Chapter 66: Made Up His Mind!
(Chapter will be polished to perfection shortly, currently on a journey I’ll edit it when I arrive >.<)
Ethan’s heart pounded as the answer became painfully obvious.
If they wanted to defeat these monsters... then they had to tackle the source of their power first.
Which meant there was only one possible solution.
They had to enter the Rift.
With that realization finally settling into place, Ethan could no longer keep the thought to himself. He turned toward the others, raising his voice above the chaos of the battlefield as another monster crashed against a Sentinel’s weapon.
"Everyone!! Whatever is controlling them is inside there!! If we want to completely stop it, then we have to go inside the Rift!"
For a brief moment, Ethan’s voice seemed to cut through the battlefield.
Then the protests began.
"Hah! Is he crazy?" a female Sentinel shouted, narrowly blocking a monster’s claws before kicking it backward. "He’s pushing us into our death when we don’t even know what is in there!"
"Yeah! We don’t know what’s in there! It’s clearly stronger than us!"
"He’s only a Guide! I’m sure he’s only saying this because he doesn’t know the severity of the situation!"
More murmurs immediately followed, spreading through the group as the Sentinels continued fighting while voicing their disagreement. Ethan could hardly believe what he was hearing.
They were terrified.
And honestly, he couldn’t blame them.
He didn’t know what was inside either.
But they couldn’t keep doing this.
Every roar from that Rift made the monsters stronger, and every time they killed one, it simply came back again. If they remained outside and continued fighting like this, they would eventually run out of strength before the monsters did.
"We can’t keep wasting our energy out here!" Ethan shouted again. "Haven’t you noticed? Every time that thing roars, the monsters regenerate! If we don’t deal with whatever is inside, then killing them is pointless!"
A monster lunged toward him.
Before it could get close, a blade flashed across its neck, sending its head rolling across the ground.
Ethan looked up to see Drey standing between him and the creature.
Drey didn’t even spare him a glance before turning back toward the battlefield.
"We heard him," Drey said coldly.
Zane appeared a short distance away, having just finished dealing with another monster, while Adrien and Riley fought nearby.
Commander Zarek’s expression remained grim as he observed the Rift.
Unlike the others, he hadn’t dismissed Ethan’s words.
His eyes moved between the regenerating monsters and the dark opening in the distance.
Then another roar came from inside.
Several fallen monsters immediately began regenerating.
Zarek’s expression hardened.
"He’s right."
The words immediately silenced several of the arguments.
Zarek raised his weapon and blocked an incoming attack before driving the monster backward.
"Continuing to fight them like this will only exhaust us. Whatever is strengthening these creatures is coming from inside that Rift. If we want to stop the regeneration, we have to strike at the source."
He glanced toward the Rift.
"We’re sending a team inside."
The moment he said it, several Sentinels exchanged uneasy looks.
"No!"
"I’m not going in there!"
"We don’t even know what we’re dealing with!"
"I didn’t sign up to walk into an unknown Rift just to get myself killed!"
Zarek’s brows furrowed.
"You’re Sentinels."
The words carried an unmistakable weight.
"Did you forget what your job is?"
The protesting Sentinels fell quieter, although their reluctance remained obvious.
"You already put your lives on the line the moment you accepted this mission," Zarek continued. "You knew there was a possibility of injury or death before you entered this Rift."
One of the Sentinels swallowed before responding carefully.
"Commander, we understand that, but there’s a difference between fighting monsters we’ve been trained to handle and voluntarily entering a Rift containing an unknown high-tier entity."
A few others nodded in agreement.
Zarek’s expression darkened.
Before he could respond, Drey let out a cold scoff.
"How convenient."
Several heads turned toward him.
"You’re all willing to stand here and fight until you die, but the moment the real source of the problem requires you to take a step forward, suddenly everyone remembers they have a life to protect."
His eyes swept across them.
"Hypocrites."
The Sentinels immediately became uncomfortable.
Nobody seemed willing to directly challenge him.
After all, Drey was an S-class Sentinel, and despite his injuries, his reputation alone was enough to make most of them think twice before arguing with him.
"If you’re so certain about going inside," one Sentinel finally muttered, "then you and your team should just go."
Another Sentinel gave a nervous laugh.
"Yeah. Drey is strong enough to handle it anyway, isn’t he?"
