Chapter 435: The Gate Hidden In The Forest

The light over the Verdant Verge dimmed as evening crept in, the once-burned forest whispering faintly in the wind.

The golden gleam of Aquila’s feathers shimmered weakly through the drifting ash, while Arielle, Lyone, and Captain Veyne stood around the glowing runes carved into the earth.

“Mark this location,” Veyne muttered, kneeling to inscribe coordinates on a stone plate from his field kit. “We’ll report it to General Ivaan once we’re sure it’s stable.”

Lyone crouched beside the markings, brushing his hand over the faintly pulsing light beneath the soil. “Stable doesn’t feel right,” he said quietly. “It’s like the ground’s… breathing.”

Arielle turned toward him, lips pressed in a thin line. She could feel it too—the subtle rhythm beneath their boots. A pulse of power rising and fading, as if something vast and unseen slumbered deep below.

Before she could reply, Aquila’s head snapped upward, feathers bristling. The griffin’s golden eyes flared with warning, its talons scraping the dirt as a low growl rolled from its throat.

Veyne straightened immediately. “What is it?”

Arielle didn’t answer. Her gaze was already fixed on the horizon. There, across the dying treeline, a storm of black wisps had begun to form—rolling and swirling like smoke against the dim sky. The wind shifted abruptly, cold and sharp.

She didn’t need to guess whose essence it was. Her heartbeat quickened.

“Damien,” she whispered.

The captain tensed beside her, uneasy. “That’s not just a man flying in—whatever’s coming, it’s not subtle.”

Lyone gripped his blade tighter, his shoulders stiff. “He said he’d meet us later. Maybe he didn’t mean this dramatically.”

Arielle’s lips curved slightly, despite the tension. “It’s Damien. I don’t think he does ’quiet.’”

Aquila spread its massive wings, the motion kicking up a burst of wind that scattered ash and leaves across the ravine.

The griffin’s instincts screamed of something immense approaching—not a threat, but a force of nature.

Swooooosh~

The air tore open above them with a violent rush.

From the ruptured clouds, Skylar, Damien’s Shadowfang Wyvern, burst forth in a surge of black flame and violet lightning.

Its wings split the air, scattering sunlight in jagged streaks. The shockwave from its descent tore through the forest, bending trees and throwing dust into the air.

Kreeeeei!!

The wyvern’s screech was deafening—raw power made sound.

Kreeeeei!!

Aquila roared back, wings arching wide, as if to meet its kin in the sky. Even though they were both two different beasts, one could classify them as kin as they both shared the same master and summoner.

Damien dismounted mid-air, falling through the smoke like a descending star. He landed in a controlled crouch beside Arielle and Lyone, black essence swirling around his boots before fading into mist.

Skylar banked upward, circling once before settling atop a cluster of tree tops not far from where they were gathered, tail flicking irritably as it kept watch. They could see its movement but none of them paid heed to the Wyvern except Veyne of course.

This was his first time seeing such a creature after all.

The silence that followed Damien’s arrival was almost reverent.

Damien’s cloak settled. His first words cut through the air like a blade.

“You drew their attention. Every beast within five leagues turned toward this place.”

Arielle’s brow furrowed. “Then we found the source of these demonic creatures and their makers faster than expected if mana beasts are swarming toward this area.”

Damien’s gaze slid toward the glowing sigils beneath their feet. His expression hardened. “No,” he said softly. “You didn’t find their source. You found their gate.”

Veyne knelt beside the markings again, glancing up warily. “A gate? As in… a breach point?”

Damien nodded once, eyes distant. “A fixed one. Not natural, not random. They built this—long before Delwig even existed. The beasts you fought were just habitants, not predators. They were meant to keep people out as this place had become their territory. No one wouldn’t suspected this area was holding their gate because of the natural existence of mana beasts around it.”

Arielle exchanged a glance with Lyone. “But a gate to where?”

Damien didn’t answer immediately. He crouched, pressing his palm to the ground. Black essence rippled outward in a slow, measured pulse, tracing the circular runes in faint violet light. The moment his energy touched the formation, the symbols flared violently—then slammed shut.

A backlash of mana knocked dust into the air, forcing Lyone a step back. Aquila growled and reared, feathers sparking faintly with wind energy.

