Loki was walking back from his home. His dark jacket was covered with drying blood-nothing too noticeable.
One hand in his pocket. He pulled his phone from his pocket with other arm.
Memes flashed by-stupid jokes about overpowered adventurers one-shotting bosses.
Game updates for some fighter app he hadn't played in days.
A viral video of a low-rank monster getting yeeted by a street performer.
Nothing caught his eye until he hit a news alert from an adventurer forum app the headline popped up:
"Raid Party Ongoing in Egypt: Red Portal Emerges in Sahara-Led by France's Top Z-Ranker."
Loki paused mid-step, leaning against a lamppost as he tapped the article.
A grainy photo loaded first: a swirling vortex of crimson energy tearing through the desert sands near the pyramids, dunes rippling like waves around its edges.
The portal loomed massive, easily 50 meters wide, pulsing with an ominous glow. Scrolling down, the details unfolded:
"A Red-class portal-designated as a Catastrophe-level threat-has materialized in the Egyptian Sahara few days ago."
"Estimated to contain intelligent monsters ranging from A to S-threat levels, the dungeon is the second-highest danger rating, just below Gray (Apocalypse)."
"A multinational raid party has been formed on-site, led by France's premier Top-6 International Z-Ranker adventurer, Roxanne Cote, known as 'Soul Empress' sources confirm Cote was an route to Egypt for a prior expedition when the portal spawned."
"That explain why she's not in Dieppe during that Godzilla incident." He commented.
He scrolled further, the article diving into a breakdown of portal classifications for context:
Portal/Dungeon Classifications:
Blue - Tragedy
- A blue portal or dungeon is the lowest or weakest type of dungeon. It mainly contains E to D-threat monsters.
Green - Disaster
- Green portal is the 2nd to the lowest. Consist of C to B-threat monsters.
Yellow - Calamity
- Yellow is the middle. It consist a lot of treasure but has traps and swarmed by A-threat monsters.
Red - Catastrophe
- A red portal consist of intelligent monsters A to S-threat. It is the second to the strongest type of portal.
Gray - Apocalypse
- Gray means absolute Apocalypse, it is swarmed by S to Triple-S threat monsters. It is considered the strongest dungeon out of the 4 and is the hardest one to clear. This type of dungeon rarely spawns every year.
Notes:
If dungeon is not cleared within a certain time it would cause an dungeon outbreak swarming cities and killing innocent lives.
Loki putted his phone back in the his pocket, letting out a yawn. "Red portal, huh? Sounds like a hassle."
He continued to walk and crosses the road without looking, his eyes were glued to the cellphone he wasn't paying attention. When suddenly a truck driving more than 30mph was about to hit him, honking furiously.
The Sahara had become a hell's cape.
The Red Portal throbbed open, 50 meters of swirling blood-red vortex.
Intelligent monsters surged forth in a tide of death: colossal scarab titans with obsidian mandibles dripping venom, spectral pharaoh guardians wielding blades forged from souls, and swarms of locusts that screamed ancient curses while devouring life force mid-air.
The multinational raid party was holding on pretty good so far.
Screams echoed across the dunes as adventurers were impaled, drained, or crushed under chitinous legs.
Spells exploded in desperate bursts, but the portal's corruption twisted even the strongest magic into useless sparks.
At the eye of the storm stood Roxanne Cote - France's Top-6 International Z-Ranker, the Soul Empress.
She moved with terrifying serenity.
Long crimson hair whipped in the desert wind, but her face remained utterly blank, eyes two empty voids reflecting only the red glow of the portal.
No fear. No rage. Just absolute, emotionless control.
In her right hand she held a slender silver conductor's baton.
It looked almost delicate - until she moved.
With a sharp, precise flick, the baton cut through the air like a guillotine.
"Symphony of Binding." she whispered, voice flat and emotionless.
Invisible threads of soul-mana erupted outward, wrapping around a charging scarab titan mid-leap.
The 30-meter beast froze in the air, its body convulsing violently as Roxanne conducted its own soul against it.
Its heartbeat became thunderous kettledrums, its roars twisted into screaming violins.
She brought the baton down in a brutal crescendo - and the titan's soul was ripped out in a single explosive note.
The empty shell crashed into the sand, exploding into shards that impaled three nearby locust swarms.
