The Crimson Bear's massive body collapsed to the ground with a thunderous crash.
Silence filled the battlefield.
Holding the Beast's severed head in one hand, Evans smiled devilishly before letting it fall to the ground.
Just then-
A translucent crimson screen appeared before his eyes.
"You have slain:[Crimson Bear] B-Rank threat"
"Exp:+2500"
"Level up!"
"Level :1=2"
"Skill Recommendation Detected.
Use the innate skill :[Hollowbite]"
"In other to consume the target's soul".
Evans stared at the screen before a sinister grin slowly spread across his face.
"Hollowbite".
The moment the words left his mouth...
A dark crimson vortex formed within his mouth.
The Crimson Bear's corpse suddenly trembled.
Then, a translucent soul resembling the beast slowly rose from its lifeless body.
It struggled violently.
It screamed.
Yet no sound escaped.
The vortex's pull became irresistible.
WHOOSH!
The beast's soul was instantly dragged into Evans mouth.
For a brief moment...
Evans closed his eyes.
A chilling silence followed.
When he opened them again...
The face of a tormented spirit briefly appeared within his left crimson eye.
Its mouth was wide open in an endless scream of agony.
Then...
It vanished.
The system appeared once more.
"Soul successfully devoured."
"Additional Exp Awarded:+2500"
"Level up!"
"Level:2=3"
"Stat points Earned:15"
Evans looked at the floating screen before a
Sinister smile slowly crept across his face.
"I guess it's time to distribute my stat points..."
He paused for a moment, trying to remember the command.
"...oh, let's try this.. don't fall me now TV."
He looked ahead calmly
"Status... open."
Immediately, a crimson translucent screen unfolded before his eyes.
"Name: Evans Ashford"
"Bloodline : Demon Hybrid[Dormant]"
"Level:3"
"Title: none"
"Strength:20"
"Agility: 10"
"Speed: 15"
"Endurance: 15"
"Intelligence: 15"
"Sacred Energy: 0"
"Demonic Energy: 30"
"Regeneration: 10"
"Skills:[Demonic Aura Release],[Hallowbite],[Aura manipulation].
[Available stat points: 20]
[Warning Host's current attributes are temporarily enhanced due to first-time User Bonus ]
[Time remaining: 5:00]
[Notice: Host will suffer exhaustion and return to human form once time expires.]
Evans silently read through the information until his eyes suddenly stopped.
His pupils narrowed.
"... Demon Hybrid?"
His smile slowly faded.
A thousand thoughts flooded his mind.
"... I was never completely human?"
For a brief moment, countless questions raced through his head.
Who was his father?
Was this connected to the Forbidden Demon System?
He clenched his fists.
"... No."
"I'll find those answers later."
His crimson eyes slowly narrowed into a devilish smile once more.
"For now..."
He closed the status screen with a wave of his hand.
"I'm running out of time... so I'll distribute my stat points later."
A sinister chuckle escaped his lips.
"...It's time to have fun."
BOOM!!
The instant he pushed off the ground, the earth beneath his feet exploded into a crater.
A violent shockwave ripped through the surrounding rubble as Evans shot forward like a crimson bullet, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.
Only a cloud of dust remained where he had once stood.
Elsewhere...
Elisabeth stood calmly, facing the towering Crimson Bear.
The beast let out a deafening roar before swinging one of it's massive paws directly at her.
BOOM!!
Elisabeth graceful leaped backwards, narrowly avoiding the devastating strike.
A playful smile appeared on her face.
"My, my...big guy."
She tilted her head.
"Don't you know it's rude to grab a lady without asking for permission?"
The Crimson Bear growled furiously.
Elisabeth's smile slowly faded.
Her violet eyes turned cold.
"Unfortunately..."
She slowly unfolded both her war fans.
"... I can't let such inappropriate behavior go unpunished".
A dense violet aura erupted around her.
Belladonna.
Which was the poisonous Sacred Energy surrounding her body and it became even more concentrated.
