The battlefield had turned into a cinematic showcase of elemental powers, the sheer scale and raw power on display a mirror to the strength of Rachel and Amelia.
Rachel, with the intensity of her gaze, focused on her adversaries, summoned a massive water turtle.
The earth rumbled under its small movements while its elemental eyes bore down on everyone before it, making them feel insignificant.
The sheer size of the construct was a spectacle, with its shimmering, transparent shell reflecting the light around them.
Its jaws, formidable and swift, snapped menacingly, severing the heads of those who dared approach Rachel with terrifying efficiency.
"That's Galeon the Unbreakable!"
"She has already mastered the Sterling signature move?"
Shouts of shock and terror passed among the Hunters as they tried to dodge and evade. However, not every one of them was lucky as Galeon's jaws were too fast and extended forward to snap off their heads.
And as if to make things worse, besides Rachel, Amelia was a storm incarnate. Her hands danced with swift, precise movements as she blended the elements - fire, water, air, and earth.
The ground rumbled and quaked as pillars of stone rose, only to be shattered by gusts of wind that also fueled the fire in her palms.
This fire mingled with water, creating super-heated steam that scalded and blinded their attackers.
Each move she made was a whirlwind of destruction, leaving scorched earth and toppled trees in her wake.
From their vantage point, Hwan and Victor observed the unfolding devastation. Hwan, clearly impressed despite himself, commented, "The rumors of the prowess of the President's daughter and her best friend didn't exaggerate. The two of them together is a nightmare to deal with. But she wasn't this good earlier."
"Keh," Victor snorted, "Let them have their moment. The longer they drag this out, the easier it will be for me. Even if they were at their peak, it wouldn't take much time for me to take care of them."
Hwan offered a flattering smile as he nodded, "Of course. These two aren't much before a great S Rank like you."
Soon, the numbers of the Hunters dwindled. From the original fifteen, only five remained. The five of them, witnessing the display of raw power and their comrades' fates, hesitated, fear evident in their eyes.
However, the battle had taken its toll on Rachel and Amelia. While they stood triumphant, signs of exhaustion were evident.
Their breathing was labored, sweat lined their brows, and their once pristine clothes were marred with grime and streaks of blood from minor cuts and those they killed.
Their voices, though weary, still carried authority. Rachel, addressing the remaining Hunters, declared, "Enough! Lay down your weapons, and we can talk. No more blood needs to be spilled," Rachel knew there could be no more talking. But she didn't have enough mana left to go on, and she could see that Amelia was the same.
She gritted her teeth, determined to not die to this injustice. She can't let them kill her and go home and portray her as a corrupted Hunter and destroy everything she had stood for.
Victor, a smirk playing on his lips, leaned in towards Hwan, "It's your move, isn't it? They're hanging by a thread. Finish the job."
Under the gaze of Victor, Hwan squirmed slightly. Was it really wise to kill the President's daughter and a young miss from a High Class Family? He was expecting Victor to scare them to death to make them confess and not to actually kill them.
"What? You want to forever remain an A Ranker? Didn't I tell you I am going to take care of the aftermath?" Victor asked with a smile as he gripped Hwan's shoulder.
There was a flicker of hesitation in Hwan's eyes, quickly extinguished by the flames of ambition and nervousness. With a shaky nod, he agreed, "R-Right, I will get rid of the corrupted ones."
Rachel, despite her weakening state, stood firm, locking eyes with Hwan, whom she knew was a formidable mid-level A Ranker and stronger than the rest she had defeated.
However, there was no fear in her gaze, only a piercing clarity and conviction, "Hwan, remember this. Karma is relentless. You and Victor won't escape the consequences of your actions no matter what happens."
"Then we will just have to make sure it will never catch up with us," Hwan's eyes sparkled menacingly, electric blue currents of energy swirling around his palms.
Without another word, he thrust his hands forward, unleashing a torrent of vicious, snapping lightning towards the weakened duo.
The air cracked open with the sound of thunder as blinding bolts descended upon Rachel and Amelia. Each streak was a dance of destruction, a cacophony of raw, unbridled power that lit up the gloom with its furious glow.
Rachel and Amelia couldn't dodge in time, nor did they have enough mana to defend themselves.
"Arghhhh!!!"
They were engulfed in a blaze of electric fury, their screams piercing the charged air.
When the lightning subsided, the pair were on the ground, smoke rising from their charred clothing.
Blood dribbled from the corners of their mouths, their bodies twitching spasmodically from the aftereffects of the electric onslaught.
Rachel's eyes, once vibrant and full of life, were now dimmed, flickering like a candle in the wind. Amelia was no better off; her fiery spirit seemed extinguished, leaving behind a fragile shell.
Victor said from afar, his eyes glowing with a dark light, "Well done, Hwan. But they are still breathing. You should learn how to finish them off properly."
