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Jim had said the second base was hundreds of miles away by tunnel and it would take time to get there as well as back. I could be in for a long haul. A dungeon crawl, more than a blitz and I needed to be prepared.

Despite the fight with Hin Wu, my body was still in fairly good shape thanks to my [Marks]. My clothes not so much, however. After borrowing a handler uniform from Lee, I proceeded into town to buy some new robes as well as to stock up on supplies for the journey to come.

After browsing for about an hour, I dropped 20 Taels of silver on some expensive bandages and healing salves as well as some alchemist concoction that was supposed to restore one’s vitality. I had no idea if it would work on me or not, but anything would be worth a shot if I got desperate enough fighting I’xol’ukz out in that second bunker.

I visited Master Edrik next and had him put a keen edge on both my axe and my Phalanx Glaive. I wouldn’t be able to take Venja with me to the gate, as she would still be needed to protect the bunker while I was gone, but I wanted every advantage possible and that meant using my axe and glaive technique to the fullest.

Returning to the square, I met up with Gui Zu and Yu Li for dinner, hosting them at my new apartment. It was spacious, three times the size of my old place with a king-sized bed and a full kitchen to boot. It felt like old times again as Yu Li took to the kitchen and served up leftovers from my party the night before. We then all sat together as a family, eating and laughing as little Su Ling giggled away.

“You seem in much better spirits, brother,” Gui Zu said as he attempted to trick Su Ling into eating some bean sprouts that he pretended were noodles. “I must admit you had me a bit worried last night.”

“Worried?” Yu Li chimed in from the kitchen. “About what?”

“Nothing that matters anymore,” I said with a smile. “It’s all sorted out now.”

It felt good to say that. 24 hours ago, I had been a nervous mess, not even able to enjoy the party Yu Li had thrown for me. But now I was making up for lost time, able to relax again and enjoy the small things in life that made it all worth it.

“Well good then,” Gui Zu said giving me a toast. “Never should have doubted you’d get it all figured out. You’re the great Max Chun after all!”

I laughed at that as we touched glasses.

Part of me wanted to just tell him what had happened, more out of excitement than anything else. But the timing just wasn’t right. The threats that Hin Wu had laid out—about the trouble Fia could get into if we were ever discovered—were still at play. And while I trusted my inner circle, the less people who knew the better.

For their safety as well as Fia’s.

That night, after seeing Gui Zu and Yu Li off, I sat in lotus position on my new bed and slipped into meditation. I focused on honing my spiritual techniques while reflecting on the events of the day.

I hadn’t really had time to acknowledge all that I had accomplished.

I had defeated Hin Wu and the aberration she had become.

It was a testament to how much I had advanced. And that was thanks in no small part to all my training with Venja, Fia, and Master Wong. My regimen of cultivation by killing spirit beasts in the wild as well as channeling the Bloodmoon each night had rounded out my progression by enhancing both my frenzied core and my spiritual awareness. I summoned the cultivation manual in my mind’s eye to gauge just where I might be on that scale now.

Core Formation

1st

Core Formation

2nd

Core Body Refinement

3rd

Core Mental Refinement

4th

Core Density Refinement

5th

Inner Soul Detection

6th

Inner Soul Focus

7th

Inner Soul Refinement

8th

Inner Soul Projection

9th

Secondary Soul Germination

I had definitely achieved Inner Soul Detection and Focus. And considering how I had leveled up the Struggler inside my own mind, perhaps I had mastered Inner Soul Refinement as well.

Holy hell, I thought as I looked at the chart. I was the equivalent of a 7th-Tier Core Realm cultivator now and who knew how much more when I went into full beast mode using the [Marks].

I’d accomplished it all in a relatively short time too, by using the spiritual training as well as the Bloodmoon. But for me it felt like much longer. Like I had concentrated over a year’s worth of cultivation and martial training in a fraction of the time.

But the results had shown for it.

I had gone from nearly being killed by Hin Wu when we first met to practically dominating her, albeit with Fia’s help. Thinking back now, Hin Wu had to be within reach of the Sacred Soul Realm herself, a 9th-Tier Core Realm Cultivator looking for a chance at breakthrough.

But in the end, I had broken her.

It was a huge accomplishment, but one I knew I owed as much to Fia’s help as it did my abilities—and not just from a combat perspective either. My soul felt balanced now that we had connected on a deeper level, revealing my true self to her and receiving her full acceptance.

Our paths were destined to be together just as she had said.

I smiled at that.

Already I was contemplating how I could make that combined path a reality.

The way forward was still fuzzy though. The differences between our martial sects, my status, our duel yet to come, but I could see the light of my Frenzied Flame at the end of the tunnel. Plus, there was still Gui Zu, Yu Li, and Jian Yi to eventually be told about our relationship when the time was right.