"Belladonna... Poisonous Spike's".
With a graceful swing of her fans-
SWISH!
Dozens of razor-thin poisoned needles shot towards the Crimson Bear.
The beast instinctively raised its left arm to shield itself.
Tink! Tink! Tink!
The needles embedded themselves deep into its flesh.
Elisabeth smiled knowingly.
"There it is."
The bear suddenly froze.
Its left arm began hanging limply at it's side.
Completely paralyzed.
The beast roared in frustration.
Instead of retreating, it charged forward with its remaining arm and threw an earth-shattering punch.
BOOM!!
Elisabeth bearly crossed her fans in time.
The impact blasted her backwards.
CRASH!!
She smashed through the wall of a ruined building before collapsing onto the broken floor.
Blood trickled from the corner of her lips.
She coughed softly...
Yet she smiled.
Looking towards the approaching beast, she whispered,
"You struck my fans..."
The Crimson Bear took another step.
Then another.
Suddenly-
Its right arm also went completely limp.
The poison from the fan when he struck it had spread.
Both arms now hung uselessly by its sides.
Elisabeth chuckled despite her injuries.
"Sadly..."
She slowly stood up while holding her chest.
"...I don't have enough strength left to finish you."
A confident smile appeared on her face.
"... But someone else does."
SHING!!
A spinning double-headed battle axe flew across the battlefield.
With one clean strike-
The Crimson Bear's leg were intantly severed.
The beast collapsed with a thunderous crash.
BOOM!!
From the rubble nearby-
Raff burst out.
His chest was covered in blood, and countless wounds marked his body.
Yet his eyes burned brighter than ever.
He caught his second battle axe.
A Savage grin spread across his face.
"Your head..."
He tightened his grip.
"...belongs to me!"
With a single devastating swing-
SLASH!!
The Crimson Bear's head was cleanly severed.
Its enormous body crashed lifelessly onto the ruined street.
Silence followed.
Raff remained standing for only moment before dropping to his knee.
He was exhausted.
His body screamed pain.
Yet...
He raised a blood-covered fist towards the sky.
A victorious grin spread across his face.
"I am the one who hunts the hunters..."
He laughed.
"...I am the Beast Hunter!"
Elisabeth slowly walked over, supporting herself with one of her fans.
Despite her injuries...
She smiled.
"Quite the title you've given yourself."
She looked down at him.
"Though it seems you've forgotten I was the catalyst behind this victory."
Raff looked up at her with his usual cocky grin.
"Yeah, yeah..."
He shrugged.
"I'll admit you helped...a little".
Elisabeth rolled her eyes.
"How generous of you".
She extended a hand towards him.
"Come on".
She looked towards the city ahead.
"The battle isn't over yet."
Elsewhere...
Arthur stood atop the roof of a crumbling building.
Blood stained his clothes.
Several cuts covered his face and arms.
Yet his expression remained unchanged.
His cold gray eyes stared down at the Sky Tyrant Griffin below.
Neither moved
Then with a powerful leap, Arthur lunched himself towards it, both daggers crackling with lightning.
"Thunderwisp... shocking Descendance!"
BOOM!!
The griffin quickly shielded itself with its wings, but Arthur's strike unleashed a massive electrical shockwave that slammed the beast into the ground, badly damaging one of its wings.
Roaring in pain, the griffin lashed out with its claws.
CLANG!!
Arthur blocked with his daggers, but the force still sent him sliding backwards before he regained his footing.
"Stop struggling and accept your fate. I will kill you and that is final".
Lightning gathered around him.
"Thunderwisp... Lightning wipe!"
Arthur shot forward like a bolt of lightning zigzagging towards the griffin. Just as he reached the for the Griffin's neck, it released a powerful wind slash from its remaining wing, blasting him into the air.
The griffin charged with its beak wide open.
Arthur calmly pointed below it.
The griffin looked down and noticed one of Arthur's daggers stuck in the ground.
