The air was heavy, thunder rolling in from the distant desert hills. Gray clouds circled the abandoned factory with anticipation.

The rusty walls around the factory were smashed, slashed, and scorched. At the gate, there was a set of brick pillars and a security booth. It was this small zone the gang of unregulated, low-ranking hunters, held down as their fortress.

Ammunition was expensive so using powers was preferred. Belaphorde tried to imagine how many resources would be needed to march through the horde of rampaging crystal monsters and get to the vans they had parked down in the pine woods.

They had hauled plenty of energy crystals. Some carcasses lay out on the green factory lawn. Waiting, taunting, the hunters to come down and harvest them. The obsidian beasts ran around the perimeter. Keeping away from the center building where the glow of the rift reflected through the broken windows, but would not stray too far away. They were beasts held in by an invisible cage, throwing tantrums and attacking one another in their frenzy.

"We should just push in and destroy the rift at its source. Kill the boss and take the mother-load of a lifetime!" An enthusiastic hunter howled over the battle.

"Are you crazy? We'll get killed!" Cassandra answered back, like a sane person.

Then again, most monsters were out. They had more or less cleared a path to the main building where the rift waited. If they dared, if they could take out the boss, the lesser monsters would either go docile or begin devouring each other. They were a hivemind in that sense, dependent on the mothership. It would mean a ton of shards and a boss shard at that. The thought had taken root and bloomed out in Belaphorde's mind. With that cash, they could buy their kitchen. They could get nice shoes that would not tear at the sole after a month. The guild could upgrade and people would be able to escape the poverty trap that kept them running for their lives just to be in the same place. For years Belaphorde had been waiting for his chance to get enough money to get some resemblance of stability. Was this dream now so sweetly overripe that he was ready to gamble like a madman?

There was no time to waste. Belaphorde just needed to rally the troops and become a hero.

"Change of plans! Team A and B Turtle formation NOW. Let's get rich!" Belaphorde bellowed out and took charge. He threw the doors of the guard booth open. The most foolhardy Espers immediately followed after, creating momentum for the whole group.

"You are insane," Cassandra growled beside him, but despite her displeasure, she kept close to Belaphorde. The renegade Guide felt a lightness in his chest. To have someone show him such care and be his bodyguard. His leg and pains be damned, he would give his all to see this operation a success now that he had gone all in.

The agents moved in like a swat team. Those at the front and sides grabbed what wooden and rusty debris they could find as shields. As Belaphorde suspected they could rush across the field with no monsters in their way.

The doors meant for heavy trucks burst open. Smashed-in windows sitting up high with vines growing in their chipped frames. The air was heavy with dust kicked up from all the crystal creatures.

Belaphorde thought of calling everyone to a halt and sending in scouts, but with this team of excited hooligans, he discarded the thought.

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"Go! Go! Go!"

The first people in would be holding shields, and with the small space, they should quickly see what's in there.

They busted into the factory. Rusty chains were clattering against each other in the ceiling. Dust particles swirled around in the light. The hall was long with what looked like train tracks going through it, hinting at the assembly line that used to be there. In the middle of the floor a bright white crack in reality. Standing by the painfully bright light, like the moon eclipsing the sun, stood a figure of black obsidian. Three meters tall, its head spreading out like a three-pointed star. Its body melted together like it was wearing a ballgown and its unnaturally long arms had huge clawed hands.

The officers immediately went to attack. Sweat ran down their brows and their movements slowed as if they were running through water. Belaphorde had seen this before. Some monsters had a strong aura around them but only Espers were affected by this pressure. Having magic meant also that your body could sense and feel magic. Something regular people and Guides could not. Only monsters of higher energy ranking could accomplish such a feat.

The boss turned around. Its eyes glowing white and with a devil's smile. A young man in the front shrieked and flailed his arms around, shooting icicles in every direction and ichor running down his cheeks. Another one raised their gun and shot the agent closest to them in the head. Screams. Chaos. Through it all Belaphorde could see the boss stare at him with that taunting grin.

He grabbed out for the Espers closest to him. Belaphorde kept his hands and arms uncovered for easy Guiding access. He dragged himself and the Espers to the side. His lungs were on fire as he tried to keep up with the ichor coming out like gasoline from a pump.

"What do we do now?" Cassandra spoke in Belaphorde's ear while holding up a car door for protection. Of course, she was the closest for Bel to grab.

Everyone had gone mad or was dying. What even was that thing they were fighting? It was like those impossible kaiju creatures from back then…

He checked his gun. Half a clip left.

"We go in. Hold on to me and we can take it out."

The other Esper Belaphorde had saved was too scared. He bolted like a mad dog out of the building but did not survive the ichor building up inside him without his Guiding. He fell down on his face at the door. The black had completely taken over.

Cassandra gulped, summoned all of her courage, and nodded bedside him. They dashed out from their hiding place. Hand in hand Cass plowed through the other Espers. Bel shot at the obsidian creature over and over. The bullets did nothing. They bounced off its skin like he was throwing tennis balls. A slice and a crack. The monster moved its arms faster than Bel could register. Blood sprayed over Belaphorde as Cassandra's head was cut clean off by a hand motion of the boss.

Belaphorde was mortified. He clutched his gun so tight it hurt. He was the only one left alive, alone with that thing. For a second everything was quiet as he and the boss monster stared at each other. The grin bore into his soul as the creature spread its arms as to display its work.

"Gotta get up to get down!"

A man with bleached blonde hair and a pink tank top came crashing through a window, singing and with a wild look on his face.

Steam glistened as he created a jetstream behind him. He flew at the monster with a shining prismatic spear like a torpedo. The arm of the monster shattered on impact before it turned around to strike with its claws.

The water Esper dashed out of the way like he knew the attack was coming. The monster hit a column of steaming hot water which burned its crystal skin like acid.

The boss monster gave out a sound like a laughing trombone that echoed through the hall of death before vanishing in a flash. The rift disappeared in a swirl of white, condensing into a round glowing energy crystal. All that was left was the bizarre Esper, Belaphorde, and a pile of dead bodies.

"Damn." The Esper leaned on his spear. Bel stood there dumbstruck as the man took out a water bottle holstered to his back and drank greedily. He could see the Esper was filled to the brim with ichor. His eyes, veins, and even his tongue were pitch black. And with the power he had displayed, he must be A rank or higher.

"I didn't know there was another high-ranking agent here,” the Esper said after spraying the rest of the water bottle on his head. "What guild are you from? I thought I knew everyone of note in this region."

Belaphorde remained silent. He could hear a helicopter in the distance. People were coming and he needed to get out or he'd be in trouble. The moment anyone asks for his ID he’d get sent to jail.

Regaining his senses Bleaphorde acted quickly. He moved to snatch up the crystal and turned to run away when the Esper grabbed his arm with lightning speed.

"A guide? Ah-" The surfer-dude-looking Esper exclaimed. He looked surprised and then became sleepy at a rapid pace from the contact.

"What are you doing here? Guides should be back home waiting for their Espers to… "

He continued to babble incoherently and had trouble standing. Bel saw his chance and leaned in to give the Esper as much Guiding as he could in a minute, touching both his arms and pressing their foreheads together. When the man became drowsy and was on the verge of falling asleep, Belaphorde made his escape. The stash and some people were still left back at the defense point. Growling out orders Belaphorde was soon behind the wheel and driving off-road through the woods to avoid contact with the big guild coming in for their golden boy. The whole escape was one big blur. Soon they found their way out on a country road and on their way back to base. Back to the slums of the Outskirts. Back to home.