They would be shocked once it finally happened no doubt, but once I explained everything, I was sure they’d be okay. Part of me still wanted to just tell them now, but I had time to do that. My duel was still months away and I needed to focus on what was most important first.

My people in the bunker needed saving before winter set in.

And I was still unsure how that might all turn out.

My confidence was there however.

Not in victory.

That was always left to the dice.

And facing a dark god like I’xol’ukz, the [Odds were naturally Against Me] for sure.

But I had the confidence of my own conviction. That no matter what, I wasn’t going to back down from this challenge. Win, lose, or die, I was going to put it all on the line to save the last remnant of Earth’s humanity from being destroyed.

Already I could sense my Flame stirring with the hunger of my resolve. As I finally tucked in for some well-needed rest, I dreamed of the dark god.

Come tomorrow, I was going to face the greatest foe of my life.

* * *

I left in the dark, at moonset and arrived at the bunker by mid-morning, greeted first by Kelsey as always. She was waiting for me at the edge of the village courtyard, having sensed my Flame approaching from afar, no doubt. She stood, arms folded, leaning against the thatched-roofed structure that served as a canopy for the square.

I couldn’t help but notice the development in her physique over the last few months. She had packed on a good bit of muscle from all of our hunting and cultivating in the wild, looking like a gymnast or Olympic swimmer now instead of the scrawny kid I’d found her as.

Internally, her Flame and Dantian had developed in tandem to match. Even as I approached, I could sense the small reservoir of liquid Frenzy she had finally learned to cultivate within her soul. That meant she had access to manifestation techniques and for where we were headed, she was going to need them just as much as I would.

Remnants of a late-night snowfall clung to the roof of the canopy and below it the entire population of the bunker was now spread out in small tents and makeshift shelters. A few of the residents waved to me with hope in their eyes. Others looked back with plain old despair. I could sense [Everyone’s Pain], strong enough to cultivate from. The constant cacophony of hacking coughs highlighted their plight, exacerbated by the constant dampness in the frigid air.

I had to get them to proper shelter soon.

These people were running out of time.

As I approached Kelsey, she gave me a wide smile, clearly immune to the ailments plaguing the rest of the community. Such was the strength of cultivators, I supposed. But thankfully they had her strength to rely upon while I was back in the city.

“Hey, what the hell is that?” She greeted me with a fist-bump while looking up at me with confusion.

“What?” I said.

She gestured to the Phalanx Glaive slung over my shoulder and then turned back to look towards Venja, as if to make sure she was still standing vigil in her spot just before the bunker doors.

I laughed.

“I had one made back in the city,” I said and then pressed a finger to my lips with a smile. “Don’t tell Venja, though. I don’t want her to get jealous.”

Kelsey laughed along with me. “As if I could. How did your match go? You’re back earlier than I expected so I’m guessing it went well?”

“Very well,” I said and rested a hand on her shoulder as we both made our way through the tent city erected under the canopy. I shook hands with a few of the residents and wished I had brought more supplies to help them.

But this wasn’t a supply run.

I was here to solve the root core of their issue, not treat the symptoms.

“I’ve had another breakthrough, Kelsey,” I said. “I think it’s time.”

Kelsey stopped and looked up at me with wide eyes. “Seriously? You mean the gate?”

I nodded. “Go get Jim. It’s time to lay out our battle plan.”

* * *

Twenty minutes later I stood with a small group consisting of Jim, Lieutenant Harris, Kelsey, and Susan. We kept out of earshot of the rest of the community, standing next to Venja and a makeshift brazier—which was little more than an oil drum cut in half and filled with burning embers, but it was enough to keep us warm.

“It’s a good thing that you’re back,” Jim said, shaking my hand. “Things have unfortunately gotten worse.”

I glanced over my shoulder at the broken community, hacking and wheezing behind me. “Yeah, so I see.”

“I don’t mean us,” Jim said, before hacking out a deep cough himself. “Although we’re not doing so hot either. I’m talking about the demons in the bunker.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“They’ve taken over another floor.”

Both Susan and Kelsey looked surprised at that.

“That’s impossible,” Kelsey said. “Max strengthened the barrier.” She then looked to me. “Right?”

I nodded but Jim looked steadfast in what he’d said.

“We send recon teams down every week,” Harris chimed in. “Just to keep an eye on things. As of two weeks ago, somehow the demons have managed to breach floor six as well as floor seven and the basement below.”

Susan’s brows lowered into a scowl, clearly perturbed. “Why don’t we know about this, Jim?”

“Didn’t want to cause unnecessary panic.”

“People have a right to know what risks we’re facing as a community.”

