I entered a gate, and as I stepped inside, I felt strange. Why is this place so vast?
"I didn't enter the wrong gate, did I?"

[The system has detected an anomaly.]
[Location: Unknown Dimension.]
[Adjusting user status...]

Satou narrowed his eyes. An unknown dimension? Is this part of his system, or something else?

Barren land, a gloomy sky, a spiky terrain... Wait—could this be!? Before he could finish his thoughts—

A sudden rumbling sound came from the distance. A group of strange humanoid creatures ran through the ruins.

"Shuuki..."

One of the creatures lunged at him, but he managed to dodge. "Looks like I was right. This... is Mato Hell."

More of those creatures appeared—if he remembered correctly, they were called Shuuki.

A notification popped up:

[Unknown?]
[Warning! Entity not registered in the database.]

These creatures weren't recognized by the system?
"I'd better take care of them first."

He summoned Kasaka's Venom Fang, a black dagger that radiated a faint poisonous aura, from his inventory. Souta tightened his grip on it, his eyes scanning the battlefield—barren land filled with ruins, with dozens of Shuuki charging at him like a pack of wild beasts.

"Tsk. There are too many of them."

One Shuuki leaped from the right. With quick reflexes, Souta ducked and stabbed his dagger into the creature's neck, causing black blood to spurt before it collapsed onto the ground.

But the attacks didn't stop. Two Shuuki came at him from behind. Souta jumped to the side, barely avoiding their sharp claws that could have torn his back open. As he landed, he spun around and swiftly slashed his dagger.

Crash!

One Shuuki's head was severed, while the other remained standing, growling ferociously.

[Critical Hit!]

A group of Shuuki had already surrounded him.

Without hesitation, Souta activated Dash, his body shooting forward like lightning past two Shuuki in front of him. As he ran, he swung his dagger horizontally—slicing through their bodies in an instant.

But before he could catch his breath, a massive Shuuki with a hulking body slammed its fist into the ground, sending shockwaves that kicked up dust.

"A tank-type monster?" he muttered, preparing for the next attack.

The giant Shuuki charged at him, swinging its massive arm. Souta waited until the last second, then jumped up, spun in the air, and stabbed Kasaka's Venom Fang straight into the monster's right eye.

"Now!"

The dagger pierced deep. The giant Shuuki let out a painful shriek, its body writhing wildly. Souta quickly pulled out his weapon and stabbed it again—this time into its throat.

[Enemy defeated!]

Souta jumped down, exhaling deeply.

But before he could rest, another rumbling sound echoed. More Shuuki began to swarm in from the distance.

"Tsk. This will be a waste of time if I keep fighting like this."

He had to find a safe place before running out of stamina. He ran swiftly, cutting down any Shuuki that tried to block his way.

As he slashed the last Shuuki, its body hit the ground with a heavy thud. His breath was slightly ragged.

Then, suddenly—

[Level Up!]

A warm energy surged through his body. His muscles felt lighter, and the fatigue that had been eating away at him slowly faded.

"I leveled up?" he muttered, staring at the translucent screen floating in front of him.

He moved his fingers, checking his stats. Not only were his HP and stamina restored, but his physical stats had also increased slightly.

Souta tightened his grip on Kasaka's Venom Fang.

"So I can gain EXP even though the system doesn't recognize the Shuuki? Interesting."

But before he could think further, another rumbling noise was heard. A new wave of Shuuki was approaching from the distance.

Souta sighed. "Looks like rest is still far from possible."

As Souta ran, fighting through the ever-increasing waves of Shuuki, he kept his eyes on the road ahead, searching for a safe place.

Suddenly, a sound he didn't expect echoed in the distance—the sound of an engine.

"Hmm?" Souta paused for a moment, squinting his eyes to identify the source of the noise.

The rumbling engine sound grew louder, approaching at high speed. Without thinking, Souta quickly turned around and took cover behind the ruins of a concrete wall.

"Hey, can you hear me?" A woman's voice called out, slightly hurried but clear.
"Please answer if you can!"

Souta held his breath, hiding behind the crumbling wall. In a split second, he caught sight of something unexpected. In the distance, a jeep was speeding toward him, kicking up a cloud of dust as it raced across the battlefield.

Souta observed the vehicle carefully, waiting to see what would happen next while continuing to kill any Shuuki that got too close.

"Hey!"

The woman's voice grew louder, filled with urgency this time. That's when a white-haired woman appeared on top of the jeep, her expression sharp and alert.

She was riding something... white.

Souta frowned. Was that... a Shuuki too?

Before he could analyze further, the woman leaped down and rode the creature with ease, charging into the Shuuki horde that was attacking him. In mere moments, the Shuuki that had threatened him were effortlessly slaughtered.

