[GLOBAL HOST POPULATION: 965,930]
The Slaughter Begins
In an instant, the battlefield was drowned in blood.
The enemy—a masked Host—moved like something not of this world. One moment he was there, the next, a blur slicing through steel and bone. His machete cleaved through men like paper, bullets ripping through afterimages too slow to catch him.
"FALL BACK! FALL BACK NOW!" Aya's voice tore across the chaos, sharp and commanding.
From a rooftop perch, Jax swore, his sniper scope struggling to keep up. "No shot—he's moving like a damn ghost!"
Aya's Counterattack
Gritting her teeth, Aya activated everything at once:
[GALE STEP] – A burst of speed surged through her, tripling her pace.
[PHANTOM EDGE] – Her blade pulsed with energy; each swing sent shockwaves slicing through steel and stone.
She became a storm of metal, slashes painting afterimages across the air. Walls cracked. Cars split. The battlefield screamed under her might.
But the killer met her fury blow for blow. His machete shimmered with ominous power, parrying every strike like it was nothing.
"Impressive," the killer said, voice warped behind his visor. "But still not enough."
Jax's Intervention
A single gunshot cracked.
Jax's bullet—amplified by his Hunter class—streaked toward the killer's skull. Perfect aim.
But the Host vanished mid-leap.
"JAX, BEHIND YOU!" Aya shouted.
Too late.
The machete punched through Jax's back, exploding from his chest in a spray of red.
[HOST JAX – CRITICAL CONDITION]
Aya's Last Resort
Aya's vision blurred with rage. There was one ability she swore she'd never use.
"[CELESTIAL BANISHMENT]"
Her katana blazed white. Light tore the clouds apart as a divine pillar slammed down, engulfing the killer in a blast of celestial fire.
When the radiance faded, he was gone.
Aya dropped to one knee. Her hair, once deep black, now bleached white at the roots. Half her life—burned away.
Aftermath
Mira sprinted to Jax's side, hands glowing as she worked to seal his wounds. "He'll live—but he's out for a long time."
Aya trembled, barely upright.
Who the hell was that? she thought.
Ryujin's voice rumbled in her head. "His name is unknown. But his patron is Vortis, the World Ender. A god who's survived every Royale. His Hosts... are nightmares."
Aya's jaw clenched. "Level 8? Already?"
Ryujin responded grimly. "He's not hunting monsters, Aya. He's hunting us."
Aya's heart froze in her chest.
Mira steadied her. "We need to tell the General. If more like him exist—"
"No," Aya said, her voice hollow, her gaze sweeping over the slaughtered soldiers and broken Hosts. "We run."
[GLOBAL HOST POPULATION: 965,912]