That's a lot of people, Isaac admitted internally, scanning the army of survivors that surrounded the floating Rift from a safe distance. He wasn't sure of the exact number, but there had to be a few hundred of them. Far more than he had expected.

This just might work.

He made another pass above them before descending toward the edge of the park. There, he landed next to a party of about twenty, which included him and James. They were one of the frontline groups—Hosts with high levels or Origins that granted increased toughness. As their name suggested, they would be the first to engage the Guardian once it appeared.

There were dozens more groups—or platoons, as the Colonel called them—like this, each with a designated role. The full plan went right over Isaac's head, but one thing was clear, everyone had their place, and no one was to break formation. They couldn't risk friendly fire because too many people tried to be at the front.

That said, thanks to his Legacy form, he had a little more leeway than most. Still, his main designation was frontline. Which suited him just fine. After all, he was here to fight and hopefully make a difference.

"How's it looking from above?" James asked after spotting him. "All good?"

Isaac nodded, Root of Blood manifesting in his hand. "Yeah. Everybody is in place. No Wretched in sight. Pretty solid for just an hour of prep."

"Give people a common enemy, and we become unstoppable." James chuckled, but the sound was forced, uneasy. "I just hope it works out."

Isaac tore his gaze away from the Rift and studied his teammate. "You okay?"

The man looked down at his hands. They were shaking. "I've been better. But I can handle it. It's not our first rodeo, eh?"

"That it isn't," Isaac agreed, letting out a sigh.

He glanced around at the gathered survivors—at their tense shoulders, shaking hands, tapping feet. Some eyes were darting all around, probably looking for a way to escape, to retreat from what may be a suicide mission. He could practically smell the fear rolling off everybody.

Yeah, that Rift will do that to you, he thought, looking back toward the growing whites within the portal. A shiver ran down his spine, and not even the warmth pulsing from the Root could chase it away. This was nothing like the corruption inside Quarantine Sites.

"Think all the guns will even help?" James asked suddenly.

"Honestly? I doubt it," Isaac said, keeping his voice low. "They barely work against mutants."

"Wonderful," the older man muttered. "Now all we need is for the Guardian to be a flying monster. Then we're utterly and completely fucked."

"Trying to jinx us? What would Tyler say?"

James shook his head. "No jinxing, just preparing for the worst."

Isaac snorted. "Right…"

They didn't speak again after that morbid ending. It was probably for the best because aside from saying 'it'll be fine,' he had no clue how to calm down the older man. That was not his forte. Fighting was. But as the battle loomed closer, he wasn't feeling so sure even about that.

The aura of fear saturating the air was starting to get to him, too.

"Something's happening," James muttered, gesturing toward the Rift.

True to his word, bright red flames ignited along the portal's edges. With each passing second, they intensified, consuming almost the entire Rift. That could mean only one thing.

Analyze.

Dimensional Rift | Status: Charging | Time until opening: 25 seconds.

"Everybody stay calm," the Colonel's voice, amplified by a megaphone, boomed across the battlefield. "Hold your positions, and don't panic. This Guardian won't know what hit it if we work together."

This quietened some of the mutters that erupted with the appearance of the flames, but those who had looked scared before now seemed downright terrified. The oppressive aura coming from the Rift definitely wasn't helping.

Ten seconds.

Every firearm in the area aimed at the portal. That said, with the way some hands were shaking, accuracy might not be the best. Hopefully, they would just miss altogether instead of hitting an ally.

Three… Two… One…

The moment the timer fell to zero, the flames covering the Rift erupted. A massive pillar of fire shot downward, slamming into the ground and exploding outward in a wave that raced toward all the Hosts in the area.

Isaac was ready to shift and take to the sky, but then, some people from his group stepped forward. James was one of them. His arms transformed into two massive metallic shields, slamming together to meet the oncoming flames. Nearby, walls of earth and stone rose to create more cover.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Yet, even if that saved him and others behind him, not everyone was so lucky to have a defensive ability. Screams of pain tore through the battlefield, panicked yells joining them a moment later. There went their unity…

"Fuck," James swore, deactivating his shields and staggering backward. There were no injuries on his hands, but the flames clearly took a lot out of him.

Still, he seemed fine, so Isaac stepped past him and looked toward the fading flames at the center of the park. Well, it wasn't much of a park anymore. Now, only scorched black earth stretched before him, looking as if hell had come to Earth.

And maybe it did.

The last of the flames disappeared, unveiling the creature they hid within. It was massive, easily twice or even thrice the size of an average human. With dark red skin and muscles that could break a man in half. That said, it looked almost human if not for the head and tail of a bull.

Like a minotaur, Isaac noted as the beast stepped forward and slammed its long, black glaive into the ground. It then looked around and let out a roar that almost made his ears bleed. To make it even worse, a blue barrier sprang up around the battlefield, trapping them all here.