Souta was stunned, not expecting to witness such a swift battle. They were incredibly strong—far stronger than him.

"Hey, kid, were you the one who killed all these Shuuki?"

The woman glanced at the scattered corpses, her eyes sharp yet filled with curiosity. Souta hesitated but nodded.

The woman looked both surprised and doubtful. "There are many things I want to ask, but..." She hesitated. "For now, we should get out of here."

She turned around. "Himari!"

A jeep pulled up to their location. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot." The woman turned back to him.

"My name is Uzen Kyouka, leader of Unit 7 of the Anti-Demon Corps," she stated firmly.

Souta was shocked. The Anti-Demon Corps? The organization that served as Japan's main fighting force?

"What's your name, kid?" the woman asked.

"Souta Hayashi," he answered.

"You can call me Uzen," she said.

"Understood, Leader Uzen."

Leader Uzen turned and gave an order to the blue-haired girl. "Himari, take this boy to our headquarters."

As I got into the jeep, I realized there was one more person inside—a small girl with pink hair. She greeted me cheerfully and introduced herself.

"Hello, big brother! My name is Nei Ookawamura."

"Oh, and the one driving is Himari Azuma, Vice Leader of Unit 7."

The little girl introduced herself and her team members.

"Can Nei-chan know your name?" she asked excitedly.

"Souta Hayashi."

"Can I call you Souta-san?"

This girl was incredibly curious, even toward someone she had just met. But she seemed kind.

"Sure."

"Yay! Thank you, Souta-san!"

She was so energetic—I couldn't help but smile at her antics. She reminded me of my little sister.

"Hey, have you met Yuuki-san, Souta-san?"
"Yuuki? Who is that?"
She chuckled and replied, "Yuuki-san is the white creature that Kyouka-san rides."
That white creature? "Wait, is he human?"
"Yes, he is human, and what you see is Yuuki-san's slave form."

But aren't men supposed to be unable to gain abilities from the Mato Peach? Could it be that he has a system like me? "Where does his power come from?"
"Oh, that's part of Kyouka-san's ability."
Ability? I see. It seems that even though men can't gain abilities from the Mato Peach, there are many other ways to obtain power.

"Is he the only man here?" As far as I remember, the Anti-Demon Corps consisted only of women.
"Yes, he is the only man in the Anti-Demon Corps. It's uncommon for men to be in the Anti-Demon Corps."

Hmm, so I was right.

We continued our journey. Then, another woman joined us, riding a motorcycle.
"Nei-chan, Himari. Is the victim safe?"
"Yes! They're safe, Shushu-chan!"

Just after she said that, a horde of Shuuki appeared. The short-haired blonde girl who was riding the motorcycle immediately stopped, then altered her body size.

Our car also came to a halt. The woman driving got out and looked at me.
"Hey, you! Take care of Nei-chan for a moment," she said before turning around and transforming her arm into a weapon.

"You're lucky, Souta-san, because you're about to see our unit fight!"

The two women charged forward, attacking the Shuuki that had surrounded us. Although they seemed to be handling it well, I had a bad feeling.
"What's wrong, Souta-san?"
"It's nothing," I replied. Maybe it was just my imagination.

The ground trembled as the terrifying creatures charged, their glowing eyes fixated on the two girls standing in the middle of the battlefield—Shushu Suruga and Himari Azuma.

Without hesitation, Shushu dashed forward. Her body rapidly expanded, sending out a strong gust of wind that knocked down several nearby Shuuki. With her giant fist, she slammed the ground, creating a shockwave that shattered their formation. The Shuuki caught in her attack were sent flying, their bodies crushed as they crashed into the surrounding debris.

As the Shuuki formation crumbled, Himari stepped forward with a determined gaze. Her arm swiftly transformed into a gleaming firearm under the moonlight.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A barrage of energy bullets rained down from her weaponized arm, slaughtering the scattered Shuuki. In mere moments, dozens of them collapsed, their bodies riddled with holes before disintegrating into dust. But more waves of enemies kept coming—bigger, faster, and more ferocious.

Realizing that they would be overwhelmed if they continued like this, Himari decided to increase her attack power. She whispered to herself,
"Time to get serious…"

Suddenly, shadows spread from her body. Within seconds, multiple clones of Himari emerged, each with an intense battle-ready expression. Every clone transformed their arms into various firearms—machine guns, laser cannons, and even chainsaws.

"Full Blast!"

The clones opened fire on the Shuuki from all directions, unleashing a storm of bullets that shook the entire area. Beams of energy sliced through the Shuuki trying to close in, while the roaring chainsaws shredded those unfortunate enough to get too close.

