When Mason reported the veil tear incident to his superiors and later to the hunters' community, chaos erupted. Even if Mason had wanted to conceal the news of Zol's near-fatal injuries, too many people had witnessed it firsthand.
S-class hunters weren't just humanity's greatest warriors—they were symbols of hope, standing tall against the horrors that plagued their existence.
To most, the idea of someone like Zol being gravely injured in combat was inconceivable.
That illusion shattered when the news spread. The revelation alone was enough to shake the public, but the emergence of a new class of void creatures added fuel to the fire.
People were already teetering on the edge of despair, and the thought of a monster capable of effortlessly defeating their strongest defenders pushed them into a state of hysteria.
Ordinary citizens panicked, many barricading themselves in their homes. Some turned to violence, though those outbursts were swiftly quelled by the overwhelming presence of powerful individuals maintaining order.
As if the situation couldn't worsen, reports began surfacing a week after the incident.
Similar veil tears were appearing across the observable universe, spreading fear like wildfire.
If the creature that had emerged from the first tear was any indication, humanity was staring down the barrel of an even greater catastrophe.
...…..
Aboard James's spaceship, a month later.
Julia and her unit members as well as the other units were gathered in the conference room waiting for James to arrive.
Things were getting hectic out there and some new information about the behaviour of the new class of void creatures surfaced that needed to be shared with the hunters.
While they waited, Julia was lost in thought. The previous month had been one of the hardest for her. She was not even allowed to go out with her teammates until she recovered.
"Hey…" Julia raised her head when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she noticed Ross with a warm smile on his face.
"You shouldn't think too much. Your uncle will be fine. If anyone can pull through, it would be him."
Ross tried to cheer her up, but Julia could barely smile. her once radiant smile and beauty were now dimmer than usual.
Without Alex by her side, she was never the same. Now with her uncle's situation, things were not looking so good.
Julia took a breath and then sighed. "It's not like that, Ross. My uncle is now in a coma. His body was put together with the vitality serum. The problem is the lingering void energy in his system.
"While it's not enough to kill him, it's affecting him in ways never seen before. And with no way to get it out of him, he might never wake up." Julia explained.
"I see…" Ross lowered his head in thought. 'Haa… if Alex had been around, maybe…' He glanced at Julia and wondered if saying that would worsen her mood. In the end, he decided to let it be.
[Alright everyone, get seated. James is on his way.] A feminine voice resounded, prompting the hunters to find their seats.
Julia and her teammates took a front-roll seat as they waited for James to arrive. A few seconds later, he arrived and climbed the raised stage.
"Good day, everyone," James greeted, his tone devoid of warmth, his expression equally uninviting. "I'll get straight to the point—we can't afford to stay indoors for too long."
With a simple gesture, a holographic galactic map of the empire materialized before them.
It showed every galaxy within its bounds, including those that had been destroyed. But that wasn't the pressing issue.
Around the map's edges, glowing red spots pulsed ominously. There were sixty in total—a number that sent a chill through the room. James didn't have to say it… they knew.
"As you can see," James said, gesturing to the glowing dots as the map shifted into a live feed, displaying events in one of the marked regions.
"Each of these areas is experiencing void creature activity unlike anything we've encountered before-- organized destruction."
He continued, his voice steady but grim. "Scans have confirmed the presence of multiple Class S void creatures in these locations.
"From what we've observed, they appear to be on a coordinated mission—destroying everything in their paths and steadily moving inward."
The hunters exchanged uneasy glances, their throats tightening at the implications of James's words. Yet there was more.
The live footage revealed void creatures ranging from three to five meters tall, commanding weaker ones while personally obliterating entire star systems.
One in particular; a Class S creature stood apart from the chaos, lingering at the rear. It didn't participate in the destruction but instead observed everything with an eerie, calculated stillness.
"When hunters were dispatched, including three S-tier elites, these creatures would halt their destruction and redirect their forces to engage the hunters. But here's where it gets... interesting," James said, though his tone carried no hint of amusement.
The hunters shifted uncomfortably, swallowing hard. There was nothing remotely interesting about void creatures and their relentless carnage.
"The weaker ones would attack first, testing the hunters and gradually sending in stronger forces. But here's the disturbing part—when some of these creatures succeeded in killing a few hunters, they would retreat. And then, they'd just... wait."
"Wait?" one of the hunters echoed aloud, voicing the collective confusion in the room.
"Exactly." James nodded, his expression grim. "It's as if they're being cautious—of what? Don't bother asking, because we have no answers yet.
"What we do know is that if nothing happens during their waiting period, they resume their attacks with even greater ferocity. It got so overwhelming that the hunters were forced to retreat."
Ross narrowed his eyes, deep in thought. "That level of intelligence and caution is terrifying," he muttered, a shiver running down his spine.
"Yeah…" Ethan agreed, his tone grim. "And they've reduced their sizes too. They're no longer just dumb, oversized creatures that make easy targets."
James nodded, his expression unreadable. "The current situation is even more concerning. The S-tier creatures aren't directly engaging in the destruction anymore.
"Instead, they're acting like generals, orchestrating the chaos. Thank god for that... but there's no guarantee it'll stay that way."
The room fell silent as the hunters absorbed his words. The weight of the looming threat was intense.
With the creatures closing in, the situation would only spiral further out of control. Even the might of S-class hunters was no longer enough.
Humanity needed something more.
"The good news," James continued, breaking the silence, "is that the void tech we've been developing is nearly complete.
"These weapons, forged from materials infused with void energy, will make our jobs of eliminating these monsters significantly easier."
Humans were finally on the precipice of utilizing the power of void energy through advanced technology. But the question was if that would be enough to save them.