Chapter 113 The Last Stand

"You ready?"

Satoshi felt a lump on his throat as nervousness almost overcame him. Right now, he didn't know what to expect from Emma, heck, he doesn't even know whether she was trustworthy or not. But nevertheless, he was told that they needed all the help they could get and it was not like Emma had already done something to him. Besides, he knew perfectly well that he'd regret it if something were to happen to his parents. Being aware that he could've done something would've eaten away at his guilt.

"I said, are you ready?"

"I, uh, yeah sure," Satoshi said, clutching at his trusty familiar Orb Oboros because he's the only one carrying all the familiars, well, except for Dex of course since Satoshi knows that Dex follows him around wherever he goes.

With a nod, Emma got out of the blanket and opened the window. She then waved her hands around. For a moment, she could've sworn that she heard some noise behind her but thinking that it may have just been Satoshi, she ignored it.

Slowly, a purple haze formed right in front of the window, growing bigger and bigger and rotating as if it were a horizontal tornado. The haze started rotating even more unsteadily, growing even bigger until the entire window was covered by it. With a satisfied smile, Emma glanced sideways towards Satoshi and gestured at him. "Let's go," She said so casually even though the portal looked so unsteady and fragile.

"No way I'll go through that," Satoshi said, shaking his head.

"Then, what are you going to do?"

Emma could tell that Satoshi didn't want to go in because he hasn't fully trusted her yet. Because of that, she decided to hop in and out of the portal, putting her hand back and forth and traveling through and going back. "See? Perfectly harmless," She continued.

Sighing, Satoshi approached the portal. Well, it's not like he had any choice. He already committed to it and Emma already opened the portal. The only thing left to do is to jump in.

"Come on!"

Sigh~

.....

"Die!"

Clerica, exhausted, collapsed on the desert sands. She had already completely run out of energy potions and healing Resonance back depleted all her energy. Crank Tank and the others heaved a sigh of relief as they heard a dying moan, and then another desert worm exploded from afar. Bits of blood and gore rained down once again. This time, they felt a bit relieved instead of grossed out due to the bloodiness of the situation. Then again, that was the only desert worm so there was no need for them to panic. More so, it's the largest desert worm so it might've been the boss.

Having defeated the boss, the group was assured that they'd be able to go home soon. "That was the last of them." Crank Tank said in a celebratory manner.

"YES!" Black Bullet and Knifetongue raised their hands together while shouting. It had been a hard-fought battle but they survived. The Gate would now open and then they could go out, having cleared the Gate. Of course, if there's nothing inside the Gate anymore, then it's only obvious that it would close on its own.

Rumble.

Rumble.

Rumble.

A smile could be seen on Crank Tank's face as he forced himself to move forward. He'd start making his way to the Gate so they could go out the moment it opens. The others followed suit. Somehow, all of them still had the energy to stand up and walk. They couldn't believe it either since they'd already hit their limit a while ago.

"Resonance, your throat all right?" Crank Tank asked. "You really got us out of the bind there. Also thanks for Clerica's buffs, you were able to hold on until the end."

"We all did a very good job. After this, we should go grab some meat or something, my treat," Crank Tank continued.

"Whoa, that's rare— boss treating us for a meal, I mean." Black Bullet pointed out. "We should go to the most expensive restaurant then if that's the case."

"Yeah," Knifetongue agreed.

? As the group walked, their feet digging into the sand and leaving behind a trail of footprints that were then erased by the warm desert winds, they finally reached the location of the Gate. It looked monstrous as ever, terrifying even. To think that they were able to enter in without thinking twice about it was nothing short of a miracle. Looking at it up close after everything had happened made them rethink their decisions.

"Let's go," Crank Tank beckoned, leading the charge. Without a second thought, he extended his hands and proceeded to get out of the portal.

Fwoooooom!

Crank Tank couldn't react on time. As soon as he touched the Gate, he was thrown into the air as if some huge force repelled him from where he was standing. Dazed, he stood up and dusted himself, wondering if there was a malfunction in the Gate.

"Knifetongue, can you try it for me? I think there's something wrong with th— "

Fwoooooom!

Just like what Crank Tank experienced, Knifetongue was also repelled by the Gate.

Before Crank Tank could order another party member to try it out, Black Bullet raised his hands and told everyone to be quiet. He then cautiously approached the Gate.

"The Gate— The Gate is not yet open." Black Bullet said. "I mean, it would've already opened if the objective was to kill the boss. But we already did that. Why are we still trapped in here?"

Black Bullet tried to internalize what just happened. They were able to defeat all the desert worms and even their leader. But if that were really the case, then their job should've been done by now.

No, wait—

"What if... what if that Giant Desertworm wasn't the leader? What if there's another Gate Boss?" Black Bullet supposed.

"Come on, don't joke like that, Black Bullet. If that's the case then we won't be able to do anything. Our one and only support are already out of commission. I'm out of commission, and it won't be long before we become toast." Crank Tank said.

Even after saying that though, Crank Tank could tell that something was amiss inside the Gate. If what Black Bullet said was true, then they're already doomed.

Swish.

Swish.

Swiiiiiiiish!

Just like the sand in an hourglass, the sand seemed to be sucked right in the middle, causing everyone to lose their footing. Before they knew it, a huge whirlpool of sand appeared in the middle of them. Without thinking twice, Knifetongue extended his tongue without shifting it into a knife and then he grabbed everyone with it, carrying them over to a safe spot, straining his tongue until it almost ripped.

Fortunately, Clerica saw what was about to transpire and she forced herself to heal Knifetongue's tongue before it got ripped due to all their weight.

"What was that?!" Crank Tank exclaimed while they all watched the whirlpool of sand become more violent.

Only Black Bullet had a different thought as he watched the strange phenomenon. While everyone was thinking that it was probably just a normal reaction to the environment inside the Gate, Black Bullet thought otherwise. He knew that assuming a monster was behind everything is the safest approach when it comes to the unpredictability of the Gate.

"Crank Tank! Try taunting it right now!" Black Bullet suddenly shouted.

"What do you mean?"

"Taunt it!"

As mentioned before, Crank Tank was already tired, he was even more exhausted than Clerica. That's why he didn't want to use his skill anymore. Any more than this and he knew he'd lose consciousness.

"Why do I— " Crank Tank was about to complain when Black Bullet interrupted him.

"Just do it!"

"Sigh~ all right." Crank Tank said. "TAUUUUNNNT!"

Kiyaaaaaaahkk~~~

"Oh no," Clerica said as colors drained from her face.

"I knew it." Black Bullet said, biting his lips.

Everyone watched in horror as Crank Tank leaned over while his eyes rolled over until only the back white part was visible. He had lost consciousness after completely depleting his energy, leaving him defenseless. Clerica who was out of commission as well knew that they just arrived at the point of no return.

Whatever it is that's down there, it might be ten times bigger compared to the gargantuan desert worm that they assumed as the boss.

"We're going to die," Knifetongue said the inevitable, almost biting his tongue in the process.

"No, not yet! We have to fight! If this monstrous thing got out of the Gate, then we're not the only ones who'll be in danger! Right now, we have to take our last stand!" Black Bullet said, transforming his hands into cannons once again as he aimed at the ever sinking whirlpool of sand.

But before the beast emerged out of the sand, another portal appeared in front of them. It had a lighter shade of purple compared to the Gate but it scared the living daylights out of them nonetheless.

"WHAT IS IT THIS TIME?!" Black Bullet exclaimed in despair.