"Do you stock the newest issue of Super with Lux on the cover?"

Peep. Yunho swiped the last item over the scanner. He nodded his head to the magazine stand left of the counter.

"It's at the top left," he replied, chuckling at an overjoyed gasp. A mother had come into the store with her little daughter and the girl's eyes sparkled when her mother picked up the magazine and placed it on the counter. With another peep, the scanner rang it for her. The striking pose of a young man with blonde hair modelling the newest high-end brand was snatched right up to be pressed against the girl's chest.

"Your total is 23,739 Won," Yunho told her while the girl eagerly flicked through the pages on the hunt for a poster to hang in her room.

"Who is your favourite esper, sir?" She asked Yunho when she picked up on his gaze and he hummed.

"Probably Lux," he replied, and she beamed at him. While she babbled about her findings to her mom, Yunho finished up their transaction and wished them a lovely day. He was about to continue stacking his shelves and go for his lunch break soon.

But none of that.

The woman just barely turned around with her hand on her daughter's shoulder to steer her outside, when a shrill cry pierced the air. Instantly, her hand flew to her bag while Yunho scrambled for his phone which vibrated on the counter with the same deafening noise, threatening to fling itself onto the ground.

The moment Yunho blinked at the glaring red warning message on the screen, the dull mumble of the TV in the corner blared the same information.

"Seoul security warning: A level B rift appeared in Yongsan district near Yonsei University. Evacuate the area immediately. Take shelter in designated areas and heed police instructions. Do not fight unless properly trained. Espers are dispatched."

"Shit." Yunho slipped his phone into his pocket and lunged over the counter. His two customers huddled in the corner as he dashed for the glass doors.

The streets outside were in mayhem. People ran for their lives, streaming towards the subway system and the university. Local police were on the move, directing them with speakers and bright flares. Everyone knew the protocol, so they left any other business.

Yunho yanked the door open as the first people rushed his way. The shelter symbol on the window promised safety and another four people made it inside in time before the ominous red glow across the roofs took over the sky.

After making sure no one else came to his store, Yunho slammed the door shut and wound its chain around the handles. He rushed past the panting people, trembling with the same adrenaline and fear.

"Everyone grab some snacks and get down into the bunker," he instructed them, and they hustled to comply. They clambered through the trapdoor behind the counter, the mother soothing her confused child. Probably her first rift out in public.

Yunho handed a man the emergency kit and shut off the TV and all the lights. Red bathed the skies with blood. An ominous hum came from a few streets down, shifting and crackling in the air.

The streets were abandoned. Dozens of people disappeared within minutes, and only drones whizzed through the air to check on the situation. The district would be sealed off with barricades, letting nothing out.

Yunho ducked into the bunker and sealed it. Downstairs was another TV and its pale hue flicked over the assembled strangers' tense faces as they watched the footage. While Yunho cleaned his glasses, their phones blared another report. Through the protective walls of the bunker, the noise would be inaudible. They were lucky it was only level B. Anything above, and this place wouldn't have been safe.

"Update on the level B rift. It is currently under control from local police, reinforcements have arrived. Two espers are about to arrive. Stay in shelters until further instructions."

The drone footage circled around the long cut in the air. It hovered at roof level above the ground, glowing in its red streak like a scar in the sky. Police ducking behind shields and helmets swarmed it, guns drawn for an immediate attack.

No one dared a breath. With rapt attention, they watched as the rift opened, less than ten minutes after the first manifestation and warning signal. Gleaming light from the other world streamed through and dark shadows wound in between, like a morbid mass of limbs trying to spill over.

The little girl hid in her mother's arms, terrified by the sight. When the demons finally broke free to rip through the membrane parting them from the human realm, she shrieked in fear.

Gunfire opened immediately. Black blood splattered over the pavement when their limbs were punched back by bullets, convulsing grotesquely or splattering apart into fleshy globs. But more kept coming and once the police reloaded their guns, the monsters spilled over the bodies of their kin.

Demons all looked different and Yunho had the luck of never having witnessed one up close. Some had wings and horns and tails, others looked hauntingly humanoid. Their shared attribute were their blood-red eyes glinting with hunger and murder.

The first made it onto the ground and dashed into the assembled soldiers. The noise of gunfire and blades meeting sharp claws frizzled through their ears and made Yunho shudder. Just a few streets away from them, a blood bath unveiled.

The soldiers kept their position, trained to deal with rifts up to level B. But they had to back away slowly, using smoke bombs and gasses to confuse the demons shrieking at them.

Something whizzed past the drone whose footage they were watching with rapt attention. A person plummeted from the roof of a building into the thick smoke and the earth trembled when new powers stirred it.

The girl gasped, suddenly starry-eyed once more against the chaos.

"The espers are here! Mommy, the espers will save us!"

Everyone witnessed with breathless awe as the woman plunged into the crowd. Her arms had formed into blades of steel and stabbed viciously at the writhing crowd of demons. Quick with agility, she moved left and right, disorienting the horde and loosening up their bundles for the police to shoot.

Her companion soon arrived, and the earth crumbled around the stretch of his arms. He used the concrete to trip up the horde and created barriers between the fighters and their foes, offering moments of reprieve and protection.

The two espers were in uniform, wearing the gleaming white to make them stand out against blue police and sinister demons. They were classically one level over the rift they were fighting, so the demons were an easy challenge to them. Bit by bit, the horde depleted among the trembling earth.

Whispers of fear turned into cheers. Some people recognised the espers from magazines and interviews and hailed their abilities. It looked easy now, the push and pull of the strategised military and foolish demons running right into the bullet rain. The people in the bunker relaxed against the trembling of the earth that came in their protection.

