Chapter 165: Stacked Lineup
The Association building seemed to have everything.
After the recovery rooms, where wounded Titled were restored with clinical efficiency, and the armoury, packed with weapons that hummed faintly with unnatural durability, Ethan had already assumed he’d seen the extent of what this place could offer.
He was wrong.
They were escorted out of the main building, but not through the front. There was a secure underground exit, a secret, reinforced tunnel that ran beneath the city’s core.
And when they emerged...
"No way."
Ethan was baffled by what he was seeing.
Stretching out before them was a relatively small private airfield, incredible to have in such a densely populated part of the city.
And waiting there was a massive jet.
It was sleek and matte black, engines already humming low, like a beast waiting to be unleashed. But looking around, no one else seemed surprised as they were ushered aboard without delay.
There were no checks, no need for documentation, and no questions.
Ethan felt like a celebrity, or closer to a royal.
He stepped inside and paused briefly, taking in the interior that was equally spacious as it was luxurious.
This was military-grade comfort.
He let out a quiet breath and moved to a window seat, dropping into it as the rest of the squad filtered in.
The door sealed, and the engines roared.
And within moments, they were airborne, his stomach twisting subtly as they soared through the air.
’I just realised it’s my first time on a plane.’
Ethan was calm despite that, but it was also Elara’s first time, and she wasn’t as relaxed. He laughed before leaning back slightly toward the window, watching as the city shrank beneath them.
As he did, he couldn’t help but be amazed.
Even with that briefcase of cash and Kaela’s card, this kind of money was different. This wasn’t just wealth or flash spending; it was infrastructure, resources, and power.
The Association had the entire government behind it, so it was to be expected.
’And I mean, we are fighting for the public, so this is the least they could do.’
But this much luxury felt uncomfortable for a simple man like Ethan.
’All I need it some food and cigs. And with the amount I have now, I’ll probably never have to worry about money again...’
He could always enter more gates to earn more, even if he somehow burnt through all that cash, which brought him a deep sense of comfort.
But it felt empty and irrelevant.
’What does money matter when there are S Rank freaks?’
His eyes narrowed slightly.
’Titan could’ve just flown here and could literally walk into any bank he pleased and take whatever he wanted. Who’s going to stop him?’
The thought lingered, especially the ability to fly.
’Once I unlock Complete Assimilation, in theory, I should be able to with both Spark and Talon.’
The idea alone made something tighten in his chest, a mix of hunger and excitement. Being able to blitz through the skies at such speeds...
’Who wouldn’t want to be able to do that?’
Then again, looking at Elara, who was visibly shaking while on the plane, he doubted she would enjoy that very much.
’The Blood Demon is scared of heights.’
It was funny to think about, but his thoughts quickly refocused on himself.
’Now that I’m officially C Rank, I don’t need to hide. Especially not with these guys.’
Because compared to them?
He wasn’t anything special, far from it.
’I’m the runt of this squad.’
And strangely, he liked that.
It grounded him, kept his ego in check, and reminded him just how far he still had to go.
’Let’s focus on evolving all my beasts to B Rank, which is going to be tough since I have another beast slot I need to fill. Only then will the system consider me a fully fledged B Rank, even though I might be stronger than most B Ranks at that point already.’
Ethan had become so fixated on Titan after seeing an S Rank in action that he needed to take a step back and reset.
’After that, it will be even tougher, but with enough time, I’ll make it there.’
And with that, he ended his internal contemplation.
-
The atmosphere on the jet was... mixed.
Some sat quietly, focusing and mentally preparing as Ethan seemed to have been doing. Others talked in low voices, sharing information and speculating about what they might face in this gate.
And then, there were people like Kaela who were completely unbothered.
She lounged across two seats like she owned the plane, one arm hanging loosely as she stared at the ceiling.
"Nice ride," she muttered.
Ethan glanced over.
"Yeah," he replied casually. "It’s not bad."
She smirked faintly, turning her head toward him and teasing him, "Are you nervous?"
