Chapter 196: The Abyss Within (2)

He looked weak and utterly outmatched.

His strength was no greater than that of the hunters watching from below, and some among them were probably even stronger than he was.

Yet he had thrown himself directly into the face of death without hesitation.

He was either a fearless man of extraordinary courage or a madman with a death wish.

At first, none of them recognized him.

But it didn’t take long for the black armor to stir something familiar in their memories. They had obtained that very suit of armor as a reward after defeating Aldebaran, and the person wearing it was someone they knew all too well.

“Ethan…?”

They spoke his name almost simultaneously, their voices filled with shock and terror.

To them, what he was doing was nothing short of suicide. Some could already imagine the horrifying sight of the colossal sword crushing Ethan’s body, reducing him to a cloud of blood and shattered bones before he could accomplish anything.

But what happened next surpassed even their wildest dreams.

What unfolded before their eyes was a scene that seemed to belong more to fantasy than reality.

Just as Ethan was about to reach the enormous sword, dozens of chains suddenly emerged from the void, wrapping themselves tightly around the blade and stopping its descent with a deafening screech of straining metal.

The dark orange chains were so powerful that they managed to hold the weapon in place, if only temporarily, creating an opening that Ethan seized without a moment’s hesitation.

He extended his hand toward the colossal sword.

And the moment he reached it, a magnificent blue light erupted from his human arm, shining with the brilliance of a falling star.

The radiance spread across the enormous golden blade, forcing its way deeper into the weapon as though it were trying to invade every part of its existence.

The brilliant blue light began overwhelming the golden aura, and before long, the most powerful attack the Golden Dawn Knight had ever unleashed was engulfed by the power of Legendary Weapons Master.

The chains shattered shortly afterward.

But there was no longer any reason for the hunters to fear the sword’s descent.

Ethan had already won.

In that extraordinary moment, a tiny existence, no larger than an ant before the weapon towering above him, had managed to seize control of something so enormous.

And with a single movement of his hand, the colossal sword changed direction.

It flew away from the cathedral and crashed into Old Ashvarn, striking the ancient city in the direction Ethan had indicated.

The impact of that golden calamity against the ground turned their entire world upside down. The earth shook so violently that it seemed ready to overturn at any moment, threatening to swallow everything standing upon it.

Yet for some reason, despite the violent tremors beneath their feet, none of the hunters could tear their eyes away from the tiny figure falling from the sky.

A single young man, no older than themselves and possessing strength that barely surpassed their own, had performed a miracle before their very eyes. They stood frozen in disbelief, struggling to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

Ethan hadn’t merely possessed the courage to face death. He had also found the strength to make the impossible possible, saving his own life and theirs in the process.

He had just proven something none of them would ever forget.

Despite the overwhelming difference in strength between themselves and their enemy, hunters like them still had a meaningful role to play.

They could influence the outcome of a battle, even when their opponent was a High King, a monster among monsters capable of killing them with a single blow. The possibility remained, provided they possessed enough courage to take that first step and confront death head-on instead of hiding somewhere far from the fighting.

Ethan had been the only one who rushed toward the battlefield, and the decision that had seemed like an act of suicide had ultimately helped save them all.

“Luna…”

Moon called her younger sister’s name after witnessing the miracle, her crimson eyes fixed intently on Ethan as he fell from the heavens.

“Let’s go.”

There was unmistakable determination in her voice, catching Luna by surprise.

The younger sister wanted to object, but after a moment of hesitation, she could only nod weakly. Deep down, she had been thinking the very same thing.

Wiping the tears from her cheeks, Luna supported her older sister as the two began limping toward the site of the final battle.

Jackson remained behind with Schierke’s squad, whose members refused to accompany them, their fear plainly visible. With no one else willing to follow, the two sisters continued on their own.

They wanted to join Ethan and their grandfather, Asterion, and help them with everything they had. Even if their contribution amounted to something insignificant, they were determined to do whatever they could to change the course of the battle.

Along the way, the sisters encountered Alicia and Chai, who were already running in the same direction with exactly the same intentions.

The four joined forces and continued together, eventually reaching the battlefield.

But by the time they arrived, the battle against the Golden Dawn Knight had already ended.

What awaited them instead was a horrifying black monster that looked as though it had crawled straight out of a nightmare.

The creature appeared to be attacking Ethan, who stood defiantly in its path, while the elderly Asterion lay wounded behind him.

Both Luna and Moon, the latter struggling to keep up because of her injuries, gasped in horror when they saw the miserable state of their grandfather.

His left arm had been completely severed, and blood poured from what seemed like a hundred wounds covering his body. One of those injuries was particularly horrifying, a gaping hole torn through his chest from which he had already lost an enormous amount of blood.

Ethan stood at the front, bravely protecting the Uncrowned Emperor from the monster. But he was clearly in a dangerous position, prompting the others to intervene without hesitation.

Luna unleashed the lightning spell she had prepared beforehand, while Chai immediately fired an arrow of his own. Both attacks struck the creature successfully, sparing Ethan from what might otherwise have been a fatal blow.

Alicia rushed toward the battlefield with her sword drawn, while Luna and Chai prepared to attack again after Ethan shouted a warning that the monster before them was actually the final boss.

At that moment, all four of them became convinced that they had made the right decision.

Had they not come running, Ethan and the Uncrowned Emperor would almost certainly have died.

Now they finally had an opportunity to fight and make up for their earlier helplessness. But the dark creature refused to engage them, instead opening a strange spatial portal that transported it to an unknown location.

It had escaped, and there was nothing they could do to prevent it.

The battle was over.

But once again, there was one person who refused to accept that outcome.

Firing the grappling hook from his Legion Arm, Ethan managed to pull himself through the portal just before it closed completely, disappearing to the other side in pursuit of the monster.

Once again, he had gone further than the rest of them, leaving everyone else behind.

And at that moment, the fate of the entire Heart Clan had fallen into Ethan’s hands.

His alone.