The incoming void creature was a writhing mass of black tendrils—each tendril large enough to match a train. The creature pulsed with chaotic energy as it suddenly blinked and reappeared before Ross and Ethan.
With its many tendrils, it swung them at the duo. The two boys barely had time to react to the blink when the tendrils came their way.
'Shit!'
Ross and Ethan cursed as they quickly spun and positioned their weapons defensively forward.
*BANG!*
The impact of the tendril strike against their weapons generated a powerful shockwave that blasted Ross and Ethan back several thousands of kilometres in an instant. The others didn't fare any better as they too were pushed back, but they recovered faster.
The two hunters' expressions turned grim as their bodies shook from the shock. Ross and Ethan exchanged gazes, and even through their helm, they could tell—that strike was not normal.
As hunters matched level-wise with the void creature, their Manastorm state was supposed to make them stronger, faster and react at a moment's notice. But they failed.
"They're stronger…" Ethan muttered in a solemn tone as he looked at the void creatures and observed how they moved.
"We can't dwell on that right now!"
Ross stated and flew back into the fight with Ethan just a few meters behind. Their teammates were already engaging the void creature, but they were being overwhelmed by its many tendrils.
Not to mention the void creature would occasionally blink and change its position before striking again—almost like it was aware of what it was doing. Julia and the others had to keep their senses sharp at all times to not be taken by surprise.
'These creatures are different from what we've been facing since the beginning.' Ross observed with a dark expression.
'It's like they're a different breed or evolved forms of what we already know.' The thought sent a chill down his spine, but he quickly put the thoughts aside.
There was still a creature to put down. Thinking right now wouldn't help their case.
With his Manastorm state activated, he couldn't use his ability and had to rely on his weapon to create openings for his teammates.
"Julia, Henry, Violet! Get ready!" Ross commanded through the communicator as he appeared a few kilometres away from the creature's latest blink.
He spun his weapon around, holding it with both hands and exploded with an even greater speed, instantly closing the distance and thrusting his weapon into the creature. The momentum of the lunge dealt more damage than the weapon's reach.
The void creature failed to react in time and cried out in agony as it was pushed back from the impact. Ross quickly retrieved his greatsword and withdrew. But that was not the end.
From above, Ethan appeared in a flash, his twin blade held in a spear throw and then hurled it at the monster with all his might.
The blade plunged into the creature, disappearing and then coming out on the other side, provoking an even greater cry of pain.
The others quickly reacted to the created opening as they activated their abilities.
Julia and Henry moved in first, their blades gleaming with the cold ambience of their mana. They speedily flew around the creature as they sliced off its tendrils and within seconds, the void creature was nothing but a large blob.
Violet, the last member of their squad delivered the final killing strike. Her shadow-based ability—shadow implosion, pulls her target into a dark void before detonating. The resulting explosion released shockwaves of destructive energy that was potentially harmful to her allies.
She made a pulling motion with both hands as a void materialized like a small blackhole before the still writhing void creature. The void pulled in the creature akin to a singularity, but the creature continued to struggle, straining violet.
'Damnit, I have to detonate now!' She cried inwardly.
With more than half the creature swallowed, she triggered the implosion and blasted a huge chuck of the monster. The other half was swiftly dealt with by Julia and Henry as they eviscerated it with their strikes.
"Good job, everyone," Ross commented as he and the others took a breather. They watched as the remaining squads dealt with their void creature.
Henry glanced around, his breath slightly hitched, "I don't like this at all. These void creatures showed intelligence. It was like they knew exactly what they were doing. And those ones look like they are here to gather intel."
His companions could hear the gloominess in his tone and they understood his feelings. The monstrosity they just faced moved with purpose and evaded their attacks. As for intel gathering… that was an entirely different take.
"I'm sure there's an explanation for this," Julia added. "This change is too abrupt to be normal. Something is at play here."
The C-tier remaining in the back stayed there and just watched as their kin were slaughtered. They showed no intentions of joining the fray.
The others were done with their void creatures and retrieved the cores. With all the immediate creatures dealt with, all heads turned to the creatures far in the back.
Ross would have preferred they finished them off, but Class C was still beyond him. Only the teams will C-tier hunters had the capability to deal with them.
He silently clenched his free hand as he stared at the monsters. 'I'm still not powerful enough.' His level was impressive for someone his age, but to him, it wasn't enough.
"Fall back," Victor's voice came through their shared channel. "Those things have no intention of fighting and we don't have to engage. We've been ordered to return."
"You heard the man, let's go." Ross put his weapon away before flying towards their leader. The others cast one last look at the creatures before turning away.
Victor watched with furrowed brows as the void creatures also turned around to leave. It was like they were in some kind of agreement to end the fight here. No more were they just mindless creatures.
'Things will definitely get chaotic from here on out,' he mused as his unit arrived around him. With this new discovery on their plate, humans must now revisit everything they knew about void creatures as things had been dialled up.
They were no longer playing the kid's game—the big leagues were here and only time would tell what the implications would be.