"The difficulty of the gate must have upgraded from E-Rank to C-Rank. Do you think there's any possibility the people inside can survive?" an officer asked while monitoring the energy flux around the gate with a device.

"The strongest awakeners inside are Ashish and Payal—CCC-Rank instructors of the academy. Realistically, it's impossible for them to survive. There's a slight chance they might manage to hide and wait for the dungeon break," the man beside him answered, his voice low as he continued, "but that's not the main issue. I'm afraid of what that person will do if his brother doesn't make it out alive."

The officer's flinching eyes were fixed on the figure who had just stepped out of the helicopter and was now moving toward the portal, each step heavy and slightly hastened.

"Blood Demon."

"Blood Demon."

"Blood Demon."

The awakeners and officers gathered around the gate acknowledged his presence, quickly paving the way for Blood Demon Aryan.

All eyes and cameras were fixed on the man as he walked forward with heavy steps.

---

Five years ago, Blood Demon Aryan was considered the strongest Awakener in India, his power often compared to those monstrous awakeners of America and China.

Because of his insane feats, his reputation rose exponentially, and he became the living symbol of India's might. He was also the first Indian awakener to ascend to AAA-Rank.

However, in a sudden twist of fate, Blood Demon secretly married, completely hiding himself and his family from the media.

No further news of his record-breaking feats surfaced. He appeared in public only when it was absolutely necessary—and even then, solely in his capacity as the Guildmaster of the Black Raven Guild.

Though he never made it public, everyone assumed Blood Demon had retired. Some believed it was for the sake of his family, while others argued that he had reached the limits of his power.

All such assumptions were shattered two weeks ago, when Blood Demon suddenly appeared at a nationwide press conference.

Not only was it his first public appearance since his marriage, but he also openly challenged Sword King Rudra—an awakener who was clearly at a higher rank than him.

The reason?

Sword King had tried to murder his brother.

The battle that followed shocked the world. Blood Demon not only ascended to S-Rank but also defeated Sword King, sending a clear message across the globe—

This will be your fate if you dare touch anyone from my family.

And now, that same beloved brother was trapped inside a Black Gate, his fate unknown and his chances of survival close to zero.

---

Blood Demon ignored all greetings and walked straight toward the gate.

Pushing aside the man standing in his path, he clenched his crimson-emitting fist and struck the black portal with a booming impact.

The shockwave sent every device around the gate flying. Even the awakeners struggled to stay on their feet under the crushing pressure.

Before anyone could comprehend what had happened, another fist slammed into the gate—far more thunderous than the last.

Officers and awakeners retreated hastily, unable to withstand the aftermath of his attacks.

Blood dripped from both fists, his knuckles shattered, yet the portal remained unfazed.

Still, Blood Demon did not stop.

A relentless barrage of earth-shaking punches rained down on the gate as everyone silently witnessed the desperation behind each strike.

Cameras remained fixed on him for the entire world to see, yet not a single reporter dared to speak.

No awakener or officer stepped forward to stop this madness.

"Open!!!"

Boom!!!

"Open, damn it!!!"

Boom!!!

Blood Demon screamed, the skin on his knuckles torn apart, his bones bulging through the shredded flesh.

The reaction of Blood Demon was completely normal, considering the history of Black Gates.

Each time a gate had turned into a Black Gate, all the awakeners inside were wiped out, unable to hold on against monsters two ranks higher than them.

Blood Demon knew that Raj was strong enough to hold his own against a D-Rank Dungeon, but to fight the monsters of a C-Rank gate, the strength of at least two B-Ranked Awakeners and a trained team of C-Rank Awakeners was required—something Raj, in Blood Demon's eyes, hadn't reached yet.

---

Blood Demon raised his fist again as if the shredded skin and broken bones didn't pain him one bit.

As the reporters and awakeners braced themselves for the aftermath, a hand caught Blood Demon's fist.

Everyone's focus turned toward this figure who had managed to block the fist of an S-Rank with bare hands.