“Back off!” Damien barked, rising quickly. “It reacts to direct contact.”

Arielle steadied her griffin with a calming touch. “So it’s still active.”

Damien nodded grimly. “Active, but sealed. I can feel the existence of a barrier. Sorry, barriers.”

” They’re complex, layered with at least seven essence locks. It’s… heavy.”

He closed his eyes briefly, focusing on the energy radiating from the circle. The air grew colder, heavier. He could feel it—a vast weight pressing outward, a presence older than the land itself.

Even for him, the pressure was suffocating.

“Can you break it?” Lyone asked quietly. Hearing how Damien had described it, the only person he could think of that was capable of destroying it was Damien. However…

Damien exhaled slowly. “No. Not without destroying everything for a mile around—and even then, I’m not sure it’d open.”

Arielle crouched beside him, examining the runes. “Then someone wanted this gate sealed permanently.”

“Or,” Damien murmured, his gaze darkening, “someone sealed it until the right moment to open it again. Because it really looks like they’ll be using it again. However, we have no idea who exactly will be using it and for what purpose.”

Veyne stiffened. “You think this ties back to the infiltrators?”

“I honestly have no idea but I know it’s part of everything,” Damien replied. “The tunnels, the beasts, the false guards… they’re all part of the same web. Whoever’s controlling this isn’t just experimenting as we’ve seen—they’re preparing something.”

The captain looked uneasy. “And this ’gate’—what happens if they find a way to open it before we do?”

Damien’s jaw clenched. “Then Delwig won’t be the first city to fall. It’ll just be the loudest. Their way of announcing their arrival.”

They stood there in the dying light, the faint glow of the gate pulsing like a heartbeat beneath the earth. Aquila shifted uneasily, its feathers rustling in the silence. Even Skylar, usually restless, remained still—head tilted toward the horizon, listening.

Arielle rose, brushing dirt from her knees. “We should report this to Ivaan.”

Damien didn’t move. His eyes lingered on the runes. “Not yet.”

Lyone blinked. “Why not?”

“Because the moment we report it,” Damien said, “someone inside the city will hear—and they’ll move faster. There’s still a traitor feeding information through hidden channels. Apnoch’s the last man I trust, but even he can’t stop a leak he can’t see.”

Arielle frowned. “So what do you suggest?”

He finally turned toward her, the faintest smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. “We give them what they want.”

Lyone tilted his head. “Which is…?”

Damien’s grin widened. “A sense of victory. We’ll make them think the gate’s gone dormant.”

Veyne straightened. “And if they come to check it?”

“They won’t find us here,” Damien said simply, calling back Skylar with a flick of his hand. The wyvern descended with a gust of dark wind, landing just close enough for them to feel the power rolling off its wings.

He looked at Arielle. “Get Lyone back to Delwig. Stay with Aquila and report only what you saw—nothing more. I’ll deal with the rest.”

She wanted to argue—he could see it in her eyes—but she didn’t. Instead, she nodded, one hand resting on Aquila’s neck. “Don’t do anything reckless.”

He chuckled faintly. “You say that like it’s I always tend to do something reckless every time. I’m just a boy, remember?”

She sighed, but her lips twitched despite herself.

As she and the others mounted Aquila, the griffin spread its wings wide, taking off into the crimson twilight.

Damien stood alone beside the glowing gate, the shadows of his wyvern wrapping around him like smoke.

The runes pulsed once, softly—like something deep beneath the soil was listening.

He looked down at them, his voice a low murmur.

“If you’re what I think you are,” he said, “then whoever’s trying to open you… doesn’t know what they’re waking up.”

The glow flickered faintly in answer.

Damien smirked once again. He had a feeling this gate was both good and bad. He had two theories in mind just from seeing the gate. One was quiet simple. It was probably a sealed gate for mass teleportation.

The other theory however was more sinister. It was probably something only the most daring individuals might theorize and Damien had a feeling this gate was more inclined towards this second theory of his. ” I hope it’s not the case.”

Skylar growled low, wings spreading.

“Let those bastards come,” Damien said. “We’ll be ready.”

And with that, the wyvern’s shadow rose around him, and both vanished into the deepening dusk.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep