Beep, Beep, Beep!

Beep, Beep, Beep!

"What is going on again?!" One of the operators monitoring the screens groaned in confusion and mild frustration as he stared at the monitor flashing bright red.

"Huh? Oh shit! A demon has appeared!" the man shouted in pure horror, eyes widening as he stared at the alert.

"Wait a moment, the signal…" another man muttered as he rapidly clicked away at his keyboard, scanning data and triangulating coordinates. "Th…this is the same demon that appeared a few weeks ago, but its aura vanished in an instant. However, it wasn't alone that day. Where's its partner?"

"Forget the damn partner! The demon is in the same town where we sent some hunters to investigate the killings and determine if Bray was behind them." the first monitor shouted in terror.

"What's its rank?"

A deep, hardened voice swept through the room, calm yet carrying an oppressive authority. Instantly, the entire place went silent. The monitors began to sweat profusely as a suffocating aura filled the room, pressing down on their chests like a heavy boulder.

'Shit! An S-rank hunter… What's one doing here again? Wait! This aura… it's similar to that ruthless S-rank, Hunter Drey! Why the hell is he here?' one of the monitors thought as he gulped hard.

"We think it's a Proto-Echelon, sir," another replied, forcing his voice to stay steady.

'A Proto, huh? Those freaks who're right below the Twelve Echelons in strength. So one has appeared again?'

"Huh? What's that?" the voice asked sharply, pointing at a few yellow dots blinking on the screen.

"Uhm… those are the hunters we sent after a gang leader," one of the analysts replied nervously.

"Wait! The red dot is the Proto, right?" the S-rank asked again, tone laced with dark amusement.

The operator nodded silently.

'Damn it! Those hunters are walking straight into their deaths. If they don't get out now, they're all finished. A Proto-Echelon can annihilate multiple A-ranks with ease, and even double-A ranks struggle to survive against one. I need to head there right away.' the man thought, smirking slightly as a strange excitement glinted in his eyes.

"Keep me posted. I'm headed there now," the voice said finally.

And just like that, the overwhelming aura vanished, allowing everyone in the room to breathe again as if they had just escaped drowning.

"Should we be worried? Is there something we can even do?" one monitor asked, gulping loudly.

"Meaning?" another new recruit asked, confused.

"It's like you don't know how strong S-rank hunters are," one of the veterans said with a grim chuckle. "They've got power capable of leveling entire towns. Even though he's human, that hunter—Drey is feared among other hunters."

"Feared?" the newbie asked again, nervously.

"A fearsome battle maniac who only cares about one thing," the veteran replied.

"Which is?" the new joiner asked quietly.

"Destruction," another monitor muttered in a low tone. "He doesn't care about collateral damage, he doesn't care who gets caught in the crossfire. As long as he kills his target, he's satisfied."

"Fuck! That means the townspeople could get dragged into the fight that's about to happen. We need to do something before the association's name gets ruined." the newbie said in panic, his hands trembling slightly as the screens kept flashing red.

"Quickly, let's send down C rankers to town now. They need to clear out the town."

"How far?"

"They should leave fifty… no! That won't be enough. They should leave sixty metres away from where the battle is going to happen.

Send thirty C rankers now but have them not get involved in the battle otherwise they would perish for nothing. All they need to do is evacuate. Get the people to safety as far as possible." The oldest monitor in the room, the most efficient, ordered.

"Got it." Every other person in the room shouted in unison as they hopped on their keyboards, sending out orders to all C rankers.

'I don't know if this is good or bad. But depending on how strong this proto is, it will determine how close he is to the Twelve Echelons. Shit. I hope those hunters can hold off long enough till Hunter Drey arrives,' the oldest monitor thought, his brows furrowed.

__

Meanwhile, Hunter Drey had just left the monitor room and he could be seen dashing through hallways and corridors. After less than a minute, he burst into a room filled with portals.

This room had several portals glowing fiercely. They were so many that the whole room was illuminated, making it hard to calmly count them all.

Each portal led to a different town or city, allowing hunters to get places quickly instead of taking the bus. In the room, a few people stood at consoles. These were the ones who monitored the portals and made sure hunters got into the right one.

"Hunter Drey!" Those in the room muttered in shock and without hesitation they bowed toward the hunter, who did not bat an eyelid.

"A portal to…" Drey called out the town he was headed to and immediately one of the guards led him to the designated portal.

Without hesitation, the hunter prepared to dive in and leaped toward the portal, but all of a sudden, as if a force field surrounded the gateway, Drey was shoved away with brutal force. He almost crashed into a wall if he had not stabbed his fingers into the ground immediately.

"Huh?" he muttered, furrowing his brows.

"What happened?" a voice spoke inside Drey's mind.

"Master, it seems like the demons already have something to block out all active portals. I can't get through the one that would take me to the town," Drey mumbled as he stared at the portal in anger.

"How is this possible? The demons are uncivilised beings, there is no way they have the intelligence to create something like that. Something is… kuk! KUK! Something is wrong," the master replied, voice tight with alarm.

"Are you okay? Master, should I come over?" Drey asked, worry and unease creeping into his tone.

"No! Find a way to get to that town now. Since the portal is not working, find another way to get there as soon as possible. Those hunters must not die!" the voice roared inside Drey's mind and immediately the link disconnected.

'I promise you, master, none of them will die,' Drey declared inwardly as he clenched his hands fiercely. He looked up, calmed the storm in his chest, and began running again.

Without hesitation, he dashed out of the room, boots pounding on the corridor floor.

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