Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

Thank you all so much for your incredible support this week!

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

The moment that sudden mechanical death chime resounded, August knew exactly what had happened.

It came from the drone's flight path. His feed had just gone dark.

He quickly grabbed his tablet and checked the last telemetry and video log just before the signal cut out. The footage showed the drone weaving through underground tunnels, dodging scorpion attacks, until it finally broke into a huge cavern covered in a pulsating, fleshy mass. This was the breeding nest.

This was where the monster created its spawn.

The feed cut off when a newly spawned scorpion jumped up and shattered the lens.

"Target acquired. I've found Antares' breeding nest," August relayed over the comms.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

The intel was transmitted instantly.

Back at the main camp, Staff Officer Thomas received the ping.

"Report! Monster nest located! The drone's signal dropped at these exact coordinates!" a communications officer shouted, standing up from his terminal.

Hearing that the breeding ground was finally pinpointed, Thomas didn't hesitate.

"Scramble the air wing! Get those birds in the sky!" he ordered, feeling the growing pressure.

The situation outside the camp perimeter was devolving into a meat grinder.

"Yes, sir!"

"Air wing, you are cleared for immediate takeoff!"

The camp defenders fired nonstop. Waves of scorpion spawns waited just beyond the perimeter, hesitating. So many had been killed that they were now cautious about moving forward.

They were only [Level 1] trash mobs, after all. Three or four rifle shots could take one out for good, but there were just too many of them.

The initial swarm of tens of thousands had been whittled down to a few thousand, yet they still pressed the camp's defensive line. Even the few that managed to slip past the barricades were rapidly dispatched in close-quarters combat by the infantry.

It was a bloody stalemate. The defenders had taken losses too.

"Ghh." A soldier gritted his teeth in pain.

A young village woman, barely twenty-eight, dabbed at his wound with a styptic solution before wrapping it in fresh bandages.

"You're going to be okay," she murmured, trying to comfort the logistics trooper.

Everyone in logistics had been sent to fight. The front line needed every person it could get. Even the medics had picked up rifles and joined the barricades. Only the elderly were left behind—everyone else was on the firing line.

Most of the makeshift medical ward was run by village widows and young mothers, who acted as combat nurses. Chief Olly had the surviving village men carrying ammo and supplies to the guns.

"I'm fine," the soldier rasped, shaking his head. "Sorry to make you worry."

He felt embarrassed to show his weakness. He used to be the camp's mess cook, just guarding the rations. But when the monsters attacked, he put down his ladle, picked up a rifle, and joined the squads hunting bugs.

He recognized the woman treating him. Her name was Ina. She had been sick when his unit first arrived, and his squad had helped her out by fixing her roof and doing heavy lifting. He knew she was a widow—her husband had been killed by a monster while working outside the village.

"I'm just glad you're safe," Ina said, her eyes softening. Seeing the soldier who had helped her so much still breathing gave her immense relief.

"Hey... Ina." Sam hesitated. 'If I make it out of this...'

He wanted to ask her if she would marry him. But the words died in his throat.

Sam was a soldier who knew this world's lore. He was a guy who used to obsess over anime, goddesses, and fantasy tropes. He had thought he'd never experience it for real, until a literal powerhouse dragged his unit into another dimension.

But now, living out a fantasy, he found himself falling for a young village widow instead of chasing goddesses.

Love worked in strange ways... Her gentle smiles had completely won him over. He wanted so much to tell her how he felt.

But reality struck him hard. When the mission ended, his unit would go back to Earth. They lived in two different worlds. He would probably never see her again.

His commander's warning resonated in his mind: 'Do not fall for the girls in this world. It only leads to regret. We are an expeditionary force. We will leave. Do not give these women false hope you can't fulfill.'

It made him feel bitter, but orders were orders. It was better to feel the pain now than to let it turn into endless heartbreak.

Ina noticed the painful hesitation in his eyes. "Sam..."

She could see what was happening. She knew this soldier cared for her. But she also sensed the truth: he was only passing through her life. She didn't know how, but she felt deep down that he would leave and never return.

'This is for the best. I shouldn't burden him,' she told herself.

Neither of them broke the silence. In that moment, they were both cowards, burying a love that couldn't be.

They weren't alone. All across the makeshift ward, young soldiers and local women faced the same silent heartbreak. There was a spark between them, but something kept them apart. No one wanted to break the silence. The room felt heavy and sad.

But that silence was abruptly shattered.

A loud mechanical roar jolted the entire camp.

"What's happening??" the village nurses cried out in alarm.

"It's okay, Ina. The birds are in the air," Sam said, looking toward the makeshift runway.

Over the past few days, military engineers had bulldozed and paved a crude airstrip. It didn't just house choppers—six active-duty multi-role fighter jets sat on the tarmac, fully loaded with state-of-the-art ordnance.

The jet engines boomed as the fighters sped down the runway. One by one, all six took off, their loud afterburners leaving white trails behind them in the sky.

"This is Stegosaurus One. Requesting target vector," the lead pilot's voice came through the radio as the jets sliced through the clouds.

Even Antares, using its spawn to buy time while it healed, noticed the strange roar in the sky. Its huge single eye focused on six metal shapes moving faster than any magic or flying beast it had ever seen.

