Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls

Kael's scream shook the foundations of the dungeon like a living seismic wave. For an impossible moment, all the rune lights around them flickered—then died. The air grew dense—not with mana, but something older, heavier. It was as if time itself had bent under the weight of the raw, primal fury erupting from within him.

Kael's golden eyes blazed with inhuman intensity. The two Guardian Golems restraining him hesitated, retreating involuntarily. Then, with a sharp motion, he shattered their arms—not with brute strength, but with sheer embodied will.

"Now... it's my turn."He moved.

Faster than before.More ferocious.

The first Guardian was cleaved in half with an upward kick that split its torso straight through to the core. The second, Kael grabbed by the head and slammed into the ground until its core shattered. He turned, already facing the next.

And then... the massacre began.

BOOM! CLANG! CRAACK!

Each strike seemed to bend the laws of physics, ripping through enchanted steel as if it were paper. The Guardian Golems came in waves—dozens, maybe more. But Kael was a furious storm, an ancient wrath made flesh.

Erika lay unconscious near a corner, protected only by the chaos he unleashed. And he knew it.

He kicked one enemy away, dodged a runic spear, and crushed another's crystal core with a precise punch. His body was already beyond its limits—but he kept going.He had to keep going.

For them.For her.

But the darkness soon bared its fangs.

The Greater Guardian stirred again, its cores spinning with unnatural speed. A deep rumble echoed through the dungeon's structure, and every lesser creature responded, converging on Kael as if he were the only thing that existed.

And then… he felt it.

The pull.Not of ordinary mana, but of his very essence.

That thing… the black crystal embedded in the Guardian's chest—it wasn't just draining magic. It was consuming him.

His breath caught.His vision blurred.His fist dropped for a split second before he gasped and forced himself upright. But the pain was real. The drain was real. His body burned from within.

He had to get them out.

With a scream of pain and fury, Kael carved a path through sheer force. Every step was a blow, every foe shattered into fragments.

Until he saw them.

Stella, panting, her clothes torn.Sylphie, on her knees, trying to summon a faint breeze.Amelia, exhausted, her hands trembling.Irelia, blade broken, shielding the others.

They were alive.

"Thank the gods…" he whispered.

"KAEL!!" Amelia screamed."What… what's happening to you?!"

He didn't answer.

Instead, he planted both feet into the ground and extended his arms. The entire tunnel seemed to inhale—like the world itself was holding its breath.

"Broken wind. Reversed current. Absolute impact…" he muttered, activating a technique he had never learned… yet somehow it felt natural. It was everything his grandmother had ever taught him… and he had never been able to use it before—due to a lack of mana.

A sphere of energy formed around him.

The girls screamed, but it was already too late.

KA-BOOOOOOM!!!

With a sharp motion, Kael slammed his fist into the ground—and the resulting shockwave blasted everything backward, a repelling force so violent it launched them like projectiles toward the dungeon's entrance, hurling them through the corridors at breakneck speed.

Sylphie, Amelia, Irelia, and Stella vanished into the darkness of the tunnel they had come from…Safe.

"I promised," Kael whispered, panting. "I… will protect all of you."

His body trembled, muscles collapsing from within. But he turned around.

Erika was still there.

The dungeon began to shake. A deep sound echoed—like ancient stones cracking, old structures groaning under unspeakable pressure.

[Imminent Collapse]

Kael ignored it.

He ran.

His footsteps struck like thunder. Stones crashed. Runes flickered and died. Yet he charged through the chaos, still glowing with that golden light.

Erika was within reach.

And then, her fingers twitched.

"Erika…" he called, his voice raw.

"Kael…?" she whispered, eyes still blurry. "You… came back?"

He pulled her into his arms, holding her tight.

"Of course I did, you idiot," he said with a bloody smile. "You think I'd let you die here and steal all the credit?"

She laughed, weakly. But she cried too."You… saved everyone…"

"Not everyone.""You're still here."

The ground shook.

The ceiling began to collapse. The black crystal in the Greater Guardian's chest exploded in wild, devouring energy, trying to swallow everything.

Kael held Erika with one arm and raised the other toward the abyss.

"Please… just one more time…"

A final spark.

But nothing came...