Of course, it's just like the Trials. Finish it or die. Analyze.

Potential Threat: High

Ah shit… Quickly, Issac turned toward the nearest survivor. "Fast, analyze it. Tell me the threat level."

"V-very High," the man stammered, his face pale. "W-what shoul—"

He never got to finish as a second later, the Colonel's voice reached their ears.

"Fire!" he ordered, and at once, those who still could fight opened fire. Bullets and smaller elemental attacks rained down upon the Minotaur. The former bounced harmlessly off its thick hide, while the latter left only minor cuts.

All the while, the beast just stood there, taking it all. Or at least, it did for a few seconds. Then, it snorted, expelling a small burst of flames from its nostrils. What came next, nobody could have predicted.

"Humansss," it hissed, its low, gravelly voice filling the battlefield. "Tiny pests…" It narrowed its yellow eyes and pulled its glaive out of the ground. "Die!"

As if the word itself was a command, the glaive's blade ignited with red-black flames. The Minotaur twirled it overhead before swinging in a random direction.

An arc of fire erupted from the weapon and slammed into the first survivors in its way.

They never stood a chance.

For a brief moment, silence claimed the battlefield as everybody froze up. Even Isaac, who up until now faced every enemy head-on, could barely move. At least, that was until the Colonel's voice reached his ears again.

"Don't just stand there!" The old man roared. "Fight! Fight for your life, fight for your future! Don't let their deaths go to waste."

While most remained frozen even after that, some brave souls resumed the attack. Bullets and skills filled the air once more. Meanwhile, Isaac looked over his shoulder and shared a nod with James.

"Come on, people!" the older man yelled. "Move out! Focus on defense for now. We need to buy time for the others to reorganize."

Only three other Hosts listened and followed after them, but that didn't matter. Isaac already spotted a few groups charging from different directions. This should be enough for now. Had to be enough.

With just a nudge, half a dozen Blood Daggers shot at the Minotaur, sinking halfway into its skin. The beast snarled and turned toward their group, swinging its glaive again.

Another wave of fire raced forward—smaller but just as deadly.

"Dodge!" Isaac shouted and quickly transformed, diving out of the way of the flames.

After confirming that James and the others were fine, Isaac soared higher, raining down more low-powered daggers to keep the Minotaur distracted. That was all the survivors needed to reach the beast and begin an assault from every possible direction.

At the same time, the gunfire ceased, replaced by a barrage of flashy skills, all aimed at the Minotaur's upper body. Shards of ice, glass, stone, and so much more struck the beast, stopping it from creating more waves of fire. That said, it could still swing the glaive in random directions as if trying to swat away the flies surrounding it.

That was until James, with hands transformed into thick shields, stepped into the path of another swing, stopping its momentum cold.

Now's my chance.

Tucking his wings, Isaac dived, Viron and blood gathering at the edge of his body. Once only a few feet separated him from the Minotaur, he transformed and brought down the Root upon the beast's back. Blood Draw answered his call and carved deep into the flesh in its way.

Now to escape.

Yet before he could force the transformation, the Minotaur roared and stomped hard onto the ground. Fire exploded from underneath its foot, releasing a heatwave in every possible direction. It hit everyone close by, including Isaac, and sent them flying through the battlefield.

Ouch…

He winced as he landed and tumbled across the ground. His skin burned, which was not a surprise. Yet he still pushed past the pain and quickly reached into his pocket, which somehow survived the blast.

The Normal-grade Energy Potion fell into his hands.

He gulped it down in one go, feeling the surge of energy flood his body. To help even more, he sacrificed a third of his Bloodbank's fuel and directed it toward healing. The way that action soothed his burns and injuries was almost euphoric.

Then, another thunderous roar snapped him back to reality.

Shit…

After his not-so-little attack upon its back, the beast fell into some kind of a frenzy. Instead of standing its ground, it charged forward, cutting through the nearby fighters like a reaper. With each swing of its glaive, more and more bodies fell, and not even the constant assault from others could stop the beast.

Wait… Isaac narrowed his eyes. Elaine?!

With most of the frontline unavailable at this time, someone else had to step in. And apparently, that honor fell to Elaine's flanking squad. This wasn't a good sign, as that team was full of glass canons—fighters who could move fast and hit hard but couldn't take a hit.

I need to move.

Isaac broke into a sprint, jumping over all his fallen allies.

In the corner of his vision, he even spotted James. Thankfully, the man was slowly rising to his feet with the help of a few others. Whether he would rejoin the battle or not remained to be seen.

As the fighting grew closer, the Symphony's song intensified, once more syncing with his heartbeat. At this point, he didn't even know if it could be pushed any further. Guess he was about to find out.

Round two…

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