"Oh- oh! It’s turning blue!"
"Huh? It really turned blue!"
As the previously ominous Gate shed its yellow color, the reporters and the fans who had camped in the nearest vantage point were greatly alerted.
No matter how many people trusted Aurora or believed in the higher-ups’ empty promises, no one could have expected things to take off right from the get-go.
"Crazy! How much ti had passed? Has it even been a full day?!"
"Amazing, if it’s at this pace..."
The caran hurriedly suited up in order to accommodate the reporters who wanted to report the news first as the street busied up.
So skeptics had been doubtful before, but now, almost everyone could feel the excitent.
Perhaps this day would really mark the start of a world-changing event!
"Aurora! Aurora! Aurora!"
"Dawnbringer! Dawnbringer! Dawnbringer!"
Even the fans put on their Hero of Light rch, exploding with a wave of cheers. Since they were witnessing history, they might as well be part of it!
As for whether this colored Gate Clear would end in the sa way as the last one, no one bothered considering that possibility.
After all, unlike last ti, all mbers of the team had been handpicked by grand figures of authority.
Did it make sense for the people behind this project to personally sabotage it?
"This... Who is that?"
The first thing to erge from the now Blue Gate was a shoe. A second later, the owner of that shoe heavily pushed their body out of the Gate.
"Co on now, you can’t tell? Look at the inky black hair with pink ends, look at those eyes..."
Considering the non-existent lilight she received during the team creation announcent, it was actually quite justified for the majority of the people to not recognize her.
"It’s obviously Star Pupils, the fifth mber of New Team Aurora!"
However, to the ga fan standing at the lead who prided himself on being knowledgeable about anything Aurora, there was no greater insult.
In his personal opinion, those star-filled eyes were truly quite morable. How was it even possible for people to forget them?
"Right, there was soone like that... But why is she moving like that?"
Still, regarding this inquiry, the ga fan couldn’t help but agree. Star Pupils was indeed moving out very slowly, seemingly dragging sothing heavy out with her.
"Is it loot? Enigma Stones?"
"Maybe this was a monster horde-type Gate? But finishing it in less than one day..."
However, before people could finish their speculations, they quickly received the answer.
Gasp!
"This... No way!"
The sight that greeted everyone’s eyes was quite a shock. There was simply too much red. Even the shining golden hair had turned crimson.
"Aurora!"
"dics! Bring the Healers!"
The person that Star Pupils was dragging was Aurora!
The Hero of Light was covered in bloodied injuries from head to toe!
"Isn’t soone going to step forward?"
The crowd’s distressed cries were silenced by Kara’s cold words. Despite the commotion, none of the assigned dical team had stepped forward to take the injured Aurora.
"Sorry! Make way! Sorry..."
Just then, a person wearing a disheveled paradic uniform squeezed himself out from the crowd. Anyone who saw his cloudy eyes could tell that he had woken up just now.
"What about Doctor Yan?"
Still, just hearing Kara’s cold voice made him sober up imdiately as words struggled to co up his throat.
"Sorry for being late... The dical team underwent a last-minute restructuring shortly after the Heroes had entered the Gate. Doctor Yan received a different assignnt elsewhere."
"Huh?"
The ssy paradic’s words threw the crowd into an even bigger commotion.
"Doctor Yan has always been on every dical ergency team assigned to Aurora whenever she entered any Gate, even normal ones."
"Yeah, what nonsense is this? Assigned elsewhere when Aurora risked entering a colored Gate? The first one on a long project roster, no less?"
While the crowd complained, two more paradics finally arrived with the gurney. However, seeing everyone’s glares, they froze in place without continuing their duty.
"The only thing I have been told is that her other assignnt was just as important. They might not be as good, but we still have other Healing Ability Users on the team."
"Haaa. I understand."
Letting out a short sigh, Kara propped Aurora forward. Only, the paradics still didn’t know what to do first.
"What are you waiting for? Take the patient."
"Ah, yes! You two, hurry up!"
Finally setting the gurney in place, Kara placed Aurora on top of it.
Once she was properly settled in, the paradics pushed the gurney back to their station.
Thankfully, this ti, the crowd automatically parted in front of them, allowing for a smooth retreat.
"Just what could have happened?"
With Aurora passing by right next to them, everyone could now properly see the state that their favorite Hero was in.
Things didn’t seem to have been bad enough for the Hero of Light to get knocked out. However, although her eyes were still open, they were weary and cold as if she was in shock.
From the looks of it, while Aurora’s state wasn’t overly critical, she appeared to have suffered considerable damage.
"You’d better take care of her!"
"Get well, Aurora!"
"Take all the ti you need! The other Gates can wait!"
"Heh, why so sentintal? She should just get patched up enough to finish the rest in ti. She can rest for as long as she wants after she gets the job done!"
"Huh? Who said that?!"
"He is not wrong, you know?"
"Why you?! How could you say-"
As conflicting opinions echoed on the street, the crowd almost broke into a street fight between Aurora fans and the skeptical observers.
In the end, however, the police personnel regulating the whole event interfered to break everyone up.
"As you can see, the start was quite promising. However, the cost was anything but cheap. Is this Aurora’s way of repenting for her most-rembered failure, or are her new teammates simply too incompetent?"
Amidst the receding noise, one news reporter stood on the side, quickly drawing the conclusion of her report.
As she intentionally took a brief pause, the cara was redirected to the remainder of the team as they exited the Gate with crestfallen faces and drooping shoulders.
"After such an unfortunate start, would it be an opportunity for New Team Aurora to reconsider their approach and rise from the ashes? Or will our dear Hero Aurora continue to suffer, putting an end to her ambitious project once and for all? Stay tuned to find out!"
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