Chapter 176: When One Falls, the Others Continue (3)

The battle resumed immediately.

And this time, the violence surpassed everything that had come before.

The moment they clashed, one of the First Team hunters died.

A direct punch from Morgus struck him in the face and reduced his head to mangled flesh.

He had misjudged the distance.

He thought the fist couldn’t reach him.

But the aura surrounding Morgus’s arm had extended the range of his attack.

Gustav let out an agonized scream as his teammate died before his eyes.

But the battle gave him no time to mourn.

"When one of us falls, we keep going! Don’t stop!!"

Moon screamed as blood ran down her face and obscured her vision.

The battle was becoming increasingly difficult.

Jackson absorbed most of the damage with his own body, protecting the others as much as he possibly could.

And yet, they were still dying far too easily.

Gustav completely lost himself after the death of his teammate.

He threw himself into the battle without restraint, no longer caring about the danger.

What he was doing was reckless, but his Saint-rank aura saved him from several attacks that should have ended his life. It allowed him to deal genuine damage to Morgus, and after wearing the monster down alongside Jackson and Moon, they finally brought him down again.

Only for him to rise with the fifth bell.

Morgus grew stronger.

The remaining hunters swallowed the last of their flasks.

And then they fought again.

Every living person in the hall charged toward the others once more, plunging into an even more violent battle.

It was during that clash that the last surviving member of the First Team died.

He sacrificed himself to create an opening for Jackson.

And he died with a smile on his face.

His sacrifice gave them the opportunity they needed.

Morgus fell once more.

And they reached the sixth bell.

All the while, Moon continued screaming through the blood running down her face.

"When one of us falls, we keep going!! Never stop, Gustav!"

Her words were now directed entirely at the captain of the First Team.

He had lost everyone under his command.

Moon couldn’t even imagine what he was going through. She didn’t know whether she herself would be capable of continuing to fight if every member of her own team died before her eyes.

But no matter what happened...

She had to keep pushing him forward.

Jackson said nothing.

Moon handled the words.

And Jackson did what he did best.

He fought.

Nothing more.

Morgus’s power had become insane.

By the time they reached the sixth bell...

He had already surpassed the Iron Devil.

And at that moment, the three survivors finally accepted a painful truth.

"We’re not going to win without sacrifices..."

Moon spoke aloud what all three of them were already thinking.

Morgus no longer resembled an angel.

He looked like a demon.

His wings had turned pitch-black, dripping with some strange substance, while two additional blistered arms had erupted from within his body.

Even his aura had changed.

The brilliant gold was gone.

In its place was black.

He had become a true monster.

Jackson could barely stand his ground against him anymore.

Damage gradually accumulated across the old hunter’s body until wounds covered him from head to toe.

Perhaps he could have performed better if he were still at his peak.

But killing Morgus five times had already taken an enormous toll on him.

And now he had to do it a sixth time.

Then a seventh.

Jackson was gradually being forced backward.

His arms no longer moved with the same speed, and his aura had visibly weakened.

Even with Moon and Gustav supporting him, the pressure didn’t lessen.

Then came the moment they had all feared.

Morgus broke through Jackson’s defense.

His next attack was about to finish the old hunter.

But at the final instant...

A streak of flame threw itself between them.

The sound of flesh being pierced came immediately after.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

Moon had thrown herself in front of Jackson and taken the attack in his place.

One of Morgus’s arms was buried through her chest.

It protruded from her back, and the life in her eyes began fading almost immediately.

Even through the pain, Moon forced a faint smile as she stared into the monster’s face.

"Looks like... it’s my turn to sacrifice myself..."

She clung tightly to Morgus’s arm.

And finished the incantation she had been preparing for some time.

A spell that consumed the last of her mana.

"Blessed spirits of flame, dance and rise from my ashes..."

Moon’s fading voice echoed through the ruined hall.

"And burn my enemies!!"

The moment she finished the incantation, Moon’s entire body went up in flames.

Her flesh burned until it was reduced to charred black, and Morgus burned with her, swallowed by an inferno that looked as though it had erupted straight from hell itself.

The flames refused to die no matter how desperately Morgus tried to repel them with his aura.

Moon continued burning alongside him, and the horrific sight reflected clearly in the eyes of Jackson and Gustav.

The old hunter gritted his teeth at the sight.

He clenched his fist with everything he had, causing the golden aura around it to take the shape of a ferocious beast’s maw.

Then, with a savage battle howl rising from the depths of his chest, Jackson charged straight through the flames and buried his fist into Morgus’s face.

He took full advantage of Moon’s sacrifice.

Their combined attack brought the monster down.

But there was no joy in their victory.

When Jackson finally staggered away, his hand had been badly burned by the sheer intensity of the flames rising from Moon’s ashes.

And Moon herself lay motionless on the ground.

A burned, charred corpse.

Only Jackson and Gustav remained.

Then came the seventh and final bell, utterly indifferent to their condition.

Morgus had reached his most powerful form.

And with a single glance...

Jackson understood that the real battle was only about to begin.