Reidar woke to the sound of boots on concrete.

He'd spent the night beside his mother's bed. His father had tried to convince him to sleep elsewhere, but Reidar refused. He needed to be close to her. At least that night.

The medical ward had been silent for most of the night, but the various healers came here to check on the comatose patients from time to time.

But it was morning now, and it was inevitable for Reidar to wake up.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just the sound of the healers' boots making noise. It was also the sound of a young survivor crossing the doorway.

"Excuse me, sir," he said in reverence and with a certain degree of fear due to Reidar's level. "Seraphine wants to see you," the man said. "She's in the command room."

Reidar pushed himself up from the chair, joints groaning from the awkward night's rest. He rolled his shoulders, stretching the stiffness from his muscles.

"Where's the command room?"

"Fifteenth floor. W-west side of t-the building," the man stammered.

Reidar nodded. He looked at his mother one last time, then at his father, who slept there on another chair just for the sake of being with his son.

"I'll be back soon," Reidar said.

Matthias waved him off without looking up.

Reidar left the medical ward and headed for the stairwell. Fifteen different floors later, he got to his destination.

The command room occupied a corner office with windows on two walls. Maps covered the tables, just for the sake of making notes on them. Pins marked locations throughout Creamont.

The maps were divided by color: Red for hostile territory. Blue for Spriggan-controlled zones. Yellow for neutral areas.

Seraphine waited at the main table, looking exhausted. Dark circles hung under her eyes. She clearly hadn't slept much.

Two other Spriggans stood with her—John, the guard captain, and a woman Reidar didn't know. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, Level 76, and her gear marked her as a scout of sorts.

"Reidar," Seraphine said. "Thank you for coming."

"What's wrong?"

Seraphine pointed to the map. "We have a problem."

Reidar sat on a chair.

"My people told me the War Hounds have been active while I was in the valley."

Reidar moved closer to the table. The map showed Creamont's districts in detail. Several yellow pins had been replaced with red ones.

"What happened?"

The scout raised her voice. "The War Hounds assaulted three shelters in the eastern district. They killed the leaders and strongest fighters, then forced the survivors to join them."

"How many people ended up joining them?"

"Approximately six hundred, from the three settlements, but these are just the ones we know."

"They're consolidating power, Reidar," Seraphine said. "Worse than that." She pointed to several red pins scattered throughout the map. "My scouts have seen War Hound patrols hunting members of minor factions. They're targeting anyone who refuses to submit."

"Hunting them?"

"Yes, killing some. Capturing others. The ones they capture disappear into War Hound territory. We don't know what happens to them after that."

Reidar studied the map, his fingers tracing the newly added red pins. The War Hounds' actions didn't make sense given the previous Status quo.

From what Seraphine had told him, they were more opportunistic raiders than strategic conquerors, and most of them had been criminals to begin with.

They stole supplies, kidnapped people, and extorted protection money, and while they often forced people to join them, it was a rather sporadic thing, not something they did three times in a week.

Yet here they were, doing exactly that.

The timing was suspicious. The Church of Unbinding's ritual. The World-Carver Behemoth's arrival. The Aegis Phalanx's intervention. And now, the War Hounds were acting like a disciplined army instead of a gang of thugs.

Reidar doubted it was a coincidence. The stronger monsters in the valley might have played a part in this new power-increasing frenzy, but this level of coordination suggested something else. Someone with a plan beyond simple looting.

He glanced at Seraphine. She looked worn out, but her eyes said she had much more to share. She'd noticed the change too.

"I suppose this isn't normal behavior for them, right?" Reidar said. "They're not smart enough to pull this off on their own."

Seraphine nodded. "We've been watching them for months. They're brutal, but they've never been like this. It's just not that, but…"

"But what?"

Seraphine looked at the scout.

"More than one scout said they saw War Hounds members around level 130. They found a way to power level, taking advantage of the monsters that the church found."

Reidar remained silent. The monsters appeared just a couple of days earlier because of what the Church had done. Theoretically, it should have been impossible for the War Hounds to kill even a single one of them, which meant it should have been impossible for them to level up so fast.

"Has the Church of Unbinding been active in Creamont?" Reidar asked.

Seraphine's expression shifted. "You think they're involved?"

"I don't have proof. But every time something goes wrong in this region, the Church is connected. The portals in the valley are just an example. Now the War Hounds are suddenly becoming more aggressive and are getting such drastic increases in levels?"

John shook his head. "We have not seen movements from their side. The problem is that the church is a sort of religion, so anyone can be one of its followers, which means they can be everywhere."

"Is there a chance the War Hounds might be in communication with them? A sign, a rumor, anything…" Reidar asked.

Seraphine hesitated. "We don't know if they are connected to the Church. The War Hounds' expansion started around the same time we left for the valley, but if they ever had a way to communicate, we don't know that."

<That's not a coincidence.>

If the Church was backing the War Hounds, it explained their sudden strength. In two days they earned almost an equal number of levels? The average survivor here in Creamont, based on what he saw among the spriggans, was level 70. They were even considered strong, since the spriggans were a well-organized group. People around level 130 were an anomaly. Seraphine barely reached that level after the raid quest, and that significantly boosted everyone's prowess.

The truth was that the Church of Unbinding had in fact ruined the fragile equilibrium that the Allied Worlds established by sending the system.

Even if some monsters were stronger than the average survivors, the average monster had the same average level as the survivors, and that was because monsters ate each other. The death of one would make another stronger and so on, but there was a limit represented by the monsters' numbers, represented by dangers.

There were too many factors that kept the monster's power at bay. But now, this balance had been broken by introducing exogenous variables.

Monsters from Portals.

Reidar had known this moment would come. Accepting Seraphine's offer back in the valley meant fighting other humans. He'd prepared himself for that reality. But he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

"How organized are they?" Reidar asked.

John stepped forward. "Very. They move in squads of five to seven. Their members are increasing their levels at fast paces. They hit fast and withdraw before reinforcements can arrive."

"Who is the leader?"

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