The city of Veylan had not slept.
Even three days after the first Gate incident, panic still filled the streets.
Television screens everywhere replayed the same terrifying footage: the warehouse, the monsters, the portal.
People no longer walked as calmly as before.
Every loud noise made them turn their heads.
Every dark alley suddenly felt dangerous.
The world had changed.
And everyone could feel it.
Inside the temporary command center set up by the military, officers gathered around a large digital map of the city.
Red markers blinked across the screen.
General Marcus Hale stood at the front of the room.
"Status report."
An analyst quickly responded.
"No additional Gate activity detected in the past seventy-two hours."
Another officer added, "Public panic is still spreading online. Several cities are reporting protests demanding government explanations."
General Hale sighed.
"That was inevitable."
He looked toward the far side of the room.
Darius Kane stood quietly with his arms crossed.
The general studied him for a moment.
"You said the civilian predicted another Gate."
Darius nodded.
"Yes, sir."
"And when exactly?"
Darius didn't hesitate.
"Today."
The officers exchanged uneasy looks.
"Did he give a location?" someone asked.
Darius shook his head.
"No."
The general frowned.
"So we're supposed to prepare the entire city based on the word of one mysterious man?"
Darius remained calm.
"With respect, sir… he hasn't been wrong yet."
Before the general could respond—
An alarm suddenly blared across the room.
Everyone turned toward the large screen.
A red warning symbol flashed violently.
"Energy spike detected!" the analyst shouted.
"Location?"
The analyst's fingers flew across the keyboard.
"…Central District."
The entire room went silent.
Central District was the busiest part of the city.
Skyscrapers.
Shopping centers.
Thousands of civilians.
General Hale's voice hardened instantly.
"Show me the feed."
The screen switched to a live drone camera.
And there it was.
In the middle of a crowded plaza, space itself had begun to twist.
The air warped violently, forming the same swirling vortex that had appeared inside the warehouse days earlier.
A Gate.
But this one was larger.
Much larger.
People in the plaza screamed and ran in every direction.
Cars crashed as drivers tried to escape.
The vortex expanded rapidly.
A dark portal nearly four meters wide formed in the center of the square.
The analyst spoke nervously.
"Energy levels are far higher than the previous Gate."
Darius's eyes narrowed.
"…D-Rank."
General Hale turned to him.
"You recognize it?"
Darius nodded slowly.
"That's what Arin called the previous one."
The general cursed under his breath.
"Deploy all available units."
"Immediately!"
Across the city, Arin Veyron stood on top of a tall building overlooking the Central District.
The wind blew lightly across the rooftop.
From this height, he could see the chaos below.
People running.
Sirens blaring.
And in the center of the plaza…
The second Gate.
Arin watched silently.
"Right on schedule."
This event had happened in the original timeline too.
But there was one important difference.
Back then, the Gate had appeared in a smaller city nearby.
Not here.
Not in the middle of the busiest district in Veylan.
Arin's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The timeline is shifting faster than expected."
His interference with the first Gate had changed something.
Small changes always created ripples.
But Arin had expected those ripples to remain minor for a while longer.
Instead…
The second Gate was already larger.
More dangerous.
More visible.
Arin exhaled slowly.
"This might actually be better."
A large-scale incident in the Central District would force governments to react faster.
Hunter programs would begin earlier.
And chaos…
Chaos created opportunity.
Below, the Gate pulsed violently.
Dark shapes began moving inside the portal.
Arin leaned slightly over the edge of the rooftop.
"Here they come."
The first monster stepped through.
Then another.
And another.
Within seconds, five creatures had emerged into the plaza.
They looked similar to the Hound Brutes but smaller.
Faster.
Their bodies were lean and covered with dark fur.
Their claws scraped across the pavement as they sniffed the air.
Civilians nearby screamed and ran faster.
The monsters began chasing them.
Arin's expression hardened.
"This is why humanity nearly lost the early Gates."
Too slow.
Too disorganized.
The military vehicles arrived moments later.
Soldiers jumped out and opened fire.
Gunshots echoed across the district.
But the monsters moved quickly between buildings and cars.
Bullets struggled to hit them.
One creature leapt onto a soldier and tore through his armor in seconds.
Another smashed through a car window to reach hiding civilians.
Arin watched the battle carefully.
These were Shadow Hounds.
Fast.
Aggressive.
Perfect predators for urban environments.
But unlike the Hound Brutes…
They had a weakness.
Arin reached into his coat and pulled out his phone.
He typed a short message.
Then sent it.
Across the plaza, Darius Kane's phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen while dodging a lunging Shadow Hound.
The message contained only one sentence.
Aim for the spine. Base of the neck.
Darius's eyes widened slightly.
"…That guy again."
He didn't question it.
He trusted the information.
The next time a Shadow Hound lunged toward him, Darius stepped aside and slashed his sword downward.
The blade struck exactly where the message had instructed.
The creature collapsed instantly.
Darius stared at the body.
"…He's right."
He shouted to the soldiers.
"Base of the neck! That's the weak point!"
The soldiers quickly adjusted their aim.
Gunfire erupted again.
This time, the monsters began falling one by one.
The battle slowly turned in humanity's favor.
From the rooftop, Arin lowered his phone.
"Good."
But the Gate was still open.
And unlike the first incident…
This one had already released more than five monsters.
The vortex pulsed again.
A deep growl echoed from inside the portal.
Arin's eyes darkened slightly.
"…Here comes the real problem."
A massive shadow appeared within the Gate.
Something far larger than the Shadow Hounds.
Slowly, a gigantic creature pushed through the portal.
Its body resembled a monstrous wolf.
But it was nearly four meters tall.
Thick armored fur covered its body.
Its glowing red eyes scanned the battlefield with terrifying intelligence.
The soldiers froze.
Darius gripped his sword tightly.
"…That thing's different."
On the rooftop, Arin muttered quietly.
"A Shadow Alpha."
A commander-type monster.
Stronger.
Smarter.
And capable of controlling the other creatures.
If that thing fully entered the battlefield…
The casualties would skyrocket.
Arin stared down at the chaos below.
Then he sighed softly.
"…Looks like I'm getting involved again."
Because sometimes…
Even a mastermind had to step onto the board himself.