Volume 2 — Chapter 18
The End of the Hunter
The battlefield had changed.
Moments ago it had been the site of a brutal duel between two overwhelming beings.
Now—
It felt like the center of a collapsing world.
Dark particles drifted slowly through the air like fragments of broken space. The ground beneath the battlefield had shattered into massive cracks stretching across kilometers. Mountains in the distance had partially collapsed under the shockwaves of the battle.
And at the center of it all—
Icarus Grimm stood with a blade through his chest.
The Creator's Descendant still held its weapon embedded within him.
Yet something had shifted.
The moment Icarus opened his eyes again, the entire battlefield felt different.
Above them, Seraphine hovered silently in the air.
Her silver eyes were locked on Icarus.
"…Those eyes…"
The black void within his pupils seemed endless.
Thin silver rings rotated slowly around the darkness like fragments of galaxies collapsing inward.
It looked less like eyes—
And more like windows into an endless abyss.
Seraphine whispered softly.
"…Nihyron…"
Below her, the Creator's Descendant slowly stepped backward.
Its blade slid out of Icarus's chest.
The wound remained open.
But instead of blood—
Void energy slowly leaked from the injury.
Dark mist drifted through the air.
The Descendant observed him silently.
"…Unknown transformation detected."
Nexus spoke inside Icarus's mind.
[Eyes of Nihyron — Void Perception active.]
[Enemy structural core identified.]
Icarus looked toward the Descendant again.
Now he could see everything.
Energy streams moved through the creature's body like glowing rivers.
Its armor wasn't simply protection.
It was a living system constantly adjusting its structure.
And deep inside its chest—
A glowing core pulsed with unstable energy.
The source of its existence.
The source of its adaptation.
The weakness.
Icarus exhaled slowly.
"So that's where you're hiding it."
The Descendant raised its blade again.
"…Combat evaluation incomplete."
Then it moved.
The ground exploded beneath its feet.
In a single instant it appeared directly in front of Icarus again.
Its blade cut through the air with terrifying speed.
But this time—
Icarus moved first.
He stepped slightly to the side.
The strike passed through empty air.
The Descendant's eyes shifted.
"…Prediction error."
Icarus's fist moved forward instantly.
Void energy erupted around his arm.
The punch struck the Descendant's torso.
BOOM.
The impact shattered the air around them.
The Descendant was launched across the battlefield like a meteor.
It smashed through several massive stone formations before stopping.
Dust exploded across the plains.
Seraphine blinked.
"…He read the attack."
Nexus confirmed.
[Eyes of Nihyron — Existence Observation active.]
[Enemy movement predictions enhanced.]
The Descendant slowly rose from the rubble.
Cracks had appeared across its white armor again.
But once more—
They began repairing.
"…Damage acknowledged."
Its blade lifted again.
"Adaptation continuing."
The air around its body began distorting more violently now.
Its movements grew sharper.
Faster.
Stronger.
Seraphine frowned.
"It's evolving again."
The Descendant vanished.
This time its speed had increased dramatically.
It appeared behind Icarus instantly.
The blade swung toward his spine.
But Icarus already knew.
He turned.
Void energy exploded outward.
CLANG.
The blade struck a barrier of condensed darkness.
Shockwaves erupted across the battlefield.
Then the Descendant attacked again.
And again.
Each strike came faster than before.
The air filled with flashes of light as the blade tore through space repeatedly.
But now—
Icarus could see everything.
Every movement.
Every shift in energy.
Every attack before it happened.
He moved calmly between the strikes.
Dodging.
Blocking.
Countering.
The Descendant suddenly paused.
"…Combat prediction failure."
For the first time during the battle—
It was losing the exchange.
Icarus lifted his hand.
Void energy surged outward like a violent storm.
The air itself darkened slightly.
Nexus spoke again.
[Void Authority increasing.]
[Host body stability decreasing.]
Icarus ignored the warning.
The Descendant charged again.
Its blade cut forward with overwhelming power.
But this time—
Icarus stepped forward instead of retreating.
The blade pierced through his side.
Yet he didn't stop.
His hand shot forward.
Directly toward the glowing core he could now see clearly through the creature's body.
The Descendant realized the attack too late.
"…Critical threat detected."
Icarus's hand pierced through its armor.
Void energy exploded into the creature's chest.
Then—
He grabbed the core.
The battlefield went silent.
For a brief moment—
Neither of them moved.
Then Icarus closed his fist.
CRACK.
The core shattered.
A violent surge of unstable energy erupted outward.
The Creator's Descendant froze completely.
Its body trembled slightly.
"…Core integrity… compromised…"
Cracks spread rapidly across its armor.
Light burst from the fractures.
The Descendant looked directly at Icarus one final time.
"…Evaluation… complete…"
Then its body collapsed.
The white armor shattered into thousands of glowing fragments.
The fragments dissolved into energy before touching the ground.
Within seconds—
The battlefield was silent again.
The Creator's Descendant was dead.
High above the battlefield, Seraphine stared down in disbelief.
"…He did it."
But something was wrong.
Icarus hadn't moved.
He was still standing in the center of the battlefield.
The wound in his chest remained open.
Nexus spoke quietly inside his mind.
[Warning — Host body stability critical.]
[Void Authority overload detected.]
The energy surrounding Icarus slowly began fading.
His wings weakened slightly.
Seraphine's expression changed.
"…Icarus?"
He looked up toward the sky.
For a brief moment his gaze met hers.
Then his body collapsed.
He fell to his knees.
Dark energy drifted slowly from his body.
A system message appeared inside his fading consciousness.
[Creator's Descendant eliminated.]
[Reward granted.]
A long weapon slowly materialized beside him.
A black spear-like blade formed from condensed Void metal.
Its surface seemed alive.
Dark patterns moved slowly across it like flowing shadows.
Another message appeared.
[Weapon Acquired — Abyssal Devourer]
[Growth Condition: Weapon evolves by absorbing the essence of defeated enemies.]
But Icarus couldn't read the rest.
His vision was fading.
His body finally collapsed onto the shattered battlefield.
The Void ruler had won the battle.
But the price had been everything.
Above him, Seraphine screamed.
"Icarus!"
The war had just taken a terrifying turn.