"D-Dr. Reyaan!" The officers and awakeners gasped, their backs instantly bowing at ninety degrees in respect of this individual.

"W-why is the Chairman of the Awakeners' Association here?" reporters murmured, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Ignoring all the murmurs and greetings sent his way, Reyaan ordered Blood Demon in a low voice meant only for him to hear, "Hold yourself together, son."

"Please don't stop me, Father," Blood Demon replied, his voice low. "I must open this portal and save my brother."

"You are only hurting yourself by doing this, son," Reyaan said, his soothing voice calming Blood Demon's mind a bit.

"Wh-why?"

"Why is it that God always targets my brother?" Blood Demon muttered, shimmers appearing in his eyes. "It's only been a month since he recovered, yet his life is continuously threatened one way or another. I swear, if anything happens to Raj—"

"Raj will survive!" Reyaan said, his eyes void of any lies or deception. "That kid is destined for greatness. He will not die so easily."

Reyaan's words finally calmed Blood Demon slightly. As they turned, two chairs had already been placed for them by the officers.

The duo sat down, their eyes locked on the gate ahead as they could do nothing but wait for some kind of change to occur.

The dungeon break would only occur after seven days, so the only phenomenon that could occur was the turning of the gate's color to grey, which would indicate that the gate had either been cleared or that the awakeners inside had been wiped out.

"Aren't you busy with the Association's matters, Father?" Aryan asked, his voice calm.

"This is the Association's matter," Reyaan replied firmly. "I can afford to stay here for today."

After a brief pause, Aryan parted his lips and murmured, "Thanks, Father."

---

Several hours passed. The sun slowly gave way to darkness, and the clear sky became dominated by the bright moon and dancing stars.

The academy's officers and awakeners stayed on their toes, prepared to enter the gate the moment it turned grey, while a few hundred meters away, outside the barriers, reporters continued their live telecast, informing even the smallest details—such as Blood Demon drinking water or folding his arms.

Just when the surroundings turned silent, black lightning suddenly flickered around the portal, gathering everyone's attention.

In a matter of moments, the black portal turned grey, sending absolute chills down Aryan's spine.

"E-everyone inside the gate has been wiped out!" one of the officers blurted out, his eyes popping.

The awakeners who had been preparing for this inevitable moment gathered before the gate to enter.

"Hey, I'm using a recording camera on my helmet," an awakener whispered to his teammate. "Imagine the number of views the video will get once I upload it on YouTube."

"You should drop that idea," his teammate sighed. "I don't think I need to explain what Blood Demon will do to you if you upload a video of his brother's corpse on the internet."

The awakener broke into a cold sweat, imagining Blood Demon's meteoric fist coming straight for his face.

"I-I should stop the recording—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a blurry figure passed by him at blinding speed and entered the gate.

"B-Blood Demon?" the awakeners murmured.

Following him, another figure entered at the same speed. This figure was none other than the Chairman of the Awakeners' Association—Dr. Reyaan.

The gate teleported the duo to the center of a large underground hall that resembled the council hall of a king.

Their eyes quickly scanned the area, their bodies bulging with Soulforce to counter any unforeseen attack.

However, the hall was silent—too silent to be considered the inside of a dungeon.

Numerous headless corpses of trolls lay scattered across the floor, some of them trapped inside ice that was slowly melting.

The ground, walls, and decorations were torn apart alike, indicating the level of battle that had occurred in the hall.

In front of them, at the base of the stairs, lay the humongous body of a monster, one hand stretched upward toward the stairs as if it had tried to ascend but was stopped midway.

Reyaan's and Aryan's eyes followed the direction of the monster's hand, and the moment their gaze fell upon the sight ahead, absolute chills ran down their spines.

At the zenith of the stairs stood a majestic throne, radiating an imposing aura that demanded respect from anyone present.

However, it wasn't the throne that shocked these high-ranked awakeners.

On the majestic throne sat Raj, his face concealed behind the curtain of his hair, one hand firmly resting on the hilt of a katana stabbed deep into the floor—motionless, like a king who had already passed judgement.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.