The raid party stared in stunned silence.
"Jesus Christ..." a Japanese S-Rank samurai whispered, blood running down his cheek.
An American tank roared, "She's not even breathing hard!"
An French mage-class laughed nervously while casting an massive spell. "That's the Soul Empress for you."
Roxanne didn't acknowledge them.
Her empty eyes locked onto the next wave of monsters.
She raised the baton again, spinning it once in a graceful circle. "Rift Cadenza."
Space itself tore open in front of her - a controlled rift of pure void that swallowed an entire locust swarm mid-flight.
The insects screamed as they were compressed into a single black orb the size of a fist. Roxanne flicked her wrist.
The orb detonated in absolute silence, erasing everything within twenty meters in a perfect sphere of nothingness.
A pharaoh guardian lunged at her from behind, golden blade raised for a killing strike.
She simply tapped the baton against her palm. "Monster Overture."
The monster own body betrayed it. Its joints locked into perfect rhythm, forcing it to dance helplessly in place while its soul screamed in agony.
Roxanne conducted a savage - the pharaoh's body shattered into golden dust, its soul forcibly extracted and crushed mid-air.
A colossal scarab lord - twice the size of the previous titan - erupted, roaring with enough force to crack eardrums.
It charged straight at Roxanne, mandibles wide enough to swallow a tank whole.
She raised her baton once again. "Soul Requiem."
Hundreds of fallen adventurers' lingering souls - tortured and trapped by the portal - rose around her like a ghostly orchestra.
The souls sang a haunting, dissonant melody that ripped through every monster within range.
The scarab lord staggered, roaring in pain as its soul began tearing free.
Roxanne brought the baton down in one final, merciless stroke.
The lord's soul exploded outward in a shockwave its massive body collapsing in a mountain.
The remaining adventurers fought with desperate, renewed ferocity, but none could match the emotionless maestro standing at the center of the carnage.
Roxanne Cote remained perfectly calm.
Conducting death like a symphony only she could hear.
A low, guttural laugh echoed from the depths of the portal - deep, cultured, and dripping with contempt.
Then it emerged.
Two massive obsidian wings, each feather edged with glowing crimson runes that pulsed.
A dark halo, cracked and corrupted, hovered below its right arm, rotating slowly.
Its body was tall and regal - humanoid in silhouette but clearly divine in origin, skin pale. Golden eyes burned with malevolent intelligence beneath a crown of twisting horns.
This was no mindless beast.
This was a Triple S-Threat Sovereign.
The moment it fully stepped onto the sand, the entire battlefield froze.
Even the lesser monsters that had been pouring from the portal halted, bowing their heads in reverence.
The Sovereign's lips curled into a cruel, aristocratic smile.
"Look at you all. Tiny little ants swinging your toys, thinking you can close clear the gate."
It slowly raised its right arm, the dark halo spinning faster. The air itself seemed to bow to its presence.
The tank, still bleeding from multiple wounds, gripped his massive shield tighter. "You talk too much for a monster!"
The Sovereign tilted its head, golden eyes narrowing with amusement.
"Monster? How quaint. I am Zerathiel, Sovereign of the Seventh Night.
"And you... you are nothing but mortal humans who craves for gold and treasures inside my dungeon." He flicked his fingers.
The ground beneath three Peak-S Rank adventurers suddenly erupted with black thorns.
They didn't even have time to react.
Their bodies were impaled and lifted into the air like grotesque puppets, blood raining down in sheets.
Zerathiel watched their twitching forms with theatrical disappointment.
"Pathetic. I expected at least some resistance from the so-called elite of this world." Its gaze finally locked onto the Soul Empress.
Roxanne stood motionless in the center of the carnage, baton still held lightly in her fingers, eyes remaining completely empty. Not a single flicker of emotion crossed her face.
Zerathiel's smile widened as he turned his head towards Roxanne.
"I've been watching from afar. My eyes say you conduct death like music." He raised his haloed arm.
The entire battlefield trembled as dark symphonic notes began to echo from the portal behind him.
Zerathiel's voice dropped to a venomous whisper that somehow reached every ear on the battlefield. "However, that won't change anything. Now it's your turn to die."
His dark wings spread wide, the corrupted halo blazing with malevolent power.