The wind carried the faint, metallic scent of blood and alien ozone. Ethan stood atop the fire station's roof, his gaze fixed on the horizon where six figures approached, moving in eerie synchronization. The Multiversal Hunters advanced in formation, each step calculated, their black-and-violet armor gleaming in the fractured light of the sky.
Behind him, the survivors of the Overlord Guild worked in tense silence. Makeshift barricades of overturned cars and rubble now surrounded the fire station, but they were flimsy compared to the precision of the threat marching toward them. The Hunters weren't mindless beasts—they were soldiers.
The System whispered in his mind, calm and absolute.
[Alert: Multiversal Hunter Strike Team — 6 Units][Level: 25 | Formation Pattern: V2][Objective: Test Overlord Stronghold Defense | Exterminate Weak]
Ethan exhaled slowly. "They're not just here to fight," he murmured. "They're here to see if we're worth killing."
Kayla climbed up beside him, spear in hand, her face grim. "And if we fail?"
"Then the real army comes," Ethan said.
The group below bristled with tension. Rogan paced near the front barricade, gripping his Berserker's Axe. Jace knelt on a car hood, conjured light arrows hovering above his bowstring. The siblings crouched behind a wall of scrap metal, shields ready. Two dozen survivors, all of them exhausted but determined, waited for Ethan's command.
The Overlord Protocol hummed in his chest, warm and commanding.
[Overlord Aura (Tier 2) Active][All Guild Members: +15% Attack | +10% Defense within Territory][Command Protocol Ready: Issue Directive to Guild Members]
He felt the subtle thrum of their attention, their fear, their need for guidance. The System made leadership feel natural, inevitable. He raised the Abyss Fang, letting the faint blue glow ripple along the blade.
"Positions!" Ethan's voice cut through the cold air. "Barricades first. Ranged attacks on my signal. We don't break formation for anything."
The Guild moved like a single body, each member snapping into their assigned role. It wasn't perfect—they were still scared, still human—but the Overlord Aura pressed down like a hand, smoothing their chaos into order.
The Hunters reached the edge of the street and stopped. For a moment, the world was silent. Then the lead Hunter—a larger variant with a spear crackling with violet lightning—took a single step forward. Its voice was a cold, distorted hiss, carrying across the battlefield.
"[Assessment: Human Overlord located.]"
Ethan's grip tightened. He didn't respond. Words wouldn't save them.
The Hunter raised its spear and gestured sharply. The strike team moved, fanning out with military precision. Two with bows took positions on the rooftops, while the other four advanced, their weapons gleaming.
[Warning: Coordinated Assault Imminent]
The first volley came in a flash of violet light. Energy arrows streaked through the air, slamming into the barricades. Metal hissed, and one car door exploded, sending shards across the street. Survivors ducked, but no one broke formation.
"Ranged!" Ethan barked.
Arrows of light, scavenged rifles, and improvised spells answered. Jace loosed a radiant arrow that struck one rooftop Hunter in the shoulder, spinning it backward. A fireball from one of the spell-capable survivors erupted against another, leaving a scorch mark but not breaking its armor.
The advancing Hunters were undeterred. One leapt, closing the distance in a single bound, landing atop a barricade with crushing force. Rogan met it with a bellow, his axe swinging in a vicious arc. Sparks flew as metal met alien chitin.
Ethan was already moving. Overlord energy surged through his limbs as he leapt from the roof, landing with a roll and coming up in a fluid strike. Abyss Fang carved across the leaping Hunter's midsection.
[-350 HP | Weak Point Hit]
The Hunter staggered, clicking in anger. The other three pressed forward, forcing the barricade lines to strain. One survivor screamed as a spear pierced his leg, dragging him toward the street.
Ethan's chest burned. He felt the Protocol pulse, and words formed in his mind.
[Command Protocol Available: Issue Binding Directive]
"Hold the line!" Ethan roared, and the System carried the command like thunder.
[Command Protocol Engaged: Directive — Hold the Line][Guild Members: +20% Morale | Fear Suppressed for 30 Seconds]
The survivors stiffened, and the line held. Rogan planted his feet, roaring, and shoved his attacker back. Kayla's spear lanced through another Hunter's thigh joint, sparks and ichor flying.
Ethan ducked a sweeping spear, rolled inside its guard, and drove Abyss Fang upward under its arm.
[-500 HP | Critical Strike | Skill Assimilation Chance: 25%]
The Hunter convulsed, light dimming in its eyes.
[Enemy Eliminated: Multiversal Hunter][+1,200 EXP | Level Up: 17][Skill Essence Acquired: Spear Mastery — Tier 1]
The new skill slid into his muscles, instinct guiding his next movement as if he'd trained with spears for years. He wrenched the alien's own weapon free and spun, driving it into the second Hunter that had leapt the barricade.
Kayla glanced at him in shock. "You're… changing how you fight mid-battle?"
"Overlord perks," he grunted, twisting the spear and kicking the dying alien off the barricade.
Then the rooftops lit up again. Two arrows of violet light streaked downward. One slammed into the street, the other caught a survivor square in the chest. He flew backward with a strangled cry, dead before he hit the ground.
Ethan's blood ran cold. He scanned the field. Four Hunters remained—two rooftop snipers and two melee fighters pressing the barricades. But the Guild's morale was cracking. He could feel it in the Overlord Protocol like hairline fractures.
[Warning: Guild Cohesion 68% → 55%]
He needed to break the strike team's formation.
"Kayla! Rogan!" he shouted, gesturing to the remaining melee Hunters. "Push with me—kill their frontline!"
The three of them surged forward, Overlord Aura flaring. Ethan's Abyss Fang met the first Hunter's blade in a shower of sparks. Rogan cleaved the second across the back, and Kayla drove her spear into a joint, forcing it to its knees.
[-600 HP | Critical Fatal Blow][Enemy Eliminated: Multiversal Hunter][+1,500 EXP | Level Up: 18][Overlord Protocol Progress: 45% → 52%]
The rooftop Hunters clicked, their rhythm breaking. With their melee cover gone, Ethan turned his glare upward.
"Jace!"
The young archer didn't hesitate. He drew back a glowing arrow, took a steadying breath, and let it fly. The shot hit true, punching through the visor of the nearest Hunter. It toppled from the rooftop, shattering on the street in a burst of light.
The last Hunter hesitated. For the first time, Ethan saw uncertainty in the alien's glowing eyes. Then it raised a claw to the sky, and the clouds above pulsed.
[Warning: Multiversal Strike Imminent][Source: High-Orbit Hunter Vessel]
A beam of violet energy split the sky, descending like the judgment of a god.
"Take cover!" Ethan roared. He grabbed Kayla and rolled behind an overturned truck as the beam hit the street where they'd been standing. Concrete vaporized, and shockwaves flattened part of the barricade.
When the light faded, the last Hunter was gone. But the System's voice returned, cold and absolute.
[Assessment Complete: Overlord Guild — Viable Threat][Phase 3 Imminent][Prepare for Global Hunter Incursion]
Ethan staggered to his feet, heart pounding. Around him, the survivors were alive—but shaken. Rogan's face was pale, Kayla's eyes wide with the weight of what they'd just survived.
He looked at the sky, where faint, enormous shapes now moved beyond the clouds. This wasn't over. It wasn't even close.
He tightened his grip on Abyss Fang. "They know we exist now," he said quietly. "And they're coming for all of us."
The System whispered like a promise.
[Overlord Directive Updated: Expand Territory | Unite or Perish]