Sero declined the two Janitors' offer to drive him back home, deciding to teleport back instead. Before leaving, he managed to secure Gwyndolyn's autograph for Nala, a real signature on paper rather than a napkin.

Emulating Lawbreak and casting Cat Paradox, Sero willed himself to teleport near his penthouse complex rather than in front of his door. He wanted to stay out a little longer, so he decided to take a leisurely stroll through the city streets. The night air was cool, the lights of the city casting a warm glow on the sidewalks. People bustled about their business, some hurrying to get home, others out enjoying the nightlife. Sero took in the sights and sounds, feeling a newfound sense of energy coursing through him.

He found himself drawn to a small park nearby, where a group of street performers had set up shop. A trio of musicians were playing lively jazz tunes, their instruments filling the air with a delightful melody. Sero stopped to watch them for a moment, tapping his foot to the rhythm, and found himself lost in the music. It was the first time in a long while that he had truly enjoyed himself, without the weight of his responsibilities and worries weighing down on him.

It was only for an instant, but Sero almost forgot what the real world was like before a small crack thundered behind him, followed by the screams of people.

He whirled around, his eyes narrowing. A red-ringed black portal had opened up in the air above the musicians, and a shadowy skeletal figure clad in red and black armor dropped out from it. The armored figure was wielding a massive sword, which it swung down at the musicians with inhuman speed and strength. Sero gasped as the trio of musicians were cut down in an instant, a torrent of crimson blood spraying up in the air. The figure then turned its attention to the crowd, its cold, empty sockets scanning the horrified faces.

Instinctively, Sero activated his skill rotation, sending out his entire face card army minus Sting. Moss and Lime automatically appeared without him needing to call them, much to Sero’s amazement and appreciation. As the 12 face cards rushed to engage with the armored monster, Sero assessed his surroundings, noting a few people running in his direction, radiating mana. He guessed that they were also Ascendants coming to aid him, so he turned his attention back to the monster, which had already been decimated by his army.

"Oh, what?" Sero murmured to himself in shock. He hadn't expected to take down the monster so easily, but there was no time to rest as more similar-looking monsters poured out of the portal, meeting his Court. His stomach throbbed painfully, and an image of Malice flashed through his mind, causing him to shiver.

"Peter Guhn, A-rank Warrior! What's the situation?" One of the Ascendants asked Sero as two others joined them. He was a tall, broad-shouldered dark-haired man with a confident air about him.

"Uh... a portal opened and my army is taking out the monsters," Sero answered, unsure of what to do.

"Er... and your callout?" Peter glanced at him in confusion.

"Oh... Sero Kassel... S-rank Scholar," Sero stammered, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I'm not sure what's going on either." He glanced around, still in shock from the sudden attack.

"Lucy Gray, B-rank Healer!" A redheaded woman with dark eyes spoke next.

"Marlon Powell, A-rank Paladin." The man with long brown hair and pale yellow eyes next to her finished.

After their callouts, the three Ascendants glanced at Sero expectantly. He slowly realized that since his rank was the highest, they were looking to him for leadership.

"Alright, everyone, I think we need to-" Sero began, but was cut off as another crack of thunder filled the air. A massive black dragon emerged from the portal, its wings casting a shadow over the entire park. The monster let out a deafening roar, and everyone in the area fell silent in fear.

"Ok, what the fuck?" Sero grumbled to himself, activating Perfect Analysis as his Rationality went into effect, clearing his mind and forcing his fear of dying down. On the ground, his face card army was struggling to hold back the armored skeletons, so he summoned Sting to help aid them. The Joker wordlessly rushed forward, immediately cutting down several monsters with her rapier.

Even though Sero had so many summons out, Lime was doing a fantastic job of draining mana from the dragon that had emerged, sending it to him to replenish his reserves. Moss bounced around, intercepting and absorbing the fiery breath the black dragon sent out.

Trusting in his summons, Sero turned back to the three Ascendants, who were still waiting for him to give orders, though they looked like they weren't expecting to do much as the summons were quickly taking control of the situation.

"Um, so..." Sero stammered, feeling a bit out of his depth. "I think we should just... keep fighting?" He suggested, unsure of what else to say. "My summons can handle most of it, and the others can focus on taking out the dragon. We'll need to keep the crowd safe, though, so Lucy and Marlon, do that. Peter, you're with me."

The three other Ascendants nodded in understanding, and split up. Lucy and Marlon moved through the crowd, directing people to safety and keeping them calm, while Peter stayed by Sero's side. The Scholar focused his attention on the battle, watching as his summoned face cards fought with a ferocity that belied their cartoonish appearances. The dragon let out another bone-chilling roar, but Moss continued to absorb its breath, and Lime kept draining its mana.

"Sir... I don't think there's anything I can do..." Peter weakly said to Sero as he watched the battle rage on. "We've already called in the outbreak, grading it as a high B-rank but... other than the dragon, you seemed to have this under control."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Huh, does it really?" Sero replied, surprised. "Well, in that case, Peter, watch my back as I take down the dragon."

Without another word, Sero ran forward, gathering mana within his body. Lime followed close behind, still draining mana from the dragon. Moss, too, moved to engage it, using her absorption ability to shield Sero from the beast's breath. The black dragon turned its attention to the three of them, focusing its gaze on the Scholar as it prepared to strike.

