Chapter 7: The Hunters’ Last Stand

The Abyss Hungers

Jericho Voss staggered back, his chestplate cracked, black abyssal energy crawling along the wound like writhing veins.

For the first time in years, he felt it—

Pain.

The Hunters behind him froze, their battle-hardened instincts screaming in warning.

"Did… did he just wound Sir Jericho?" one of them whispered.

"That's impossible!" another gasped. "No anomaly should be able to—"

"Silence," Jericho commanded. His voice was steady, but his eyes… his eyes were burning with something new.

Not fear. Not anger.

Excitement.

He exhaled, gripping his greatsword tighter. This one's different.

"Hunter Voss," Ronan drawled, tilting his head. The abyss swirled at his feet, responding to his will like a living storm. "You're looking a little shaken."

Jericho chuckled, rolling his shoulders. "You're strong. I'll admit that much."

His silver eyes glowed, and divine runes flared to life along his blade.

"But you are still an abomination."

The air trembled.

And then—the real fight began.

The Hunters Strike

Jericho vanished.

Ronan's instincts screamed—above!

He twisted just in time.

CLANG!

Jericho's sword came crashing down, colliding against Ronan's Voidwalker's Edge with a force that split the sky itself. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the ruins, shattering ancient structures and launching debris in every direction.

But Ronan held his ground.

His abyssal claw lashed out, black tendrils surging toward Jericho's exposed flank.

Jericho twisted mid-air, his armor glowing with divine light, and kicked off the air itself, creating a burst of energy that sent him soaring away from the attack.

"Holy Art: Radiant Step."

He landed smoothly, his blade still burning with divine runes.

But the moment his feet touched the ground—

The abyss reacted.

The shadows beneath him warped, twisting into black chains that lunged for his legs.

Jericho's eyes flickered.

"Tch—"

He barely managed to jump back, avoiding the abyssal grasp, but Ronan was already moving.

Abyssal power exploded from his body, launching him forward at a blinding speed. His sword shifted, its edge fracturing into a jagged void-scar—a blade that did not cut flesh, but reality itself.

"Voidwalker's Edge: Rupture."

Jericho blocked the strike just in time—

But his divine aura cracked.

His arms trembled from the impact, and for the first time, he realized—

He was losing ground.

The System's Judgment

🔹 Warning: Platinum-Rank Hunter at Risk

🔹 Calculating Countermeasures…

🔹 System Override Activated.

🔹 Deploying Reinforcements.

The Hunters behind Jericho moved.

A barrage of attacks flew toward Ronan from all sides.

🔹 "Arcane Spear—Pierce!" – A mage Hunter unleashed a golden spear of condensed energy.

🔹 "Flame Cannon!" – Another channeled pure fire, aiming straight for Ronan's chest.

🔹 "Holy Chains—Bind the Anomaly!" – A paladin raised his hand, summoning golden shackles meant to restrain abyssal beings.

They came at him all at once.

Ronan grinned.

The abyss flared.

The Abyss Devours

He moved.

In the blink of an eye, the golden spear struck—only for it to vanish into the abyss, consumed by the black mist surrounding Ronan's body.

The Flame Cannon exploded against his chest—

Only for the fire to be sucked into his abyssal core, snuffed out like a candle.

And the Holy Chains?

They reached for him, trying to lock around his arms—

Only to shatter before they could even touch him.

Ronan let out a breath.

"You don't get it, do you?"

He raised his abyssal claw, black lightning crackling along its surface.

"I don't block attacks."

His violet eyes gleamed with something primal.

"I devour them."

The shadows rippled outward—

And then the abyss lashed back.

Tendrils of pure void erupted from the ground, grabbing the Hunters one by one.

🔹 "Agh—!"

🔹 "It's pulling me in!"

🔹 "What the hell is this?!"

The abyssal tendrils wrapped around their bodies, dragging them toward the shifting black mist—toward something worse than death.

Ronan turned back to Jericho.

"Your move, Platinum-Rank."

The Final Clash

Jericho tensed, watching his men get consumed.

"Fall back!" he ordered, slamming his sword into the ground.

The moment the blade touched stone—divine energy erupted outward, purging the abyss around them.

Some of the captured Hunters managed to escape, stumbling away from the shadows.

But they were injured. Weak. Afraid.

Jericho didn't flinch.

He locked eyes with Ronan, and in that moment, he knew—

If they continued this fight, they would lose.

But retreat?

No.

He refused.

"I am a Platinum-Rank Hunter."

He raised his sword one last time, channeling everything into a final attack.

"And I will NOT be defeated by an anomaly."

Golden light surged from his blade.

The sky split open, runes of pure divinity etching themselves into reality.

Ronan… smiled.

"Good," he said, abyssal mist rising behind him like a storm.

"Let's see who breaks first."

The world collapsed as their final clash began.