Chapter 45 - Raining Flames

I floated in the night sky as thoughts continued to churn in my mind. Hours went by as nothing out of the ordinary happened. When the light began to appear on the horizon, I had made a monumental decision for my actions from here on out

The cover of the night was pulled away as the walled city and desolate Barrens revealed themselves to me. Far from the city, there were many moving dots that made for a terrifying sight. At the forefront of these dots were three large t.i.tANS that moved around menacingly. More and more beasts were coming from all around to join this larger crowd as the dots kept on increasing

The scene reminded me of the pictures of the horde of beasts with the large turtle in the middle that were also making its way towards the Empire, albeit the sight in front was at a smaller scale.

The monumental decision I had made while I was floating in the night sky this past night was to start moving independently. As great as it was to mix around with others, it was also limiting me. I was planning on going all over the Empire to clear out the dungeons and beasts that have popped out, before going ahead and facing the incoming horde of enemies after

This was me moving faster. I would start with the collection of beasts ama.s.sing themselves around this city first. My eyes were on the three moving t.i.tANs whose figures became even clearer with the sun breaking through the horizon.

One was a large bear with claws drenched in black, another was an arctic fox with white flowing fur, and the last was a white panda hoisting a sizable tree trunk on its back.

I began acting while staying in the skies, starting off with multiple casts of [Infernal Purge]. The dark red flames that were terrifyingly hot rushed down towards the gathering of beasts below.

---

Elizabeth was watching an alarming image of collections of monsters outside the city. What alarmed her the most was the droves of flames that were now falling down and burning everything on site

She had not been able to get a wink of sleep last night, and she doubted anyone would have. They had received signals about the gathering of beasts outside the city a few hours ago and were already moving the tired hunters to fight as soon as dawn broke

She came to the forefront at the destroyed portion of the wall, only for the sight in front of her to present itself. The dark flames were the first thing she saw, when she looked to where they were coming from, she saw the hazy figure of a man she soon recognized in the sky

Her mind was much calmer as she saw this, and she thought about the incomprehensible power that Noah seemed to have. She had thought he was a better than average rank A and chose to let loose with him for a night just to forget about the grimness she had been dealing with all this while. It was a great time, but she felt like she really couldn't approach this man that same way again. He just seemed too strong and intimidating currently, becoming a different person overnight

She also knew herself and she didn't think she was the type of woman that deserved someone like him. Looking at the destruction he was bringing down on beasts that they would have to spend hours fighting, she knew someone like him wouldn't stay in one place for too long. A person of his caliber deserved somebody that wasn't damaged, and was meant for much greater things. A sad expression pa.s.sed by her face as she depreciatingly thought about this

She thought of the attack yesterday as she watched the monsters outside the city howl as flames kept on falling onto them and melting their ranks clean through. That attack had occurred the moment they began destroying dungeons. Anger rose in her as she thought about this. That attack was deliberate. Their enemy was much stronger than they were, and they knew nothing about them

She looked to the skies once more as she hoped. She just hoped they now had someone just as strong that would stand by their side. She was planning on staying in Star City for quite a while to take care of things that might fall apart because of the absence of a great friend of hers.

He had saved her once in the past and owed a great deal to him, and yet she wasn't even there when he died. Her wrathful heart was getting some relief as she watched three t.i.tANs angrily rus.h.i.+ng around the other beasts avoiding flames. They had tried jumping to reach the target in the sky, but this resulted in even more gruesome injuries as patches of their body were melted from the continued rus.h.i.+ng flames

Elizabeth looked at this ridiculous sight of three rank A BOSSes that effectively could not do a single thing to the man in the skies and thought maybe, just maybe, they would be alright.

The monsters began dispersing as they couldn't deal with the attacks coming down, and this was when another attack was introduced. Circular explosive blasts of cold elements wrecked the area where the monsters were in, blowing them to smithereens and only leaving behind blue flames

With the combination of flames and these cold blasts, a majority of the beasts were destroyed or sent running. The three t.i.tANs did not make it out alive as their bodies lay burnt and frozen in the chaotic Barrens

She, along with the other hunters placed on the broken walls looked up to the figure in the sky in reverence and fear. He hadn't come down even once, but the horde of beasts lay dead around him.

---

After watching the unbelievable show of the decimation of beasts, hope rose in the hearts of many as they looked to the future. Communications were properly established and they were able to get a better grasp of the situation around them. The Empire's capital was damaged, but still standing because of the strength of Steel Mikhail. Other cities that had rank A hunters and a mult.i.tude of rank B's were able to bring things under control, but the deaths were in the millions for many cities, with others completely destroyed

News from the United Federation was just as grim, with some countries destroyed and others turning lawless. People from all sides were living in fear as this scene from some time ago repeated itself.

Something even more disastrous was a new threat that had just appeared. Besides the large horde of beasts coming towards the Empire, another had formed and was targeting the United Federation. This horde had something that made many people tremble in fear, it was a mythical beast they hadn't seen before, a dragon. News from those that saw this beast and were still alive said it had come out of a monolith larger than any of the currently doc.u.mented ones, and that it spelled destruction for the entire world

When the images were first seen, the officials did not want to believe it. The dragon was not carrying out indiscriminate destruction, but occupied a few countries and declared himself King. Any hunters that dared to defy him would be killed without question. Something even more startling was that this was the first beast that was able to communicate with the humans, making commands and reformations that the occupied countries had to follow

This threat was something they did not know how they could possibly deal with. Leaders were panicking with no options in sight as at this sudden development. Were their lands about to be taken over by foreign invaders?

Amidst all of this, a new hero was rising above the destruction to bring a semblance of hope towards the people. Because of him, one particular city in the Empire faced the lowest number of casualties. He was a versatile mage that fought in the front lines tirelessly casting skill after skill with boundless energy. He was the peak rank A Hunter known as Noah Osmont.