Another monster cut across their flank, but it was instantly erased by a concentrated green beam that tore through it, blasting it apart. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

This response was from Ishtar who hovered above them, with hand still glowing from the release.

Percival glanced up and gave her a nod to which she returned with a proud smile.

From her position in the air, she had the advantage of clear sight, which aided with tracking movement, picking targets—and every time she fired, another monster burst into pieces.

For her, and the power of carrion she wielded, these things were lighter work.

-

Maya Heydrich and Hayley found themselves moving within the same space.

It wasn’t intentional but it worked. A creature lunged from the side, fast enough to catch Hayley off-guard, but it never reached her because Maya had stepped in at just the right moment.

Her hand surged forward, wrapped in that distinct orangish aura, and the punch that followed caused an impact that drove straight through the monster’s upper frame, sending it crashing backward.

Another came from behind Maya, but this time Hayley intercepted, lunging that dangerous fist of hers forward as a compressed shockwave burst outward, sending the creature flying and clearing the entire stretch in that direction.

Soon it became a rhythm on non-stop movement and interceptions.

"Not bad," Hayley said, not slowing as she destroyed the next one.

Maya didn’t look at her. "Not bad yourself.

-

Eduardo, on the other hand, was a monster in his own right. While the others struggled against S-ranked creatures, the hybrid whose eyes were now a reddish-amber hue, cut through monsters that stood above even that level.

Judging by the density of mana within them, they were SS-ranked; each one the equivalent of a boss in an S-ranked breach zone. But it was that same mana that drew the hybrid to them specifically.

Some he drove his clawed fingers through, tearing straight through their heads. Others he cleaved clean in half with his katana—Murasame, a deadly epic-grade blade that left blood splattered across his face.

He was the sole reason, no one had to deal with the stronger classed creatures.

Bettie, on some other part, fought in close proximity to Ethan’s summons. She was extremely cautious, careful not to be left fighting alone.

And Nina, knowing how much this girl meant to her summoner, made sure of it. She saw to it that no harm ever came too close to the part-timer; even though Bettie herself had grown into a powerful caster.

The legendary summons were impressive as well.

It was hard for Arael, the angel, to miss her projectiles, each one carrying various elemental effects that tore through the heads of monsters on impact. Joe, of course never missed any shots.

Bierzim, the ancient demon, fired devastating laser beams from the tip of his spear. And Xylo, the demon taint, applied highly destructive effects to the monsters, weakening them enough for others to finish off with ease.

The lower-ranked summons had a harder time. They were constantly forced into evasions or pushed into side-cornered positions, fighting from angles where they were never the focus.

But among them, Rue had the most shocking performance.

Not because she fought, or even attacked.

In fact, it was entirely plausible that Ethan had simply summoned everyone without remembering that Rue was... useless in combat.

However, what made her performance truly shocking was how simple it was; she never got hit. Not even once.

At this very moment, Rue walked calmly through the battlefield, with a black cat in her arms, another perched on her head, and a third nestled into her oversized cardigan.

She looked completely unbothered as though the destruction around her had nothing to do with her at all.

A monster suddenly lunged at her with its hand stretched out to grab her; only for another monster, flung by Nina moments earlier, to crash directly into it mid-air, sending both tumbling away.

Rue didn’t even react to that either, she just kept walking.

Another monster, struck down by one of Arael’s projectiles, landed right in front of her with a heavy thud.

She paused. Then calmly stepped around it and continued on her way.

Magic blasts, bullets, weapons—everything flew across the battlefield in chaotic arcs, yet somehow still missed her by margins that made no sense. Even attacks that passed within a breath’s length curved or collided elsewhere.

And then, this time, it was certain she was going to attacked as monster shot straight toward her at full speed.

Rue simply stared as it came; but before it could reach her, Albedo lunged forward, pulling her into a sudden embrace before vanishing in a burst of smoke.

The monster sailed right past them, completely missing the moment.

Albedo reappeared roughly two hundred meters away. The distance was due to her teleportation skill being amplified by Ethan’s trait as they were connected by his mana link.

But her momentum carried through, sending both of them rolling slightly upon landing.

She pushed herself up, still holding Rue by the shoulders.

Then immediately snapped. "Rue, what the fuck? Why are you just walking around in a literal fucking warzone?"

She dragged a hand down her face, exasperated. "How did the summoner even bring you into this battle?"

Rue just stared back blankly.

Albedo clicked her tongue, grabbed her hand without another word and vanished again in a burst of smoke.

-

Ethan, Bella, and Valerie had successfully carved a path forward.

It hadn’t been easy due to the density of monsters around the tear which was overwhelming, forcing them to cut through wave after wave just to move a few meters forward at a time.

But now, the had a clear line of sight the space fractured like broken glass, revealing the world beyond where the monsters continued to pour out from.

Although for that brief moment, there was an opening.

And Ethan took it. He lifted his palm, and what looked like two nuclear bombs, with rounded, egg-shaped bodies, appeared, hovering above it.

Using Ars Levavius, a space-element spell, he sent the bombs floating straight into the tear.

They were called Gatefold Warhead, but simply put they were Breach Closing Nukes, developed specifically to shut down breach zones in the situation where there was a break.

Under normal conditions, when deployed into a dimensional tear, the bombs would detonate with a force calibrated not just for destruction, but for spatial collapse.

The explosion would destabilize the edges of the breach, forcing the torn layers of space to fold inward.

As the gap lost structural stability, the dimensional distance between both sides would begin to compress until the space itself could no longer sustain the opening.

And then it would seal shut.

But those were normal breach zones breaks.

This, was a world-end breach; something beyond anything these weapons had ever been tested against, so no one knew if they would work, which was why President Alva had given him two of the nukes.

In hopes that, more than one would be enough.

And now, they watch as the bombs disappeared into the fractured space beyond. Of course an explosion followed, clearing out the multitude of winged creatures that were just on their way out.

However, even after these explosions had happened, the crack in reality remained exactly as it was.