E-Rank or SSS-Rank: I Awakened a Skill That Shouldn't Exist-Chapter 76: The Red Joins

Chapter 76

Silver Wing’s eyes narrowed the moment he saw the man before him—there was no mistaking it. This man had to be a Red Vanguard. As the leader of one of the top guilds on the northern continent, Silver Wing was well-informed about the cursed organization and the deadly serum they spread. He had led multiple campaigns to hunt them down, eradicating every Red Vanguard member they could find and destroying every trace of the cursed serum.

"So... you’re the cause of all this?" Silver Wing asked coldly.

The man didn’t speak—he simply nodded, his grip tightening around his massive hammer.

That confirmation sent a chill through Silver Wing, but he still couldn’t believe it. A human capable of controlling a Portal Break? It didn’t make sense. But now wasn’t the time for questions.

"I’ll take you down quickly... my people need me," Silver Wing said, drawing his sword with a steely resolve.

Without another word, he charged.

The Red Vanguard responded in kind, swinging his hammer with terrifying force. Their weapons collided, sparks flying. Each clash sent shockwaves through the ground, and Silver Wing’s arm trembled with the impact. His hand was already going numb. He pressed forward with a flurry of strikes, but the Red Vanguard met them all—matching, then overpowering his tempo.

This guy... he’s not just strong. He’s a monster.

Meanwhile, chaos reigned in other parts of the battlefield.

Shae, an elite member of the Silver Guild, faced a Red Vanguard with a grotesque ability—he could stretch and contort his limbs at will. Her long, curved blade cut through the air in a sweeping arc, releasing a slash of compressed energy. It struck true—except his body twisted unnaturally, avoiding the blow as if made of liquid.

"This isn’t good," Shae muttered, beads of sweat forming. He’s stalling me... keeping me away from the others.

She had to help her comrades, but this freak wouldn’t let her. "Fine then. I’ll just keep attacking until something sticks!" she yelled, dashing forward again, blade blazing with energy.

Elsewhere, Bron—the bald, hulking warrior of the guild—was locked in a frustrating fight. His opponent was rail-thin, seemingly fragile, but impossibly fast. Every time Bron swung his massive fists, he hit nothing but air.

He growled, slamming a punch into the ground, sending a shockwave toward his foe. But the man was already behind him, striking Bron’s back before darting away again.

"Stop running and fight me like a man!" Bron roared, charging again in a fury. The Red Vanguard only smirked, picking up speed with ease.

The last Red Vanguard was engaged by Kael and his two companions. Despite all three being B-Rankers, they were struggling to keep up. The enemy wielded razor-sharp blades that extended from his knuckles, slashing with deadly precision.

Kael parried a strike with his drill-shaped energy, pushing the man back a step. His teammate followed up, releasing a shockwave from his palm that staggered the Vanguard slightly.

But the respite was brief. The man’s armor shimmered—high-grade, likely B rank or higher—and he charged again, smashing Kael’s friend’s flaming spear with a single blow.

"You insects should give up and die," the Red Vanguard growled.

"I’m not planning on dying anytime soon," Kael replied, his voice steady, though he and his friends were visibly exhausted.

They exchanged a glance. No words, just nods—an unspoken agreement to keep fighting.

But then the enemy’s weapons changed. His knuckle-blades grew longer, sharper, and more menacing.

"I’ll rip you all into pieces!" the Red Vanguard roared.

Kael’s breath caught. For the first time, doubt crept into his heart.

Can we really win this?

_ _ _ _ _

Inside the Silver Guild headquarters, the room trembled with tension.

In one corner, the regional mayors huddled together like frightened children, shaking uncontrollably. Their fear was so intense it seemed as if they believed cowering could make them invisible.

The window shattered.

A massive lizard-like beast slithered in, its reptilian eyes gleaming with hunger. It scanned the room—and locked eyes with them. Its tongue flicked out, slowly, tasting the air.