"Ahh...Sorry for that," Hwan winced before his gaze became determined.
His hands, crackling with fatal energy, were poised to unleash the final blow upon the vulnerable Rachel and Amelia.
Rachel closed her eyes, her nerves still shaking with anger and indignation at going to die like this, under the hands of a Hunter, while her name would forever be disgraced in the eyes of the others.
Yet, just as she was waiting for death to claim her, a discordant note sliced through the tense atmosphere.
*Whiiz!*
A sinister ring blade, aglow with eerie dark green flames, whistled through the charged air, lodging itself with ruthless precision into Hwan's throat.
"Hrrrk!"
A gasp, choked and gurgling, escaped his lips as his eyes widened with shock and pain. Blood, as dark and rich as wine, spurted from the wound, bathing the ground in a macabre shower.
Rachel's eyes flickered open at the unexpected interruption, widening in disbelief as they fell upon the blade's owner.
Emerging from the dimness, his gaze as cold and dark as a winter night, was Asher. His presence, ominous and commanding, bore down upon the clearing, washing over the corpses before him like a tide of impending doom.
"You..." Rachel's voice, barely above a whisper, trembled with a complex mix of relief and apprehension. In the twisted fate of their lives, who could have foreseen that she would find solace in the sight of a demon, especially him?
Behind Asher, Emiko, and Yui trailed, making Rachel feel surprised to see them as well, though her vision was becoming blurry and she felt too tired to keep her eyes open.
With a subtle gesture from Asher, they moved forward to tend to the wounded Rachel and Amelia, their hands glowing with the soft, healing light of their powers.
Victor, meanwhile, was a picture of paralyzed fear. His eyes, once brimming with arrogance, now flickered with the unmistakable glint of dread. Each step back he took seemed laborious, weighed down by the gravity of Cedric's arrival.
Suddenly, he made a desperate dash into the embracing darkness of the forest.
Each of his strides bore a frantic energy, launching him forward with bursts of acceleration that left indentations in the earth.
Asher curved his lips upon seeing Victor disappearing into the forest. In an instant, Asher's form vanished from the spot.
The forest's ominous silence was broken only by Victor's pounding footfalls and the ragged cadence of his breathing.
But his eyes widened as a sinister grip suddenly enveloped Victor's shoulder, a vise of unrelenting strength that propelled him to the ground with spine-jarring force.
"Ugh!" A groan escaped his lips as he found himself staring up at the sky, the clouds obscured by the looming silhouette of Cedric.
Panic flashed across Victor's features as he scrambled upright, hands raised in a gesture of placation, his voice tremulous yet insinuating, "L-Look, I did my part, didn't I? Rachel and Amelia were captured, just as you wanted. Can't we just... forget the past and start anew? I was never involved in what happened that day. So you have no need to hold that against me…right?"
Asher's laughter, cold and devoid of true mirth, sliced through the tension-laden atmosphere. He shook his head, eyes locking onto Victor's with a predatory intensity, "The past can never be forgotten. It has it's way of hunting you down. And you were aware, weren't you, Victor? You knew all along what your sister and the others planned to backstab me. Yet, you chose to stand aside only because you were actually scared you might not make it out alive just like those twenty of them."
Victor's throat worked convulsively, the visible bobbing of his Adam's apple betraying his mounting fear.
He stumbled back as the ground beneath him seemed to tremble with foreboding, and he let out a shaky attempt at negotiation, "Th...The WHA planned it all, Cedric. I was but a pawn in their grand scheme. It's not like I could've altered the course of events. A-And what about our deal, huh?"
A sound, halfway between a chuckle and a sigh, spilled from Asher's lips, laden with disdain.
With a burst of speed that barely registered, he closed the distance, his hand snaking out to clamp around Victor's throat with an iron grip, "Really now, Victor," he taunted with a glint in his eyes, "Did you genuinely harbor the illusion that you'd walk away from this unscathed? But I think deep down you already knew that. Still, despite knowing the odds, you just couldn't help but hold onto that slight but hopeless chance of survival. That's so you. But don't worry. I am not going to kill you."
Victor's eyes flickered with a flicker of hope at Asher's words, but it was extinguished almost immediately, "I won't grant you the mercy of death," Asher whispered, his voice a soft yet menacing tone, "I promised you eternal damnation, and that's exactly what you'll receive."
Terror gripped Victor, seizing him in its cold, relentless hands. Before he could even muster a plea, Asher's ring blade—wreathed in dark green flames with a core of shadowy malevolence—sank into his chest.
"AARGHHHH!!!"
The forest was suddenly alive with the echo of his agonized screams as the flames consumed him, a melody of pain and despair that reverberated throughout the place.
And the next moment, Victor's presence vanished from the realm of the living.
