Season 1 — Episode 7: Double Execution
Cold Open — The Ambush
[Recap Montage]
Lightning and molten blood as the Inferno Basilisk crashes to the ground.
HUD flash: LEVEL UP — 10.
Darkness.
The Cloaked Hunter's voice cuts through like a blade dragged over stone:
"He's ready… for the next trial."
EXT. BLACK SCAR — TWILIGHT
The wasteland glows like a dying forge. Jagged fissures split the ground, pulsing faint orange with trapped heat from ancient battles. Ash rides the wind, stinging the eyes, clinging to every breath.
Xavier moves carefully, boots crunching against blackened shale. The Beast Sense HUD overlays his vision — two pulsing mana signatures, massive, steady, closing in.
A sharp burst of static floods the comms. The Guild's voice comes through, strained and ragged:
Guild Comms: "Xavier! Kai! Get out of there! You're about to be ambushed!"
Kai's head tilts. His grin is quick and reckless.
Kai: "Ambushed by who?"
The answer comes without words — two bursts of light at opposite ends of the horizon, one red, one blue.
Act 1 — The Two Lieutenants Appear
The earth quakes. From the left, black rock cracks apart as a hulking figure forces its way into the open. The Emberhorn Minotaur emerges — a walking furnace of muscle and molten metal, 15 feet tall, shoulders plated in jagged obsidian. Its war axe, forged from lava itself, pulses with heat, every exhale spilling out sparks.
From above, a shape eclipses the storm-torn sky. The Tempest Harpy descends — wings wide enough to blot out the sun, each feather a razor-thin blade of dark steel. Lightning dances across her form, talons wrapped in writhing arcs of blue-white energy.
HUD Scan:
Emberhorn Minotaur — Threat Level: 32
Tempest Harpy — Threat Level: 35
Kai's grin sharpens.
Kai: "Two bosses at once? Now we're talking."
Xavier doesn't smile. His hand tightens around his blade hilt.
Xavier: "We split them… or we're dead."
Act 2 — Two Fronts, One Team
The battlefield shatters into chaos instantly.
Kai vs. Minotaur:
The Minotaur's axe swings with the force of a collapsing tower. Kai meets it head-on, twin blades flashing, sparks screaming from the collision. Heat waves shimmer around them, molten droplets spraying from the weapon's edge. Each clash sends shockwaves rippling through the cracked ground.
Xavier vs. Harpy:
The Harpy's screech is like a steel blade dragged through the mind. Xavier's skull throbs, but Volt Breaker ignites around him, lightning weaving through the fissures in his armor. He leaps from one crumbling rock spire to the next, using the vertical terrain to avoid her talons.
The Harpy dives, wind pressure shattering stone in her wake. Her claws miss Xavier by inches, but the sonic boom slams him into the side of a cliff. Vision blurs. His ears ring.
The world spins. The HUD flickers. And then—
⸻
He's falling.
Straight toward the Minotaur's killing zone.
Kai sees him — mid-parry, blade locked against the Minotaur's axe. His free hand shoots out, catching Xavier's arm. He uses the beast's own momentum, twisting, and hurls Xavier skyward with a grunt.
In that heartbeat of motion, their eyes meet.
Xavier: "Cross Fang Assault — NOW!"
Act 3 — Tag-Team Chaos
HUD Trigger: Cross Fang Assault Lv.1 Activated.
Time slows.
Xavier's lightning roars to life — Volt Breaker Overdrive sending jagged arcs dancing along the length of his blade. His pupils narrow into predatory slits.
Below, Kai mirrors his motion — aura blazing crimson, his dual blades burning with raw intent.
The Harpy dives in a lethal spiral, talons reaching.
The Minotaur swings upward, molten steel cleaving through the air.
The two attacks meet — and the Hunters intercept with perfect symmetry.
⸻
Xavier's Strike: His blade tears through the Harpy's left wing joint, severing steel feathers in a shower of sparks. A blinding flash detonates as lightning arcs across her body. She lets out a ragged, electric scream and tumbles toward the ground.
Kai's Counter: The Minotaur lunges to shield the Harpy, but Kai vaults off its horn in a spinning arc, both blades crossing in mid-air. They bite deep into the Minotaur's neck, molten blood spraying like liquid fire.
The Harpy hits the ground. The Minotaur collapses on top of her, crushing what remains of her wings.
⸻
Final Blow:
Xavier lands beside them, using the rebound from a cracked stone to drive his blade clean through the Harpy's chest. Blue lightning explodes outward, tearing through both monsters at once.
Kai yanks his blades free, kicking the Minotaur back.
For a moment, the battlefield is silent — then both bodies burst into streams of light and mana shards, the fragments scattering into the ash-choked air like burning snow.
Act 4 — Victory & Rank Up
The HUD reappears, crisp and final:
LEVEL UP! — 10 → 12
CROSS FANG ASSAULT — Lv.2 UNLOCKED
Effect: Increased power, range, and stun duration when executed with designated partner.
Kai sheathes his blades with a smirk.
Kai: "Two bosses… one fight. Not bad, rookie."
Xavier wipes blood from his cheek — not all of it his. His smirk is sharper.
Xavier: "Told you I'd catch up. Now I'm passing you."
Ending Cliffhanger
EXT. CLIFFSIDE — NIGHT
A lone figure stands against the moonlit horizon — the Cloaked Hunter. His hood flutters in the cold wind, revealing scarred skin like cracked obsidian. His eyes burn molten gold.
Cloaked Hunter: "Halfway through the lieutenants… let's see if you survive the other four."
Far below, lightning flashes in the depths of the Black Scar.
INT. VAST UNDERGROUND CHAMBER — SAME TIME
Chains older than kingdoms rattle, grinding against ancient stone.
The Sky Tyrant Dragon strains against its bindings — scales black as void, eyes burning like dying suns. When it roars, the cavern itself trembles, dust falling like snow from the vaulted ceiling.
The sound is not just a roar — it's a war drum.
And Xavier… can hear it.