Chapter 4 - Stairway to....Earth?

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~Year 3001 of Gier's Death~

System Message

Good News! I finally found a way for you to get home! And yes, you're not going to heaven, but instead get to go back to Earth!

Just think of it as my final gift and apology for you suffering all these years in he-

.....

Wait! Where the hell are you right now?!

System Message

Gier let out a small nervous chuckle as he scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah.... This is a bit awkward...." He gave the system message a sheepish grin as he looked at it from the top of the Demon King's throne.

It was a long story....

But all you need to know is that, after Gier captured the Demon King's 7th princess and "tortured" some information out of her, the rest of the Demon Kingdom fell pretty easily.

Though his fight with the Demon King would be something he'd never forget, no matter how much time passes.

If there was one being he felt respect towards during a battle, it would definitely be the Demon King.

Now that guy didn't know the meaning of surrender! He didn't feel fear, even as Gier drove his blade through his neck!

And in his final moments....

He crowned Gier the one true ruler of all 9 Circles of Hell.

Though some of the Demon King's generals and daughters had something to say about this, Gier easily ascended the throne.

Silencing all those that disagreed and spending his final days in Hell, relaxing as he ruled over the 9tg Circle with an iron fist.

"....Yeah, let's not worry about any of that! You said I could go home?! Great! How do I do it?!" Gier exclaimed in excitement, hoping that he successfully managed to change the subject.

System Message

.....

You know what? I should've known...

Nevermind, now! What you have to do, is get the Demon King's crown!

The crystals embedded inside contain more than half of Hell's demonic energy!

Once destroyed, it'll cause an explosion strong enough to tear a hole straight from hell to earth!

It's that easy!

Now, I was going to advise you to ask him for it by using my name as leverage....

But it seems like that's no longer necessary....

System Message

Gier could practically feel the Glare from God through the system message, and it caused him to begin sweating immensely.

Though several concerns came to mind as he began to think about what God said.

"Wait a second.... Not that I mind giving up the throne or anything, but would I turn to dust as soon as I left hell? I mean.... I am over 3000 years old now.... Plus, wouldn't me blowing a hole from hell to Earth be like.... You know.... An unbelievably bad idea?!" He'd exclaim in panic. "Oh! And another thing! What about my powers?! I've kinda grown attached to them!"

Of course he would! He's been struggling to survive in hell all this time!

Quite literally crawling his way up from the bottom of the food chain to where he was now!

Sure the system helped a lot, but all that blood, sweat, and tears had meant something!

He wasn't just going to give it all up like that!

System Message

Easy there, kiddo!

Don't worry! If there's one thing I can respect, it's hard work!

Plus I rather enjoyed watching you fight your way to the top!

So I see no reason to strip something from you after you worked so hard for it!

Also....

Remember when I said I messed up....?

Well.... Yeah....

It's a bit worse than you think....

But don't worry! Your father and sister are perfectly fine!

Just as promised!

Oh, and fyi, only 30 years passed on earth....

You'll be fine!

Besides! Those martial arts you learned, plus with my old friend's bloodline, you don't have to worry about dying of old age anytime soon!

System Message

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~Earth, Year 2051, Date: November 18th~

Earth has gone over a massive change during the last 30 years.

In the year 2021, portals began to appear all over the globe.

These portals ranged in colors, which determined their difficulty and at what level a team had to be to even attempt to enter.

Now in the beginning, people tried to avoid the portals as much as possible since they were deemed completely harmless.

Some even became tourist attractions, something like a monument that people would go to take photos with.

But as weeks turned into months and these portals were left uncleared....

The first dungeon break occurred....

As goblins and orcs spewed forth from a distorted and sparking Green D Ranked portal....

Hundreds, if not thousands perished.

Modern weapons didn't seem to affect these monsters, and the portals themselves wouldn't allow anyone or anything to enter for some unexplainable reason....

And humanity quickly realized just how dangerous these portals were.

And just like that....the first city fell.

It was a downwards spiral after that, as humanity's nations gathered to discuss defensive and counter measures.

It was only after the country of North Korea fell did people truly begin to lose hope....

