense heat.
Kei heard him, and he realized his intent. Pushing off the ground, he vaulted high into the air, flipping over the battlefield to land cleanly beside Vincent.
The moment Kei cleared the line of fire, Vincent thrust both hands forward. A roaring wave of searing flame erupted from his palms, shooting straight down the bridge like a fiery spear. The blast engulfed the charging horde in massive flames. Gouls shrieked as the fire burned them to cinders, and Crawlers shattered into burning ash before their bone spikes could touch the stone.
When the blaze cleared, only two Goliaths remained standing at the rear, their thick red hides scorched and smoking.
"I've got this," Kei said, dashing forward before the beasts could recover.
The two Goliaths lowered their heavy brow horns and charged, their stomping feet rattling the broken bridge. Kei sprinted head-on, leaped over the first beast's horns, and compressed his internal Prana into a dense burst of Anima. With his strength multiplied, he drove an Anima-infused fist straight down into the back of the Goliath's head.
The brute slammed face-first into the walkway with bone-shattering force. The impact sent another massive fracture ripping through the cosmic stone, causing the walkway to tremble violently.
Using the fallen monster's back as a springboard, Kei launched himself even higher. He delivered a crushing dropkick directly into the second Goliath's jaw, throwing its head back, before drawing his daggers and plunging them deep into the creature's yellow eyes.
Kei backflipped off the beast, landing behind Vincent.
Vincent stepped up immediately. With his palms flared wide, he unleashed a continuous stream of white-hot fire into both fallen Goliaths, roasting them until they were reduced to black, motionless husks.
"Phew," Vincent breathed out, lowering his smoking hands. "I guess that takes care of that."
Kei didn't relax. His right eye flared with a sharp blue glow as his Deathsight activated.
A suffocating chill settled over the bridge. Out in the deep shadows where the bridge faded into darkness, a massive purple aura pulsed with horrifying weight.
The pure malice rolling off the entity was far heavier and more suffocating than the raw power of any Southern Alliance commander Kei had ever encountered.
Vincent caught the sudden tension in Kei's stance. "What is it?"
Vincent turned to look, and the color drained from his face.
Standing in the far gloom was an emaciated silhouette of pure living shadow. Two massive swept-back horns curved from its head, and large, tattered bat-like wings spread from its shoulders. In the center of the dark figure, glowing crimson eyes burned, sitting above a blood-red maw twisted into a sickening grin.
"What in Abaddon is that thing?... A Keres fiend?" Vincent asked, his voice shaking slightly.
(A Keres is another variant of a fiend from Abaddon. They are skeletal, bird-like monsters with tattered, bat-like wings instead of arms. They have no face except for a hooked bone beak, framed by a ring of curved black horns.)
"Vincent, look out," Kei warned, stepping back. "That thing is completely different from anything we've fought before."
The shadowy figure opened its maw and unleashed a piercing, high-pitched shriek. The sound was not just noise — it was a devastating shockwave of concussive force that ripped across the bridge. The blast tore through the air, knocking both Kei and Vincent off their feet and flinging them backward through the spatial rift.
Outside in the village, Yejin and her soldiers braced their weapons, expecting demons to pour through the tear. Instead, Kei and Vincent came tumbling out of the portal, crashing hard against the dirt road.
"Kei? Vincent?" Yejin gasped, rushing toward them.
The two scrambled to their feet, weapons raised and ready. "Get ready!" Kei shouted, backing toward the squad. "There's an entirely new kind of fiend inside!"
Everyone leveled their blades, tension gripping the air as they waited for the monster to emerge. A full minute passed in dead silence. Then, with a hollow, groaning crack, the unstable portal collapsed in on itself, snapping shut and vanishing into thin air.
"What happened?" Vincent muttered, blinking at the empty sky.
"Is it over?" Hajun asked, still holding his sword in a low guard.
Kei lowered his daggers and let out a slow breath. "I think so. The cosmic bridge was already falling apart before that thing blasted us out."
Relief swept through the retainers. Several soldiers dropped to their knees, letting out weary cheers for their victory. Yejin calmed her breathing and slowly slid her sword back into its scabbard. She ordered the guards to sweep the surrounding alleys for any stragglers before giving the all-clear for the villagers to return.
Turning back, she noticed that neither Kei nor Vincent looked pleased.
"What's wrong?" Yejin asked, walking over to them. "We held the line. We defended the village without any casualty."
"That's what worries us," Kei answered quietly. "A completely different class of fiend showed up in there — something way more dangerous than the ones we cleared out. I just saw first-hand the evidence that our barrier is definitely breaking down, and at an alarming rate."
"If we don't figure out a way to restore the power of the Heavenly Crystals, the gates won't just stay small," Vincent added, his face grim. "They'll start letting through things that can level entire cities on their own."
Tsuyu walked up beside Yejin, her brow furrowed. "If I remember right, a Gate of Abaddon also opened near Kyungsuk during the war. This is the first time gates have appeared twice in our region within a single week."
Yejin went quiet, staring at the patch of dirt where the portal had vanished.
"I need to report this to High Command immediately," Yejin said, turning back to her second-in-command. "Tsuyu, take charge of the perimeter and keep order until the families are settled."
"Understood, my lady," Tsuyu replied, bowing her head.
With the square secured, Yejin and her allies sent word to the hills, guiding the frightened villagers back to their homes.