Delta stood calmly, his expression unreadable.

A long black coat covered his body, its loose ends fluttering in the wind behind him. A dark mask concealed the lower half of his face from his nose down to his chin. His long black hair was tied at the back, though a few loose strands hung over his face.

There was a scar beneath his left eye. Though fully healed, it was deep enough to reveal just how vicious the original wound must have been.

His gaze settled on Neil, the team captain.

"She is coming with us." His voice was calm and emotionless. "Go tell Jasper that if he wants his guild hunter and his brother to remain alive, he should come to the Bowen Estate before evening."

Delta paused briefly. "And no, there are no restrictions on how many people he can bring as backup."

Neil’s eyes twitched. "Who the hell do you think you are, punk?" he barked. "You want to take one of my team members right in front of me? And you even dared to kidnap Noah?"

His expression darkened.

Zap!

Lightning began dancing across his palm.

"You’re just begging to die."

Without another word, Neil thrust his hand forward. A zigzag bolt of lightning shot through the air.

However, just before it could reach Delta...

A small black ripple suddenly appeared in front of him. The lightning vanished into it.

Then...

Zap!

A hunter standing several meters away was suddenly struck by the same lightning bolt.

"Argh!"

His body was blasted backward and sent tumbling across the ground. Smoke rose from his scorched armor.

A deathly silence followed.

"Spatial magic..." Someone swallowed nervously. "He’s a spatial magic user."

Neil’s expression became serious instantly.

"Everyone! Formation!"

Meanwhile, Meridith’s thoughts were in complete disarray. ’Who is this person? What does he want with me? And he captured Noah, too? Why?’ Questions flooded her mind, but she didn’t hesitate.

The entire team immediately moved into position, surrounding Delta and Simon from every direction.

Simon felt cold sweat trickling down his forehead. ’We’re in trouble.’ His face became increasingly pale. ’Why did he have to provoke them?’

’Couldn’t we have just ambushed them and taken the girl? Isn’t that how assassins are supposed to operate?’

Yet unlike him, Delta remained completely unfazed. He stood there casually, as if he were watching an uninteresting television show. A group of hunters preparing to attack him seemed incapable of drawing even the slightest concern from him.

Neil narrowed his eyes. ’Spatial magic.’ His mind raced. ’But no one can maintain multiple spatial rifts simultaneously. And more importantly...’

His gaze swept across his teammates. ’If we attack from every direction at once, he won’t know which attack to redirect.’

The hunters had worked together in countless dungeon raids. Words were unnecessary. The moment they took their positions, everyone understood the plan.

"Now!" Neil roared.

Crack! He raised both hands. Two bolts of lightning erupted forward.

From another corner, Meridith lifted her staff and launched a compressed sphere of water.

There were nine hunters in total.

One female hunter remained at the rear, not participating in the attack. Judging from her position, she was most likely the team’s healer.

The remaining six attacked simultaneously.

A female spear user twisted her waist and hurled her spear with all her strength.

A fire mage unleashed multiple fireballs at once, turning the air scorching hot.

A hammer wielder charged forward, his weapon raised high above his head.

A reinforcement magic user shot forward as well, his right fist drawn back and ready to unleash an explosive punch.

A shield bearer remained slightly behind the others, his eyes locked onto Delta without blinking. Every muscle in his body was tense, ready to react at any moment.

Finally, an earth mage slammed both palms against the ground. Jagged spikes erupted from the ground and shot toward Delta.

Delta still stood calmly.

The heat from the fireballs was already brushing against his face. The lightning bolts were only centimeters away. The spear, hammer, and every other attack were about to reach him.

But before they could land on him...

Multiple black ripples appeared out of thin air.

The next moment...

A jagged earth spike burst from one of the ripples behind Neil and struck him squarely in the back.

At the same time, another spike shot out and hit the fire mage before he could react.

"Argh!"

Both clutched their wounds and collapsed.

A hammer suddenly emerged from a ripple above the healer’s head.

Bam!

The weapon crashed down onto her shoulder. Her eyes rolled backward as she collapsed instantly.

A spearhead thrust out of another ripple and pierced the wrist of the hammer wielder.

"AAAH!" His grip loosened immediately. The hammer slipped from his fingers and crashed onto the ground.

Crack! A lightning bolt erupted from beneath the shield bearer. His entire body lifted off the ground as he was launched through the air.

Meanwhile, the redirected fireballs and water spheres slammed directly into the remaining hunters.

Explosions erupted one after another.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dust and smoke filled the area. A few seconds later, everything became quiet. Dead silent.

All nine hunters lay sprawled across the ground. Some were groaning in pain. Some struggled to stand. Others remained completely motionless. None of them was dead. But none of them could continue fighting either.

Whether it was their injuries or the psychological shock caused by what they had just witnessed, the result was the same.

They had been utterly defeated.

And Delta...

Delta had done nothing more than casually wave his hand once.

Simon stared at the scene with a pale face. His throat felt dry. ’I had only heard about their might until now. But today I finally saw it with my own eyes. Captain Neil is an A-Class hunter. Three of the others are B-Class, while the remaining are all C-Class. A team like this could clear most dungeon raids with ease. Even an ordinary S-Class hunter would have needed several minutes to subdue them all. Yet here they are. Defeated.

By a single move. And the most terrifying part...’ He looked toward Delta. ’He hasn’t taken a single step.’

Back inside the gate. Leon’s feet touched the floor on the last level of hell’s pool. The moment they did, Leon’s skin started melting instantly with a hiss. Even his bones blackened.

But not a single sound escaped Leon’s lips. Still a smile hung on his face. He slowly sat down again.