The battle erupted in a vortex of steel, mana, and sheer desperation.
Bruce was the first to charge, his greatsword shrieking through the air, aiming to cleave the beast in two. The creature was too fast, however. It leaped over the blow easily, its dark form blurring in mid-air.
BANG! BANG!
Shots from Lawlet echoed through the night, bullets tearing through the creature's skin as it dropped. Although the wounds were shallow, they made the creature respond, and Bruce had a vital window of time.
"Take that, you bastard!" Bruce bellowed, veins popping as mana coursed through his arms. He struck again, using every ounce of body weight behind the blow. The beast had no option—it had to absorb the hit.
The ground trembled with the impact, earth exploding outward as Bruce's greatsword bit into the beast's chest. For a fraction of a second, it appeared he had triumphed—before the creature's clawed hand flashed out, seizing the sword.
"What the hell?!" Bruce cried out as, with impossible power, the beast lifted both him and his sword into the air.
Its mouth opened, rows of shining fangs poised to snap his head off cleanly.
But then—
"First style: Counter—Single Thrust!"
A blur.
Yulli's sword bit into the chest of the beast, cutting deep. The beast howled in agony and dropped Bruce, who crashed onto the ground with a loud THUD before rolling out of danger.
Yulli winced. "Damn it… too shallow!"
It swept its arm around him before he even had a chance to respond, hitting him squarely in the chest. The blow was numbing—he hardly had time to get his sword up to a blocking position, but the impact alone still hurled him back across the battlefield, crashing him against a broken wall.
CRACK!
Debris and dust swirled. Yulli struggled to sit up. His entire body cried out in agony.
"Yulli!" Lawlet bellowed.
"Lawlet, watch out!"
Remi's demanding voice rang in his mind the moment the creature attacked, claws aiming straight for his throat.
Lawlet's heart missed a beat. He had hardly any time to respond—
But Bruce did.
The huge Hunter flung himself between them, catching the beast in mid-charge. Sheer brute strength sent his arms around its torso, embracing it tightly. "I've got him! Do what you must!" Bruce gritted his teeth, muscles straining against the creature's strength.
Lawlet quickly sidestepped, raising his gun. Click.
Empty.
"Damn it, I'm out!" His mana supply was gone too—he tried to form another bullet, but nothing happened.
"Don't worry, I've got your back!"
Remi's voice resonated in his head.
A surge of mana flooded into him, running through his veins like fire. His gun hummed with power.
"Take some of mine," Remi said. "I think we're compatible."
A wave of clarity swept through Lawlet—his eyes cleared. The world slowed. His hand stabilized, his focus fixed on target.
He could see the weak point.
One deep, focused breath.
BOOM.
The final shot rang out like thunder.
The bullet—now infused with Remi's mana—traveled at supersonic velocity. It ripped through the monster's cranium, its velocity unchecked.
The beast convulsed, its body locking up prior to—
SILENCE.
Then, it collapsed.
The dust settled, and the only remaining noise was their own ragged breathing.
"Did we win?" Bruce panted, his breath ragged, his greatsword trembling in his grip.
Lawlet barely had the strength to reply. "I'm not sure—"
Then came the sickening sound of flesh knitting back together.
The beast twitched. Its body jerked unnaturally, and before their horrified eyes, its gaping wounds sealed shut, muscles regenerating as if the damage had been nothing but a scratch.
Bruce's exhausted face twisted into pure disbelief. "You've GOT to be kidding me! It has regeneration?!"
Before they could react, the beast snarled and lunged.
Everything went black.
'Yulli. wake up! Yulli!"
His body was lead, his head throbbing.
Yulli hardly noticed Remi's panicked voice in his mind through the chaos.
"Wake up! You need to wake up! Bruce and Lawlet, they—they—"
Confusion seized him as his eyes focused into clarity. His eyes opened—
Bruce and Lawlet were on the ground, hardly moving. There was blood on the sidewalk where they lay, their bodies contorting in agony.
The creature towered over them, its massive claws in the air, ready to deliver the killing stroke.
And Remi—she was kneeling on the floor, trembling, crying, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You must assist them, Yulli… you are the only one remaining."
" Damn it."
Yulli ground his teeth, willing himself upright. His legs protested with a scream, his body still throbbing from the latest impact. He grasped for his sword—
Yet the instant his fingers made contact with the hilt, his hand stopped.
A cold sweat burst forth on his skin. His breath hitched. His fingers shook involuntarily. He was scared. No—terrified.
Not of the beast.
Of dying.
