X: The Hunter — Season 1, Episode 9
The Last Gatekeeper
Cold Open — The Mountain of Beasts
The storm never left this mountain.
It clung to the jagged black peaks like a crown of wrath, lightning snaking across roiling clouds as if the sky itself was alive. The air reeked of scorched stone and sulfur. Down in the valley, the land was nothing but rivers of hardened lava, jagged glassy ridges, and the skeletal remains of beasts too slow—or too foolish—to escape.
[Recap Montage flashes through Xavier's memory]
— Level 1 → Level 15 in weeks.
— Harpy, Minotaur, Chimera, Mantis, Troll—all felled.
— The triple kill of Episode 8, his Arc Storm Cleave splitting three lieutenants in a single flash of power.
— The Cloaked Hunter's final words echoing through darkness:
Defeat the last lieutenant… or die trying.
The Guild Master's voice crackled in his ear, heavy with the kind of weight only someone who had sent countless Hunters to their deaths could carry.
Guild Master: "Xavier… this is it. Defeat the last lieutenant, and nothing stands between you and the dragon."
A deep, resonating roar rolled over the mountainside, shaking loose dust from the crags above. Xavier's hand flexed over his blade hilt, feeling the pulse of his Hunter's Core in his chest.
Act 1 — Enter the Serpent
The mouth of the cave loomed ahead—an ancient wound in the mountain, wide enough for a fortress gate. The air spilling from it was hot and metallic, each breath tasting faintly of iron. Molten rivers ran deep within, their glow painting the jagged interior in hues of crimson and gold.
Xavier stepped inside.
The shadows moved.
No—it moved.
A glint of gold in the dark resolved into an unblinking eye the size of a shield. The Titanfang Serpent uncoiled, its massive length sliding forward with a hiss like grinding steel. Black scales shimmered like polished obsidian, each one etched with faint, glowing veins of mana.
A HUD prompt shimmered in the corner of Xavier's vision:
[THREAT LEVEL: 50 — Highest Yet]
Perched lazily atop the serpent's head, the Cloaked Hunter leaned forward, his molten-gold eyes locked on Xavier.
Cloaked Hunter: "If you fall here… you were never worth the dragon's time."
With that, he vanished into the shadows, his presence melting away like a ghost. Xavier's breath slowed. His fingers tightened.
The serpent's head reared back, and the battle began.
Act 2 — Phase One: The Coil
The Titanfang struck like lightning—an explosion of movement, faster than its massive size should allow. Xavier dove sideways as the serpent's head slammed into the cavern floor, stone erupting into shrapnel.
Volt Breaker Overdrive ignited around him in a corona of sparks. His blade met the serpent's armor with a deafening CLANG—and bounced off harmlessly.
He gritted his teeth.
That wasn't just armor—it was mana-forged plate, every scale a fortress.
Beast Sense… come on.
The HUD shimmered faintly, highlighting faint pulses deep along the serpent's underbelly—only visible when it uncoiled. Right now, the beast kept its body wrapped in tight loops, hiding its vulnerabilities.
Xavier (smirking): "Guess I'll have to make you move."
Arc Storm Cleave flared to life—lightning crackled down his blade, splitting into multiple arcing lashes that slashed from different angles at once. The serpent flinched, a roar shaking the cavern as its coils loosened, revealing glowing weak points.
Act 3 — Phase Two: The Molten Arena
The serpent lunged sideways, smashing through the cavern wall with earth-shaking force. The rumble deepened into a roar—not from the beast, but from the molten lake beyond the wall. Lava poured in, cascading across the floor, devouring everything it touched.
In seconds, the ground was gone, replaced by a boiling, shifting hellscape. Xavier leapt onto a floating slab of stone, the heat curling up from below like claws. Each platform hissed and cracked, sinking into the lava seconds after bearing his weight.
Then—silence.
The lava bulged.
WHOOSH—The Titanfang erupted from beneath the molten surface, molten rock cascading from its scales. Its tail swept sideways, catching Xavier mid-jump. The impact was brutal—he slammed into a stone pillar, the crack of his ribs lost in the roar of lava.
HUD flash: HP: 8% — CRITICAL CONDITION
Act 4 — The Awakening
Pain tried to take him. He didn't let it.
Through the ringing in his ears, flashes of every battle played out in his mind—each time he was too slow, too weak, too close to dying. The Harpy's talons. The Minotaur's axe. The Chimera's ice breath. The Mantis's scythes. Every near-death sharpened him.
His Hunter's Core throbbed—gold and blue mana spiraling together until they merged into something new. Something blinding. Something pure.
HUD UPDATE: [Apex Hunter Mode (Lv.1) — Unlocked]
From somewhere in the shadows, the Cloaked Hunter's voice drifted like smoke:
Cloaked Hunter: "Now… that's the power I've been waiting for."
Act 5 — Phase Three: The Execution
The world slowed.
Every ripple in the lava. Every twitch in the serpent's coils. Every crack of lightning in the storm outside. All of it was laid bare before him.
Xavier moved. The serpent's golden eyes tried to follow, but Apex Hunter Mode made him something else—a phantom with weight, a streak of white light tearing across stone and fire.
Volt Breaker Overdrive roared to life, chaining instantly into Arc Storm Cleave. Gouges the size of doors ripped through the serpent's armor, sparks and molten blood spraying into the lava.
He didn't stop. He couldn't.
The final strike came with a roar that belonged to every hunter who had fallen before him—Apex Fang Sever. Lightning wrapped around his blade in a spiraling cyclone as he spun mid-air and drove the strike through the serpent's neck.
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then—SHHHHHHH-BOOM!
The serpent's head hit the molten lake, its body dissolving into a flood of golden light that rained down over the cavern.
Act 6 — Victory & Rank Up
The HUD exploded in a cascade of text:
LEVEL UP! 15 → 20
Apex Hunter Mode (Lv.1) — Unlocked Permanently
Xavier landed on solid rock, breath ragged, blade dripping molten steam.
Xavier: "Dragon… you're next."
Ending Cliffhanger
High above, at the mountain's peak, the storm parted just enough to reveal the monster waiting. The Sky Tyrant Dragon spread its colossal wings, their span blotting out the moonlight.
Standing atop its head, the Cloaked Hunter watched him, arms crossed.
Cloaked Hunter: "Your final hunt begins… tomorrow."
The storm's lightning caught Xavier's eyes, now glowing pure white, twin beacons under the rain.