Drey’s eyes narrowed.
"Is that what you want?"
Nobody answered.
The battle continued around them, monsters crashing against weapons while the Sentinels argued between attacks, but the decision had already begun taking shape.
Then, unexpectedly, three Sentinels stepped forward.
"We’ll go."
Drey glanced toward them.
One of the three tightened his grip around his weapon.
"We don’t know what’s inside, but if someone has to go, then we’ll do it."
The second Sentinel nodded.
"Same here."
The third gave a reluctant sigh.
"Someone has to find out what’s controlling those things."
Zarek’s expression finally eased slightly.
"Good."
He looked toward Drey and the three volunteers.
"Drey, you’ll lead them. Your Guide will accompany you."
Ethan’s eyes widened slightly.
My Guide?
He didn’t even have time to protest before Zarek continued.
"I’ll go with you."
"No."
The calm voice immediately cut through the conversation.
Everyone looked toward Zane.
Zane stood with his weapon lowered, his expression unusually serious.
"It’s better if you stay here, Commander. Someone needs to oversee the battle outside."
Zarek frowned.
"And you’re volunteering?"
Zane nodded.
"I’m going in."
He turned slightly.
"Adrien."
Adrien immediately stepped forward.
"I’m going."
"Riley."
Riley casually finished off the monster in front of her before stepping beside him.
"Obviously."
Leon, who had been fighting nearby, immediately looked up.
"No."
Zane glanced at him.
Leon tightened his grip around his weapon.
"I don’t agree to that arrangement. Do you seriously think I’m willing to risk my life by going inside an unknown Rift?"
Riley snorted.
"Then stay here."
Leon glared at her.
"We don’t need you anyway."
Riley casually shrugged.
"Exactly."
She turned away from him.
As far as they knew, neither Zane nor his team required frequent Guiding, especially considering their ability to suppress their own spiritual instability for extended periods.
Leon could remain outside if he wanted.
Zane’s gaze briefly shifted toward Ethan before returning to Zarek.
"Let us handle the inside."
Zarek clearly didn’t like the arrangement, but with the battle continuing to deteriorate around them, he couldn’t afford to waste more time.
"Fine."
He turned toward the selected team.
"Drey, Ethan, the three volunteers. Zane, Adrien, and Riley. You’ll enter together. Your objective is to locate the source controlling these monsters. Do not engage unnecessarily. Find the source and destroy it."
Everyone acknowledged the order.
Ethan took a slow breath.
He had long since accepted the fact that his life wasn’t going to be peaceful.
Apparently, transmigrating into a world filled with Sentinels, Guides, monsters, and unstable Rifts had come with absolutely no intention of giving him a normal life.
Still, he couldn’t complain.
If entering that Rift could save the people outside, then he was willing to take the risk.
And if it could save his own life in the process, even better.
Zarek raised his weapon.
"Prepare!"
The group moved toward the Rift.
The closer Ethan got, the stronger the spiritual pressure became.
The darkness within the opening seemed almost alive now, twisting slowly as if it had been waiting for them.
Ethan swallowed.
Zane moved beside him.
Drey was on his other side.
For once, neither of them said anything.
Then Zarek’s voice thundered across the battlefield.
"GO!"
The group stepped forward.
The instant Ethan crossed through the Rift, the world around him changed.
The sound of the battlefield disappeared.
The air became unnaturally cold.
The ground beneath his feet felt completely different from the terrain outside, smooth in some places and strangely uneven in others, while faint green light pulsed beneath the dark surface like veins running through something alive.
Ethan slowly lifted his head.
This place wasn’t like the main Rift.
It felt deeper.
Older.
And far more dangerous.
He barely had time to take in his surroundings before something moved directly in front of him.
Ethan froze.
A creature stood only a few meters away.
Its body was covered in strange dark markings, its limbs unnaturally long, and its eyes—
Green.
Bright, glowing green eyes stared directly into Ethan’s.
For one strange second, neither of them moved.
Then the creature’s eyes suddenly flashed crimson.
Ethan’s heart stopped.
The red disappeared almost instantly, replaced by the same eerie green.
Had he imagined it?
Before Ethan could even process what he had just seen, a panicked voice suddenly tore through the silence.
"ETHAN, WATCH OUT!!!"