Chapter 168: Eight Entered, Six Remained

Aldebaran... the Knight Commander.

The first boss of the Cathedral’s final area. A boss summoned by the curse to serve the Golden Dawn Knight, bearing a resemblance to him in both appearance and knighthood.

The battle against Aldebaran had not ended easily. The Knight Commander had kept his final trump card hidden until the very end, unleashing it at the exact moment his enemies believed they had won.

His second phase consisted of a single suicidal attack.

A thunderous explosion of searing black flames that set the entire battlefield ablaze.

Despite Ethan warning every Hunter and realizing what Aldebaran was about to do, he had given his companions very little time to react. In the end, every single one of them had been caught within the explosion’s range.

After warning everyone, Ethan rushed toward the person closest to him.

And that person happened to be Luna.

As a mage, she possessed a frail physique and couldn’t use Aura Armor to protect herself. Ethan pulled her into his arms and placed his own body between her and Aldebaran.

Fortunately, Luna was quick-witted.

She immediately summoned several defensive layers of earthen barriers around them, allowing both of them to survive the explosion of black flames.

Even so, Ethan still took some of the flames directly.

They tore through every layer of Luna’s earthen barriers before eventually reaching his body.

Using Aura Armor, Ethan managed to endure the attack and escaped with only burns across his back, thanks to the earthen barriers weakening the black flames before they shattered.

"Are you alright?"

Releasing Luna from his arms, Ethan immediately checked on her.

She nodded, but her eyes remained fixed on his burned back.

"I’m fine... but, um... your back."

Luna visibly tensed at the sight of his burns.

They didn’t look minor at all. Parts of his skin had been completely charred from the flames.

She thought...

’That has to hurt.’

But Ethan completely contradicted her expectations, answering with indifference as he pulled himself out from what remained of the earthen barriers that had protected them.

"Just some minor burns. Nothing serious."

Looking closely at his expression, Luna couldn’t sense that he was putting on a brave front or forcing himself to endure the pain.

He genuinely seemed fine.

The demonic body was terrifying when it came to injuries like these.

As long as the damage wasn’t fatal, Ethan could continue moving as though nothing had happened.

At that moment, however, Ethan was far more concerned about his fellow Hunters than himself.

Their team had entered this place with eight people.

And now, all eight of their lives were in question.

The moment he emerged from the layers of earth created by Luna’s magic, Ethan’s expression darkened at what he saw.

The battlefield was drowning in flames.

Everything had been destroyed, including the floor and the surrounding walls.

At the center of the devastation lay Aldebaran’s corpse.

Or what remained of it.

Half of his body had vanished entirely, leaving only the other half behind.

Even that was already beginning to disappear, dissolving into souls.

But Ethan wasn’t looking for the Knight Commander.

He was looking for those unfortunate Hunters.

The closest among them had been Chai and Schierke.

At first, Ethan was especially worried about Chai, who was only fourteen years old.

He searched for him for several moments before his eyes caught sight of a deep pit nearby. Ethan immediately jumped toward it, with Luna following closely behind.

Upon reaching the edge, Ethan found Chai and Schierke sitting safely at the bottom of the pit without so much as a scratch on either of them.

The hole was more than thirty meters deep.

The moment they spotted Ethan above, they immediately waved at him.

"Big Brother! What happened?! Is everyone alright?!"

Chai shouted from below, panic clear on his face.

"Luna and I are fine... but I haven’t checked on the others yet."

Ethan answered while his eyes shifted toward Schierke.

The latter was clearly shaken, fear still written all over her face.

’Her reaction speed isn’t normal...’

Surprised, Ethan glanced back at Luna standing behind him.

’Neither Luna, despite being known for her talent, nor I, despite all my experience with this game, thought of something like that.’

’Hiding underground...’

Thanks to Schierke’s quick thinking, both she and Chai had escaped without suffering any injuries.

The flames had never reached them that far below.

But Ethan couldn’t help wondering...

Had it really been nothing more than quick thinking?

’This isn’t the time for that.’

Ignoring his suspicions for now, the cursed Hunter went searching for the others.

Raiden and Alicia remained.

Along with the two Hunters from the other teams who had fought beside them.

"Those four were the closest to the explosion..."

Ethan moved forward, carefully avoiding the black flames that had yet to die out.

"I’ll help you."

Luna extended a hand to assist him.

Manipulating the earth ahead, she created a safe path by shifting away the parts of the floor still burning with black flames.

With her help, Ethan moved forward without trouble and soon reached the area that had suffered the worst of the explosion.

There, he found Alicia and Raiden near its edge.

The two had managed to flee the moment Ethan warned them.

Alicia was alright.

The flames had burned her arm and part of her shoulder, but she appeared to be in relatively good condition despite her labored breathing.

Raiden, however...

Was a different story.

"Damn it!"

Ethan cursed and rushed toward them.

One glance was enough for him to understand exactly what had happened.

Raiden had stood in front of Alicia with his enormous shield raised, placing himself between her and the explosion.

That was why she had escaped without suffering much damage.

Raiden had protected her with his own body.

He had taken the full brunt of the attack in her place.

And the sight of him was horrifying.

His shield had shattered into pieces that were swallowed by the flames, forcing Raiden to rely on his Aura Armor to withstand the black fire.

He had managed to hold it back.

But the price had been half his body.