Chapter 142: Crimson Flowers
After breakfast and a quick briefing, the team finished preparing their equipment. Sein, although still a bit grumpy from being forcefully woken up, eventually got into her combat mood.
An hour later, the black van pulled up at the gate location.
The gate had emerged in an open plaza near a large shopping mall. The area had already been cordoned off by Hero Association staff. Several officers and support personnel were standing guard, keeping civilians away from the danger zone.
In the center of the plaza, a glowing oval portal shimmered with blue-white light. It was still relatively small and unstable, a clear sign that the gate was in its early emergence stage.
Andrey parked the van in the designated hero parking area. The four of them stepped out and walked toward the gate.
A senior staff member quickly approached them and gave a respectful salute.
"Magical Girl Squad. Thank you for responding so quickly. This gate is still classified as B-rank and hasn’t fully stabilized yet. Please be careful inside."
Andrey nodded calmly. "We’ll handle it."
The staff member smiled. "Good luck."
The three girls stepped forward. In bright flashes of light, they transformed into their Magical Girl forms.
Andrey adjusted the collar of his black tactical suit and checked his equipment one last time.
"I’ll go in first. Stay in standard formation."
He stepped forward without hesitation and walked straight into the glowing gate. The light swallowed him completely.
Sarah grinned excitedly. "Let’s go!"
Lisa and Sein followed right behind him, stepping into the portal one after another.
Inside the Gate
The scenery changed instantly.
They emerged in what looked like an abandoned city square. Crumbling buildings surrounded them, overgrown with strange purple vines. The sky above was a dull, unnatural violet color. A few low-level monsters, small gnarled Sap-lings scuttling between rubble, and a pair of Root Hounds sniffing the air were scattered across the area.
Andrey stood at the front, scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes.
"Looks like a standard early-stage B-rank gate. Not too many enemies yet. Sarah, provide ranged support. Lisa, stay in the center. Sein, you’re with me on the frontline."
Sein smirked and summoned flames around her fists. "About time. I was getting bored."
Sarah summoned several pink energy orbs that floated around her. "Ready to blast some monsters."
Lisa’s hands glowed with soft mint-green light. "I’ll support you all."
Andrey took a step forward, Ki energy flowing around his body.
"Move out."
Sein charged forward with explosive speed. Crimson Charge! She dashed through the first group of Sap-lings, her flaming uppercut sending three of them flying into the air in burning pieces.
Sarah floated slightly behind, pink energy gathering around her hands. "Pink Rain!"
A shower of glowing pink projectiles rained down, piercing through several Sap-lings and slowing the movement of the Root Hounds.
Lisa raised her hands, casting Mana Spring and Aegis of Dawn to support the team. A soft mint-green barrier enveloped them, providing minor regeneration and protection.
Andrey moved in sync with Sein, using Phantom Step to appear beside a Root Hound. He unleashed a powerful Ki Blade, slicing cleanly through its wooden neck. The creature disintegrated into black ash.
For the first few minutes, their coordination was excellent. The low-level monsters were quickly culled. Sap-lings exploded into burning splinters under Sein’s flames, while Sarah’s area attacks kept the numbers from overwhelming them.
"Nice work," Andrey said as he crushed the last Sap-ling under his foot. "Looks like this really is just a—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
The ground beneath them suddenly trembled. The purple vines covering the ruins began to writhe and glow with ominous dark mana. From the cracked pavement, more Root Hounds emerged bigger than the previous ones and behind them, a large, twisted Sap-ling Matriarch slowly rose from the ground. Its body was covered in pulsing purple flowers, and dark mana radiated from it.
Sein clicked her tongue. "Tch. Of course it wasn’t going to be that simple."
Sarah narrowed her eyes. "That big one... it’s at least mid C-rank. Maybe even bordering B-rank."
Lisa’s expression turned serious as she strengthened her barrier. "There’s dark mana mixed in their corruption. Be careful, everyone."
Andrey drew his Ki Blade once more, his eyes sharpening.
"Change of plans. Sein and I will take the Matriarch. Sarah, focus fire on the hounds. Lisa, prioritize defense and mana support. Don’t let them swarm us."
Sein cracked her knuckles, flames roaring around her body. "Now we’re talking. Let’s burn this thing down."
The battle intensified as soon as the Sap-ling Matriarch fully emerged.
"Engage!" Andrey shouted.
Sein charged first, flames blazing around her body. Crimson Impact! She delivered a powerful flaming punch to the Matriarch’s trunk-like body, causing a small explosion of fire. However, the creature barely flinched. Thick purple vines whipped out from its body, forcing Sein to dodge frantically.
"Damn, it’s tougher than it looks!" Sein growled.
Sarah unleashed Pink Rain from above, bombarding the Matriarch and the surrounding Root Hounds with pink energy projectiles. Some of the smaller hounds were torn apart, but the Matriarch’s thick bark absorbed most of the damage.
Lisa kept her Aegis of Dawn active while continuously casting healing and mana regeneration on the team. "Their dark mana is interfering with my purification! Be careful!"
Andrey used Phantom Step to appear behind the Matriarch and slashed it with a Ki Blade. The cut was deep, but purple sap immediately oozed out and began regenerating the wound.
They struggled for several minutes. The Matriarch’s vines kept attacking from blind spots, and the Root Hounds were surprisingly fast and coordinated. At one point, a vine nearly caught Sarah, forcing Lisa to quickly expand her barrier to protect her.
But their teamwork eventually prevailed.
Sein landed a fully charged Crimson Impact directly on the Matriarch’s core, cracking its body open. Andrey followed up with a Ki Burst straight into the opening, while Sarah finished it with Heartstorm Apocalypse, a barrage of pink energy that finally shattered the creature.
The Sap-ling Matriarch let out a dying screech before collapsing into a pile of burning wood and purple ash.
"Nice work," Andrey said, breathing slightly heavier. "Everyone okay?"
Before anyone could answer, the ground began to shake violently again.
The purple vines that covered the entire square started glowing brighter. One by one, the withered flowers on the vines began to bloom into large, grotesque crimson flowers with black centers. Dark mana thickened in the air.
From the blooming flowers, new monsters started emerging taller, more humanoid Vine Stalkers with sharp thorn-like claws and glowing red eyes.
Sein wiped the sweat from her forehead and smirked, though her expression was tense.
"...Looks like the gate isn’t done playing with us yet."
Sarah summoned more energy orbs around her. "This is starting to feel like a mutation event. The difficulty is rising."
Lisa’s face turned serious as she strengthened her barrier. "The dark mana concentration is increasing rapidly. We need to be careful."
Andrey gripped his Ki Blade tighter, eyes scanning the growing number of Vine Stalkers that were slowly surrounding them.
"Stay sharp. This gate might be hiding something bigger than we thought."