If it had been the Sero who had just revived, he probably wouldn't have been so confident, but right now, with his experience and the power of his summons, he felt like he could take on anything. He charged forward, leaping high into the air and simultaneously casting a massive Shadow Bind and Mana Lock on the dragon, restricting its movement. As he fell to the ground, Sero raised a hand to the sky, conjuring the Jury axe and aiming it directly at the draconic creature's head.

The black dragon let out a roar and struggled against the binds as Sero swung the Jury axe with all his might, striking true and cleaving the dragon's head straight down the middle, the resulting shockwave forcing its body to split in half with an echoing wet squelch.

As the monster fell to the ground, Sero took a moment to catch his breath, feeling a slight amazement at himself. He had just single-handedly taken down a dragon. Compared to the lobster boss a month ago, this was like nothing. He glanced over at his summoned allies, who were slowly cleaning up the remaining skeletons. Numbly, he realized the sight of mangled bodies caught up in the carnage didn’t seem to faze him.

"That... was amazing..." Peter whispered as he approached Sero, the black dragon's body beginning to dissolve into dust. Even the other two Ascendants, who had been watching from a distance, looked impressed. "I saw your matches during the tournament, but I never thought you were this strong."

Sero grinned sheepishly. "Well, you know, I'm fucking cool," he said, then winced as soon as the words left his mouth. They didn't sound right to him anymore. "I mean... I've had a lot of practice. And my summons are really strong. They make all the difference." He looked back at the portal, which was closing up fast. "Anyway, we should probably help with the cleanup and make sure everyone's okay. Right, Peter?"

The Warrior nodded. "Y-yeah. Let's do that."

However, before they could rest, there was another crack in the distance, near his penthouse. Sero's eyes widened in shock.

"Don't tell me... is that another outbreak?"

Sero and Peter hurried to the source of the crack, finding a portal that had opened up on the street near the penthouse. As they approached, they could see that the area around it was already swarming with guards and emergency personnel.

"Sero?"

He turned around, seeing Nala rushing up to them. "Sero, what happened?" she asked, her eyes slightly wide with concern. "I sensed several energies over by the park and now there's an outbreak here."

"There was an outbreak over there," Sero replied, pointing in the direction of the park, "but we've taken care of it. Or at least, we think we have. But it seems like there's another one here. We need to take care of this one, too." Without waiting for a reply, he sprinted toward the portal, followed closely by Nala and Peter.

"Are Luna and Casey safe?" Sero yelled back to the Shadereaper, who nodded.

"I argued against it, but she placed him under a spell to keep him from panicking," Nala explained, her voice tense. "Casey's sleeping while Luna watches over him."

They arrived at the portal just as the first of the monsters emerged from it, a giant spider that towered over them. The area around the portal was already swarming with guards, but it was clear that they were outmatched. Sero nodded to his allies and conjured his face card army along with Sting and his dragon pups.

"Okay, everyone, listen up! We need to take down these monsters and close the portal as quickly as possible. I'll take care of the big one," Sero shouted, pointing at the spider. "Nala, you and Peter help out with the smaller ones."

Behind them, Lucy and Marlon caught up, their expressions grim. "We just called in this outbreak, but it seems as though multiple portals have been opening up all over the 25th Zone," Marlon reported. "Lucy and I will take care of the citizens; there might be some more Ascendants coming to help if they aren't busy with the other outbreaks."

"Thanks, you two," Sero replied, then turned back to the giant spider before them. "What the fuck is going on?"

As he spoke, a loud hissing filled the air and several more insect-like monsters began to emerge from the portal. Sero quickly recalled his summoned allies and placed them strategically around the area, forming a defensive line. Peter and Nala clashed with the monsters, a chaotic battle ensuing as they struggled to keep the situation under control.

Noticing that Lucy and Marlon had escorted most of the people to safety, Sero gritted his teeth, conjuring a mana cannon and slamming it down, casting a wide-scale Blast Zone.

"Both you guys, take cover!" Sero shouted to Nala and Peter as he fired green spheres of mana into the sky, bathing the place in a green hue. The Warrior seemed confused, but Nala dragged him away, realizing Sero's plan.

As the monsters threatened to overwhelm his army, Sero called down his mana, casting a variant of a skill he decided to name Starfall Railgun. High-pitched shrieks from both the railguns and the creatures clamored in the night as the skill targeted all enemies on top of the Blaze Zone field. Within seconds, the insect-like monsters were reduced to a heap of writhing corpses, including the spider boss monster.

The aftermath of the battle was chaotic. Emergency medical teams rushed in to tend to the few injured civilians, while the guards and Ascendants worked together to secure the area and close the portal. Sero and Nala approached the closing portal, the latter looking at him with a mixture of awe and worry.

"That was crazy," Nala said, shaking her head as they watched the portal close. "Was that a new skill you just made up?"

Sero smiled sheepishly. "Uh, yeah. It's called Starfall Railgun. I kind of improvised it. But I think it worked pretty well."

As they turned to walk away, they were approached by Peter, who had just finished speaking with the guards and Ascendants. "Hey, Sero," he said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "You did good out there. But I think we've got a bigger problem on our hands. The portal was just the beginning."

"What do you mean?" Sero asked, feeling a knot form in his stomach.

Peter's expression was grim. "There's been a pattern of these portal openings happening all over the city. At least a dozen of them so far. And the monsters that are coming through are much stronger than the ones we faced tonight."

"When did they begin?" Nala asked, concern clearly etched on her face.

"Just a few hours ago. And the monsters coming through... they're not just regular ones. Some of them are even stronger than the Ascendants. We need to warn the others, and find a way to stop this," Peter explained, his voice tense. "Sero, I think we need your help."