Yulli was forever gasping for air when all of a sudden, his own vision was blurred.
Charlotte.
A grotesquely alluring silhouette emerged as if from behind a veil of night. Cold familiarity invaded his being, poisonous with the silkiness of her voice.
"Aww...what's wrong?" She tilted her head, her haughty smile carving deeper into her face, making him feel as if she reveled in the moments of his suffering. "Not going to fight?"
Yulli felt his breath sharpen.
"Too afraid to die?" Her gaze pierced through him again, stepping closer, mocking him in her laughter now. "Heh. You signed up for this, knowing Hunters die young."
She took a step back, her arms crossed, her mood darkening.
"So tell me... why the hesitation now? You killed me before… what makes this any different?"
Heart racing alarmingly.
Legs would not budge.
Body trembling.
Between the quaking whispers of the world ever blurring around him.
Stone-cold limbs; his body trembled; breath rasping. The apparition of his mother: her once-warm presence now like a lead weight on his chest.
"Why do you resist?" she whispered. "Why struggle, Yulli? You can't change your fate."
Sickly sweet, each inflected syllable spat venom.
Through gritted teeth, Yulli talked.
His fingers twitched in an effort of tightening their hold upon the hilt of his blade.
"No more."
He felt the cold steel bite into his palm as he drew it forth just a little bit more. A brief sting, warmth sliding down his fingers. The pain brought him back to his senses.
The illusion dissolved.
The apparition that claimed to be his mother vanished into nothingness.
The mundane reality cascaded into him: the beast stood there, gargantuan and snarling, fixated upon his fallen allies. Slowly, tauntingly, it moved to take the next step forward as though savoring the very act of its demise.
Not yet.
Summoning every last ounce of strength from his battered body, Yulli charged.
"Second Style: Dancing Sky!"
He dug his foot into the dirt, pouring the last of his energy into his legs, leaping!
Gripping his sword with both hands, he swung down with it to hack at the beast's face.
Deeply and viscously, the gash tore through the thing's snout.
A hair-raising howl erupted from it as its head snapped sideways; blood sprayed across the pavement.
Still not good enough.
Yulli crashed to earth, knees crumpling beneath him.
His chest pumped up and down as hard as it could; all of this felt as if it happened in slow motion. He had exhausted all his energy on that one attack.
And yet, the beast remained standing.
"Not enough to take it down…" His voice like a whisper, barely audible.
The creature, despite all of its wounds, turned once again to consider him. It still bore its hunger, still moving.
His body refused to respond. His legs burned; his arms were heavy. Nothing remained.
And still, he forced himself to stand.
If he was going to die...
Then he'd die upon his feet.
"Is this how I go out?" he thought bitterly. "On a damn practical?"
He sighed shakily, forcing a chuckle. "Should have listened to Mum; I should have taken the other path. Lead a boring, safe life."
He tightened his grip on his sword.
"But… I don't regret it."
The beast lunged.
And then—
A peal of laughter rang out over the battlefield.
"AHAHAH! Good job, y'all!"
Yulli's heart nearly stopped.
"Is that...?"
A figure stepped forward into the ruined battlefield.
Julius.
The seasoned Hunter moved forward, arms crossed and grinning amusedly.
"You kids did well, lasting this long. Great teamwork—could be better, though! But hey, you survived the longest compared to the other cadets." He tilted his head, cracking his knuckles. "Now, let me handle the rest, yeah?"
The moment these words left his lips, Yulli's body finally succumbed to fatigue.
He collapsed.
Relief suddenly flooded his veins.
Sensing its new prey, the beast turned its sight to Julius.
Julius let out a low whistle. "Well, well… a full-form beast. This is gonna be fun."
The beast howled, and the very air vibrated.
A tidal wave of pure malice rolled through the battlefield. Even wounded, the thing was still something completely beyond humanity's imagination.
But Julius only grinned.
The atmosphere shifted.
The air thickened.
Not from the plague.
From him.
Remi, still conscious, felt it first. Her breath caught. A shiver crawled up her spine. "His mana presence... it's rising... no, it's changing. Almost like a beast!"[1]
The ground shook. The air warped.
Julius cracked his neck while rolling his shoulders.
A gust of force exploded from him, knocking debris backward.
Then-his aura darkened.
A deep black mist, tinged with sickly green, began to swirl around him.
His eyes glowed.
A wicked grin spread across his face.
"Demon Manifestation... Release."
[1] Most hunters can differentiate things just by their mana presence alone, it like how dog can smell and tell where their owner is or can tell who is who