Chapter 266

The civilians were led outside, with Ray gently holding a small boy of about seven years old in his arms while cautiously navigating the chaotic battlefield.

He had already strictly instructed the civilians to remain quiet and refrain from making any sort of noise.

The battle was still raging on with intense fury, and because everyone was fully occupied, no one paid the Tribrid any attention.

Stray attacks were flying in all directions as the active Aspirants tried their absolute hardest to stay alive. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Ray carefully navigated past the barricaded, swirling gate with the young boy hoisted securely in his grasp.

He didn’t want anyone slowing his pace, hence he decided to carry the child so the adults could keep up without dragging the momentum down.

"Hope the bunker isn’t full by now?" One of the adults couldn’t help but ask anxiously after they passed by an alleyway.

Ray could have simply walked directly through the open battlefield, but since he refused to endanger the lives of the civilians, he chose to take a longer route by cutting through side alleys and navigating inside vacant buildings.

The moment they stepped out of the narrow alley, a dead beast crashed heavily behind them, causing the civilians to panic in sudden fear.

However, with his sharp perception, the Tribrid was instantly able to discern that the monster was entirely lifeless, so he kept moving forward.

"Hey, answer us, boy!" the man demanded.

Ray clenched his jaw angrily.

"I recall distinctly telling you all to lower your voices."

"..."

The priest among them looked behind at the complaining civilians before scowling at them in disapproval.

"Why can’t you all quiet down? Must you yap all the time? He is actively taking us to safety, and you want to use your chattering voices to jeopardize our survival?"

Ray breathed out a quiet sigh of relief as he continued traversing past the danger zone, his gaze never straying off course.

’At least there’s someone sensible in their midst.’

«Isn’t this strange?» Elyon spoke aloud within the boy’s mind.

’What is?’

«I mean... you might have not been listening in class, but I have been paying attention on your behalf. So I know quite a few things about how this world functions.»

’Okay? Your point exactly?’ Ray was getting increasingly frustrated at how the celestial was dancing around the topic.

«According to that instructor of yours... uh, Sony? Yeah. He explicitly made mention of the fact that whenever a gate break occurs, the boss typically makes an appearance roughly five minutes later.»

’Yeah?’

«It’s been almost an hour now, and even the flood of standard beasts has begun reducing, yet there is still no sign of the boss anywhere. Doesn’t that indicate that there’s something fundamentally wrong about the gate?»

Ray didn’t show any outward signs that he was distracted as he walked through an almost totally destroyed building facade.

The designated path where the corps members were leading the citizens into the underground bunker wasn’t that far away anymore.

’Yeah. I noticed it too,’ Ray responded mentally.

’Something definitely doesn’t feel right about that gate.’ After a brief pause, he added inwardly,

’But there’s nothing we can do about it right now. If we don’t defeat the boss, there’s no way to close the portal.’

«What if there’s an external force holding the boss back? What if there’s something keeping it occupied on the inside?» Bruce questioned.

Ray almost paused his steps for a split second, but he shook off the urge and continued on his way with a prominent frown settling on his face.

’Does that mean that something worse is about to come out of that gate?’

«Possible. Years of experience has taught me to always expect the worst. So you should too,» Elyon added.

Finally, the Corps member could be seen.

Halting for a second to allow one of the combatants to fly past, they continued on their journey and soon enough, reached the officer.

"Here. There were a bunch of them stuck in a prayer house," Ray said as he gently set the boy in his arms down in front of the man.

The corps member nodded with a small smile on his face.

"You did well, Aspirant. Good job."

The small boy tugged at Ray’s pants for a bit and then gestured for the Aspirant to come closer.

Ray sighed and then crouched down in front of the child.

"Uncle, are you part of the Vanguard Order?"

Ray stared at the boy for several long seconds, then slowly shook his head with a soft smile on his face.

"Nope. But I hope to be one in a few months."

The boy looked dejected for a second before shifting into a bright smile and then pointing at his chest.

"I saw you fighting through a window and you were very brave...and strong. And you also led us here safe and sound. There’s no doubt, you will become a great Vanguard."

Hearing the boy’s words, Ray’s smile widened as he ruffled the kid’s hair before standing to his full height.

Lifting a foot over the ground for a second, Ray pressed three fingers on his chest and then slammed his foot on the ground, kicking up dust.

The little boy did the exact same.

Ray beamed and then turned around to see the priest standing in front of him.

"Thank you for bringing us to safety. May God be with you, child."

Ray gave the man a curt nod before turning around and zooming away with the help of his boots, thereby leaving the civilians in the care of the corps member while he hurried to rejoin the battlefield.

On his way back, he kept flashing back to the little boy’s words.

’A great Vanguard, huh? That will be great. Not only for the title, but for the privilege of slaying the Aberrants.’

«I’m worried about something else....» Elyon interrupted the boy’s train of thought.

’What is that?’

«You saw how the drone was hovering around you; what happens when the whole world finds out that you aren’t human anymore? Will you still be allowed to join the Vanguard Order?»

Ray faltered for a moment before regaining composure, his jaw tightening instantly.

’We—We will just have to cross that bridge when we get there.’