Library, Demigod Academy, World of the Living, Earth Dimension
The library's massive oak doors slammed open.
Felix burst in with ragged breathing.
Her face was flushed, and strands of damp hair clung to her skin.
Arthur and Mars were seated at a long wooden table near the center, surrounded by a dozens of books.
Arthur had an old Spell book opened before him, while Mars scribbled notes furiously on paper.
Morrigan was swinging back on a chair near the corner.
She munched on a crumpled bag of chips.
Crumbs littered her lap.
Clara, on the other hand, was fast asleep.
Her head rested on an open book.
Sean was nowhere in sight.
He was likely going through the shelves deeper in the library, searching for reference materials.
The library allowed them entry late at night thanks to Arthur and Felix being in Top 10.
They were all preparing—studying relentlessly—for their upcoming battle against Neo.
Arthur and Mars exchanged concerned glances when they noticed Felix's disheveled state.
"There—huff, huff—is bad news!"
Felix cut him off, still panting.
Sweat trickled down her temple, and her voice trembled as she spoke between ragged breaths.
"A—huff—Dragon-ranked Crack—huff—appeared in Aubern!"
Arthur and Mars both shot to their feet.
Their eyes widened in alarm.
Morrigan, though slower to react, raised a curious brow, still chewing.
Cracks—dimensional fractures— when expanded could form a massive wormhole, linking Earth to various Elemental Worlds.
These massive Cracks were known as Windows.
The Cracks that connected Earth to non-elemental worlds were instead called Portals.
Arthur's mind raced as he rushed to Felix's side, gently guiding her to sit.
He offered her a glass of water from the desk.
"Are you sure it's in Aubern?" he asked after she had calmed down.
Felix gulped down the water.
She nodded, still breathless.
"Yes, Aubern. That's the country where Jack's parents live and—"
"The country where Jack and Neo entered into the Shadow World," Morrigan completed her words.
She licked the salt from her lips and added,
"Henry said Jack and Neo entered Shadow Window #2C498.
"The Window appeared a few weeks ago near Solivara City in Aubern Country."
Considering the timing of the Dragon-ranked Crack's appearance, it was highly likely it was created due to the return of Neo and Jack.
They would arrive when the Crack transformed into a Window.
"I don't think it's Neo," Arthur said. "It's almost impossible to clear Shadow Trail in less than a week, whatever it may be.
"Not to mention, Neo was Mythic rank when they entered the Trail.
"A Tiger-ranked Crack would form due to their appearance, not a Dragon-ranked one," Arthur explained.
"It's real," Mars interrupted.
He showed his device to everyone.
A hologram sprang up.
The news reporter in the hologram delivered news at a rapid-fire pace.
"A Dragon-ranked Crack has appeared in Aubern!"
"The whole country is under emergency evacuation orders!"
"Temple of Wind and Temple of Space have entered the scene! They are helping with the evacuation."
"The people's morale is at an all-time low. No matter what appears from the Crack, it is a given that the Aubern Country will soon face catastrophic damage!"
The news reporter stopped speaking.
She ran up to a green-haired woman who was overseeing the evacuation.
"Miss Everly, I've heard you are the leader of the current evacuation operation.
"Is it possible to evacuate the entire country before the Cracks transform into a Window or a Portal?"
"We will evacuate everyone safely and on time. Please do not worry."
Signora Everly, the 17th disciple of Senator Sir Nicolas Montague, smiled.
She knew the reporter was going live.
If she said the truth – it was impossible to evacuate 500 million people within a few hours – it would create chaos.
The ongoing panic was bad enough as it was.
Signora didn't want to make it worse.
She looked at the sky.
There, a crack – larger than three cities combined – was festering.
It was growing larger at a slow but steady pace.
A team member of Signora's team approached.
The team member approached her.
He hesitated to speak, glancing at the reporter.
Signora noticed his gaze and opened her mouth.
"We've identified the crack's origin."
The team member hesitated again.
He didn't want to reveal the information on the news.
Seeing him , Signora frowned.
There were three situations that could appear when a Crack appeared.
Depending on the situation, the country could be evacuated successfully, the country could be wiped out with some damage to human resources, or the entire country along with its population could be annihilated.
That's how dangerous a Dragon-ranked Crack was.
'Looks like it's the worst-case scenario,' Signora thought. 'A Wandering God is coming.'
The first situation was where a Crack turned into a Window.
Windows spew monsters out into the real world, and they contaminate the real world, pulling it part by part into the elemental world.
The contamination stops when the Window is closed.
This situation was the easiest to handle.
It would give them enough time for evacuations.
The second situation would be the Crack transforming into a Portal.
It would connect to a planet filled with monsters or where civilizations existed.
If a civilization existed, there was a very high chance of a war breaking out as soon as the Portal formed.
Signora was confident they could defeat whatever alien armies would come.
However, the Aubern country would be destroyed in the aftermath.
'The worst is always the third one. [Wanderers] from Elemental Worlds.'
A lot of people entered Elemental Worlds for riches and precious resources.
Quite a few of them died.
It was normal for someone to get trapped and lost in Elemental Worlds.
In such scenarios, most people would die.
Only the strongest could survive Elemental Worlds.
If the people lost in Elemental Worlds found a way to leave, they would often end up on random planets or cosmos.
When such 'aliens' ended up on Earth, they were called Wanderers.