"Are you all sure you want to do this?" Principal asked.

Bianca, Erica, Aoi, Irene, and I all stood in front of the Principal. Behind her was a rift, a tear through the fabric of our reality.

The others stood by the helicopter. We were all alone by the rift, except for the guards which blocked the area off from pedestrians and lower-ranked adventurers.

"An Open Rift is incredibly dangerous, and you usually wouldn't be able to go inside." Principal continued to explain. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"I will follow Ken." Irene stated.

"My brother..." Bianca murmured, nodding her head.

Erica glanced at Bianca, saddened by Bianca's current mood. "I'll do it." She decided.

"Yes." Aoi emotionlessly replied.

"Alright." Principal sighed. "I want you four to stay safe, no matter what. Even if you have to leave the rift early."

"Due to our info from Brandon before he went missing, time works the exact same in that world as ours does." She stated.

Adventurers often relay information to people outside through special phones which can connect through realities as long as the rift is still open.

You want to know why people are so freaked out about Brandon's "disappearance", enough to call the Principal?

It's because he stopped relaying information. He and the other S Rank have been silent for an hour or two now.

"We have 5 hours remaining until this rift closes. Even if you don't find Brandon, get back outside before time runs out. I don't want to lose you all too." Principal sadly informed.

This will be a race against time.

"And also, I've sent some important more info that we know to your phones." She added.

I glanced at my phone. Indeed, she had sent a text which contained information about known direction he went, and etc.

While I was on my phone, I decided to check the news. I looked at the titles all of the newspaper articles that were currently the hot topic this week.

"15 Dead From Minotaur Rift By Restaurant."

"Who Is The Children Of Lupercio? What Is Their Goal? A Discussion About The Group."

"Does The Rumored Cult Of Loki Exist?"

"Average Amount Of Rifts Increased By 50%, And Still Growing."

"Worried Because Of The Increase In Rifts? A Guide On Surviving A Monster Attack."

"Brandon Tsuki and Emi Yamamoto Enter A Rank Open Rift."

"New Conspiracy Theories Emerge About Our Current Time."

As you can tell, things are getting crazy. Crazy enough that conspiracy theories is a headline for an article.

"Hey!" A voice yelled, causing us to look over.

Goku Taiyou walked into the area. "What's with this super vague text Amber? And why have guards evacuated this whole area? What's going on? Is everything alright?"

"I can explain that." Principal replied, stepping in front of Goku and extending her arm for a handshake. "My name is Aiko Kato, Principal of Legacy High. You are Goku Taiyou, the S Rank and leader of the Taiyou Group, correct?"

"O-oh, yeah." Goku replied, slowly taking her hand and shaking it. "Pleasure to meet you."

Principal nodded. "We need your help. Brandon Tsuki and Emi Yamamoto have gone missing. I want you to go with Ken, Aoi, Irene, Erica, and Bianca into the Open Rift to find out what happened."

"Two S Ranks?" Goku questioned. "Why are these guys going then? You know how dangerous an Open Rift is."

"I know..." Principal trailed off, uneasily glancing at me.

"You can trust him." I mouthed to her. I've known Goku for a long time now. He's trustworthy. Not that I would ever admit it to his face though.

"Because The Demon King is coming back, and we don't know who we can trust." Principal stated.

Goku's eyes widened. "You're serious?"

"Yes." Principal nodded.

"I see..." Goku replied. He glanced towards us. "Are you five sure?"

"Yes." We all simultaneously agreed.

"Alright." Goku sighed. "Then what are you and the others doing?" He asked, gesturing towards the helicopter with the others.

"We're going to receive the seal that sealed the Demon King 50 years ago." Principal informed.

"Okay...you're going to need to explain this more later..." Sweatdropped Goku.

"Sure." Principal nodded, a sly smirk growing on her face. "It's a date." She nudged him in the side with her elbow, before walking off towards the helicopter.

Goku froze, his face red.

Principal turned back towards us. "All of you, stay safe. And contact me when you get out."

"Okay." I nodded.

A light smile appeared on her face before she climbed into the helicopter.

"Did...did that just happen?" Erica asked, confused.

"Guess so." I replied.

"A-alright!" Goku shook his head, snapping himself to attention. "How long do we got?"

"5 hours." Bianca and Aoi said at the same time. They look at each other before giving each other a small fist bump.

"Uh...alright then." Goku replied. "We're on a ticking clock." He set an alarm on his phone. "This alarm will go off after four hours. That's when we will start heading back to the rift."

"Now." Goku took a deep breath. "Let's go in."

We all started to head towards the rift, but Bianca hesitated for a moment.

"You alright?" I asked her.

"I'm..." Bianca didn't need to finish.

"Everything will be fine. I promise." I smiled at her.

"...okay." She replied.

I'm not breaking that promise.

We all walked through the rift. It was strange. In one moment I was in one world, and in the next I was in another world.

We were met with Rocky Mountains made out of what seemed to be lava which had been solid for hundreds of years.

It was barren, with no signs of life.

"I don't like this." Goku stated, narrowing his eyes. "I don't see any monsters in sight."

A growl then entered our ears.

"I think you jinxed it." Erica squeaked out.

The ground started to rumble as a black salamander looking creature dug it's way out of it, about the size of a bus. It looked towards us, growling as it flicked its tongue.

"It's a Lavard! That's B Rank!" Goku cursed. "Move!"

B Rank. The same rank as the Lesser Dragon and the Ice Golem.

We dashed to the side as the Lavard opened its mouth and a torrent of red fire burst out, scorching the ground.

Maybe the ground wasn't dried lava, but rather stone which had been scorched thousands of times to be charcoal black.

Goku summoned his Arcana. The shotgun materialized in his hands as he aimed it towards the Lavard.

A chain shot out of the shotgun, impaling the Lavard in its side. It screeched in pain, turning towards Goku.

Before it could do anything Goku pulled on the chain, pulling the Lavard into the air before slamming it down onto the ground on his opposite side.

Bianca summoned her Arcana, dashing towards the Lavard which laid on it's back, dazed. She stabbed the spear straight through it's head, instantly killing it.

"Those things are annoying." Goku sighed. "They come out of nowhere."

"You threw it." Noted Irene. "Strength amplification tier?"

"That, and my natural muscles." Grinned Goku as he flexed. "Alright, let's keep going."

The Lavard completely dissipated, leaving nothing behind.

We passed the rift, taking note of where it was. However, it wouldn't be tough to see. Most rifts were pretty visible, even from far distances.

From the information that Principal had sent us we determined which direction Brandon and the other S Rank Emi had gone. We went that way, hoping to find a sign of where they might have been.

After an hour of walking and fighting off Lavands, we finally found some sort of clue. The clue came in the form of a large hole in the ground.

We gazed at the hole, wondering what could have created it.

"How deep does it go down?" Erica wondered, gazing over the edge.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't stand that close." Goku said, pushing Erica slightly back. "Wouldn't want to fall in."

I checked the information on my phone for any sort of mention about the hole. And then my eyes caught one.

"Brandon informed us that he found some sort of hole in the ground. He says he's going to investigate."

There was no more info after that. Either that was the last info Principal provided us, or...the last info that Brandon had provided to them.

Then there's also the fact that in the anime to find this Emi they also went through a hole. While it wasn't this one, there could be a connection.

Like a series of tunnels, which is what the hole from the anime leads to?

"Hey guys, I think this is where they went missing." I stated, gazing at the hole.