“Have you had a look at our community lately, Susan?” Jim pointed back at the tent city. “We’re hanging on by a thread. I don’t need to give them any more bad news to crush whatever hope we have left.”

Susan folded her arms crossly. “You placed me in charge of the civilians, Jim. I think you’d at least allow me the courtesy of knowing.”

“It was need to know,” he said. “And now you know.”

“Two weeks later?”

“Time has nothing to do with it,” Jim said. “It’s because Max is here. And we finally have a solution now. Right, Max?”

I was still digesting the information myself. “Give me a second.”

I approached Venja and placed a hand on the sword. Venja, is what I hear about the demons advancing true?

“It is,” her voice said, resounding in my mind. “A great presence of Dark Frenzy has appeared, pushing against me.”

Do you know what it is?

“It’s beyond my influence. I cannot tell. But whatever it is, it grows in strength each day.”

I grimaced. Thanks.

Looking back to the group I let out a sigh. “Something powerful is down there. Another gate maybe, I don’t know. But it’s getting stronger.”

“Makes no difference,” Kelsey said, slamming her fist into her palm. “We’ll take it out all the same, right, Max?”

“We’ll?” Susan said.

“Mom, don’t start this again, please.”

I rested a hand on Susan’s shoulder. “She’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Susan raises a good point though,” Jim said. “You’ll need to lead the charge on this, Max, no doubt. But the rest of this community still falls under my responsibility. Including Kelsey.”

Kelsey huffed out a sigh, rolling her eyes. “Please, Jim, I can kill more demons than—”

“Drop the attitude,” Jim chided her. “I respect your abilities. And yes, you’re worth a platoon of men all on your own by now, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give permission for you to throw your life away foolishly.” He then looked to me. “Either of you.”

I raised a brow at that one.

“That’s right,” he continued. “You might be the strongest people we’ve ever seen, but you’re not soldiers. And when it comes down to it, this will be a military operation.”

I sighed inwardly. I was about to remind Jim he was out of his depth when he suddenly pulled a faded map from his pocket.

“And seeing that it is a military operation…” Jim opened the map for us all to see. “…I will be taking responsibility for it. Meaning if anything goes wrong it’s on me, understand? Not any of you.”

I understood where he was coming from now and nodded. “Alright, Jim. So what’s the plan?”

The map was a schematic of the base and he flipped to the sixth floor for us all to see. “Now, Kelsey, while I’m sure you’d want to stick by Max’s side and play Robin to his Batman, I honestly don’t think that’d be the best use of your capabilities.”

Kelsey stared back at him, clearly perplexed, but she remained quiet and listened—as we all did as Jim continued.

“Max is more Superman in this scenario,” he said. “He won’t need your help, but we will.” He then began pointing to various sections on the map. “I want you backing up the rear guard. Once Max makes his initial assault from the main stairwell, a secondary team will follow to take care of the side corridors and clear room to room. Harris will be leading that unit. Kelsey, you’ll take your direction from him. A secondary team will stand reserve on the fifth floor to ensure none of them break through and circle back.” He then looked to me. “Max, you’ll continue to the second stairwell and make your way down to the next floor from there. Don’t backtrack as we’ll be mopping up behind you and I don’t want any friendly fire incidents. What you don’t take down on the initial sweep, Harris and Kelsey will take care of.”

I folded my arms and nodded appreciatively. At first I thought I was in for another pissing match with him about leadership and control, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Jim wasn’t being a hindrance. He was helping in the best way he knew how, and honestly I was grateful for it.

“Thanks for this, Jim,” I said. “My only battle plan was to go in there swinging. I hadn’t given thought to anything beyond that.”

Jim chuckled like the wise old fox he was. “That’s why I’m in charge of this, son. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks. I’m not sure what you’ll find out there, but with the intel I have, I’ve strategized the best assault plan possible.”

“Thanks, Jim,” Kelsey said. “This makes a lot of sense.”

He nodded. “That’s phase one. Phase two will be traversing the tunnel to the second base. It took us weeks, but we don’t have weeks obviously. Max, I’m hoping you can do it in a lot less time than that.”

“It’s about the distance I travel to get here from the city,” I said. “Granted I probably won’t be able to move as fast, but maybe half a day.”

“Holy hell. Half a day?” Harris laughed incredulously. “That’s unreal. No way we could keep up with that.”

“Indeed,” Jim said. “Which is why Phase Two and Three would be mostly you alone, Max. But I’ve mapped out a strategy for you once you reach the second base. The gate was closer to the surface there. Second floor.” He produced another map that was marked in red pen. “I’ve laid out the best route through the facility. I’ll be coming with you.”

We all looked at him like he was mad.

