His back struck the cold stone pavement while both shattered arms hung limply at his sides.

His eyes had turned completely white.

There was no trace of redness left within them.

They were utterly empty.

Blood flowed from his open mouth.

Jackson stood silently for a moment, staring at him before slowly withdrawing his fist.

"I think I overdid it..."

"What a shame."

Even without using Aura Armor, a direct punch from a King-rank fighter was far too much for an Advanced-rank knight to endure.

Jackson looked away, already losing interest after Raiden collapsed, no longer capable of standing—

Or even remaining conscious.

He turned to leave.

Yet suddenly—

He stopped.

He had sensed movement behind him.

Jackson’s serpent-like eyes widened slightly as he turned around once more after witnessing something he had not expected.

"Not bad."

The giant smiled when he saw Raiden standing again.

Both arms hung uselessly at his sides.

His back was bent, barely capable of remaining straight.

Consciousness was slipping away from him—

Yet he still endured.

"I’m... still..."

"Standing."

Raiden spoke with difficulty, his bloodshot eyes trembling violently.

Jackson nodded with satisfaction.

"Yeah."

"You passed."

"Barely... but you did."

Jackson turned around and waved casually while leaving.

"Drag that wrecked body of yours somewhere and get proper treatment."

"Come find me afterward."

Raiden understood immediately.

That was Jackson’s way of telling him—

He had done well.

A joyful laugh escaped him.

Then his body collapsed forward after finally losing all remaining strength.

He would have smashed face-first into the street—

But strong arms caught him before he could hit the ground.

Someone hoisted him onto a shoulder and stopped his fall entirely.

Raiden slowly opened his eyes—

Only to find Ethan supporting him.

"You..."

"Since when were you... here?"

"Don’t talk."

"I’m pretty sure that punch caused severe internal damage."

Ethan interrupted immediately, preventing him from speaking further while carrying him back toward the hunters’ camp.

From his words alone, Raiden realized Ethan had been watching since before Jackson threw the punch.

A hollow laugh escaped him, followed by another cough of blood.

"I showed you..."

"Something pathetic..."

He muttered painfully.

Ethan shook his head.

"No."

"You were incredible."

"A single punch from Jackson is usually enough to crush the skulls of the strongest monsters."

"But you endured it."

"That alone is an achievement."

Raiden laughed longer after hearing the praise.

Then he finally lost consciousness completely, forcing Ethan to carry his full weight for the remainder of the journey.

Ethan let out a quiet sigh while taking him away for treatment.

"You beat me to it this time, Raiden."

"I guess your desire to become stronger was far greater than mine."

Ethan sighed softly.

He himself had intended to seek Jackson out eventually, hoping the giant would teach him how to properly utilize his physical strength.

But Raiden had reached him first.

Even so—

Ethan felt no annoyance.

The stronger the Third Division became—

The more it benefited him as well.

Soon afterward, the two disappeared back inside the building, returning to their camp.

...

...

...

Time passed quickly.

Before long, the hunters had finished their brief night of rest and prepared themselves for what was to come.

None of them knew the exact time in the outside world.

However, Luna estimated that it was likely somewhere around midday.

Which made it the perfect opportunity to begin their plan.

The first day—

Of the large-scale hunt.

Every hunter participated except Raiden, who remained behind receiving treatment after shocking everyone with the state of his shattered body following Jackson’s punch.

Fortunately, his absence did not affect the first day much.

Their initial target was the outskirts of the city, where the weakest monsters resided.

Jackson personally led them there—

To one of the farthest regions from the old city.

And from there—

The hunt began.

The moment they arrived, Luna removed the seal suppressing the curse barrier. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The Beloved of Darkness was unleashed once more.

The voices immediately crawled back into Ethan’s mind.

They were suffocating.

Yet far weaker than before due to the curse being activated during daytime.

For the first time—

Ethan remained capable of fighting and defending himself properly.

The total number of participating hunters was seventeen, including Jackson.

Ten knights.

Three mages.

Four archers.

The priest remained behind with Raiden and the other wounded survivors.

Which meant—

This was the best force they currently had available.

The battle erupted almost immediately once the monsters of the outskirts were drawn toward Ethan by the curse.

Jackson charged at the front.

Moon moved on his right.

Gustav on his left.

Meanwhile Ethan and the remaining knights followed closely behind, tearing through the transformed humans and cutting them down with everything they had.

Because the monsters in the outskirts were weak, the hunt itself was easy.

Every hunter present could kill a transformed human with a single strike of their weapon.

Even so—

The outskirts monsters possessed strength in sheer numbers.

Which caused the slaughter to continue for quite some time.

And after hours of bloodshed...

After endless killing until the ground itself became saturated with blood...

After corpses filled the streets and covered every inch of them—

The transformed humans finally stopped emerging.

Which meant the area...

Had finally been purified.

Some of them were utterly exhausted, fatigue written clearly across their faces.

Others appeared relatively fine, barely affected at all.

But the good news—

No one had died.

At least not here in the outskirts.

Once the battle ended, only two things remained.

To plant the sword upon which the path would be engraved—

And ignite the fire.

Moon stepped toward the center of the cleared area while carrying a massive sword Ethan had given her.

Phoenix flames erupted around her hand, coating the blade’s edge in blazing fire.

Then—

With all her strength—

She drove the sword deep into the ground, leaving only a small portion of the blade and its hilt exposed as towering flames burst from it.

Moon offered her ashes to the fire.

Jackson and Gustav did the same.

Then every hunter followed after them, feeding their ashes into the blaze to strengthen it further.

And thus—

The first bonfire was born.