However, the situation remained dire. Though strong, Shushu had to face several colossal Shuuki that were much tougher than the others. One of them—a humanoid monster as tall as a building—lunged at her, its claws ready to tear through her flesh.

"Damn!" Shushu braced herself to block the attack, but the enemy's movement was faster than she expected.

BOOM!

The monster's attack was about to land, but before its claws could reach her, one of Himari's clones had already leaped onto the giant Shuuki's shoulders!

"You're too slow," the Himari clone whispered as she channeled energy into her hand.

Her arm transformed once again, this time into a beastly claw. In one swift motion, she unleashed Beast Power, striking the giant Shuuki's head with overwhelming force.

BOOM!

The monster staggered from the impact before finally collapsing to the ground, motionless.

Shushu glanced at the Himari clone standing atop the defeated Shuuki. With a satisfied smirk, she clenched her fist.

"Nice work! But don't let your guard down—we still have more to take down!"

Himari and her clones prepared for the next wave, while Shushu got back into her fighting stance. With even stronger enemies approaching, the battle was far from over.

They were incredibly strong. So far, there should be no problem.

Shuuki corpses lay scattered everywhere. Himari, slightly exhausted, had deactivated all of her abilities, while Shushu had returned to her normal size.

Just as they were taking a brief rest, a swirling energy vortex appeared nearby.

A gate?

As the gate fully formed, a notification appeared in front of me.

[A gate has appeared]

A notification? That means…!

"You two! Get away from that gate!"

Hearing my warning, they quickly backed away.
"What is it? Is something wrong?"

Before I could answer, another horde of Shuuki appeared—this time even larger than before.

"Crap!" the short-haired girl panicked. "We're surrounded!"

"We're not strong enough to fight all of them."

Suddenly, several Shuuki were slain, and Captain Uzen appeared. Some of the Shuuki shifted their focus toward her, but most still targeted us.

"Himari! I'll try to open a path!"

At first, it worked, but before we could take advantage of the gap, two massive Shuuki appeared.

"This is too risky! If there were no Mato victims here, we could just escape."

The girl turned to look at the gate.
"Nei-chan, Shushu, and you—we're entering the gate."

"No! It's too dangerous!"

Especially since I didn't know the gate's rank yet.

"What do you mean? It's even more dangerous out here!"

"Enough! We have to move quickly! Besides, this gate should lead us back to the human world, so there's nothing to worry about."

It's true that the gates connecting the Mato dimension to the human world look exactly like this, but many gates actually lead to dungeons.

It seemed like I was the only one who knew about the existence of dungeons—thanks to the system I had.

I should let the system analyze the gate's rank first.
"Wait a moment."

The girl looked a bit annoyed.
"What now?"

After waiting for a while, a notification appeared.

[Gate: Rank C]

Alright, if it's Rank C, there shouldn't be a problem.

"Let's go in."

"Captain! We're entering the gate!"

Captain Uzen hesitated for a moment.
"Alright, I'll leave them to you, Himari!"

"Understood!"

The moment we entered the gate, I felt something was off.

No way…!

When I turned back, the gate had turned red.

"A Red Gate!?"

I immediately tried to push Nei out of the gate, but it was useless. Half of my body was still outside the gate, and I turned to Captain Uzen.

"Captain Uzen!"

She turned around, shocked by what had happened. Without hesitation, she rushed towards us on the white creature, but it was too late.

"Captain Uzen, get help! Right now—!"

I was pulled back in.

Captain Uzen's face turned pale. She tried to enter the gate but couldn't, as if access had been sealed.

"Yuuki! Get away from here for now!"

"Understood!"

Yuuki swiftly maneuvered away from the remaining Shuuki. Once in a safe location, Captain Uzen took out her phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, Kyouka! Why are you late?"

"Sorry, Commander, but we need help! Right now!"

The tension in the air grew.
"Help? What happened?"

Captain Uzen explained the situation.

"What?! What about them?"

"I'm not sure, but the gate hasn't disappeared—it just became inaccessible."

"Then we'll head there immediately!"

The commander hung up and turned to the other unit captains in the meeting room.

"What happened, Commander?" Tatara Konomi asked.

"Unit 7 is in trouble. Himari, Shushu, Nei, and a Mato gate victim are trapped inside a gate that turned red."

"A gate? You mean the ones that connect the Mato and human worlds?"

The commander nodded.
"But Kyouka said the gate looked exactly like the usual ones connecting Mato and the human world."

"What about those trapped inside?!" Fubuki Azuma asked.

"Unknown. Shortly after the gate turned red… it became completely inaccessible."

Silence filled the room.

"This has never happened before. I need all unit captains to head there immediately. I'm worried this is the work of the Thunder God."

All the captains nodded in unison.
"Understood!"