“What?” he said. “You lug truckloads of crap back and forth every week. I’m sure you’ll be able to handle a light weight like me.”

“Jim, we didn’t discuss this,” Harris said.

“Was no need,” Jim said again. “You’ll remain here in command. I’m the only one who need go with him.”

“The maps are probably good enough, Jim,” I said. “I’ll be facing things you’ve never seen before.”

Jim cracked a smile. “Do you forget I’ve been there already?” He looked at me then and I could sense a deep pain in his soul. “I need to do this, Max. It was my orders that led to those demons finding their way back to us. And as the commander of this facility, it’s my responsibility to ensure that whatever was done is undone.”

I sensed the resolve in his tone and simply nodded. “All right, Jim, but—”

“I know what you’re going to say,” he said. “But I’m not aiming to get in your way or slow you down. I’ll take care of myself.”

I wasn’t planning to have Jim tag along, but I supposed there was no getting around it. It didn’t sound like he even cared if he made it back. But there was someone else who definitely needed to join us.

“Fine, Jim,” I said. “But Kelsey comes too.”

“What?” Susan said alarmed.

“I’m going to be facing the unknown out there when I approach that gate,” I said. “And I don’t know if I can do it alone.”

A long pause filled the air.

“You certain?” Jim asked.

I thought of my last encounter with I’xol’ukz up close as well as when I encountered it under the Bloodmoon. I had my spiritual defenses now, but there was no telling what I might encounter when facing the concentrated Dark Frenzy of the gate. Kelsey’s Flame was always what I could count on to pull me back from the brink in the past.

And I’d need her for that again.

With even low-rank manifestation techniques, I was confident Kelsey could protect herself in the physical realm as well as Jim. That meant all she needed to do was to stay clear of the gate itself. And when I went at it, she could provide that lifeline for me to return to sanity if the worst of the Dark Frenzy took hold.

“I don’t need her as my Robin, if that’s what you’re thinking,” I said. “She’s a Supergirl all on her own. And yes, I’m certain I’ll need her help. Plus, she can watch your back out there too.”

I winked at Kelsey and her soul filled with pride and lemonade.

Jim looked at Kelsey and nodded. “Fine then.”

“Wait one damn minute!” Susan shouted, throwing her hands into the air. “This is not okay! Are you all just going to ignore the concerns for my daughter’s safety? She’s only fifteen!”

“Susan, besides Max, Kelsey is probably going to be the safest one of us here,” Jim said. “She’s been blessed with a gift, and she’s got the brass to use it.”

“Yes, but she’s still a civilian. A civilian you gave me authority over and I’m not—”

“Not anymore,” Jim said, looking Susan dead in the eye. “As of today, I’m granting Kelsey the grade of Specialist the same as Max. She’s now officially under my authority.”

Susan’s mouth came open, but Kelsey’s face lit up with a grin. “Seriously? Thank you, Jim! Thank you!”

“Don’t let it go to your head,” he said. “It means you can still take orders from a corporal.”

“Understood!” Kelsey said with a nod. “I mean understood, colonel.”

Susan still looked flabbergasted, but I comforted her with a hand on the back. “She’ll be fine, Susan. I’ll be with her. And she’s stronger than you know. And she’ll get even stronger by going through this. Trust me.”

Another long silence took hold as Susan took it all in. The pain in her soul was palpable but Kelsey finally soothed it by pulling her mother into a hug. Susan let out a sob and the Flame within Kelsey’s soul grew only stronger with conviction.

“I’m doing this for all of us,” Kelsey said. “But I’ll come back to you, Mom. I promise.”

Susan finally pulled away, wiping tears as she released a nervous sigh. “I know, it’s just…you’re still my child, Kelsey. No matter how strong you are.”

“We get it,” Jim said. “But young as she is, Kelsey has what it takes. And, fair or not, what’s left of our country needs her right now.”

“Not just country,” I said. “What’s left of all humanity.”

That caused everyone to pause and slowly the gravity and importance of what lay ahead of us took hold. Finally, Susan choked back another sob, but then nodded with a smile.

“You bring them all back safely, Kelsey.”

Kelsey smiled subtly as she took hold of her mother’s hands, taking on a new sense of maturity in my eyes. “I will, Mom. I will.”

“I’m assuming we’d want to conduct the operation during day light, correct?” Harris said. “Less chance of complications from the Bloodmoon?”

“I’ll leave that call for you, Max,” Jim said. “Demons and monsters is your department.”

I considered the timing. “How long will it take to get your team ready, Jim?”

“An hour maybe,” he said. “Two tops.”

“Let’s go get ready then,” I said as fresh Frenzy and conviction filled my soul. “It’s time to save our world.”