The Frost Serpent’s freezing breath finally shot forward.

WHOOOOOSH!

The freezing mist swallowed everything in its path.

Theo stared straight at it, strangely calm now.

Then he thrust his hand down.

’’GO!"

CRAAAAAAAACK!!!

Several gigantic lightning beams shot down, intertwining and swirling around each other in the air.

The two forces collided head-on, painting the sky white and gold.

For several terrifying seconds, the lightning vanished completely inside the freezing mist.

Then—

BOOOOM!!!

The lightning violently exploded from within, evaporating massive portions of the freezing mist.

Steam rose into the sky, covering the entire battlefield.

Yet it wasn’t enough.

Parts of the freezing mist still spilled outward across nearby buildings and streets.

Several slower civilians were instantly frozen solid where they stood, some still reaching out in front of them with terror in their eyes.

Theo’s body trembled violently.

He collapsed onto one knee, feeling his core on the verge of shattering.

’That’s... all I could do...’

For a moment, silence fell over the battlefield.

The Frost Serpent tilted its head slightly, its eyes thinning into slits as it locked onto Theo.

An insane pressure slammed into him instantly, forcing his body onto the ground.

’Shit...’

The Frost Serpent opened its mouth, a massive ice spike gathering within it.

Theo glanced up with all his might.

Joop’s words echoed through his mind again and again.

"You two have to stay alive."

But he couldn’t move the rest of his body.

It felt like the serpent’s pressure had increased the actual gravity around him.

’I... don’t know if I can make it out of here alive...’

With all the strength he had left, he forced his arm to move.

Barely managing to slip his finger inside his pocket, he felt the cold slate from the spatial token rub against him.

But... he had no strength to break it.

Then—

The ice spike shot forward.

Its speed was so fast, it moved like a blur in his eyes.

BOOOOM!!!!

A massive explosion rang out from the collapsed building.

In an instant, Joop’s body burst forward, also blurring.

The flames around him had intensified several times over, having turned into a pure white color.

He reached the ice spike in an instant and kicked it hard.

The spike shattered into countless pieces, evaporating not even a split second later.

’’Joop...’’ Theo muttered with his last strength.

The old man glanced down for a moment, the air around him distorting from heat.

Then he roared loudly enough for the entire battlefield to hear.

"GOOOOOO!!!"

The white flames burned so brightly it became hard to even look at him.

Theo gritted his teeth, feeling the pressure vanish, and forced himself to turn.

The next second, a massive rocky hand suddenly grabbed him.

Owen threw Theo onto his shoulder, sliding to a halt.

"Hang on!" Owen roared as the giant rock armor immediately took off again.

BOOOOOM!!!

Another explosion rang out behind them.

Only a second later, the next one followed, quickly followed by another.

’’You did a good job, show-off!’’ Owen shouted as he ran. ’’But now we really have to fucking dip!’’

Theo coughed and nodded, holding onto him as his life literally depended on it.

Seconds passed by painfully slowly as the barrier got closer and closer.

Theo glanced back one final time.

That’s when his expression froze completely.

Joop was still exchanging blows with the serpent... yet parts of his hands and feet had already started crumbling away beneath the white flames.

’No...’

The Frost Serpent glanced toward the fleeing civilians once more.

Then back at Joop.

HISSSSS!

It slowly started moving forward, seeing its food escape.

But just as it started moving...

Joop’s body exploded into a massive flame which slowly turned black.

In an instant, he shot forward like a black meteorite and slammed directly into the serpent’s chest.

An enormous black flame engulfed the Frost Serpent completely.

The space around it distorted so much, Theo could barely even see the serpent behind the flames.

’’AAARGHHH!!!’’

A loud scream echoed across the battlefield, sending chills down everyone’s spine.

Joop’s own arms and legs slowly crumbled apart underneath the flames.

Yet despite that... he kept pushing!

’No!’

Theo’s mind spun as he watched the old man crumble.

’No... no, please!’

’We’re almost out of the barrier, you can stop now!’

But Joop didn’t retreat even slightly, biting down into its chest as his arms and legs had crumbled completely.

The Frost Serpent was slowly forced backward.

THUD!

THUD!

THUD!

Entire buildings collapsed as the gigantic creature was pushed through them.

Finally, Theo and Owen crossed through the barrier.

They spun around immediately, their eyes locking onto the fight.

The serpent hissed and whipped its tail violently while burning inside the black flames.

And in front of it—

Joop’s body slowly disintegrated, flowing away with the wind.

The black flames faded only seconds after that.

Leaving behind the scorched corpse of the Frost Serpent inside the ruined city.

Owen and Theo remained completely silent for several long moments.

Even the surrounding civilians barely moved, trembling as they stared at the ruined city behind the barrier.

Slowly, people started collapsing onto the ground one by one. Some cried in relief after surviving, others were too exhausted to even do that.

Yet most of the remaining hunters only stood there silently, gripping their weapons tightly as they looked toward the blackened battlefield.

’’Fuck!’’ Owen suddenly cursed loudly, kicking a piece of broken rock away. ’’Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!’’

Theo barely reacted.

His eyes remained locked onto the ruined city.

’’Old man...’’ he muttered weakly, his eyes wide. ’’Why?’’

Memories flashed through his mind from the first time they’d met.

The elderly man had given them so much... for nothing in return.

He’d gotten them into the best university, had given extremely generous rewards, and basically made him who he was today.

And now... he’d sacrificed his life for them.

’’Why...?’’

Theo felt his heart ache immensely.

He clenched his fists tightly, nails digging deep into his palms.

Why would someone willingly burn their own body away just to buy others time?

Why for people he barely even knew?

Blood dripped onto the ground beneath him.

The image of Joop smiling calmly while telling them to stay alive replayed through his mind again and again.

’’...Why us?’’