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My name is Samuel. I'm just another office worker trying to get by.
Today was supposed to be my day off - you know, the kind where you stay in bed until noon, eat cereal for lunch, and binge-watch shows until your eyes hurt. But then those damn emergency alerts started blowing up everyone's phones. Pocket dimension breach. Demons loose in the city. All citizens to nearest shelters immediately.
I hauled my ass downstairs as fast as I could. Thank god for all those mandatory drills the government makes us do - at least we knew the procedure. The few of us still hanging around Huadu Gardens on a Monday morning got organized pretty quick.
That's when this woman approached me. Middle-aged, exhausted-looking, carrying her sick kid on her back. She actually wanted me to take responsibility for her daughter. Can you believe that?
My first thought was: lady, are you insane? I can barely keep myself alive on a good day, and you want me to babysit during a demon attack?
But then I saw the little girl. Maybe ten years old, burning with fever, barely conscious. Something about her reminded me of my little sister back home. Before I knew what I was doing, I heard myself saying yes.
Luckily, I've got just enough cardmaker talent to have made a "Paw Patrol" card - nothing fancy, just an oversized dog that can carry things. With his help, taking the kid wouldn't be impossible. But the mom? No way I could help her too.
Damn it all. If only I had real cardmaker talent instead of this pathetic excuse for magic.
As our group started moving toward the shelter, I kept looking back at that woman - Wendy, I think her name was. She fell behind pretty quick, exhaustion catching up with her. The kid, Lana, must have figured out what was happening because she started crying for her mom.
What could I do? If I stopped to help the mother, we'd all end up dead. Sometimes there are no good choices.
That's when I heard the footsteps behind us. Heavy ones. The kind that make your bones vibrate.
I turned around and saw this massive antelope thing with glowing red eyes charging straight at Wendy. She just stood there, like she'd given up. Maybe she had.
Shit, shit, shit. The monster was focused on her for now, but how long before it came after the rest of us?
I've never run so fast in my life. My lungs were burning, Lana was crying, and I kept thinking: this is how I die. Trampled by some interdimensional deer from hell.
Then the guy in front of me slammed to a stop. "There's demons ahead too," he said, voice shaking.
That's when I knew we were fucked. Trapped between monsters, nowhere to run, and the strongest thing in our group was my glorified pet dog.
But then something weird happened. The demons just... stopped. They didn't attack. They looked confused, like they were getting conflicting orders.
I looked back toward Wendy, expecting to see her getting eaten alive. Instead, I saw something that didn't make sense.
A huge black and red monster sitting on some kind of throne, carried by figures in dark robes. Next to it stood a woman in a green dress. And Wendy was alive, standing right next to them.
The antelope demon that had been about to kill her was now missing its head.
Holy shit. He's not a demon. He's a cardmaker.
I'm so fucking envious I could scream.
Russell didn't have time to analyze the thoughts of the civilians behind him. He was focused on the Shadowkhan approaching with materials harvested from the dead antelope.
Silver-level [Man-Eating Antelope] (Blue).
"Only blue quality?" Russell muttered, taking the glowing fragment and turning it over in his palm. He wasn't surprised - the demon had been big and intimidating, but its actual power level was pretty low. Still, seeing this particular type of demon had given him ideas for future card projects.
The material quality was too low for what he had in mind though. Well, this thing came from the newly manifested pocket dimension, he reasoned. I should be able to find higher-grade versions of the same species later.
Russell tossed the material to a waiting Shadowkhan and looked down at Wendy, who was still staring up at him in shock.
"You hurt?" he asked, his distorted voice gentler than its appearance suggested.
Wendy blinked slowly, like she was waking up from a dream. His Arrogance form towered over her - more than three meters of nightmare fuel that should have terrified any sane person. Instead, she looked at him like he was an angel.
"I'm... I'm okay," she stammered, then suddenly dropped to her knees. "Thank you, Master Cardmaker! Thank you for saving my life!"
Russell winced. The bowing and scraping always made him uncomfortable. A Shadowkhan moved quickly to help her stand up.
"Don't worry about it," Russell said dismissively. "Just get back to your group."
As Wendy was gently escorted back to the other civilians, excited whispers rippled through the crowd.
"Is he really a cardmaker?"
"Did you see how fast that demon died?"
"Holy shit, we're actually going to make it to the shelter!"
