The subterranean rumbling vibrated violently, showering fine dust from the ceiling of the ancient Arditama underground chamber. Those micro-quake tremors were coming faster now—three times within the span of ten minutes. Each pulse hammered against Zulfa and Naya’s chests like a sledgehammer, delivering an uncompromising warning signal: their time had officially run out.

The Main Valve beneath the central public square stood on the absolute precipice of total collapse.

"Check your gear again, Naya. Don't leave anything behind," Zulfa's voice broke the underground silence, sounding calm yet iron-clad.

Across the ancient granite stone table, various pieces of field equipment lay scattered among melting candles. Zulfa strapped on a steel-reinforced tactical safety harness, tucked a heavy hydraulic wrench into his right side, and made sure three emergency detonators were securely stashed in his vest’s waterproof pockets. Beside him, Naya busily zipped up her combat backpack, checked her heavy-duty flashlight batteries, and coiled a high-strength nylon climbing rope around her waist.

Naya looked up, staring at Zulfa’s brow beaded with cold sweat. "Gear is all set, Zul. Spare detonators and the hydraulic wrench are in position. But... are you seriously sure we're walking past the central military quarantine checkpoint on foot?"

Zulfa tightened his tactical glove straps until they fit snugly against his wrists. He turned, offering a thin, tension-breaking smile. "We don't have any other choice, Nay. Any vehicle running on an internal combustion engine or smart electronics will instantly trigger Aethel Corp's automated defense grid. Walking the underground maintenance utility tunnels is the only way we can approach the central crater without lighting up their radar."

Naya let out a long breath, then gave a firm nod as she settled her glasses firmly on her face. "Fine. If we have to play half-baked heroes saving this rotten city with a wrench and some detonators, let's do it now."

"That's the spirit I like," Zulfa replied, grabbing his ancestor's aged leather-bound journal and slipping it deep inside an inner chest pocket shielded against the elements. "Let's move out."

They left the shrine's underground chamber via the secret corridor, climbing the ancient stone steps back up to breach the surface amid a midnight storm that had yet to relent.

The atmosphere outside the shrine was light-years away from what they had imagined. The Downtown Red Zone had transformed into a ghost town swallowed by a dense, purple-gray anomalous fog. Military police lines and barbed wire stretched across every intersection, guarded by unmanned, pitch-black Aethel Corp tactical trucks—all human mercenary personnel had apparently pulled back or fled when the first micro-quake tremors shook the sector.

Zulfa and Naya crept carefully behind the concrete rubble of a roadside souvenir shop, utilizing the thick anomaly fog to mask their movements.

"Look at the tops of those buildings," Naya whispered softly, gripping Zulfa's jacket sleeve as she pointed toward a distant skyscraper rooftop.

Zulfa narrowed his eyes. Along the overhead power lines and the dark edges of the rooflines, dozens of small shadow silhouettes—Rust-Eaters—roamed free, scrambling with agile grace. They vented high-pitched hisses mingling with static electrical hums, hunting down any lingering body heat or active electronic signals left above ground.

"They've made it to the surface," Zulfa muttered in a cold tone. "Meaning the boundary between our world and their dimension down below is wearing paper-thin."

"And our route to the main square access shaft sits right across the major intersection up ahead," Naya added, swallowing hard as she stared at the open street coated in puddles of black tar and thick fog. "There's no cover out in the open, Zul."

"We cross fast, straight for utility access shaft number nine," Zulfa instructed quietly. "Stay calm, make zero noise, and don't turn on any flashlights."

They began edging out from behind the shop ruins, stealthily crossing the wet, fractured asphalt. The air in the red zone felt biting cold, turning their breaths into white plumes that instantly dissolved into the anomaly fog.

Ten meters... five meters... the utility access hatch was right in front of them. Zulfa reached out to grab the iron manhole cover when suddenly the air above their heads flash-froze.

Scree... bzzzt!

The whining spark of an electrical cable struck by a wild power arc rang sharply through the air, followed by the weird, snapping flutter of wings woven from razor-sharp optical fibers.

"Zulfa, watch out!" Naya screamed hysterically.

Reflexively, Zulfa yanked Naya's hand, tackling them both into a rolling dive to the side a split second before a massive impact smashed into the asphalt right where they had been standing.

Boom!

The street surface shattered into pieces, showering gravel and standing water in every direction.

Zulfa pushed himself up to a half-kneel, patting his waist to ensure his wrench and detonators were secure, then snapped his gaze up toward the entity blocking their path. His heart hammered wildly.

Standing dead center across the main intersection, barring the sole route to the deepest access shaft, was a gigantic, winged shadow beast armored in cables.

The creature stood nearly three meters tall, its muscular physique formed from a dense mass of black fiber-optic cables pulsing with blazing red light. Its massive wings were made of snapping, serrated steel-wire fibers stretched wide, while its face was a blank, eyeless void emitting powerful electromagnetic pulses that generated a high-frequency drone making Zulfa's head feel ready to split open.

The winged, cable-armored shadow let out an angry snort, baring jagged fangs fashioned from shattered electrical porcelain insulators. It flared its wings wide, locking down their escape route.

Naya shrank back in terror, clutching the straps of her backpack with violently trembling hands. "Zulfa... what kind of freak is this?! It's almost three meters tall!"

Zulfa stepped slowly in front of Naya, unhooking the heavy hydraulic wrench in his right hand. Though his muscles screamed with exhaustion and cold sweat drenched his entire body, the youth's gaze held not a single ounce of fear.

"That's their final gatekeeper, Naya," Zulfa answered in an icy voice, locking eyes with the giant entity's glowing red void face. "And we don't have time to detour."