Chapter 90: Outside in Chaos

"Get away from the arrival point!"

A worker in a torn reflective vest waved them towards the only equipment shelter that was still standing properly. Leon helped Lex across the broken paving, while Gareth grabbed the man before he could run past them.

"What happened?"

"A Red Gate, inside the city," the man answered, causing Gareth to look towards the smoke.

"When?"

"While you were inside. They tried containing it, but that’s a dream since the Gate already collapsed."

Another vehicle sounded its horn, making the worker pull his arm free.

"Medical staff are behind the shelter. Keep the road clear."

The woman with the spear had already started taking Bren there. Nolan followed behind with the containers of cores, leaving them where one of the workers instructed before helping them move a fallen barrier.

Leon looked back at the portal. The third professional had also come out, meaning all eight of them had made it back safely.

Unfortunately, everything outside appeared to have fallen apart while they were gone.

Vehicles crowded the road that had been almost empty when their bus arrived, some damaged, while others were being used to move the injured.

"Sit him here," a medic instructed.

Leon helped Lex onto a bench, but the first thing the instructor asked about was the eight students they had sent out with the Return Stones.

"Some have already been transferred. The others are being loaded," the medic answered, pointing towards two waiting vehicles.

Seth lay on a stretcher beside the nearest one, still pale beneath a blanket. Evan sat on the lowered step with his injured foot supported, while Tessa remained beside him until someone called her over to help secure a bag.

Seeing them there was enough to confirm that they had made it out before things became this bad.

Lex gave the medic the names of the other students and started checking who had already been taken away. Gareth joined a local officer near one of the radios, while the other professionals helped wherever they could.

There weren’t enough workers for everything going on.

A woman with blood running down the side of her face kept trying to leave the treatment area to search for her husband. Two workers carried an injured person on a door taken from one of the damaged cabins, while a summoner farther down the road shouted at people to remain behind the vehicles.

Leon suddenly remembered and took out his phone.

The moment it found a connection, notifications filled the screen. He had several missed calls, emergency warnings and messages that hadn’t reached him inside the Gate.

He immediately called home, but the call failed before it could even ring.

While he tried, a report came though from someone’s radio - "...confirmed crossings near the state border. Sun City response teams have engaged—"

Leon raised his head immediately.

"Repeat the affected route," the officer said as he leaned closer to the radio.

The answer was buried beneath another transmission. He changed channels, listened for a moment and quietly cursed.

"They’ve already crossed?" Gareth asked.

"Scattered groups. The reports from Sun City match what we’re seeing here."

"What about reinforcements?" Gareth asked.

"They’re coming from the neighbouring cities, but there’s too much ground to cover even by air. Most of the confirmed monsters are Grade Four Peak, while the rest are Grade Five, up to Intermediate."

The third professional stopped beside them after hearing that.

"How many local teams are still fighting?"

"Anyone strong enough. The lower-ranked summoners are moving civilians." The officer shook his head. "Putting a dozen of them in front of one Grade Five won’t even qualify for a joke."

A heavy impact came from somewhere beyond the road, causing almost everyone to turn in that direction.

The officer listened to another report before pointing towards the waiting vehicles.

"Take the service route. They’re still holding the junction beyond it, so move the injured before that changes."

Quickly, the students alongside a few others were divided between the available vehicles. Lex stayed with the injured, while Gareth and the other professionals moved through the small convoy, checking where they would be needed if anything happened.

Leon ended up inside a supply vehicle with Linda and several civilians.

The convoy left the dungeon site and headed towards the service junction. More vehicles joined from the side roads along the way, their passengers looking back at the smoke rising behind them.

It didn’t take long before the convoy started slowing down.

Several voices came through the radio at the front, most speaking over one another.

"...junction compromised. Don’t send more traffic—"

ALmost immediately, the driver braked.

A long line of red lights continued around the bend ahead of them, but none of the vehicles were moving.

"What’s happening?" Someone behind Leon asked.

The driver picked up the handset, but another transmission came through before he could speak.

"Obstruction on the lower road. Civilians on foot. We need summoners at the front."

Linda looked towards Leon, but he was already opening the door. She too got off.

They didn’t get very far before a responder directed them onto the side of the road. Several vehicles were trying to reverse at the same time, while others had been abandoned completely.

It seemed the junction they were told was safe had become another place where monsters crossed the evacuation route.

A damaged delivery truck blocked most of the bend, with cars and fallen bikes filling whatever space remained around it. Part of the verge had also collapsed beneath an overturned vehicle.

Some people abandoned their cars and continued on foot. Others remained inside, probably too frightened to step onto the road when monsters could appear from anywhere.

"Stay back and help move the people," Gareth instructed as he ran past Leon.

He joined two local summoners beyond the obstruction, with the woman carrying the spear following behind him. The third professional stopped near the overturned vehicle to help pull the driver through a broken window.

Leon looked towards the bend. Even if the monsters were dealt with, there was no clear road for the convoy to continue through.