But, just like with all things, a slimmer of hope will always shine through, even at the darkest of times.

As humanity's first awakened began to appear.

People who were given extraordinary abilities thanks to an unknown system that began to appear to those whom were chosen were able to enter and destroy the portal's core by defeating the dungeon boss before they had the chance to break.

Humanity was finally able to fight back.

Though an obvious hierarchy was formed as the awakeners quickly expanded in both number and power.

Some even suggesting that awakeners were above the law.

And that's where the creation of the Awakener's Association and Guilds came into play.

The Awakener's Association was created in order to keep those awakeners from overthrowing the government and to make sure that basic human rights were still available to those who weren't able to awaken.

While Guilds were created in response in order to gather awakeners and keep the Awakener's Association from controlling all the awakeners one-sidedly or unfairly.

This seemed to work for the most part.

Though the arrogance of man knew no bounds, and normal humans were treated as a lower species and degraded by those awakeners.

Especially since becoming an awakener meant that you'd immediately gain an unbelievably profitable profession, regardless of the rank of your class or bloodline.

Speaking of bloodlines....

Bloodlines.

They first appeared after a normal person somehow became trapped inside a portal/gate as it was being formed, trapping them inside a dungeon.

Now most would seemingly die in these situations....

But those who were lucky enough to actually survive, awakened with not only an unfathomably power class, but also a bloodline that boosts their abilities even further.

These people were treated as national treasures regardless of rank, for even a D Ranked bloodline gave a big enough boost to make up for several class ranks.

Though that doesn't mean all bloodlines and classes were combat oriented, for some may be awakened with a bloodline fit for healing, support, or even culinary arts.

The highest ranked bloodline that was recorded has been merely B Rank, though the highest class has been an S Rank.

Which do you think was seen as more valuable?

That's right, the bloodline.

Especially since bloodlines can be shared, though the rank drops considerably depending on the rank of the bloodline.

It didn't matter since, like what was said before, bloodlines can make up the difference between class ranks.

Meaning a D Ranked class could potentially beat even an A Rank depending on the bloodline.

That's how valuable bloodlines are.

All high ranking awakeners strive to get even a C Rank Bloodline.

But that's enough of that, let's get back to the main topic.

Portals.

Portals were seen as, not only a danger to public safety, but also a treasure trove for awakeners.

One could get untold riches, level up, or even get entire pieces of equipment depending on the portal color and dungeon contents.

Dungeons are what areas inside of portals are called and vary from one to the other.

Some may contain vast and beautiful plains that could only be seen in one's fantasy.

While others contain vast alien worlds that would take one's breath away.... literally and figuratively.

But there were also those that resembled caves, the interior of castles, etc!

And most, not all, but most contained monsters that varied in size, level, and appearance.

Most portals are destroyed as soon they're cleared.

Some have an entry limit, determining how many times they can be entered until they're finally destroyed.

In rare cases, some have an unlimited entry limit.

In these cases, the dungeon is considered a true treasure trove for materials and for guilds to cultivate potential rankers.

But this one thing remained a constant throughout all 30 years of the portal's existence on earth....

The highest rank, and most dangerous portal ever reported was a Yellow, S Ranked dungeon that took over 100 attempts to clear.

Thousands of awakened were sacrificed in order to try and clear this portal....

And in 10 years, only one guild had managed to do it.

(Side Note: Portals have a set time limit depending on the contents, Rank, and the amount of awakeners that are actually allowed to enter! So in other words, it's almost completely random! Though humanity has invented several different devices to help determine how much time is left in a portal's life before it breaks!)

The Blue Cross Guild.

The #1 Guild in the world, led by a S Rank Awakener with a B Rank Bloodline, who was also considered the world's strongest awakener at level 75, Alexander Winterbell.

40 of their guild's highest leveled awakeners went in....

Only 5 came out.

And the guild leader wasn't one of them.

This was seen as a world wide tragedy and a memorial was erected in his honor.

He was seen as a hero for the next few generations to come.

An example of a true hero who risked his life for humanity.

But none of humanity seemed to be asking the important questions....