Arthur smiled faintly.
"Thunderwisp... Lightning strike."
A pillar of heavenly lightning descended from the sky.
It struck the dagger embedded in the earth.
The dagger acted as a conductor.
Lightning exploded upwards, engulfing the griffin completely.
The beast let out a deafening scream and crashed down.
Arthur slowly approached it still cover in cuts and blood.
"You lost the moment you assumed I attacked blindly Without a plan."
He raised his dagger to finish it.
Suddenly-
SKREEEE!!
The griffin released one final reinforced screech, throwing Arthur off balance before charging desperately.
BOOM!!
Something smashed into the griffin, sending it flying through several buildings.
Arthur frowned.
"What was that?"
He immediately rushed towards the impact.
At the crash site...
Evans stood on top the griffin with a devilish smile.
"You look like the perfect chicken... I can't wait to feast".
The terrified griffin activated predator's Gaze.
Evans stared straight into it's eyes.
Nothing happened.
He grabbed it's head and slammed it into the ground.
BOOM!!
"Too bad".
He smashed it through another building.
Blood splattered everywhere.
"Looks like your little trick doesn't work on me."
He smile became more sinister.
"I don't fear you... in fact..."
His crimson pupils narrowed.
"... your the one terrified here."
"Now time to practice some Aura manipulation".
Dark Demonic Energy gathered around his hand.
The griffin trembled in fear.
Evans smiled coldly.
"Time to die".
Just as Evans was about to drive his demonic energy into the griffin's heart...
His heart beat suddenly became erratic.
A sharp pain shot through his chest.
His vision blurred.
He staggered backward, clutching his head.
"Gah...!"
A crimson screen aburptly appeared before his eyes.
"Warning"
[First Time User Bonus has expired.]
[Temporary enhancement have been revoked].
[The Host's attributes are returning to normal due to exhaustion.]
Evans gritted his teeth as a wave of unbearable pain coursed through his body.
Then slowly he reverted back to normal.
"Damn it...! Why...now?!"
Then he passed out and layed on the ground.
The Sky Tyrant Griffin stared in disbelief before painfully dragging it's broken body far away.
"I ... survived..."
Just as it believed it had finally escaped...
A familiar voice echoed from the distance.
Cold .
Calm.
Merciless.
"Thunderwisp... Lightning wipe."
A streak of blue lightning shot across the battlefield.
Before the griffin could even react-
Arthur appeared beside it in an instant, his dagger crackling with electricity.
His cold gray eyes looked down at the wounded beast.
"I told you..."
He raised his dagger.
"... your time is up."
With one clean swing...
The griffin's head separated from its body.
It's lifeless body crashed heavily on to the ruined ground.
Arthur calmly sheathed his dagger.
The battle...
...had finally reached its Climax and was finally over.
A few moments later...
Elisabeth and Raff slowly made their way through the ruined city,both covered in wounds as they carried the wounded unconscious Evans between them.
Not long after, they came across Arthur, who was leaning against a broken wall. His clothes stained with blood and several fresh cuts covered his body yet he remained calm.
Arthur's eyes shifted to Evans .
"Is he alive?" He asked calmly.
Raff let out a tired scoff.
"Yeah. We found this stubborn bastard laying on the ground".
Elisabeth chuckles softly-though weak.
"To bad he feel asleep through out the fun part... but he did take a nasty hit from that beast after all".
The gates finally opened.
Arthur took one more look at Evans suspiciously then he looks away.
"Okay let's go".
All four walk out ,though injured but at least still alive.
Soon Evans slowly opens his eyes to a blur like environment.
He fills his head softly rested on what he thought was a pillow...
Till he looked up and saw a unclear face of a lady with red pupils,black hair and a really pretty facial appearance.
Then she spoke in a firm but gentle voice while blushing.
"Hey don't look at me like that while you're resting your head on my lap... Its embarrassing".
A thought Hits Evans casually.
"She's actually really cute".