The Captain spread a worn map across the supply cart, weighing the corners down with a canteen and a whetstone while the knights gathered in a loose semicircle around him.

"The Gate appeared just under two weeks ago," he started, his finger landing on a marked spot a few miles northeast of the capital walls. "Outpost scouts spotted the tear at dawn. Standard manifestation, no different from the dozens we see every year."

He paused, looking up at the gathered faces before continuing.

"The guild dispatched two separate mage teams to measure the core signature. Both returned with the same reading. Four Shards, stable, with no unusual fluctuations."

Hajin stood near the back of the circle, listening quietly while Juna flanked his right side and the two new girls stood behind him.

"A four-Shard Gate is routine," the Captain continued. "Standard deployment for any Major House combat squad. So the Crown assigned it to the Flint family, as part of their quarterly contribution to national defense." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

A few knights exchanged glances at the name.

"The Flints sent a five-Shard knight with a full squad to clear it," he said, his voice dropping. "Nearly a week ago now, that knight rode back through the main gate alone. He was missing an arm, and his entire squad was dead."

The semicircle went quiet.

"He reported the Gate’s actual rank as at least seven Shards. The monsters inside were far beyond what the initial measurement predicted."

He let the words sit for a moment, then folded the map with a sharp motion.

"The King has since confirmed the discrepancy. The Gate is classified as a seven-Shard anomaly."

Helen clicked her tongue from her spot near the cart. "And the Flints just walked into a death trap because the mages got the numbers wrong."

"Or the Gate changed after it formed," another knight muttered.

The Captain shook his head. "That’s what we’re going in to find out."

Hajin kept his face neutral while he listened, but his mind was working on something. ’A Gate that shifts rank after manifesting,’ he thought, ’or a measurement that was wrong from the start. Either way, this is not a simple clear-and-extract mission.’

He looked at the Captain more closely, ’might as well see what I am working with,’ and pushed a surge of divine mana up into his optic nerves.

The world shifted.

Colors washed out into dull gray, replaced by a web of glowing energy pathways. The Captain’s mana lit up in front of him, a slow, dense pulse that moved through his core with efficiency that could only come from decades of refinement.

Deep layers of scar tissue in his channels too, old injuries that had healed but left permanent marks on his flow.

’He is a veteran,’ Hajin noted, ’a real one, not just a title.’

He swept his gaze across the rest of the formation, the gray world shifting as thirty distinct mana signatures appeared in his vision.

Helen’s stood out immediately, sharp and aggressive with a bright, coiled intensity that matched her attitude. The knights around her ranged from steady three-Shard flows to the jagged, uneven pulses of frontline veterans who had clearly seen real combat.

A few at the back had that nervous, slightly erratic signature of people who had never faced a real anomaly.

The ache started building behind his eyes, a dull pressure that grew sharper the longer he kept the skill active. He blinked and let the mana drop, the colors flooding back into the world as the glowing pathways faded.

The Captain looked up from the map and met his gaze directly, "do you have any questions?"

Hajin held his look for a second, then gave a short shake of his head. "No. The briefing was clear enough."

The Captain held his gaze for a moment longer, then nodded once and turned back to the formation.

"Good. We move out in ten minutes. Check your gear, fill your canteens, and stay sharp. The Gate is a half-hour ride east."

The knights dispersed, spreading out toward their horses and the supply cart while the morning air filled with the sound of buckling straps and checking equipment.

Hajin stepped away from the formation with the girls following close behind, finding a quiet spot near a stacked pile of supply crates where he could gather his thoughts before the march.

Juna stood at his right with her arms crossed while Loccy crouched down, poking at a crack in the ground with her finger, and Vella leaned against a crate with her arms behind her back, watching the knights with a curious expression.

"This is crazy, you know that right?" Vella said, tilting her head toward the distant formation. "That Gate ate a five-Shard squad for breakfast and we are walking in with a fresh summon who learned to walk yesterday and a ring spirit who just got a body."

’I know,’ Hajin thought, ’but what choice do we really have right now?’

"Got a better plan?" he asked instead, keeping his voice flat.

She opened her mouth, closed it, then let out a small huff, "no, I guess not."

"I know it is risky," he admitted looking at the three of them, "but something is telling me this will be a great opportunity and besides, we do not really have a choice. The King assigned us, if we back out now the political fallout would bury us."

"You think the Gate is going to give us something good?" Loccy asked, looking up from the crack with her ears twitching.

"Suspicions," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "but I have learned to trust my gut lately, and right now my gut is telling me to go in."

Juna nodded once, her tail giving a short flick of approval, "then we go in."

Vella let out a small sigh, the tension in her shoulders easing a little as she stepped forward with her arms opening slightly. "This gut feeling of yours better be right," she said, moving in for a hug.

But before she could close the distance, Juna slid between them in one smooth motion, her hand pressing flat against Vella’s chest and stopping her mid-step while her ears flattened and her eyes narrowed.

"Back off, witch," Juna said, her voice cold. "I know what you are trying to do and I am not letting some sly spirit steal my master right in front of me."

Vella blinked once, then a slow, wicked smile spread across her lips. She didn’t step back, just tilted her head and looked past Juna directly at Hajin.

"Steal him?" she said, her voice dropping into a lazy teasing drawl. "Sweetheart, I do not need to steal him. We already had a very passionate night together in his bed, a passionate kiss to seal the deal, and let me tell you, your master is definitely not as innocent as he looks."

The silence that followed was absolute.

Loccy’s ears shot straight up, her head snapping toward Hajin with wide eyes, even Juna’s ears went rigid.

Juna’s face turned a deep shade of red while her claws extended from her fingers as she let out a sound that was somewhere between a growl and a scream.

"WHAT?!"