Suddenly, a figure emerged from the water, placing a hand against the boat's stern and shoving the second boat into the sea with unnatural force. Dante's breath hitched as he turned back to look toward the jungle.
Then, the trees moved.
Hundreds of figures materialized within the foliage, their silent forms outlined by the flashes of lightning. Predatory grins stretched across their faces, eyes gleaming with a malevolent hunger.
And then they saw Nocturnal running to the beach.
He burst from the jungle at full speed, his breath steaming against the cold rain. Behind him, a mob of at least fifty figures surged forward, their limbs twisting unnaturally as they pursued.
The creatures watching from the trees descended, surrounding him in a suffocating ring of bodies.
Nocturnal slowed to a stop, rolling his shoulders as he exhaled through his nose. He reached up, gripping his shirt, and tore it from his body.
Lightning illuminated his scarred flesh. Deep claw marks raked across his chest. A massive lion bite had torn into his side, its scars gnarled and brutal. Panther fangs had left puncture wounds across his neck and arms. His abs, chiseled and hardened by years of battle, tensed as he flexed his hands.
He ripped off his gloves.
Both of his hands were missing a finger.
Dante squinted from the boat. "Is he... smiling?"
Nocturnal let out a low, dark chuckle, his voice barely audible over the storm.
"May the Goddess of Darkness bless me."
A wave of unnatural darkness surged around him. It was not just the absence of light—it was a suffocating void, so deep and dense that even the storm seemed to recoil. It pulsed outward in a twisted, almost majestic radiance.
Then, he roared. "Come at me, you bastards!"
The first wave charged.
Nocturnal moved—faster than any of the figures could move. His foot shot forward, caving in a skull with a sickening crunch. He twisted, grabbing two of them by the throat, their bones shattering as he smashed their heads together.
Dark blades formed from the storm, slicing downward in a deadly flurry. Flesh parted. Blood sprayed. The jungle became a battlefield of screams.
Thirty more surged forward, their grotesque bodies writhing as they tore into his flesh with jagged teeth. Nocturnal's snarl turned into a roar of agony—but he didn't fall. His arms shot out, gripping their skulls and crushing them like rotten fruit.
The ground became slick with blood.
Lightning flashed.
Two figures appeared in the treetops before slamming down into the horde below. Bloodhound, and Sacred.
They moved with terrifying efficiency. Bloodhound's golden mana erupted, his fists obliterating enemies on impact, sending their shattered remains flying into the trees. Sacred's pink mana surged, forming a barrier around them before a glaive of pure water materialized in her hands.
Bloodhound spat blood onto the ground. "Commander, reporting for duty!" He said loudly as he slammed his fists into each other.
"I apologize for my disappearance, Commander," Sacred said, rotating her shoulders, her silver ponytail drenched and clinging to her face, wounds opened while bleeding down her arms. "Let's kill these bastards and get some damn lunch."
Nocturnal exhaled, wiping blood from his lip. He grinned. "Sushi?"
Then—something flew through the air.
A severed head landed between them, rolling to a stop in the blood-soaked dirt.
Brando's lifeless eyes stared up at them, his face twisted in pain.
Silence.
Then—Bloodhound spoke, his voice shaking with rage.
"He was a damn good friend."
His golden mana exploded, piercing the storm clouds above. A pillar of divine light crashed down upon the battlefield, splitting the sky apart.
Bloodhound stepped forward.
With each stride, the howling storm above ceased. The swirling black clouds that had loomed over the island vanished, consumed by an expanding golden radiance.
The rain stopped. The wind stilled. The very air trembled under the weight of his presence.
Then—light erupted.
Hundreds of blades of divine energy materialized in the sky, stretching endlessly above the battlefield. Each one pulsed with righteous fury, humming with celestial power. They hovered in perfect stillness, like a divine tribunal preparing to execute a holy sentence.
Bloodhound's golden eyes glowed, his rage manifesting into pure, unrelenting force. His voice rang across the island.
"For killing my friend..."
His outstretched hand clenched into a fist.
The hundreds of golden blades tilted downward—aiming at the wretched creatures below.
"...You all shall be judged to death." Hundreds of divine blades descended at once, tearing through the enemy ranks like judgment cast upon the damned. Each impact sent explosions of radiant energy through the jungle, engulfing the wretched creatures in searing light. Screams of agony filled the air as bodies were eviscerated, turned to dust before they could even comprehend their doom. Bloodhound walked forward again. The divine glow around him intensified, his every step leaving scorched earth in its wake.
One of the monstrous figures, its body twisted and covered in grotesque symbols, lunged at him with a blade coated in dark flames.
It never reached him.
A single flick of Bloodhound's wrist and a golden katana materialized in his grip. With a swift slice, it pierced straight through the creature's skull, shattering its body from the inside out. The explosion of light was so intense that the other beasts nearby howled in terror, shielding their eyes as their flesh began to smolder.
