Chapter 289: The Hell Gate of Blades
The beach had gone deathly quiet.
The fireworks were long spent, their smoke drifting in thin gray clouds. The waves kept rolling in, soft and steady, but even they sounded hushed now, like the ocean was holding its breath. Every face in the crowd was turned upward, mouths open, phones forgotten in trembling hands. The fairy lights from the villas flickered like they might go out any second.
Alaric raised his remaining hand slowly, palm up, fingers spread.
The air behind him tore open with a sound like ripping metal.
White light cracked the night sky in dozens—no, hundreds—of jagged lines. Portals ripped into existence, hanging in the air like broken windows to somewhere else. Inside each one was only pure black, and from that darkness came a low, hungry hum that made every hair on the beach stand up.
The temperature dropped hard and fast. Breath fogged in front of mouths. A chill wind swept across the sand, carrying the faint smell of iron and ash.
Alaric’s grin stretched wider, all teeth and madness, red eyes glowing brighter than the moon.
"Ohhh... is that...?" I muttered, voice low.
The memory hit me like a slap.
A few months back, inside a small convenience store near the old warehouse district. Fluorescent lights buzzing overhead, the smell of instant noodles and cheap coffee in the air. Alpha had been leaning against the counter, arms crossed, while I paid for a bottle of fresh apple juice.
I’d asked her about rumors I’d heard—some demon weapon that could wipe out armies in seconds.
She’d looked at me with those calm, ancient eyes and said quietly,
"The Hell Gate of Blades."
I’d raised an eyebrow, bottle halfway to my lips.
"Ohh, is it that scary?"
She hadn’t smiled.
"It can be. For us... one blade is enough to kill a human on the spot."
I’d leaned closer, trying to read her face.
"Damn... your words sound like even you couldn’t fight that back."
Alpha had closed her eyes for a long moment.
She didn’t say anything else.
That silence had told me everything.
Now, standing on the beach, I stared up at the portals as they widened. Blades started to peek out—swords, knives, spears, daggers, hammers with spiked heads, curved scythes, long pikes, even strange hooked things I’d never seen before. They hovered at the edges of the portals, glinting silver and black, edges so sharp the moonlight seemed to bleed off them.
Alaric’s voice rolled over the beach, deep and mocking.
"The Hell Gate of Blades," he said, grin splitting wider. "Countless blades... each one hungry for blood."
The crowd gasped as one.
A woman in a sundress clutched her boyfriend’s arm. "What... what are those things?"
Her boyfriend’s voice shook. "They look like they could cut through anything..."
A teenage boy whispered to his friend, "That’s... that’s gotta be hundreds of them."
The old fisherman, still leaning on his cane, muttered, "God help us..."
I glanced at people, then back up at the portals.
"Any last words, hero?" Alaric laughed again, low and slow.
I tightened my grip on my black sword. The purple-black aura around the blade flared brighter, casting my face in sharp violet light.
I looked straight at him, smirk gone, eyes cold and steady.
"Let’s see if your toys can keep up with me."
The portals widened further. Blades began to slide out—slow at first, then faster, hundreds, thousands, all hovering in the air like a swarm of deadly silver wasps.
The island held its breath and the sky prepared to rain death. The beach had gone from celebration to pure terror in the blink of an eye.
Hundreds of glowing white portals hung in the night sky like torn wounds. From each one, blades slowly pushed out—long swords, short daggers, curved scythes, spiked hammers, jagged spears, hooked chains, and countless other sharp things that looked like they were made to tear flesh. The metal caught the moonlight and threw it back in cold, silver flashes. The low hum coming from the portals grew louder, deeper, like the sky itself was growling.
People stared up, frozen.
"Hey... what is that?" a guy in a backwards cap whispered, voice shaking as he pointed.
His friend next to him swallowed hard. "What is that? That’s way too many..."
A teenage girl hugged her arms around herself, eyes wide. "Those blades look scary..."
Her friend beside her, voice trembling, asked, "Yeah... will they fall on us?"
The tension spread like wildfire. People started backing up, some turning to run, others too stunned to move. Phones were still up, but hands shook so bad the videos were blurry.
Alaric’s laugh rolled over the beach again, deep and ugly.
"Hahaha, Zero!! What are you going to do now?" he yelled, spitting blood onto the sand. His red eyes glowed brighter, his grin splitting wider. "Look at them—your precious little humans. They’re all going to die screaming."
I stood there, black sword still in my hand, purple-black aura flickering around me. I looked at the portals, then back at him, and let out a slow breath.
"I must give you that," I said, voice low and serious, "you’re the most persistent bastard I’ve ever fought."
Alaric’s grin turned savage. "Haha! And this is the last time you’ll ever see me. Everyone here—along with you—will die."
His red aura exploded outward again. The ground under his feet cracked and shook. The portals widened even more, blades sliding farther out, edges glinting like they were hungry.
I remembered a quiet afternoon a few months back. Outside a small convenience store, Alpha leaning against the wall with her hands in her pockets, me sipping fresh apple juice through a straw.
"So that Gate of Blades... it’s really unstoppable?" I’d asked her, casual.
Alpha had looked at me with those calm, ancient eyes.
"Yes. But they have limits. It depends on the user—how much aura they have. Most demons can open maybe a hundred gates at once. That’s their max."
I’d taken another sip. "Is there anyone who can go beyond that?"
She’d paused, then nodded once.
"Of course. The previous Zero could. His gates were way stronger, way higher in number than anyone else’s."
Back on the beach, I tightened my grip on my sword. The purple-black aura around the blade flared brighter.
Alaric laughed again, louder.
"Ready to die, Zero?"
I looked straight at him, then up at the portals, then back at the terrified faces of the crowd.
My voice was calm, inside my mind, thinking deep...if I can also pull it off or not.
"Let’s see how many of those toys you can throw before I adapt and do it better than any other previous Zero ever did." I said in a serious tone looking down at my feet, ready to have final clash with Alaric.
The portals hummed louder. Blades started sliding out fully—hundreds, maybe thousands—hovering in the air like a deadly silver cloud.
The crowd screamed as they prepared themselves for the unknown.