Just where did these portals come from?

What was the system and who created it?

And most importantly....

Can they trust it?

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~America: Holy Grail Guild's Head Office~

A young woman sat in a rather luxurious chair around a small woman coffee table.

She calmly sat sipping some tea as an older man behind a desk read through a few documents with a contemplative look.

The woman seemed to be in her early to mid twenties and was absolutely gorgeous with long, waist length, black air and mesmerizing amber gold eyes that were characteristic of her family.

She wore a simple, yet light weight, black plated jacket and form fitting black plated leggings. On her feet were a simple pair of black and white sneakers and she was also wearing fingerless gloves on both her lands. A pair of thin sunglasses, that hung low on the bridge of her nose so you could see her piercing yellow eyes, completed her look.

The older man seemed to be in his mid to late forties and was related to the woman by blood if his appearance was anything to go off of.

He had short black hair that was combed backwards, sharp yellow eyes, and a small, well maintained, black beard that didn't seem to have any signs of age at all. He also had a scare cutting through his left eyebrow and down his left eye, though it still seemed perfectly functional.

The man also wore a black suit that fit his form perfectly.

But what seemed odd was the rather serious look that was permanently affixed to his face.

It just didn't seem natural.

He slowly sat the papers he was looking through down onto the desk with a soft sigh, closing his eyes in thought.

"....Is this all you have to report, April?" He spoke in a soft and even tone, but it still held an authority that came with his position.

The woman looked up from her cup of tea before nodding.

"Yeup! That's it, pops! Whatcha think? Find anything weird?" She replied in a rather disrespectful manner, causing the man's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance.

The man let out a small sigh of annoyance, rubbing the bridge of his nose to calm down the slowly growing migraine.

"April.... please.... I don't mind you calling me dad whenever we're home.... But please, we're working.... At least call me Guild Master!" He exclaimed, much to the woman's amusement.

April giggled before hopping to her feet with a fake salute.

"Yes sir, Guild Master William, sir!" She exclaimed, much to the man's growing annoyance.

William sunk down into his seat with a small groan, "You know.... Sometimes I wish you were more like your brother...." He mumbled this part instinctively, and immediately caught himself as the air in the office suddenly became cold and sullen.

He quickly sat up and gave April an apologetic look.

"H-Hey.... Look, I'm sorry, April.... It just slipped ou-"

April raised a hand to stop him mid sentence.

She gave him a small sad smile as she shook her head, "I-It's fine, dad.... R-Really! It's been over thirty years.... I'm not a young girl anymore.... I'm used to it...." She replied solemnly before seeming to perk up as she gave her father a fake smile, "Besides! I think he'd be proud knowing that his father and sister are two of the strongest A Rank Awakeners in the whole country! I'm sur-....?!"

The conversation was soon interrupted as the ground began to shake violently.

Their eyes widened as they regained their footing, they looked at each other for a moment before giving each other an understanding nod and rushed to the humongous wall sized window that was at the back of the office.

And what they saw made their eyes widen in both shock and horror.

They watched as the sky turned an ominous black. Thunderous bolts of red lightning lit up the sky as a humongous, city wide, black portal opened up in the sky.

"....A black portal....?" William asked in shock.

April simply narrowed her eyes determinedly before rushing to the door of the office, grabbing her sword on the way out the door.

All the while, William's eyes never left the ominously swirling portal as it began to spark violently.

An obvious sign of an approaching portal break....

"....God help us all...." He mumbled, flopping back down in his chair.

A black portal had never been recorded, EVER, in all the years of the portal's existence.

This could only mean one thing....

They had run out of time.

And the end of humanity was approaching much more quickly than they had previously thought.

William's eyes hardened as he turned back towards his deck and grabbed his phone.

This was serious, and as the Guild Master of America's largest guild, he had a duty he had to do.

"Rico? Yeah, I see it.... Call everyone back. It's time to move!" He ordered sternly, getting a quick "Yes sir!" In reply as he hung up and turned back to the window with a small sigh, "C'mon, April.... Please be careful....I can't lose you too...."

To be continued~

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~End Chapter 4~