Morning at Apex HQ
The dorm room was dim. The winter morning sunlight slipped through the curtains, touching Agilan's face gently.
For the first time in days, he had slept without trembling.
Vinod was snoring softly on the opposite bed.
Shalini also wakes up earlier...
Agilan lay there quietly, staring at the ceiling.
His mind wasn't calm.
Not after Y'Therax's words in the dream.
> "You are the last flesh of humanity… the final vessel… protect them."
He swallowed hard.
He didn't feel like a protector.
He felt like a weapon.
But he wasn't going to let Tamil Nadu suffer… or let blood-reeking criminals turn humanity into a business.
Not anymore.
Knock.
Knock knock.
A soft voice:
"Agilan…? You awake?"
Ananya.
Her voice was gentle today, softer than usual.
He sat up just as Vinod rolled over and opened one eye.
"Bro," Vinod whispered, smirking, "your financé came to wake you up."
Agilan glared.
"Shut up da."
Vinod burst into laughter
The door opened a little.
Ananya peeked in, her face turning red when she saw Vinod and Shalini awake.
"I—I came to discuss the gate schedule today. Sorry if I disturbed—"
"You didn't," Agilan said quickly, getting up.
He slipped on his gray hoodie, tugging it over his black shirt.
Ananya's eyes lowered slightly—it always happened when she saw him suited up in that hoodie.
He didn't know why, but something about the calm black-and-gray look made her heartbeat skip.
Vinod, being Vinod, whispered loudly to Shalini:
"She's staring at him da… ayyo kadavule."
Ananya's cheeks turned bright red.
"W-We leave in ten minutes," she said desperately.
"Raiden sir wants us on standby for any new gates."
Agilan nodded.
As she closed the door, Vinod smirked even harder.
"Bro… that girl… is gone. Fully gone.
But he felt good to laugh.
Even if it was only for a few seconds.
The Day of Grinding
The helicopter blades chopped the air as Agilan and Ananya flew across Tamil Nadu.
New gates appeared daily.
Today alone:
10 C-Rank gates
7 B-Rank gates
5 A-Rank gates
A regular S-Rank team would take a week.
But Apex had them.
Agilan and Ananya.
As they landed, hunters and civilians stepped back.
Ananya stepped forward, aura igniting around her—
a glowing red flame-like halo wrapping her sword.
Hunters whispered:
"That's the Crimson Saint…!"
"She's fighting alone today?"
"Where is that boy with her… the flesh hunter…?"
Agilan stood quietly behind, hood covering his eyes.
The first A-Rank gate opened like a beast's maw.
Ananya rushed in—
Agilan waited until no one was watching.
Then his eyes turned dark crimson.
His voice was a whisper:
"Flesh Codex… summon."
A pulse of red aura exploded around him.
From beneath the earth—
THOOM.
A massive shadow rose.
LYCAN ALPHA
Its fur rippled with crimson veins, eyes burning with loyalty.
Next—
Giant Worms erupted from the ground, towering like pillars.
Then—
The Molded Beings he captured earlier—
humanoid monsters with red bones and tendril muscles—
clawed their way into existence.
Finally—
JUGGERNAUT ARMY
Ten towering armored flesh-tanks stood in formation, shaking the earth.
Hunters outside the barrier screamed:
"W-What are those!?"
"Is the gate breaking!?"
"Call Apex—call someone!!"
Inside the gate—
Monsters roared in fear.
Agilan whispered:
"Clean the dungeon."
The Lycan bowed deeply, then charged with earth-shaking force.
Juggernauts stomped behind it, shaking the sky.
Ananya, deep inside the gate, sliced through enemies—
But outside, Agilan's army wiped out entire hordes within seconds.
And the system responded.
---
DING — LEVEL UP
[LEVEL 94 → LEVEL 114]
DING — LEVEL UP
[LEVEL 114 → LEVEL 126]
DING — LEVEL UP
[LEVEL 126 → LEVEL 133]
Agilan exhaled slowly, eyes brightening.
Just from commanding his army—
he had climbed to Level 133.
Without lifting a finger.
He calmly dismissed the army and walked into the gate to meet Ananya, who had just defeated the gate boss.
She was panting lightly.
"You… didn't fight?" she asked.
Agilan shrugged.
"Support role."
She smiled softly.
"You really are something else."
He looked away—
he didn't want her to see the guilt in his eyes.
If she knew he was leveling alone…
If she knew this was for the Shadow Gate…
She might try to stop him.
Because she cared too much.
And also everyday Agilan hunts the dungeon gate until the main quest completed
System:
[Congratulations! You've Completed 10 B-C Rank And 5 A- Rank Gate]
Rewards: Vermicular Surge : MKII
(Can increase monarch and his armies in 2x strength and speed)
Current Level : 168!!
---
Back at Apex HQ, Agilan approached Raiden in the strategy room.
"Sir… take me to the Four Forbidden Gates."
Raiden stiffened.
"No."
Agilan raised an eyebrow.
"That was fast."
Raiden stepped close, voice low:
"You tried before, Agilan. The Shadow Gate rejected you. Even S-Ranks failed to open it. What do you expect to happen now?"
Agilan met his eyes with a calm, focused stare.
"…I am not the same."
Raiden saw it.
Not arrogance.
Not pride.
Not hunger for power.
But a heavy, crushing determination.
"Why?" Raiden whispered.
Agilan looked at his heart—the place where Y'Therax lived.
"…Because someone told me I'm the last flesh. And I think… I think something worse than monsters is coming."
Raiden didn't understand the meaning—
but he felt the weight.
Finally, he exhaled.
"…Fine. I'll take you. But if something happens—"
"Nothing will."
---
After They Reached to the ground floor.
A obsidian gate stood there.
Cold.
Breathing faint shadows.
Rejecting every hunter in history.
Raiden walked ahead.
"No matter how many times you try, this gate will NOT—"
Agilan stepped past him.
His aura ignited.
Red. Violent.
A Throne-like presence.
The earth trembled.
Wind reversed.
Shadows twisted toward his chest like worship.
Raiden stepped back—
"What is this… pressure…!?"
Agilan placed his palm on the gate.
The valley fell silent.
KRRRRRRRRR—
A crack ran across the Shadow Gate.
Raiden's eyes widened.
"No… no way…"
The gate pulsed.
A heartbeat.
Agilan whispered:
"Open."
The gate roared—
BOOOOOOOM—
and split apart, revealing a swirling void.
Raiden's mouth fell open.
"You… you did it.
An 18-year-old boy… opened the gate no S-rank in the world could open…"
Agilan didn't smile.
He just stared into the darkness.
As if something inside was calling him.
---
Meanwhile… Seung Ho
Inside the Apex main office, Seung Ho stared at the CCTV footage.
Agilan opening the Shadow Gate.
His hands trembled.
He felt shock.
Pride.
Fear.
And something old inside him whispering—
"This boy.... will change everything."
His phone buzzed.
Valla (Blood Reaper Leader):
"Seung Ho. We Finished Our Proj—"
Seung Ho muted him immediately.
He stared at the screen.
At Agilan.
He whispered to himself—
"…I've supported the Blood Reaper association for years...
But if they try to use this boy…
I will kill them all."
He closed the call with Valla and texted:
"Busy. Call you later."
He turned back to the screen.
Eyes sharp.
Focused.
Determined.
"Apex…
will protect you, Agilan, no matter what."
To be continued...