NOVEL NEXT Chapter 474: The Gate That Defied the Sky
Ethan handed the token to KH3106.
The moment it touched the mech's palm, the token detonated with a sharp crack, scattering into nothing. Gasps rose all around, the suddenness freezing everyone in place. Then the world itself seemed to roar.
A deafening voice blared from Shatterstar's internal systems:
[Beep, beep, beep, beep... Anomaly detected. Unknown biological entity or object breaching high-particle stealth shield—extreme intensity!]
The ground bucked violently underfoot. The four-dimensional holographic projection in front of them turned a warning red, and even the protective shield beneath their boots glowed crimson.
"Move! Get to the mech!" Ethan shouted, already sprinting toward the colossal steel crate.
"Boss, what the hell is going on?!" Blackie yelled after him.
"If I'm right, that's the will of the Spirit Realm itself! Damn it, everyone get inside! KH3106, prepare for a full-power breakout—whatever that thing is, it's furious, and it wants me gone!" Ethan didn't slow as he ran.
"Boss, I'm not letting you lag behind. I'm faster than you—I'll carry you!" Blackie called, darting toward Red Snow instead.
"What are you—" she started, but before she could finish, Blackie grabbed her arm and flung her toward the open cockpit in Shatterstar's chest.
Lightning flared under his feet as he shifted into his true form—a massive, jet-black Qilin crackling with electricity. Four pounding hooves blurred into a streak of shadow, and he caught up to Ethan in seconds.
"What are you thinking, you lunatic? Who said I was running alone? I'm taking this big bastard with me—now get back!" Ethan barked, but despite himself, he felt a strange warmth. Blackie's loyalty had grown without him noticing. At some point, it had come to rival the devotion he'd once shown Julian. The fact he kept calling Ethan "Boss" now said it all.
Blackie gave him a sideways glance full of disdain. "I thought you were staying behind to buy us time."
"Damn it…" Ethan was too winded to argue. He skidded to a stop before the enormous, rune-etched crate.
"Gate of Ascension—open!"
A surge of Soul Power erupted from him, feeding the shimmering, towering gateway as it flared into existence. The portal widened, growing until it dwarfed the surrounding landscape.
"Blackie, move! Tell KH3106 to get Shatterstar over here and help me push this thing through!"
"Got it!" The Qilin wheeled around and thundered back toward the mech. Shatterstar, having pulled its arms free from the ground, rose to its full height. The cockpit's chest-plate slid closed, then cracked open again at Blackie's approach.
Meanwhile, Ethan forced every drop of Soul Power into the Gate. It swelled past a thousand meters in height and breadth, the air vibrating with strain. Sweat poured down his face, and the portal flickered at its edges, threatening to collapse.
Shatterstar's thrusters ignited with a rising whine. The mech vaulted into the air, circled behind the crate, and braced its colossal hands against the ancient wood. With its legs bent like coiled pistons, it shoved. The massive slab began inching toward the portal.
Halfway through, a dull thud cracked the air. The high-particle shield ruptured.
An invisible weight slammed down from the sky.
The ground in a ten-kilometer radius dropped more than a meter in an instant. Inside Shatterstar, the crew felt nothing. Outside, Ethan was nearly crushed.
The instant the shield broke, he roared and shifted into Bear Form, stacking layer after layer of Iron Hide over his frame. His Twilight War Spear dissolved into Ursar's Claws, fitting over his forearms as he raised them against the crushing force. He packed several Heavy Strike techniques into one burst and hurled it skyward.
It wasn't enough. Blood burst from his mouth in a spray of red and black. His legs punched into the earth up to his thighs. Meat and clotted blood spilled from his lips—his chest and abdomen were caving under the pressure.
"Boss!"
"Ethan!"
Inside the mech, shouts erupted. Red Snow said nothing, but her fists clenched so tight her knuckles blanched.
"Shatterstar! Push!" Ethan rasped, voice wet with blood. Each word sent another gout from his mouth, but he held the Gate steady.
KH3106 hesitated. [Beep… Risk assessment: rescue success rate 95%, recovery probability 15%—if—]
Clang!
"You shut up and listen to the Boss!"
Blackie's hoof smashed into the virtual cockpit, sending the liquid suspension sloshing. Whether from the impact or sheer outrage, Shatterstar's thrusters roared hotter. Flames burst from its wings, waist, and legs, and the crate began moving again.
But something was wrong. The slab, which the mech had once lifted into the air with ease, now resisted like a living thing. Even moving it an inch was a struggle. Ethan's eyes narrowed in shock—and a hint of exhilaration. An object that could resist his Soul Space? Priceless.
[Beep… Rear thrusters at 20%…]
"Make it a hundred!" Blackie snarled, kicking the cockpit again.
Julian grabbed him by the neck, trying to pull him back. "Calm down!"
Red Snow snapped, "Enough!"
Blackie froze, though his eyes stayed locked on Ethan, red and fever-bright. His thoughts drifted far away: You can't die… not now. I promised them I'd protect you. More than ten thousand years… I thought it was just a joke. But I really found you again… Damn Regis. He must've sealed my memories. If I hadn't broken it when I inherited the Polar Lightning…
Three faces flashed through his mind: an old man, a young man, and a woman of breathtaking beauty.
The others, seeing his expression, looked between him and Ethan in confusion. Whatever had happened between the two, none of them understood.
Above, the air began to ripple. A new pressure was forming—denser, heavier than before. It swelled with murderous intent, promising to wipe them out in a single blow.
Ethan's knees buckled, but he activated Tree Form and flooded himself with healing spells, burning through Soul Power without hesitation. His wounds knit enough to keep him standing.
Space shuddered. The pressure above reached its peak, then stilled. The crate was still a hundred meters from vanishing into the Gate.
Ethan spat blood, raised his eyes to the unseen force above, and growled, "If you're going to kill me, then I'll take your precious Hidden Territory with me and see how you like it!"
Half-healed but brimming with raw energy, he yanked his legs free from the crater they'd made, hefted the Twilight War Spear, and set his gaze on the sky, madness and bloodlust burning in his eyes.