The Strongest S-Ranker

Unique Gate [16]

[ Outside the Gate ]

The moon bathed the city in silver light, casting long shadows over the bustling streets. Car horns blared through the air, blending with the distant hum of conversation from late-night diners. For most, this was just another ordinary evening.

But for some, every passing hour carried weight. A student studying for an exam. An athlete pushing themselves beyond their limits in training. An employee preparing for a crucial presentation that could change the course of their career.

Life moved differently for everyone. Some took things slowly, hesitant to step beyond their comfort zones. Others, however, saw the bigger picture—fully aware of the world’s problems and determined to uncover its hidden truths.

Like Dr. Elias Navarro, a senior researcher at the Mana Flux Institute.

After taking a short break from his relentless work, he returned to the observation room. Screens flickered with streams of data, mapping the intricate flow of magic across the country.

With a deep breath, he adjusted his glasses and focused. Tonight was just another night for most—but for him, it could be the night that changed everything.

Dr. Navarro’s fingers hovered over the holographic interface as streams of mana fluctuations pulsed across the digital map before him. Colored lines shifted in real time, tracking the natural ebb and flow of magic.

At first glance, everything appeared stable—minor distortions here and there, nothing out of the ordinary. But as he zoomed in on a specific region, his brow furrowed.

"Strange…" he muttered under his breath.

A sharp spike in mana concentration. Sudden, erratic, and unlike anything recorded before.

He quickly typed in a command, isolating the anomaly. The data refreshed, and his pulse quickened as he recognized the pattern. This wasn’t just a fluctuation—it was a rupture.

Something had disrupted the natural balance of mana. And it was happening right where the latest Gate had appeared.

Dr. Navarro straightened, his mind racing. If the readings were correct, this wasn’t just an aftermath of a Gate raid. It was something much more… unnatural.

His hand trembled slightly as he reached for his comms device.

"Dr. Navarro to Central HQ," he said, keeping his voice steady. "I need immediate verification on the mana surge at Grid C-17. This isn't normal."

Grid C-17 is the location where Zenon was last seen.

A brief silence followed, then a crackle of static before a voice responded.

"Dr. Navarro, we've received similar reports. We've sent a team to investigate the area, and…"

The voice hesitated.

Navarro’s gut tightened. "And? And what?" he demanded, voice rising.

A pause. Then—

"Nothing. There’s… nothing at that location."

He froze. "Nothing? What do you mean nothing? We have the data right here!"

"We're not sure, Dr. Navarro. We think there might be an issue with the satellite."

Dr. Navarro’s grip tightened around the console. He stared at the erratic mana readings on his screen—proof that something had happened.

And yet, according to the field team, there was nothing.

Like any overworked researcher dealing with stress, he chose the simplest solution—he brushed it off.

"Sheesh… why do I even care? If they say it’s nothing, then it’s nothing," he muttered, chuckling to himself. "No point stressing over it."

With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. His exhaustion was catching up to him.

"I'll just rest for fifteen minutes."

Locking the door, he settled into his seat, closed his eyes, and let sleep take over.

[ Inside the Gate ]

The battle raged on, each clash shaking the ruins around them. Both fighters fought with relentless precision, neither willing to give an inch. Their movements were sharp, their skills executed with mastery—this was a battle between two equally formidable opponents.

From the way the fight had unfolded, the Gate Boss had a clear strategy: a war of attrition. As a vampire, its stamina and mana reserves were vast, allowing it to drag out the fight, slowly wearing Zenon down.

Zenon, on the other hand, had started by facing the Gate Boss head-on, attempting to overpower it with brute force. But he quickly realized that a direct confrontation would only lead to exhaustion.

Now, he was shifting tactics—adapting. Instead of trading blows recklessly, he was employing guerrilla warfare, striking with precision before vanishing into the shadows, forcing the Gate Boss to chase him on his terms.

Zenon exhaled sharply, steadying his breath as he crouched behind a crumbling pillar. His heart pounded, but his mind was clear. Direct confrontation was pointless—the vampire had endurance on its side. If he kept fighting head-on, he would tire long before his opponent.

Instead, he would fight like a predator in the shadows.

With a flick of his wrist, he conjured a blade of compressed mana and dashed from his cover, moving with speed and precision. He struck fast—his sword slicing through the vampire’s flank before vanishing into the ruins once more.

The Gate Boss growled, its crimson eyes scanning the battlefield. The wound on its side was deep, but not lethal. Slowly, the torn flesh began to mend itself. The vampire's regenerative abilities were potent, but not instantaneous. If Zenon kept up this pace, he could outmaneuver its healing.

"You can run, but you can't hide forever," the Gate Boss sneered, its voice dripping with amusement.