His strength was completely gone.Whatever had helped him before—was gone now, just like the mana in the air…

The space shattered with a sharp explosion as the black crystal finally collapsed, unleashing a destructive wave of energy that swept across everything nearby. The walls cracked, the ceiling came crashing down in massive blocks of rune-carved stone, and the ground trembled as if about to swallow the world whole.

Kael looked up, still holding Erika against his chest. His body was broken.His muscles screamed. Every breath brought sharp pain to his ribs. But there was no time for pain.

They were trapped.

The tunnel through which he had launched the girls was now completely destroyed.A wall of debris and unstable magic blocked any path back. Despair clawed at him for a moment—but he didn't let fear take hold.Because something worse loomed.

The golems were still coming.

The destruction hadn't stopped them.If anything, it made them angrier.

They marched through the rubble with hollow eyes, animated by the same ancient force that held this cursed place together.

Kael took a step back, his feet slipping in the dust. Erika tried to rise but could barely keep her eyes open.

He drew his sword—cracked, battered, but still usable.

"Stay behind me," he said, voice raw.

"I... I can't…" Erika whispered.

"Yes, you can. Just one more minute. I swear."

The first golem attacked.Kael spun the blade and slashed at its leg, bringing it down.

But three more followed.

Heavy, clumsy blows—but relentless. He dodged, barely, dragging Erika with him.

"Why... won't they stop?" Erika murmured.

"Because they have no soul," Kael answered."And they won't stop… until we fall."

They fought—side by side.

Erika, weak as she was, picked up a fallen dagger and struck out. The effort was small, but enough to distract the enemy for precious seconds. Kael covered every gap, every movement.

But it was futile.

For every enemy that fell, two more came.

And the space around them shrank.

The entire dungeon quaked—too ancient, too cursed.It was collapsing, and with it, every creature seemed to rise in a final scream of rage.The metallic sound of golem steps echoed like funeral drums.

Kael was sweating cold, breath ragged.

"We're going to die here," Erika said bitterly, eyes wet with tears.

"No. I… won't accept that," he said.

Another swing. Another golem shattered.

But they were surrounded.

Kael turned his back to Erika, blocked a spear with his blade, and kicked a creature away.In the reflection of a shattered stone, he saw something he hadn't noticed before.

A crack.

A hole in the ground—wide, hidden beneath the rubble.An opening that seemed to descend even deeper.

"There… there's a path," he said.

Erika looked, confused.

"We're going down."

"Kael… what if it's a trap? What if it's worse?"

"Can't be worse than this," he replied, already deciding.

He picked Erika up in his arms, slid the sword onto his back, and ran.

The golems advanced.One grazed him—slashing his leg.Another tried to grab him, but Kael jumped with all his might, using the last spark of mana left to propel his muscles.

And then—they fell.

The world turned upside down.

They plummeted for what felt like endless seconds.The wind sliced their skin. Erika screamed, clinging to his neck.Kael twisted midair, trying to shield her body.He had no mana left. Only willpower remained.

"Please… hold on…" he whispered.

When they hit the bottom, Kael twisted his body, landing on his back.

The impact was brutal.

A muted crack echoed through his spine.The pain was immediate—blinding—like the world had shattered inside him.But Erika was unharmed.

He swallowed the scream and bit his tongue.

The stones beneath him cracked. Dust rose in a cloud around them.

Erika looked at him, eyes wide.

"Are you… okay?"

"No… but you are. That's what matters."

She tried to help him sit up, but he only rolled to the side, gasping for air.

The hole above them was now sealed. Rocks and debris blocked the way back.The sounds of the golems were gone—muffled by the distance.

A sepulchral silence filled the new space.

Kael coughed blood. He looked around.

They were in a new level of the dungeon.A place even darker.The walls pulsed with a faint red glow, like the earth itself was breathing.

Erika hugged him tightly.

"You saved me… again," she whispered, ashamed."I'm the teacher. I'm the one who should be doing that!" she shouted.

"Yeah… that's your job… idiot," Kael murmured, a bloody smile on his lips."Recover your mana. You're stronger than me…"

She nodded and rose to her feet, scanning the surroundings.Kael closed his eyes for a moment, lying on the cold stone floor…

They weren't safe.But they were alive.

And for now—that was enough.