Chapter 151 — Back II

The soldiers rushed forward to help the survivors, medical personnel appearing with supplies and support.

The media cameras zoomed in, broadcasting images of bloodied, exhausted men being supported by military personnel, their faces showing trauma and relief in equal measure.

Ryan looked up at Eric as medics began treating him, his grey hair matted with old blood, his eyes haunted.

"Sir, you need to know... we faced the Giants. Over a thousand of them... All Elite warriors. We should have all been dead."

His voice shook with emotion.

"But one person... one person killed them all and saved all of us. He did things I can’t even begin to explain."

Eric’s eyes narrowed.

"Who? Which survivor managed–"

Suddenly, the portal pulsed again.

Every soldier’s attention snapped back to the entrance.

The oppressive pressure that had been retracted suddenly returned, but not from the military garrison.

This pressure came from inside the portal. From something that was emerging now!

It was different from normal Aura. It felt heavier and more primal. Carrying the weight of violence and death and something inexplicable.

Every single soldier tensed up again, their weapons coming up instinctively with defensive formations tightening.

’Monster! Has to be a Monster!’

Eric’s hand tightened on his sword, his A+ rank Aura flaring in preparation.

Then a figure stepped through the portal.

A young man came into everyone’s view.

He was bare-chested with well-defined muscles that seemed carved from stone with long crimson hair that fluttered violently in the wind and skin marked with scars both old and fresh.

He took one step forward onto Earth’s soil.

BOOM.

The ground beneath his foot cracked and cratered, dust exploding outward, the sheer physical force of his movement creating an impact that shouldn’t be possible from a simple footstep.

The oppressive pressure intensified, making even veteran soldiers’ hands shake.

The figure paused, looking down at the broken ground with something like surprise.

"Oops. Haven’t adjusted to the home environment yet."

His voice was casual and almost amused.

Then he took another step.

BOOM.

More cracks and dust appeared. More evidence of physical strength that exceeded human norms.

Another step... Another crater...

The soldiers watched in stunned silence as this figure slowly walked forward, each footstep creating small earthquakes, his body clearly struggling to adjust from whatever environment he’d been in to Earth’s different dimensional properties.

But gradually and visibly, he gained control again.

The impacts lessened and the craters grew smaller. His movements also became smoother and more natural.

By the time he’d walked twenty meters from the portal, his steps were almost normal... Almost.

The pressure remained though.

That overwhelming sense of violence and power that made instincts scream warnings.

He stood there, hands casually in the pockets of pants that were torn and barely functional, his bare chest showing muscle definition that looked carved rather than grown, his crimson hair falling across a face that was young but carrying eyes that had seen far too much.

Complete silence filled the entire area.

Every camera focused on him and every soldier stared at their weapon and remained pointed but nobody dared fire.

Eric’s mind was working frantically, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

’That pressure! That physical strength! This can’t be one of the men who was pulled into the portal! None of them were this strong. The reports would have mentioned someone capable of this level of power.

Unless...

Wait. Could it be?!’

Eric stepped forward, keeping his sword ready but not raised threateningly.

"Who are you?"

His voice carried across the silent garrison, the question everyone was thinking.

The figure’s eyes – crimson like his hair – shifted to focus on Eric.

For a moment, those eyes seemed to look straight through him, assessing, analyzing and determining threat level in a fraction of a second.

Then the young man spoke, his voice carrying casual confidence that bordered on arrogance.

"Hm? Oh."

He tilted his head slightly, crimson hair shifting across his face.

"I’m Damian Valcor."

The name hung in the air like a thunderclap.

Recognition spread through the assembled forces in waves.

’The student who fought Demons on the train. The Stormhold Academy’s first-year who became famous across the Federation. The teenage prodigy who survived impossible combat.

He’d been pulled into the portal two months ago. And what came out was...

This?!’

Damian stood there silently, radiating power that made even high ranking soldiers nervous, looking like he’d walked through hell and come out the other side as something hell itself would fear.

The media cameras broadcast his image across the Federation.

Millions of people watched from their homes, saw him standing there, saw the cracked ground beneath his feet, saw the way even veteran soldiers kept their distance.

And somewhere in Norrington City, in the Valcor family home, Luna’s hand went to her mouth as she saw her brother – changed and even more dangerous – standing amid a military garrison like he owned the entire world.

The portal behind Damian pulsed one final time.

Then collapsed completely, the dimensional gateway sealing itself as the entrance closing forever.

Damian didn’t even glance back. Just stood there radiating that oppressive presence, waiting for whatever came next.

The silence stretched.

Nobody quite knew what to do with someone who’d apparently survived two months in a hostile portal dimension, killed over a thousand Monsters according to the survivors’ claims, and emerged looking like violence personified.

Eric broke the silence finally, his military training reasserting itself despite his shock.

"Damian Valcor. The student of Stormhold Academy. Reported missing when the portal appeared. You’re... you’re really alive."

"Obviously."

Damian’s response was dry.

"Is there somewhere I can get actual clothes? These pants are about five seconds from falling apart completely and I’d rather not stand here naked in front of cameras."

The mundane request broke the tension slightly.

Eric gestured to a subordinate, who ran off to find suitable clothing.

But nobody moved to surround Damian or restrain him or do anything that might be interpreted as hostile.

Because everyone present could feel it instinctively:

This wasn’t someone you gave orders to unless you were prepared to enforce them with overwhelming force.

And looking at the cracked ground and feeling that oppressive pressure, nobody other than Eric was quite confident they had force overwhelming enough.

Damian Valcor had returned from the portal.

But what had returned wasn’t quite the same thing that had gone in.