Zenon remained silent, perched atop a broken archway. His breath was steady as he watched the vampire move.

He knew the Gate Boss was playing the long game. Its strategy was clear—force him into a prolonged fight, make him burn through his stamina and mana reserves, and finish him off once he was too exhausted to resist.

But Zenon wasn’t about to play by its rules.

From above, Zenon launched a burst of arc-shaped mana blades. The vampire reacted instantly, raising both arms and tearing the attack into nothing with sheer brute force.

“I must say, unlike most humans, you’re actually using your brain,” the Gate Boss mused, amusement laced in its tone. “You figured out my strategy and changed your tactics. That’s… somewhat impressive.”

Zenon remained silent, blending into the ruins once more. He had suppressed his mana to avoid detection, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough. The Gate Boss possessed heightened senses—any fluctuation in mana, no matter how faint, could give away his position.

But Zenon had accounted for that.

He wasn’t just masking his presence. He was manipulating the very air around him, subtly altering its flow with each movement. Every time he shifted positions, he used the force of his own swings to create controlled gusts—distorting his scent and making it harder for the vampire to track him.

Milliseconds. That was all he needed.

For ordinary beings, a fraction of a second meant nothing. But for those who could move at blinding speeds, that tiny window of opportunity was the difference between life and death.

Zenon tightened his grip on his sword. He couldn’t afford a drawn-out battle. The vampire was waiting for him to slip, to slow down just enough for it to strike.

But he wasn’t going to let that happen.

Impressed by Zenon’s way of fighting, the Gate Boss smiled, finally locking onto his presence.

“But it seems like you’re forgetting something…” the vampire announced.

Zenon’s eyes narrowed. What did he mean?

In an instant, multiple vampires materialized around him, their sharp claws gleaming under the eerie glow of the Gate’s crimson sky.

He reacted immediately, dodging the first wave of attacks. But the vampires were relentless, their sinister grins never fading as they pursued him with inhuman speed.

Zenon weaved through them effortlessly, slipping through the gaps in their formation like a serpent. His footwork was precise, his movements calculated. Every step he took was meant to create distance while preserving his stamina.

“You should know,” the Gate Boss continued, watching Zenon evade the onslaught, “I’m not the only one here.”

Zenon’s gaze flicked toward him—and beyond.

A few vampires stood near the Gate Boss, unmoving. Unlike the ones chasing him, these figures carried an air of superiority. Their presence alone was enough to set them apart.

His instincts flared.

These weren’t just ordinary vampires.

With some of his real power now unlocked, Zenon could sense it clearly—each of these creatures was stronger than the Gate Bosses from his previous raids with Darius and the others.

A realization settled in.

This Gate… It’s different.

It was far beyond what he had faced before. He lacked a direct reference, but if he had to estimate—this was at least A-Rank. Possibly higher.

His pursuers lunged again.

Zenon clenched his jaw and increased his speed, vanishing from sight for a brief moment before reappearing several meters away. The vampires faltered, momentarily thrown off by his sudden burst of acceleration.

Now.

With the gap widened, he shifted his stance. This time, he wasn’t reaching for his sword.

This time, he was using magic.

“Spatial Distortion.”

He leaped high into the air, soaring above the battlefield. From this vantage point, everything was within his sight—the horde of vampires below, the ruined structures, and the Gate Boss standing at a distance, observing.

Even at this altitude, his enemies did not hesitate.

The vampires tensed, bending their knees before launching themselves upward in pursuit. Their monstrous strength propelled them toward him, closing the gap in seconds.

Exactly as he had planned.

Zenon extended his arm.

“Void Annihilation.”

A dense sphere of distorted spatial energy formed in his palm before he hurled it toward the approaching enemies.

The moment it reached its designated point, the sphere collapsed inward.

Then—

Boom.

A violent explosion erupted, expanding outward in a perfect sphere. The sheer force disintegrated everything caught within, bypassing conventional defenses and tearing the fabric of space itself.

A fraction of a second later, the lingering distortions twisted the air, disrupting the movements and spellcasting of the surviving vampires.

The Gate Boss’s expression shifted, eyes widening in genuine astonishment.

The System held no records of this kind of spell. Only Zenon knew its restrictions—its capabilities.

One of them being that he had to call out the spell’s name for it to activate.

The aftermath was devastating.

Nearly seventy percent of the vampires that had pursued him were obliterated, their bodies reduced to nothing. The remaining ones—injured beyond recognition—plummeted back to the ground, lifeless.

Blood rained from the sky, the torn remnants of his enemies falling like grotesque petals onto the battlefield below.

The Gate Boss’s smirk widened.

“He has spatial magic?”

For the first time in ages, he felt something stir within him.

Excitement.

“Dangerous… yet thrilling.”

A low chuckle escaped his lips.