Antares roared at the sky. Its instincts warned of danger. It didn't know what the metal birds were, but it sensed they were like the artillery pounding it into the ground.

But it couldn't stop them. Its body was still healing, and its Magic Stone hadn't gathered enough energy for a big attack. It needed more time, but there was none.

At the support base—

"Radar Control to Stegosaurus actual. Transmitting target vectors now. Target: Hostile breeding nest." The mobile radar truck painted the target.

"Stegosaurus One, copy. Target locked." The flight leader checked his heads-up display. "Dropping bunker busters. Weapons free."

Two guided missiles dropped from the jet's wings. The jet turned sharply and flew away.

The missiles fired up, leaving bright trails as they dove toward the tunnel Antares had made. They avoided the debris and went deep into the underground network.

The strong warheads tore through stone and earth like soft paper, driving deep into the core of the ruins—straight to the coordinates August's drone had marked.

The missiles exploded.

The two explosions destroyed the nest. The underground cavern caved in, crushing the old ruins above.

Antares felt its link to the nest break. Its unborn young were burned up in the fire.

"ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Antares let out a furious roar, screaming at the metal birds above.

The sonic force of the scream somehow reached into the jets' cockpits.

"What the hell was that??"

"How is that thing's roar penetrating the canopy?"

The pilots were shaken by the beast's supernatural projection. But the mission wasn't over.

"Target updated: Primary Hostile, Antares. Stegosaurus Five and Six, deploy armor-piercing payloads!" Radar Control barked the next set of orders.

Jets One and Two carried bunker busters. Three and Four had heavy thermobaric bombs. Five and Six were loaded with kinetic penetrators made to break through bunkers.

"Stegosaurus Three and Four, break formation. Vector southwest toward the riverbed. Deploy Wind-Chaser thermobarics into the subterranean tunnel. Seal that exit and roast the remaining swarm."

"Copy that. Breaking off." Jets Three and Four banked away, heading for the secondary objective.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

This was the endgame.

Stegosaurus Five and Six released their armor-piercing missiles. Four missiles shot down, aiming right at the center of Antares' upper body, where its huge Magic Stone was.

Down on the ground, Major Jay slapped the hull of his tank.

"Don't let that ugly bastard dodge! Pin it down with artillery! Fire!"

At the support base, Commander James threw his hand down.

"All batteries, unleash hell! Blow that thing to pieces!"

The MLRS and missile trucks fired a devastating, overwhelming volley.

The attack was perfectly timed from all sides.

Antares tried to run, but the carpet bombing covered the whole area. Even as fast as it was, it couldn't escape the attack.

Explosions hit it again and again. There was no time to heal or fight back. Antares looked at the moon one last time and gave a weak roar before the missiles struck its chest.

The blast broke its huge Magic Stone into countless pieces. Its body turned to ash, leaving a rain of crystal fragments on the burned ground.

Meanwhile, to the southwest, the two diverted jets screamed over the riverbed.

"Deploying Wind-Chasers!"

Jets Three and Four released their payload. Four thermobaric missiles plummeted into the subterranean tunnel entrance.

The 'Wind-Chaser' missiles did more than explode. They released a dense aerosol cloud that turned into a huge fireball. The blast swept through the tunnels, burning thousands of trapped scorpion spawns instantly.

The scorpions were burned up in an instant, leaving only a field of Magic Stones as the tunnel fell in.

"Target destroyed!"

"We got it!"

When the troops saw Antares destroyed and the swarm wiped out, they cheered loudly.

This was their goal all along. A legendary beast, with the power of a [Level 5] or [Level 6] Adventurer, had been turned to ash by modern weapons.

The euphoria was palpable, but the commanders still had work to do.

"Stow the celebrations! The big boss is dead, but we still got bugs to squash!" Commander James and Major Jay barked over their respective comms. "All units, commence immediate mop-up operations! Exterminate the stragglers! Do not let a single one of these bastards escape!"

Back at the main camp.

"Attention all personnel. Primary target Antares has been neutralized," the PA system blared.

"WE DID IT!" The camp defenders realized the frontline had secured the victory.

Staff Officer Thomas was thrilled, but he kept a cool head.

"The alpha is dead! All units, transition to offensive maneuvers! Sweep the perimeter and exterminate the remaining hostiles! Secure the village!" Thomas roared, firing his sidearm into the air to signal the counter-attack.

"Light 'em up!" A soldier manning a heavy machine gun on the back of a tactical jeep shouted.

The driver hit the gas and sped out of the camp. They wanted payback. Being attacked in their own camp had made them angry, and if not for orders to guard the airstrip, they would have gone out much earlier.

Now that they had the order, they could finally attack freely.

BRRRRRRRRRRRT!

Heavy-caliber rounds tore through the retreating scorpions. With their alpha dead, the remaining spawns lost their coordination and tried to scatter into the brush.

But insect legs couldn't outrun armored jeeps.

The vehicles slammed into them ruthlessly while the gunners shredded whatever was left.

"Die, you ugly bastards!"

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

NEW WEEKLY EVENT, BULK UPLOAD OF 6 CHAPTERS IF WE HIT 1100 POWERSTONES THIS WEEK!!

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

~ Every 200 Power Stones = Bonus chapter!

~ 25 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)