Following the truck, Damon arrived at a crowded residential area in one of the poorer parts of the city.
Under his gaze, the truck stopped near a three-story apartment surrounded by other old buildings. The Dark Beasts and the grey-cloaked individual dragged Xu Zhaoting inside quietly.
Now that he had the location, Damon didn't rush in. Instead, he made his way into a building adjacent to the target.
Reaching the rooftop, Damon looked down to see another grey-cloaked man sitting cross-legged in meditation, the rays of the setting sun falling on him.
'For a secretive organization, their clothes really do give them away,' Damon mused as he raised his hand, mimicking the motion of drawing a bow.
A flame appeared in his palm, stretching into the shape of an arrow aimed at the man below.
It was a novice-tier spell—using the same core principles as Flame Burst, but modified for longer range and quieter hunts.
'Release.'
With a thought, the flaming arrow left Damon's hand and, before the magician could react, blasted his head open.
Landing beside the corpse, Damon didn't even glance at the body. Instead, he spread his perception throughout the building.
Months of training had hardened him. He had witnessed countless deaths—targets, coworkers, innocents. Killing no longer bothered him.
The only reason he avoided it during hunter work was the tedious investigations and legal restrictions that followed.
But for dark vatican bastards instead of investigations bringing their heads would reward Damon instead.
"Fifteen Dark Beasts and two individuals on the third floor," his perception relayed. "Dark Beasts on standby, grey-cloaked watchers."
On the second floor, he sensed three more individuals, along with a few Dark Beasts and one Cursed Beast.
"That's quite a lot," Damon muttered as he closed his eyes. The star diagram of a third-level fire spell formed beneath his feet as he prepared to unleash a devastating attack.
The fiery Rose Flame burst out above the debris, engulfing his entire body.
The raging flames were quickly drawn back under Damon's control, the heat wave retracting toward his right wrist, coiling into a ring of fire swaying in the wind.
"Rose Flame: Fiery Fist!"
Damon's hair stood upright in the overflow of energy. His eyes burned like molten fire.
He threw a mighty punch, slamming it into the ground beneath him. An enormous surge of energy raced downward.
The earth cracked violently as if unable to contain the power within.
"Nine Halls!"
The energy finally reached its limit. Under Damon's roar, massive pillars of flame erupted from deep underground.
They tore through the surface, surging upward like molten towers. The first pillar appeared directly beneath Damon, engulfing him in a vortex of crimson fire.
The second pillar burst forth in the distance, and the third behind him—each parallel, the area between them utterly annihilated.
Another explosion followed.
Three more pillars mirrored the first three, appearing on both sides. The ground split open again as six additional flame spires shot upward.
Nine Halls.
The nine pillars blazed with the red brilliance of the Rose Flame, forming a fiery formation that surrounded the entire building.
BOOM!
Under Damon's fist, the ground shattered. The flaming pillars incinerated everything on the floor below.
The colossal blast set the Dark Beasts ablaze as it tore through another level.
The floor collapsed, the flaming debris crashing down toward Yu Ang and his group. The Dark Beasts surrounding him sprang into action, shielding him and the unconscious Xu Zhaoting with their bodies.
The descending roof and fiery strike burned through the beasts, turning their bodies black. The grey-cloaked follower nearby was buried under rubble, while the Cursed Beast managed to shield itself from the impact.
Descending from above, Damon's body was soon covered by black armor that formed over him—dark plating engraved with blue patterns. A half-helmet materialized, concealing his mouth and lower face.
Without hesitation, Damon lunged toward the Cursed Beast, the most dangerous presence in the room. His speed outmatched the creature's as his fire-coated fist pierced through its abdomen.
With a thought, a level-four Flame Burst—Great Rupture—detonated inside the beast, burning it from within and killing it instantly.
"Hah, that was easier than I thought," Damon muttered, turning to check for survivors.
The upper floors had been blasted open, flames engulfing the entire structure. The Dark Beasts that had barely survived retreated, revealing a terrified Yu Ang and the shaken Xu Zhaoting, whose eyes widened as he recognized his savior.
"...Damon!" Xu Zhaoting exclaimed. Though they hadn't been close, they had once been classmates, and seeing him here left him stunned.
"Oh, Xu Zhaoting, seems you're doing fine," Damon greeted casually as a light dome began to form around them. A shimmering barrier enclosed the trio.
It was Light Blessings: Guard—a third-level intermediate light spell.
"You—Ice Spread!" Yu Ang snapped back to his senses, instantly casting novice-tier ice magic. A frigid blizzard spread out, freezing everything within the dome.
The wave of frost rushed toward Damon, who merely smirked. He leapt forward, the ground cracking beneath him. The ice shattered against his fiery aura, unable to harm him in the slightest.
His speed was inhuman. In an instant, he closed the distance and seized Yu Ang by the neck, slamming him against the light barrier.
Everything happened so quickly that Xu Zhaoting couldn't even process it. One moment Yu Ang was attacking; the next, Damon was gripping his throat.
Boom! Boom!
The surviving Dark Beasts pounded desperately on the barrier, but Damon didn't spare them a glance.
"Xu Zhaoting," he said calmly, eyes still locked on Yu Ang, "looks like we've got a lot to catch up on. Can you handle those pests?"
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "And don't worry about the girl near the factory—she's safe."
Hearing that, Xu Zhaoting's tension eased. He turned toward the monsters with hatred burning in his eyes. Sparks of lightning danced across his arms as he unleashed a series of strikes, obliterating the weakened creatures one by one.
"Ah, Yu Ang. It's been a while since I last saw you," Damon said, tightening his grip. "That match with Mo Fan, wasn't it?"
He threw Yu Ang aside like garbage, sending him crashing into the wall. The mask covering Damon's face cracked and fell off.
"Oh, look at that..."
His half-burned face was horrifying to behold, but Damon only grinned wider as he felt the frost aura gathering around Yu Ang.
Without hesitation, he drew a dagger from his inventory and thrust it forward. The weapon grew in size, transforming into a claymore that pierced through Yu Ang completely.
"Ah!" Yu Ang screamed in agony, his spell dissipating into failure.
"You look half-better than before," Damon said coldly, conjuring flames in his palm. "Should I make it full?"
He pressed his burning hand against the unscarred side of Yu Ang's face, searing the flesh. Then, gripping his head firmly, Damon's thumbs flared with fire as he pressed them into Yu Ang's eyes.
"Aaaah!"`