Ethan simply shook his head.
His sharp blue eyes were steady, and it was clear he was anything but nervous.
Kaela huffed a quiet laugh.
"I knew you were crazy since the first time we spoke, and I fucking love it."
Ethan wasn’t sure whether that was a compliment.
"Thank you, I guess?"
She just smiled and then took one last swig of her drink before dozing off.
Meanwhile, Ethan observed everyone around him on the jet closely, especially those he had interacted with before.
Darius was calm and collected, but there was tension in how he held himself, which was natural. Seraphina was restless, her foot tapping at a speed most couldn’t even track. Liora had her eyes closed and seemed to be anxiously focusing on stabilising her energy.
The others were all tense and carried their own weight.
And, most amusing of them all, was Elara, who was resisting the urge to throw up.
’This is quite the stacked lineup,’ Ethan couldn’t help but admit.
But he was sure the gate would be equally stacked, as he silently enjoyed the hours of peace before it.
-
Eventually, the plane began its descent.
Houston, Texas.
The moment the doors opened, Ethan felt it in the atmosphere.
’There’s something fucked up in this city.’
They stepped out onto the runway without delay and were ushered into blacked-out SUVs again. Ethan slid into the seat, glancing out through the tinted windows as the convoy began moving.
’Just how much money does the association actually have?’
He leaned his head back slightly.
’It’s probably close to infinite, in the hundreds of billions, at least.’
They protected one of the largest economies in the world, handled disasters, and controlled some of the strongest people in the world.
’Titled are everything, and whoever controls them controls the world.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
’But I’m not going to be controlled by anyone.’
Then again, he was about to put his life on the line on their behalf, so maybe he was being controlled already...
-
The convoy moved quickly through cleared roads, past barricades and military checkpoints.
Eventually, they arrived.
And Ethan felt it before he even saw it.
There was a heavy, unstable, and ominous energy.
His body tensed slightly, and even more so when he laid eyes on it.
A massive rift in space that was black and purple, twisting and pulsing, expanding and contracting - it was like the thing was breathing.
"Now that’s a gate," Ethan muttered under his breath.
It massively dwarfed the one he had seen before and almost felt alive.
The entire surrounding area had been locked down: military units stationed in layers, evacuation zones established, and emergency responders waiting on standby.
Hundreds of thousands had already been cleared out, because if that thing broke, tens of thousands would die, if not more. There were Titled on standby, but they weren’t much compared to the clearing squad.
And unlike last time, Ethan didn’t feel like an outsider who was just tagging along.
He was part of it.
And as they stepped closer, the pressure only increased, so much so it became harder to breathe.
As if that wasn’t ominous enough, he received a series of notifications from the system.
Ethan’s eyes sharpened.
{Objective 1: Survive the gate.}
{Objective 2: Evolve one Beast to B Rank}
{Objective 3: Create a new skill}
He instantly knew that things weren’t going to be normal.
Obviously, he’d had that suspicion already, but the system giving him objectives now, of all times, confirmed it to him.
’Are you going to do another Gate Takeover?’ he questioned internally.
He could only imagine how frightening that would be, since it was already a B+ Rank gate.
But there was no answer from the System.
Ethan exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders slightly.
Despite everything, he felt confident that they could face pretty much anything with this stacked lineup of a squad.
Three A Ranks.
Kaela, a violent, unstoppable force.
Elara, unstable, but terrifying when possessed.
And the third, the Barrier Bastion, whom he had to see the full extent of her unique abilities.
Then the three B Ranks, and over a dozen C Ranks, including him.
Even if this turned into a full A Rank gate, they should be fine, and this group might even have a chance against someone like Titan.
Ethan paused.
’Or maybe not.’
That alone said everything about how absurd S Ranks truly were.
But he didn’t dwell on it, because as he stared at the gate, at the shifting, breathing rift in reality, he knew he was about to be in for a crazy experience.
’And I’m looking forward to it.’