"D-Don’t come closer!" one mayor shrieked, voice cracking. His pants were soaked; he had completely lost control of his bladder.

"I’m bitter! Extremely bitter!" another mayor cried, trembling like a leaf, trying to appear threatening through a voice barely above a whimper.

But the beast wasn’t impressed.

It inched closer, step by slow step, savoring their panic.

"P-Please... please go away!" they wailed, voices high-pitched with panic.

Suddenly—

CRACK!

A steel pole, glowing faintly with condensed energy, smashed into the beast’s side. A young guild member had appeared, wielding a weapon with two orbs crackling at the ends.

He attacked with fury and precision, holding nothing back. The battle raged fiercely across the room—floor cracked, walls scorched—but in the end, the guild member stood victorious, panting as the lizard beast collapsed in a heap behind him.

The mayors exhaled in shaky relief. Silver Wing... he must’ve left someone to protect us.

But then—

CRASH!

More lizard beasts poured through shattered windows, screeching as they descended into the room.

Without hesitation, the young warrior rushed to meet them.

Outnumbered five to one, he fought like a whirlwind—dodging, striking, spinning. Each slash of his pole left deep gashes, and slowly, he began to drop them, one after the other.

The mayors watched in awe. For the first time, they felt hope.

But it didn’t last.

The tide turned. More beasts entered, piling onto him like a living tide. The young guild member fought valiantly, never backing down, but his stamina waned, and eventually—

He fell.

Lifeless.

The beasts descended upon him, tearing into his body.

The mayors could only scream, the sound of their sobbing and soaked garments filling the room.

But just as the lizard beasts turned toward them—

THUD.

One collapsed.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

One after another, the beasts dropped dead. No roar. No flash. Just silence and falling bodies.

The mayors sat frozen, too afraid to speak.

Then one of them, heart pounding, crawled toward the nearest beast and examined its corpse.

"They’re... they’re dead," he whispered. "But... there are no wounds."

The others stared in disbelief. He was right. No bites, no slashes—just a single shallow cut on each of their foreheads.

Who—or what—did this?

---

High above, standing on the rooftop of the Silver Guild, a lone figure looked down with cold, calculating eyes.

He had short ash-gray hair, the fringe covering his left eye. Dressed in a blend of samurai and shinobi attire, a sheathed blade was strapped to his back.

He had silently eliminated the earlier wave of beasts with surgical precision—and now, he watched, debating his next move.

"I’m no hero," he muttered. "Besides... using my power always comes with a cost."

Still, his gaze drifted toward the battlefield. The odds down below were grim.

"Their chance of surviving this... is almost zero."

---

Back on the battlefield, the clash between Silver Wing and the Red Vanguard had escalated to brutal levels.

Silver Wing had begun to gain the upper hand, landing blow after blow. The Red Vanguard, though, remained resilient—grinning even through the pain. With a sudden leap, he soared into the sky to dodge a lethal strike.

Hovering mid-air, he chuckled. "Not bad for one of the A6..."

But then—he froze.

A monstrous presence loomed behind him.

Turning slowly, his eyes widened in horror.

A massive creature with obsidian skin and two jagged black horns towered behind him. The air around it shimmered with dark energy. Its jaw opened unnaturally wide, and within its mouth, a sphere of condensed darkness crackled and pulsed.

"No—!"

The beam fired.

A massive ray of pure destruction tore through the air, engulfing the Red Vanguard. He tried to block—but it was too late.

He was vaporized instantly.

The beam didn’t stop there. It carved through the battlefield, annihilating dozens of Silver Guild warriors and beast alike, leaving only silence and scorched earth in its wake.

On the ground, Silver Wing stood paralyzed. Cold sweat trickled down his face.

"That power..." he whispered.

There’s only one being who could cause that much destruction.

His eyes widened in horror.

"It’s the Portal Boss."

To be continued...