Chapter 409: Pure Chaos As Dungeons Disappear From Left And Right!

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He waited for the next clip, wondering what else someone had recorded. Then, what came next surprised him. Another clip showed the Forgotten Battlefield Gate blinking out of existence while hunters and soldiers stood dumbfounded in the street, asking what was happening.

Some of them kept looking back at the place where the portal had been, seemingly expecting it to reappear at any moment. Others turned to the people beside them, as if someone standing just a few steps away might understand what they didn’t. A few hunters even approached the empty space cautiously, checking whether there was some kind of invisible barrier or strange phenomenon preventing them from seeing the Gate.

The person filming moved closer, but there was nothing left to show.

Just an empty space and a crowd that hadn’t expected to be there.

A third clip showed the tropical island Gate collapsing inward like a soap bubble, dumping half-naked fishermen and screaming scientists onto the asphalt out of nowhere.

One person stumbled into another while trying to get off the road. Someone else stopped to help, only to be pushed aside by people still trying to find their bearings. A few of the fishermen were still carrying their equipment, while some scientists looked completely disoriented, apparently unable to understand how they had suddenly ended up in the middle of a city.

They had barely landed before they had to work out where to go.

Riven watched the clip without saying anything. From their side, none of this made sense. They had entered the Gate expecting to return to the island, only to find themselves somewhere completely different. Some were probably wondering whether they had been transported to another location, while others might have already realized that the Gate itself was gone.

It was pure chaos.

Riven clenched his jaw as he watched.

He could see why they were frightened. They hadn’t been told what was going to happen. They had simply been caught in it, and now they were left asking questions that the news couldn’t answer. Some of them might have even lost their belongings or equipment in the process, and there was no telling how many people had been separated from their companions.

He didn’t want to pretend that didn’t matter.

But he also knew what he was trying to prevent. Watching the footage didn’t change that. It only made him look at the people affected instead of thinking about the Gates as places he needed to take down.

That was harder to watch than he had expected.

Part of him felt bad for the victims caught up in it, but he couldn’t stop now. He couldn’t regret his decision, either. He would do this again and again until he could save humanity and the planet from extermination. There was simply too much at stake for him to hesitate now, even if the consequences of his actions weren’t always pleasant for those caught in the middle.

He could only hope that things would become clearer once the situation settled down. For now, however, the world was only beginning to realize that something had changed, and most people had no idea what was coming next.

Behind him, footsteps approached. Daniela padded in barefoot, her hair still messy from sleep, with Label trailing behind her carrying two mugs of coffee. Vladimir leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, his golden eyes narrowed at the screen. It seemed everyone had heard Riven waking up. The ninjas, however, were still fast asleep. They had worked hard yesterday, and Riven didn’t particularly feel like disturbing them. They deserved some rest after everything they had done.

"Uuhh, good morning..." Daniela yawned.

"We heard you and brought some coffee..." Label said.

Daniela rubbed one eye with the back of her hand, then glanced at the television. Whatever she had been about to say seemed to leave her the moment she saw the headlines. Label stopped beside her, looking from the screen to Riven, careful not to spill either mug.

Vladimir had been standing there for a while, judging by his expression. He watched another clip play without moving, though the corner of his mouth lifted when the reporter repeated the accusation.

"So you’re awake. Watching the news, I suppose? Hah! They’re spinning it hard," Vladimir muttered. "Terrorists, huh? No, maybe they’re not wrong. I like the sound of it. Whatever finally makes these rich bastards feel some fear for once in their lives."

"Hmph." Riven shook his head and crossed his arms. "These fools have no idea how the world is going to end if they keep going."

"Ah, I still can’t believe I participated in all of this..." Daniela sighed to herself. "B-But it’s all for the good of the planet and our future... r-right?"

"Hah! Having second thoughts about it, kid?" Vladimir laughed. "Too late for that now."

Riven glanced at him. Vladimir sounded amused, but his arms tightened across his chest when the broadcast returned to the corporate towers. He clearly had more to say. For once, though, he kept it to himself and let Riven finish.

Riven looked back at the screen. They kept discussing who was responsible, as if finding someone to blame would solve anything. Not one of them was asking why it had happened in the first place. They were more interested in identifying the people behind the incident than understanding what had motivated them to take such drastic measures.

Of course, that was to be expected. Most of the people appearing on television probably had no idea what was actually happening behind the scenes. They could only speculate based on the information available to them, and Riven doubted that the truth would be revealed anytime soon.

Label handed him a mug of freshly made coffee, taking care not to wake Elisa. "Did you watch the news? I saw that the Association’s already forming a joint task force with Claymore’s internal security... D-Do you think they’re going to hunt us down?"

He kept his voice low, but the question came out faster than he probably intended. His fingers stayed on the mug for a moment after Riven took it. Then he pulled his hand back and glanced toward Elisa, checking whether she had stirred.

She was still asleep. Label seemed relieved by that, at least, though he turned back to Riven almost immediately. He was waiting for an answer, not another headline.

"Don’t worry. They can’t find us," Riven said. "We’ve got the dungeon. We can use it to escape anywhere."

Label nodded, looking down at his own coffee. Riven brought his mug to his lips, then paused when he noticed Label watching the screen again.

"They can form as many task forces as they want," Riven added. "It doesn’t mean they know where to look."

"Y-Yeah. I know." Label took a small sip, then frowned at the mug. It was still too hot. "I just don’t like hearing them talk about us like that."

Riven couldn’t blame him. It was strange hearing strangers discuss hunting them down while everyone here was still waking up and trying to have breakfast. They had spent the previous day dealing with the consequences of their actions, and now the entire world seemed to be turning against them.

Still, Label had no reason to be so worried. Riven had already made preparations for situations like this, and the dungeon provided them with a considerable advantage. Even if the Association managed to gather enough information to identify them, actually finding their location would be another matter entirely.

Daniela sat on the couch opposite the bed and flipped through the channels with the remote. Every station showed the same chaos spreading across the city.

Stock tickers were bleeding red, protesters were waving signs outside corporate towers and demanding answers, and talking heads were debating whether the attackers were foreign Awakened, rogue guilds, or something far worse.

Some stations were even showing footage of the Gates disappearing, replaying the same scenes over and over again while reporters tried to make sense of what had happened. Others were interviewing frightened citizens and hunters, most of whom seemed just as confused as everyone else.

Daniela changed the channel again.

"Do any of them actually know anything?" she asked.

"Doesn’t seem like it," Riven replied.

She lowered the remote but kept her thumb over the button. Another reporter started repeating what the last one had said, and she let out a sigh. Label sat beside her, holding his coffee with both hands.

For a moment, none of them said anything. They simply watched the broadcast, waiting to see if something useful would finally come up. Riven wasn’t particularly interested in listening to another round of baseless speculation, but he wanted to know how the authorities were reacting. Their next move could be important, especially if they decided to take more aggressive measures.

Then, out of nowhere...

BZZZTTT!

"?!"

"!!!"

The screen flickered, and the broadcast changed completely.

Daniela stopped pressing the remote. Vladimir straightened in the doorway; his attention fixed on the television. Riven lowered his coffee before he had even taken a sip.

This wasn’t another replay.

A live feed from Claymore Tower’s grand atrium cut in.

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