"Brace for impact!"

Jackson roared at the top of his lungs as he tensed every muscle in his body, preparing himself for the collision that was about to strike them head-on.

A tide of monsters surged through the smoke at terrifying speed, threatening to crush everything in its path. Yet not a single one of them cared about anyone else.

Every last abomination had locked onto Ethan alone.

The creatures emerging from the smoke were no ordinary monsters either. They were grotesque mutated horrors whose limbs had become weapons in and of themselves.

One careless strike from those blade-like appendages would be enough to kill an Advanced-ranked hunter instantly if they failed to react in time.

The hunters understood that fact perfectly.

Because of that, all of them instinctively retreated away from Ethan the moment they realized he had become the target.

Everyone except Jackson and Raiden.

Raiden stepped forward without hesitation, gripping a massive shield in one hand as he planted himself in front of Ethan, trying to soften the incoming impact as much as possible.

At the same time, he raised his greatsword once more, preparing himself for another battle.

Jackson’s grin widened at the sight.

"I honestly can’t tell whether it’s courage and loyalty keeping you here..."

"Or if you’re simply a complete idiot."

His serpent-like eyes narrowed slightly before he added:

"But know this, Hunter Raiden... you are absolutely going to die."

Jackson’s warning was sincere. Raiden would never survive an assault of that scale.

Yet even so, the young hunter refused to move.

"There’s no point in running," Raiden answered firmly while standing beside the giant. "If Ethan dies, the plan fails no matter what."

"And if the plan fails... then all of us die anyway."

Among everyone present, Raiden was the only one remotely comparable to Jackson in terms of height and build.

Standing side by side, the two of them looked like living walls of flesh and steel protecting Ethan’s much smaller figure behind them.

"Do whatever you want," Jackson replied casually.

His eyes shifted between the monstrous horde charging toward them and Ethan standing behind him, trying to understand what exactly the boy was planning.

Because the truth was simple.

Out of the three of them, Jackson alone possessed even the slightest chance of surviving a direct clash against that many monsters.

Raiden and Ethan would die almost instantly.

Which was exactly why Jackson expected Ethan to have some sort of hidden plan.

But what Ethan did next was completely beyond his expectations.

The moment the swarm reached them—

Ethan burst forward.

He shot past both giants and seized the initiative himself.

"There’s no need to protect me," he said coldly.

"I don’t need shields weighing me down."

From the very moment he activated the curse that attracted horrors toward him, Ethan had already decided to shoulder everything alone.

Using his dark Aura Armor to enhance his speed, he hurled himself directly toward the monsters instead of retreating.

Their mouths opened wide.

Rows of jagged fangs capable of tearing his head clean off gleamed beneath the firelight.

The monsters looked utterly insane.

Far more frenzied than before.

Their crimson eyes burned with overwhelming bloodlust, driven by an uncontrollable desire to rip Ethan apart and devour him alive.

And Ethan welcomed them head-on.

Pulling the Legion Arm as far back as possible, he clenched its mechanical hand into a fist.

The instant the monsters reached him, Ethan threw a devastating punch forward.

Two metallic plates instantly unfolded from the gauntlet’s sides, preparing to unleash destruction upon everything ahead.

The Burning Stake was ready.

Without the slightest hesitation, Ethan activated the Legion Arm’s second ability.

A blazing fiery stake exploded outward with terrifying force, triggering a massive detonation that tore multiple monsters apart instantly and reduced them to shredded flesh.

Burning meat and sparks scattered everywhere.

The explosion’s recoil blasted several monsters backward while Ethan himself was launched through the air, using the momentum intentionally to create distance from the swarm.

He corrected his posture immediately.

Then the Legion Arm transformed again.

The grappling hook fired outward instantly, allowing Ethan to swing violently between buildings as he escaped the battlefield at full speed.

And the monsters chased after him immediately.

Hundreds of abominations ignored everyone else entirely.

They ignored Moon and the others.

Ignored Jackson and Raiden.

Some even sprinted directly past them as though they literally could not see them, their attention fixed solely upon Ethan.

And then—

The hunt began.

Hundreds of monsters shook the streets of Ashvarn as they chased a single human being through the city.

Among them were numerous insect-like horrors capable of flight, making them the greatest threat during Ethan’s escape.

Navigating through them was unbelievably difficult.

He was forced to squeeze through the smallest openings and narrowest paths he could find just to survive.

His rapid movement between the buildings saved everyone else.

It gave the hunters room to breathe and dragged the battle far away from them.

But for Ethan himself... it accomplished absolutely nothing.

Because the farther he moved—

The more monsters sensed his curse and came rushing toward him from every direction.

At the very least, however, he wasn’t stupid.

Ethan deliberately swung toward the distant outskirts and avoided approaching the Cathedral deep within the city at all costs, trying his best to avoid attracting whatever horrors nested there.

What he had done left everyone stunned for several moments.

But they regained their senses quickly.

Jackson was the first to move.

The giant exploded forward like a mad beast before launching himself skyward with a single leap powerful enough to clear several buildings at once.

Then he repeated the same motion over and over again, rapidly closing the distance between himself, Ethan, and the pursuing monsters.

The others, however, were not monsters like Jackson.

Keeping up with Ethan and that horrifying horde was nowhere near as easy for them.

From above, Chai and the young sorceress were the closest, pursuing them across the rooftops.

Down below, Raiden was the slowest.

So slow, in fact, that the members of the First Hunting Squad and the others finally caught up to him instead, staring at him in shock.

"Raiden!!"

The moment he heard the familiar voice calling his name, Raiden turned immediately.

Moon Heart and Gustav were already behind him, confusion written all over their faces as they tried to comprehend what exactly was happening and why the monsters’ behavior had changed so suddenly.

The curse compelled monsters to hunt humans relentlessly.

Never before had they ignored prey this way.

"Where did all of you come from?!"

"And what the hell is going on here?!"

The question came from Gustav Heart after noticing the remaining hunters beside Raiden.

But Raiden refused to stop running even for a second.

"There’s no time to explain! The only thing you need to know right now... is that Ethan activated his curse and lured the monsters away from all of you!"

"But in exchange... every single one of them is hunting him now!"

"He did what?!" Gustav replied in utter confusion, struggling to process what he had just heard.

Moon, on the other hand, froze only for a brief instant before immediately understanding the entire situation. Unlike the others, she already knew about the Beloved of Darkness curse.

"Then we need to hurry!" she declared firmly.

The Fire of the Phoenix erupted around her body once more, reinforcing her Aura Armor as blazing flames surged violently around her.

As a result, Moon’s speed multiplied several times over. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

She instantly shot forward, surpassing Raiden, Gustav, and every member of the First Squad in a single burst of acceleration.