That was until the tides changed.

Rifts usually closed after certain periods of time. The bigger the rift, the higher the amount of demons and the risk.

This one was about to close, but something else picked up on the luring scent of the human world.

Massive claws curled around the edge of the rift as if pushing it open. A horned head wound through the narrow opening, pushing its limit to squeeze through. More demons spilled along with it like dolls and the espers backed away together with the police.

Even the untrained eye could tell that this one was too big to be battled with their current abilities. Yunho sucked in a breath.

Vicious, red eyes scanned the assembled police force and the two espers. Two people in green clothing stood close to them, guiding them with supportive touches. Their screams were stuck at the tip of their tongues when the demon placed a massive leg on the ground, squeezing from its prison with another earthquake.

"Update on the level B rift. An A-class demon appeared and police control cannot be confirmed. More espers on the way. Stay in shelters until further instructions. Do not make noises. Do not move into the sight of the demons."

Yunho flinched when a massive arm came down at the tense soldiers. Red splattered across the camera screen when they were mowed down like grass. Limp bodies flung into the air. The espers lunged into another attack. They were the same level as the demon, so a win wasn't impossible.

But at the end of the day, humans couldn't compare with the power of demons.

The girl cried into her mother's shoulder when she was yanked around to stop looking at the screen. A chill filled the hearts of the remaining adults who watched the massacre. The surrounding walls trembled as the demon flicked at bodies and cars, barely harmed by regular bullets. They had to watch and listen to the wails of dying people, flinched when the male esper was flicked into a building by a vicious tail and the earth rumbled under their feet, no longer secure, but they had nowhere to run.

As the doom sunk into their stomachs, Yunho could do nothing but duck his head into his hands and clutch to himself in fear. Once again, everyone could end within moments.

It didn't matter how tall he was, or how brave. Didn't matter he did his military service and trained for emergencies at work. All he could do was to usher these customers into the bunker.

He relied on salvation as much as anyone else. Only the espers could get rid of the demon brood.

And they came.

The demon damaged some buildings and the smaller monsters rushed past the crumbled barricades into the nearby streets to search for a meal. Though their massive companion wanted to follow, it was disrupted by a ray of gleaming light.

Someone sucked in their breath.

"That is Lux!"

The girl peered up in time to see the white uniform dawning through the skies like an angel. A gleaming blade rested in the man's hand as he faced the demon without fear. Yunho had seen footage of this esper before. How he split demons apart on his blades of light and easily wiped out entire hordes.

They were about to witness it, but a rattling had them freeze. The TV abruptly clicked off and darkness enveloped them in the bunker.

Sharp claws scratched over the windows, either picking up on their scent or smart enough to know what the sign meant. With a growl, it rattled at the chains.

Usually, the bunker would hold out. They could duck away and hide from smaller demons.

But not with the massive one so close.

Yunho assumed it got hurt because an inhumane groan audible from outside made his hair stand on end. The earthquake that followed was worse than any prior one. The entire building shook and dust rained from the ceiling. Something nearby crashed and splintered. Metal screeched.

In utter silence, the group huddled into the bunker looked at each other with naked fear. No one dared move a finger.

Heavy limbs scrambled over the ground, right to the source of their smell. It thickened with their fear and a moment later, claws scratched over the door right at the staircase.

A yell tore out of the girl's chest and her mother hastily pressed her fingers onto her lips, but the response was immediate. With a growl, the beast tore the damaged door right off and loomed in the red light shrouding it. Drool dripped from greedy jaws with razor-sharp teeth in an oblong head, and Yunho was frozen at the sight of those wicked eyes.

People scrambled backwards, away from the danger, and a knee knocked into Yunho's side. The demon leapt down towards them, jaws wide open to devour the scrambling people.

Yunho had never looked death into the eye. He liked to think of himself as resilient and reliable, an average student and a kind friend. Good for human standards, but nothing in the face of their enemies.

He couldn't move. Stared at the beast that had also frozen in its movement as if enraptured by him. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as his life flashed before his eyes.

Dust rained from the ceiling. The smoke was thick in Yunho's lungs, blurring his vision and making his hearing dull until he barely heard the cries of the people. The shelves of the convenience store crumbled like paper. Demonic shrieks filled the air outside. He felt more alive than ever before.

The creature's red eyes were wide awake and full of greed, but it didn't move. Yunho felt so heavy, so exhausted by watching it. Praying the stare down meant something more than it estimating its prey.

The headache that bore into his head the next moment made him cry out. It was sharp and violent, as if a knife dug into his brain and his hands flew up. He crumbled, wailing, and the demon reeled back as if it woke from a trance. It moved slowly, sluggishly, about to jump on the body writhing on the ground.

Its hiss choked up when a blade impaled it from behind. The exhausted esper had arrived, panting harshly against the crumbling figure that slipped off the weapon. Its double-jointed limbs crumbled to the ground, making the assembled humans scramble once more.

Yunho's sight was blurry when he looked up at her. Tried to stutter a thanks because he didn't know what was going on and if he was hurt. Her gaze on him was calculating, as if he might be.

Shivers wracked his spine. The pain became easier, but it was accompanied by a swift darkness.

The dripping blade morphed back into an arm as she pressed her fingers to the comm in her ear.

"Sir, please join us at the CU marked by my location. Someone just awakened."

Yunho lost consciousness.

*********

Welcome to the first book of a Yungi trilogy! The setting uses the sentinel/esper and guide trope if you want to read up on it, but I will explain it within my universe as well! Hope you enjoy!