Bloodhound's voice echoed throughout the entire island, the seas parted ways slightly as he spoke.
"You took one life. I shall take everything from you in return."
A second wave of divine blades formed above them, even more than before.
The air became thick with power, crackling with golden lightning as the sheer weight of his magic distorted reality slightly. The monsters hesitated, fear finally creeping into their hollowed minds.
Suddenly, Sacred twirled her glaive, the water swirling around it like a serpent ready to strike. She glanced at Bloodhound, a smirk forming despite the blood trickling down her lip.
"Don't be taking it all just 'cause of rage, Bloodhound. Save some for me."
She slammed the glaive into the ground, and the sea responded.
The ocean behind them roared, rising into an impossibly large serpent of pure water. Its massive, coiling body twisted through the air, its gleaming blue eyes locked onto the horde.
With a single, deafening hiss, the serpent struck.
It crashed down onto the figures like a tidal wave of inescapable doom, its transparent fangs piercing through their bodies before swallowing them whole. The water churned violently as the monstrosities inside thrashed and screamed, their bodies dragged into the abyss below, never to resurface.
Bloodhound's divine blades rained from the heavens, impaling any unfortunate soul left standing. The once dense jungle was turning into a battlefield.
Nocturnal, his grin widening at the sheer destruction surrounding him, cracked his knuckles.
"Damn, you two sure know how to make a scene."
As the battle raged on, Nocturnal stepped forward, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "Dibs on the third round!" he declared, his voice dripping with anticipation.
In an instant, the land beneath them began to tremble, cracks appearing as the earth transformed into a swirling dark void. The ground groaned as shadowy hands emerged from the abyss, clawing their way upward with an unsettling grace.
The figures still standing, caught in a state of shock, barely had time to react before the hands latched onto their bodies, wrapping around them with an unyielding grip. Their screams were swallowed by the encroaching darkness as the void pulled them in, vanishing without a sound.
Nocturnal laughed, a chilling sound that echoed through the air. "Let that be a lesson," he said, his eyes gleaming with a predatory hunger. As the last of the shadows disappeared into the void.
The three of them took a moment to exhale, Bloodhound still seething with rage but managing to steady his emotions. As he released his mana, the storm returned with a vengeance, dark clouds rolling in overhead as lightning crackled ominously around the island, as if to signal that chaos was once again in control.
Sacred raised her hand, summoning a powerful wave of water that surged forward, forcefully pushing the second boat back onto the shore. The three of them swiftly boarded, urgency pulsing through their veins.
"Drown the island so nobody has to suffer in this hellhole again," Nocturnal commanded, his voice cold and unwavering, blood dripping from his missing flesh.
Sacred nodded resolutely, closing her eyes as pink mana enveloped her, radiating a fierce energy. With a deep breath, she channeled her power into the water surrounding the island. The ocean responded to her call, thrumming with life as it began to churn violently.
A massive whirlpool formed beneath the surface, its vortex twisting and pulling with an insatiable hunger. The very earth trembled as the island was drawn inexorably into the depths, swallowed whole along with all remnants of its dark past.
As the whirlpool closed, it devoured the cries of those who had once inhabited the island, sealing their fate in the cold embrace of the ocean. The three warriors stood on the boat, watching as the last vestiges of the island disappeared beneath the waves, a grim satisfaction settling within them. They knew that they had not only avenged their fallen comrades but had also spared countless others from the horrors that had once thrived there.
Bloodhound and Sacred sought shelter beneath the roofed area of the boat, settling in to discuss their next steps.
"We should hold a funeral for them," Bloodhound suggested, his voice heavy with sorrow. Sacred nodded, her expression solemn as they contemplated the weight of their loss.
Nocturnal sat at the edge of the boat, lost in thought. Suddenly, he shifted his weight, and before he could regain his balance, he toppled overboard with a splash.
The sound of the rough waves crashing against the boat drowned out his fall, and Bloodhound and Sacred remained unaware of the disaster that had just unfolded. As Nocturnal sank beneath the surface, a chilling thought crept into his mind.
"Is this... how it ends for me?" Nocturnal wondered as he sank deeper into the ocean's icy embrace. The frigid water surrounded him, a chilling contrast to the chaos raging above. He held his breath, trying to stave off the panic swelling within him, but his body felt heavy and unresponsive, trapped in a state of paralysis that robbed him of the strength to swim or fight back.
After several agonizing minutes, Sacred turned around, her heart racing when she realized Nocturnal was nowhere to be seen. Panic surged through her as the realization struck her. Without a second thought, she leaped into the turbulent waters, determined to find him.
Bloodhound, witnessing Sacred's frantic dive, reacted swiftly. He hurled an anchor into the sea to halt the boat's drift, the metallic clang echoing in the air before he jumped in after her. "Nocturnal!" he shouted, his voice swallowed by the waves as he plunged beneath the surface, a fierce resolve driving him to find his comrade before it was too late.