Empire Building With Infinite Warehouse-Chapter 54: Consequences

"Holy shit, guys, did you see that?!"

Three blocks down from the ruined intersection, crouching safely behind an air conditioning unit on the roof of a commercial building, a young Awakened hunter stared wide-eyed at his floating drone tablet.

He was live-streaming the aftermath of the Red Gate, but he had just caught the jackpot.

"That literally looked like an anime fight scene!" the streamer yelled into his microphone, panning his drone’s camera to keep the crushed intersection in frame.

The chat on his screen was scrolling so fast it was barely readable.

[xX_Vanguard_Xx]: Bro, no way. Did she just reverse gravity?

[LootGoblin99]: What the hell was that black monster? It literally grew tentacles!

[SimpLord_01]: I don’t care about the monster; the silver-haired mommy can step on me.

[Awakened_Truth]: Fake. No one moves that fast in District 9.

"It’s not fake", the streamer insisted, tapping the screen to increase the zoom.

"Are you guys ready to see the reveal? The monster is pinned at the moment. Let’s zoom in on its face since the lady defeated it."

The drone camera moved, the lens focusing directly on the upside-down, shadowy figure over the road, and the woman with the glowing silver eyes standing in front of it.

Down in the street, Maya stopped.

She didn’t turn her body, but she slowly tilted her head upward. Her glowing silver eyes locked directly onto the tiny drone flying a hundred yards away.

A terrifying spike of pressure shot through the air.

CRACK!

The streamer yelped and dropped his tablet as the drone’s reinforced glass lens exploded.

[Time Remaining: 00:00]

[The Dimensional Overdraft Contract has expired!]

[Tier 2 Summon is ending. The Entity is being forcefully recalled to the origin.]

Far away from the physical world, deep within the pitch-black of the mindscape, Julien sat perfectly still in the endless ocean of darkness.

The massive shadow looming over him let out a furious roar as the System’s absolute authority began to drag it backwards out of his hijacked mind.

Right as the entity began to fade, a final, aggressive red notification sparked to life, illuminating the dark waters of Julien’s consciousness.

[WARNING: Dimensional Anomaly!]

[The Mythical Shadow Beast has recognised your vessel’s potential.]

[The Entity is attempting to bypass the Infinite Warehouse and form a direct, permanent Soul Binding Contract with the Host!]

[Do you wish to accept this bond?]

[YES / NO]

Julien stared at the red text.

He is not strong enough to withhold this kind of power right now. The beast would immediately take over, leaving his own consciousness in the backseat.

"No," Julien stated coldly.

[Contract Rejected.]

[Purging host neural pathways...]

In the physical world, the terrifying, solid black armor covering Julien’s body shattered like glass.

The thick dark energy rapidly dissipated into the apocalyptic wind, leaving nothing but normal shadows behind on the ruined street.

The glowing, piercing yellow light in his eyes rapidly faded, replaced by his normal, human gaze.

The second his boots touched the ground, Julien’s legs completely gave out since the adrenaline and the Beast’s dark mana were gone.

Every single muscle fibre in his body felt like it had been shredded into multiple pieces.

Maya caught him by the collar of his ruined, blood-soaked shirt before his face could hit the road.

She effortlessly threw his limp arm over her shoulder, supporting his entire body weight as she began the walk back toward the abandoned factory.

By the time they reached the gates, Chris and Alice were already running toward them.

The factory was a complete disaster zone filled with blood. Ignis was already gone, having rushed a heavily bleeding Milana to the nearest Guild hospital the second the Beast sprinted away.

Chris was still standing, though he looked like a complete wreck. He was clutching his pierced forearm, his breathing uneven, his armour cracked and covered in dust.

Maya unceremoniously dropped Julien onto a relatively clean wooden crate near the entrance.

She reached into her tactical belt, pulled out a high-grade red healing potion, and shoved it directly into Julien’s trembling hands.

"Drink," she ordered, her silver eyes finally fading back to their normal, dark colour.

Julien opened the cork with his thumb and downed the liquid.

He hunched over, violently coughing up a sickening mouthful of black, tar-like sludge, the last remaining physical residue of the Beast’s possession.

The healing potion was already knitting his torn muscles back together, but the relentless throb behind his eyelids refused to fade.

He raised his head, staring straight ahead.

"Sorry," Julien spurted out, his voice hoarse and completely exhausted.

He managed a weak, sarcastic smirk.

"And it is good to see you too, Maya... although I can’t actually see you right now."

Chris froze, stepping forward.

"What? What happened to your eyes?"

"The debt," Julien replied calmly, blinking rapidly, though his vision remained entirely consumed by a haze.

"The overdraft toll for the summons. It hijacked my optical nerves, so I’m stuck like this for at least a day."

Chris cursed under his breath, looking out at the apocalyptic sky bleeding red through the factory roof.

They had just survived a syndicate ambush and a Mythical possession; their apothecary shop was in ruins, his shield was destroyed, and his best friend was currently blind.

"We need to move," Chris said, tightening the makeshift bandage around his pierced arm.

"Let’s go back to the ruins of the shop. We can hide out in the basement until his vision comes back."

"No."

Maya stepped forward, smoothly intercepting them.

She planted her boots firmly between Chris and the exit, crossing her arms over her chest. The relaxed, confident banter from the street fight was completely gone, replaced by a cold, strict professionalism.

Chris frowned, his grip tightening on his silver sword.

"What do you mean, no? We aren’t safe out here."

"I mean, you aren’t going back to the shop," Maya said flatly, her eyes locking onto the blind merchant sitting on the crate.

"Gina wants him locked up. Now."

Alice moved closer, her pale face twisting in deep confusion.

"Gina? Who the hell is Gina?"

"She is the one in charge of all the Guilds," Maya stated, the weight of the title hanging heavily in the freezing factory air.

"And she is extremely interested in exactly how an E-Rank back-alley merchant just summoned a Mythical terror into her district."