Russell nodded confirmation, and the crowd erupted in relieved cheers. The same people who'd been ready to panic five minutes ago now looked at him like he was their personal savior. His terrifying appearance had transformed from nightmare to protector in their eyes. Even the Shadowkhan maintaining order around them suddenly looked noble and heroic instead of creepy.
Funny how perspective changes when you're the one being saved, Russell thought with dark amusement.
In the middle of the crowd, Samuel clutched Lana tighter to his chest and stared up at Russell with naked envy. He couldn't help imagining what it would feel like to have that kind of power, to be the one everyone looked to for salvation instead of just another face in the crowd hoping someone stronger would show up.
His fantasy was interrupted by a gentle voice beside him. "Could I take a look at the child?"
Samuel turned to see a woman with kind eyes and elaborate braided hair approaching. She wore traditional robes that somehow managed to look both ancient and pristine. One of the cardmaker's summons, obviously.
"P-please, miss," Samuel stuttered, suddenly very aware that he was talking to something that could probably kill him without effort.
Unohana smiled at his nervousness, completely unbothered by his obvious fear. She moved closer to examine Lana, who had fallen unconscious again after the shock of seeing her mother nearly die.
"Poor little thing," Unohana murmured, placing a glowing hand gently on Lana's forehead. Soft light pulsed from her fingers, and within moments, the girl's eyes fluttered open. Her fever was completely gone.
Wendy saw her daughter wake up and let out a sob of relief, covering her mouth with shaking hands. "Thank you," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "Thank you so much."
Unohana just smiled and returned to Russell's side with the satisfied air of someone who'd completed a simple but worthwhile task.
Russell had sent her over after using his enhanced senses to scan the crowd for injuries. No one was hurt, but he'd detected the girl's illness easily enough. For someone of Unohana's skill level, curing a basic fever was trivial.
"All set?" Russell asked as she rejoined him.
"Just a common fever," Unohana replied. "Nothing serious."
Russell sighed, looking out at the group of office workers and wondering how many of them would survive if something like this happened again. They were soft - decades of comfortable city living had made them physically weak and mentally unprepared for real danger. Taking care of themselves was hard enough without adding sick children to the mix.
At least the kid's healthy now, he thought. One less thing to worry about during the evacuation.
The shelter they needed wasn't far - the Federation had learned from past disasters and built extensive underground protection throughout major cities. After about fifteen minutes of walking through increasingly damaged streets, the entrance came into view.
It was an impressive sight: a reinforced concrete archway leading down into what looked like a military bunker. Heavy blast doors stood open, but Russell could see they'd seal the place tight if needed. Armed guards flanked the entrance, checking everyone who approached.
"Halt!" A team of five cardmakers stepped forward as Russell approached, their posture tense but professional. "Please show identification."
Russell understood their caution. Demons had been known to shapeshift or use illusions to infiltrate shelters. The results were usually catastrophic.
One of his Shadowkhan glided forward and handed over Russell's ID card to the lead guard. At the same time, Russell let his Arrogance form dissolve, revealing his normal human appearance.
The transformation drew surprised murmurs from the civilians behind him. Somehow, seeing that their terrifying protector was actually just a college-aged kid made the whole situation feel even more surreal.
The guard examined Russell's credentials carefully, running them through some kind of scanner that beeped green after a few seconds. His expression shifted from suspicion to respect as he handed the ID back.
"Thank you for your service, Mr. Russell," the guard said with a crisp salute. "Mission compensation will be deposited to your account once the crisis is resolved."
"No problem," Russell replied, though privately he wondered how much the Federation paid for civilian rescue missions. Probably not as much as exploration work, but every bit helped.
The Huadu Gardens residents filed past the checkpoint one by one, each person being quickly scanned and processed. When Samuel passed by carrying Lana, he paused to look back at Russell with an expression that mixed gratitude with something that might have been longing.
Wendy was the last to enter, stopping to bow deeply before the guards hurried her along. She looked like she wanted to say something more, but the words didn't come.
Russell watched until the last civilian disappeared into the shelter's depths, then turned back to the guard captain.
"What's the plan, Mr. Russell?" the officer asked. "Will you be staying to help defend the shelter, or do you want to support operations elsewhere?"
The question hung in the air as Russell considered his options. The shelter was secure for now, but the pocket dimension breach was still active somewhere in the city. There would be other people who needed help, other demons to fight.
And honestly, staying put felt like a waste of his abilities.
(End of this chapter)
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