“This is the last stop. The route on Nether Street was blocked by the authorities. Heard from the news a Red Gate opened over there.” The old bus driver shook his head.

“Thanks, sir.” Kino stepped out of the bus and was immediately greeted by the hot, strong winds coming from the north, where Nether Street is. Looking up he saw lightning sparks hiding in the red skies above the establishments. The Red Gate must be pretty strong.

Strong winds and bad weather are some of the effects of an opened gate. People call it the “Calamity Effect.” The calamity effect’s power depends on a gate’s rank and size.

Kino checked if there were any police or military around. None. Despite being outside the 2-mile radius, no people can be found. He sprinted in the direction of Nether Street, where people started appearing.

That’s why there’s not a single person outside the 2-mile radius; they’re all inside it!

After running for 5 minutes straight, he stopped by the sidewalk to catch his breath. He hates running and working out in general. He doesn’t even chase the ping-pong ball from very far away. It consumes a lot of energy–something his coach hates about him.

“C’mon, let’s see how the hunters fight!” Two younger girls attending his school ran ahead to see the Red Gate. Like the others, Kino followed. He texted Morris, saying he was already there, but the signal died. Phones lose signals close to the gates. In some cases, electricity too. In rare cases, an EMP happens.

The winds were hotter inside than in the outside radius. He was sweating very hard. Trying to breathe the hot air, Kino finally spotted the red Gate in the middle of the wide road. It was inside a much bigger transparent, black circle: the fold. His mouth gaped open in fascination. It was big, bright red, and floating above the ground.

It’s an oblong shape with red, smoky lights surrounding its whole form, but with a dark purple center. According to his English teacher, who worked as a hunter in his younger days, there’s nothing to see in its black hole, but pure terrifying nothingness.

“Attention, civilians! You need to get out of the vicinity for your safety! We don’t want to have any casualties! Please leave now!” The patrolling police arrived and shielded the barrier tape around the fold. Teenagers love destroying them to get a closer look. Kino looked up at the red gate despite getting squeezed into the crowd. Thanks to his height, he can see a decent view.

From there, he saw the tall building of Reno’s school. He groaned in frustration. He cannot contact him. He’ll have to wait for the gate to close before he can see him.

“The fold broke!” People started screaming when a hole in the fold shattered like glass pieces. Kino’s phone almost dropped from his hold. He was just about to film.

“Shit!”

A fold is made of strong dark energy made by ergo-herald hunters. This barrier made of intense energy is enchanted around a Gate to prevent the wraiths from scattering out. It is also to protect civilians from getting involved.

A wraith hunter in a dark trench coat came to the rescue. From the transparent fold, the civilians watched him cover the shattered hole using a supernatural power with his hands. The herald brooch hanging on his uniform glowed brightly as he built the barrier as fast as he could.

“A herald!” A girl beside Kino screamed. The crowd cheered.

“Leave the radius, now!” The police captain in the patrolling truck ordered once again, but no one paid him any attention.

“RAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” Something roared behind the ergo-herald hunter. It was a large B-type ogre. With unbelievable raging speed, it suddenly attacked from the back. The ergo-herald didn’t have time to escape as he was smashed from shoulder to groin with its large axe in a flash. His body was cut in half. The upper body was thrown in the direction of the civilians, smearing that side of the fold with a show of blood and guts.

“KYAAAAAAAAHHH!!!” Everyone else started screaming and running while Kino trembled and was glued to the spot.

If he wants to be a hunter, he should start being used to seeing things like this.

“R-Run…” the ergo-herald weakly mouthed one last time, looking him in the eye.

“A-AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!” That's where he only found his voice and screamed.

Is this what’s going to happen to me?

People were left in fear. The police officers sitting in their cars laughed in unison. “See where it got you? Now go home to your parents! Leave the gate to the hunters!” The police captain shouted. The middle-aged officer met Kino’s eye. “You, boy! You might want to go now and do your homework. You don’t want to worry your mama—”

“The fold is cracking again!” A random man pointed out. Kino turned around and his eyes followed the cracks going in random directions of the fold.

“Shit!” he cursed.

It’ll break this time for good.

He started running away as fast as he could like he was getting chased by demons. Another series of screams echoed in the wide road of Nether Street. The whole fold shattered completely.

“KYAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!”

“Fuck! What are these hunters doing? They can’t even make a strong enough fold!” The police captain ranted angrily.

“Get out of the way!” Kino was pushed to the side making him stumble on the dusty ground. He tasted blood on his lips.

“RAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” He turned around trying to get up. It was another ogre, but this one was two times bigger than the first one who’d killed the sorcerer a minute ago.

“I-Is this the time I…” The ogre charged in Kino’s direction with a halberd engulfed by its large hands.

The greyish-skin monster smashed the halberd towards him, but due to the adrenaline rush and desperation to live, Kino happened to avoid it on reflex just by crawling backward and dragging his ass on the ground. But still pelted with dirt and small rocks.

“AH!!!”

I don’t wanna die!

The boy won’t stop screaming in fear for his life. The ogre swung the weapon again, and Kino continued to barely avoid it in a life-or-death game of whack-a-mole. It swung a powerful blow through the air with all its might, Kino took his bag and covered his face. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

I’m sorry, Reno! I’m such a worthless older bro! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!

“LEAVE!!!” Two pairs of swords swiftly slashed the ogre’s neck and its head flew away like a soccer ball, hitting a police car’s windshield nearby, haphazardly spraying arterial blood.

Kino slowly opened his watery eyes and found a hunter in front of him holding a sabre in each hand. The blonde man in a navy blue trench coat whipped his weaponry to each side to clean off the blood and fixed his rounded glasses.

“T-Thank you, S-Sir.” The man looked Kino in the eye. He looked angry, not at him though, but at the world.

“There’s no more time. Throw this kid out and make another bigger and stronger fold. Now!”

“Yes, sir!”

A new ergo-herald stepped in and used an energy attack with her hands to throw him out of the way. Kino stumbled on the ground like a sack of potatoes. Tasting more blood on his lips and face, he panicked.

“A-Ahh… Argh… my face! Full of—“ He can already imagine his brother’s worried expression.

He tried to glance at the wraith hunters using his remaining strength and saw another fold was already being formed.