Chapter 387: Here Goes Nothing

Elara hadn’t even considered calling out to the Blood Demon.

’I need to figure this out on my own.’

And Instant Displacement was her key to getting out of his place.

She had spent enough time experimenting with her abilities to understand that it wasn’t simply about moving quickly from one location to another. It manipulated space itself and folded the distance between two points.

Every time she used it, the space separating her from her destination was compressed, allowing her to cross a distance that should have taken far longer in an instant.

Almost like Kaela’s final barrage.

Elara’s eyes shifted toward the distant entrance.

’It converges two points so that I’m essentially skipping travelling between them.’

She thought about the distance she had just crossed.

It hadn’t disappeared.

The space itself had been manipulated so that two points that were originally far apart had temporarily been brought closer together. And if that was what her ability could already do, then perhaps she had been looking at it from the wrong angle.

Her gaze moved across the collapsing Gate.

The entrance was still there.

Barely.

The space surrounding it was beginning to distort, flickering and twisting as the Gate continued to destabilise, but Elara could still feel its location. She knew exactly where she needed to go.

Then another thought entered her mind.

’Gates...’

They were tears in space that connected two separate locations.

Elara’s eyes widened slightly.

’What if I don’t fold the space?’

Her mind raced as she considered the possibility.

’What if I tear it?’

The idea was insane.

But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

If Instant Displacement could fold the space between two points, perhaps she could force it to do the opposite. Instead of compressing the distance separating her from the entrance, she could tear that distance open.

Instead of bringing two points together...

She could create a passage between them.

A portal.

Just like a Gate.

Her heartbeat quickened.

The theory made sense, at least in her head, but actually pulling it off was definitely easier said than done.

She had never attempted anything remotely like this before.

Instant Displacement had always been something she used instinctively, something she activated when she needed to move. Trying to manipulate it on this scale and in this completely different manner could easily fail.

But what other choice did she have?

The Gate was collapsing around her, and there was no time to try to think of something safer.

’Here goes nothing.’

All her abilities so far were based on things the demon had used while in control of her abilities or shown her how to use.

This would be the first time she created something new.

Elara closed her eyes.

She focused on her mana and, more importantly, on the point she wanted to reach.

The entrance.

She pictured it in her mind, focusing on where it was.

Its presence was enough to hone in on.

Elara began channelling more and more mana, allowing it to gather around her body as her crimson aura intensified. The energy surrounding her became denser with every passing second, swirling around her like a storm.

She didn’t try to move.

Instead, she focused on the space between herself and the entrance.

That distance became the only thing that mattered.

The Blood Demon’s old words echoed through her mind.

"You aren’t restricted like other Titled with fixed abilities, and can essentially do everything you put your mind to as long as you have energy."

Elara remembered them clearly.

She had always treated her abilities as tools.

Useful tools, certainly, but still tools with specific functions.

Instant Displacement moved her, Mana Constructs created things for her, and Physical Augmentation reinforced her.

That was how she had always understood them.

But perhaps she had been limiting herself by thinking that way.

Perhaps her abilities weren’t truly fixed functions and were simply the ways her mind had learned to manipulate her mana.

If that was true...

Then maybe there was nothing stopping her from using Instant Displacement in a way nobody had ever imagined.

Elara poured even more mana into the ability.

Her crimson aura surged outward, and the air in front of her began to distort.

At first, it was barely noticeable.

The space seemed to ripple like the surface of disturbed water, despite there being nothing physically touching it.

Elara then opened her eyes.

A thin crimson fracture appeared in the air after pouring incredible amounts of mana into it.

Her breath caught.

It was tiny, and barely noticeable.

But it was there.

Elara stared at it for a moment before a small smile appeared on her face.

’So it can work.’

She pushed harder.

The fracture trembled and flickered violently.

Then, slowly, it began to widen.

Elara’s expression hardened as she poured even more mana into it, forcing her abilities beyond their normal application. The crimson crack stretched farther across the air, its edges glowing with concentrated mana.

She wasn’t trying to move herself anymore, but rather making space itself move for her.

And somewhere ahead of her, the Gate waited.

She just had to tear the distance apart.

-

Outside the Gate, the situation looked very different.

Cold Canadian air swept across the surrounding landscape, carrying the sharp chill of the northern country with it. The region surrounding the Gate had been locked down completely, with the Canadian Titled Association keeping ordinary civilians far away from the area.

What had initially been an emergency response had gradually turned into something far more tense.

The Gate had been unstable from the moment it appeared.

Its unusual size and strength had already put the local Association on edge, and the fact that two scouting teams had entered without returning had only made the situation worse.

Then their allied clearing squad had entered.

That had been the turning point.

The squad had been commissioned specifically to deal with the Gate, and they seemed to have done so successfully. Everyone outside had expected them to exit soon after the Gate Core was destroyed.

Instead, there had been nothing.

Minutes passed.

Then even more time passed, and still nobody emerged.

The Canadian Titled Association’s personnel remained gathered around the perimeter, constantly checking their equipment and watching the Gate for any sign of movement.

They were certain that the Boss Monster had been defeated.

The massive fluctuation of mana that had accompanied its death had been impossible to miss. Under normal circumstances, that should have been the beginning of the end. There should have been no possibility of a Gate Break and no reason for everyone outside to remain so tense.

Yet the Gate didn’t feel like it was calming down.

If anything, it seemed to be becoming even more unstable.

The mana fluctuations intensified.

Its surface rippled unnaturally, black energy twisting across its boundary like something was violently disturbing the space on the other side. The Canadian Titled Association could almost feel the insanity taking place inside.

Something was definitely happening in there.

They just didn’t know what.

"Still nothing?"

One of the Canadian officials glanced toward the Gate before looking down at the communicator in his hand.

"Nothing."

His expression tightened.

"How long has it been?"

"Long enough."

Nobody needed to say what they were thinking.

The clearing squad should have returned by now.

More personnel were called in.

The surrounding region remained under lockdown, with the Association refusing to allow anyone near the Gate until they understood what was happening. They watched, waited, and prepared for the possibility that something had somehow gone horribly wrong.

Then the Gate changed.

At first, it was subtle, but then the swirling surface of the Gate began to shrink.

Several nearby Titled immediately noticed it.

"Wait."

The official stepped closer and studied the Gate.

"It’s closing!"

There was no warning, and it was happening much faster than usual. This wasn’t caused by the Gate Core’s destruction, but by the entire gate collapsing on itself. The people surrounding the perimeter exchanged confused looks.

Then concern spread through the group.

A Gate closing was normally a good thing, but this didn’t look normal.

The Gate’s surface began contracting faster, its unstable energy folding inward as the boundary itself started to disappear.

One of the officials raised his communicator.

"Everyone, stay alert."

His voice was tense.

"Something is happening."

The Gate continued to close.

But what would come of it, and whether the allied clearing squad would come out of it alive, only time would tell...