CHAPTER 58: THREE HEAVEN KINGS

No one listened to her.

She had come here with a genuine intent to save lives, yet no one wanted to hear her out or even give her a chance. Everyone focused on themselves and their place in line at Tyler’s weapon store.

And Sean expected Ace to tell everyone about the Apocalypse and Gates?

Chaewon’s heart squeezed as she realized how hard it was to save people with kind methods. Alex caught up, saw her downcast look, and clicked his tongue. Alex yelled at the crowd, but no one cared.

They felt safe, complacent, and even entitled in the Heaven Village.

After all, they’d paid for their place here with precious potions. How could they not feel this way?

"...Fuckers," Alex muttered.

A familiar voice called out.

"What’s up with the danger?"

Alex and Chaewon turned to see a man with emerald eyes, brown hair, and a stubbled beard to match. He walked toward them with a hatchet on his shoulder, his closest friends following, curious.

"Hunter! Rank Four!" Alex exclaimed.

"Yeah." Hunter chuckled and smiled at Chaewon as he approached. "You’re too kind, Missy. You’re not even revealing your Rank Five Ranker Status, and you still want to talk to the crowd. That won’t cut it here. Be more direct and blunt, like Ace Avalanche. He flashed his Rank One at me right away."

Walking past Chaewon, Hunter sized up the crowd. His rank appeared over his head, and he yelled at them.

"All of you!" His voice boomed over the crowd. "There’s danger coming our way! Pick up your weapons, team up with your friends, and prepare for battle! Evacuation? Nah. You’ll fight with us to defend this safe zone!"

Chaewon’s eyes widened. "Ah."

Hunter didn’t bother saying more or trying to convince them. If that wasn’t enough, He left it at that.

"Where’s the danger coming from, Missy?" Hunter asked.

"You believe me?" Chaewon asked.

"Yeah. My intuition says you’re not lying. I also think highly of Ace Avalanche. Add those together, and I’m on your side." Hunter smiled.

"The danger will come from the Totem!" Chaewon replied.

"Ah, that Totem... it always rubbed me the wrong way." Hunter nodded and relayed the warning to the crowd.

His intuition is really frightening. Could it be part of his reward from the Ranker’s Ranking?

Meanwhile, Tyler noticed the commotion and left his store. He saw Chaewon, Hunter, and Alex, three from the top ten, stirring up the crowd.

It didn’t bode well. He walked over and asked what was going on.

"Causing scenes on your first day here. I hope you have a good reason for that," Tyler said.

Hunter laughed. "Don’t scold us, old man. We really do have a good reason."

Though Tyler didn’t want to admit it, rankers who made scenes were often the most prominent, so he kept that to himself and listened to Chaewon’s story. When she said she had an item that detected danger, Hunter narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything aloud.

"I see." Tyler nodded and went back inside his store.

Chaewon turned to Hunter. "Is it really okay to have all rankers fight?"

"Yeah." Hunter sneered. "You saw how entitled they were. I don’t feel like doing everything for them, either. I never signed up to be their savior. I just want to go back to Earth and check on my mother."

"I hope she wasn’t taken by any Gate and is living peacefully on Earth," Chaewon said.

"Thanks." Hunter chuckled.

Tyler returned wearing long robes and a backpack. Pouches were stitched to his robes, and the pockets bulged.

"I’ll speak to the others about it," he said. "We have time before the Sunset, correct?"

"Yes!" Chaewon nodded. "But there’s a high chance the Totem will activate earlier because of the commotion."

"Makes sense. Keep gathering as many people as possible. We need this Village," Tyler said, heading out to speak with his contacts.

Hunter’s smile widened. "It’s wrong, but I’m getting excited."

"Are you also a battle freak?" Alex asked, grinning.

"Yeah, but that’s not it." Hunter chuckled. "The old man is one of the Three Heaven Kings. The name sucks because it’s from Heaven Village; blame Veis for that."

"Kings? You mean a class like a Queen?" Chaewon asked.

The team hadn’t fought alongside a king class yet. No one had picked the king class up, and fate hadn’t handed them a teammate with one. Remembering Ace’s lessons about classes, Chaewon recalled a king class could buff others, significantly strengthening teammates.

"Yeah." Hunter nodded. "The old man is a great king. If the other two join, even the weakest rankers will be able to keep up with us and deal with the danger quickly."

"Sounds great!" Chaewon exclaimed.

After that, Hunter and Chaewon’s group set out to warn others of the imminent danger.

—

Ace sat on a log bench and weighed what was coming and his choice.

The Totem exploded in a column of fire that shot into the sky. It wasn’t a harmless pillar; it was an attack meant to destroy the village.

The sky turned dark orange, and the temperature spiked. Confusion and fear among the rankers surged as well, and those unaware of the danger started running.

Soon, they hit the first defensive line. Chaewon, Edward, Hunter, Alex, and Mercer took the lead. Behind them, perched on rooftops, were the Three Heaven Kings, ready to support everyone.

All eyes went to the Totem’s base. From there, an army of Ignis Caro poured out.

Inside the flames, their bodies were black silhouettes; once they emerged, their skin was ash-gray, split by open cracks where flames burned inside. Ash flaked from their joints. Fire burned in their eye sockets and mouths.

Then their howls filled the entire village, signaling the start of the raid. They advanced with heads tilted to the side and arms low, limping as if on sprained ankles, intent on killing everyone.

Ace unpacked his bow and fastened his quiver at his hip.

Rank One Ace Avalanche marched to execute his will.