NOVEL WEB Chapter 11: Black Sparrow Guild
— In the Headquarters of the C-Rank Guild 'Black Sparrow' in Downtown Hoshito —
"A Sudden Gate!? At Hoshito General Hospital!?"
"Yes, sir! It was just reported! We have approximately twenty minutes before the first wave breaks out!"
Two men in black suits, one a superior and the other a subordinate, exchanged frantic words. The superior, seated behind a cluttered desk, ran a hand through his graying hair, visibly agitated.
"Of all times…" he muttered, glaring at the piles of paperwork threatening to topple over. "A Sudden Gate appears when most of our manpower is out dealing with the B-Rank Gates in Kyoto…"
His voice rose sharply. "Get the newbies on the line and anyone else within range! I want them at Hoshito General Hospital NOW! They are to fend off the first few waves. Under no circumstances should they enter the Gate! Hold the line until reinforcements arrive!"
"Yes, sir!"
The subordinate bolted from the office, shouting orders as he sprinted through the multi-floored building. Phones began ringing off the hook, and the hum of the Guild HQ turned into a cacophony of voices and hurried footsteps.
Left alone, the superior slumped into his chair, pressing his fingers against his temples. "This is going to be a migraine," he muttered, glancing at the blinking alert on his desktop monitor. A Sudden Gate was a nightmare on its own, but having it appear in a crowded area with minimal defenses? Catastrophic.
— Meanwhile, in the Steele Household —
Aya Steele paced anxiously in her room, her footsteps echoing faintly against the hardwood floor. Her phone screen glowed in the dim light, displaying the emergency alert about the Sudden Gate at Hoshito General Hospital.
"That's where Cassius is…" she whispered, biting her lip.
She crouched, burying her face in her hands. Memories of her stepbrother flashed through her mind—his rare smiles, the determined gleam in his eyes as he started to change for the better. And then, her thoughts turned to the brown-haired girl who was always at his side in the hospital.
"Why am I thinking about her right now?" Aya muttered, shaking her head. The frustration bubbling inside her made no sense. Yet it wouldn't leave her alone.
"Will he be alright…?" she whispered to herself. "They'll stop the Gate before it can affect him, right?"
But her worry only grew, and she clenched her fists as a mix of fear and determination swirled within her. Cassius had helped her when she needed it most, standing up for her when no one else would. He had called her family.
"I can't just sit here," Aya decided, rising abruptly. "I have to help him. Even if I haven't been trained as a Hunter yet, I have my stats. I can at least get him out of there!"
*Thump. Thump. Thump.*
Aya darted down the stairs, her speed drawing the attention of her parents.
"Where are you going at this late hour?" Sasha, her mother, called out, narrowing her sharp blue eyes. "Did you not hear the emergency alert?"
Aya hesitated, slipping on her sneakers. "Yeah, Mom, I got it. But I left something important at school. I'll be back soon—promise!"
Sasha crossed her arms, her skepticism evident. "Aya, don't lie to me. You're not going to the hospital, are you? Monsters aren't something you can handle just because you're strong for your age. Even if you can take on ten men, monsters are a completely different story."
Aya's shoulders stiffened, but she didn't stop. "I know, Mom! I'll stay away from the hospital! I'll be back soon!"
Before Sasha could press further, Aya bolted out the door. Her father, Adam, who had been sitting quietly in the living room, watched her leave with a contemplative look.
"Teenagers," Sasha sighed, shaking her head. "They're impossible to control."
Adam remained silent, his thoughts distant. After a moment, Sasha turned to him. "You've noticed it too, haven't you? The changes in Cassius?"
Her voice softened as she spoke, but her expression was sharp. "He's not the same as before. It's more than just a growth spurt or mindset shift, Adam. Something's happened to him."
Adam hesitated, beads of sweat forming on his brow. "He's been working hard. That's all it is. Determination can lead to remarkable changes."
"Don't lie to me," Sasha said, her tone firm. "I know what I see. His transformation isn't natural. Could it be a latent awakening?"
Adam's jaw tightened. He wanted to dismiss her theory outright, but the evidence was undeniable. He had considered the possibility himself—briefly.
"Even if it were a latent awakening," Sasha continued, "those are one-in-a-million cases. What are the odds it would happen to him, and now of all times?"
Adam's mind raced. 'If Cassius has truly awakened… then our mission might finally bear fruit.'
The thought sent a shiver down his spine. For two years, their search had yielded nothing. But if Cassius's changes were tied to an awakening, then the mysterious force they were hunting might soon reveal itself.
Sasha misinterpreted his silence as agreement. "If he's awakened, we need to support him. But we can't let him get involved with these Gates—not yet."
Adam nodded, though his thoughts were elsewhere. 'I need to confirm this. If he's awakened, we'll need to move quickly. The clock is ticking.'
— Back on the Streets of Hoshito —
Aya sprinted through the quiet streets, her D-Rank stats giving her an edge over the average human. Her long hair streamed behind her as she pushed herself to run faster, her heart pounding not from exertion, but from fear.
'I'll just grab him and get out,' she told herself. 'In and out. No fighting. No risks.'
But as she neared the hospital, the glowing orange light of the Sudden Gate loomed in the distance, casting eerie shadows across the buildings. The oppressive energy radiating from it made her steps falter.
"This… is worse than I thought," Aya whispered, gripping her hands into fists.
She wasn't sure what she had expected, but the sheer presence of the Gate made her stomach churn. The air was thick with tension, the kind that made even the bravest soul want to turn and run.
But Aya clenched her jaw, steeling herself. "Cassius is in there. I can't back down now."
— Meanwhile, at the Black Sparrow Guild —
The Guild's emergency response teams scrambled to prepare. Rookie Hunters suited up, their nervous energy palpable.
"This is going to be a disaster," the Guild Leader muttered, watching the chaos unfold.
One of his aides approached, his face pale. "Sir, none of the senior members are responding. They're still tied up in Kyoto."
The Guild Leader's knuckles whitened as he gripped the edge of his desk. "Then it's on us to hold the line."
"Sir… with all due respect, these rookies—"
"I know," the Guild Leader interrupted, his voice low. "But we don't have a choice."
—--------------
*Thud.*
Back in the Savage Jungle, Cassius took his first step deeper into the Gate, unaware of the storm brewing outside.
The path ahead was treacherous, but he didn't falter. 'I'm not the same as I was before,' he thought. 'And I'll prove it—to everyone, and to myself.'