Dulce Periculum

9. Everything Goes Wrong

Gore and violence warning!

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Yunho still couldn't sleep well, but it got better. He settled back into his routine of training, explored the library and even picked up some readings. Told his parents he was fine and made new friends and they didn't need to worry.

He almost forgot his anxiety.

Until the next message about a rift he was drafted to blinked up on his phone.

It was the evening, and Yunho just settled for bed. When his phone flashed, his heart plummeted into his stomach.

He wasn't ready. His guilt still weighed on him and he was none the wiser from before. When he tentatively peered over, he hoped to see a general information.

His hope was shattered. It was a level S rift, the call for a draft.

Level S? Wasn't that far beyond his level? He supposed if he stood at the barricades, he might be of help.

Yunho rushed down the stairs and threw on his jacket on the way. He spotted Bora in the crowd filtering out into the warm evening air and she gave him a breathless smile as she climbed into the helicopter first.

This time, the higher-level espers were with them and they were tightly interwoven with the strategy on how to deal with a level S rift. Level S rifts posed an enormous risk to the general public, so it was imperative not to let any demons escape from their bounds.

Yunho gulped to himself. His fingers clutched to his pants. Lux sat on the opposite bench of him, looking utterly unbothered as he listened to the briefing with one ear. No matter his haughtiness, he would save so many people today. It was Yunho's first mission on this scale.

They arrived at the location and while Yunho rushed to the elevator along with the guides; the espers swung right out of the helicopter, catching their fall with their powers.

Soon, Yunho was back in a similar spot he knew from last time. He remembered his mistake vividly and it wouldn't happen again. This was the opportunity to prove he took things seriously.

The police crowded around the barricades. Luckily, the rift wasn't too close to any shelter and at level S, even the convenience stores and houses were abandoned. Shields engulfed the blood red air from all sides, some physical and others made of esper barriers.

Yunho nervously rolled his wrists. He had no weapon again, but Bora was close by his side.

"Remember to call for me," she muttered to him, even as Yunho was barely sober from his fear. They wore earplugs since the thrum of the rift would make them go deaf otherwise, and he never saw such a massive cut in the sky. It loomed over them, ready to consume them all.

The moment the first limbs came flailing, bigger and more grotesque than anything Yunho knew, the espers jumped into action. They fired their everything away, decimating a huge number, but as always, the spill was endless.

These beasts weren't easily shot down. Convulsing tentacles swallowed up bullets without suffering even a scratch. Sharp horns broke through weapons and shields. Everyone fought with everything they had, but not all were as assured of their might as the S-class espers and guides.

Yunho saw a B-class esper soon wane, weakened from repeated slams against her barriers as she caught the demons from ripping into the police officers. Some gored the humans apart with claws and teeth right on the street, others dragged the flailing bodies back into the rift with them. Down into hell to suffer unimaginable pain.

When the esper stumbled, her guide was by her side. Supporting her with a strong arm and dragging her off to the side so they could embrace and share the support the esper needed.