Ermit slowly placed his hand over Wolf's forehead, his palm pressing against the furs of the mask.
He was about to pull it off when, suddenly—
Crack!
A loud, shattering sound tore through the silence. The barrier overhead collapsed into fragments, sending echoes of destruction across the entire campus.
The sun's rays finally broke through the barrier, casting light over the dim surroundings and revealing the debris of destruction—the aftermath of their fight.
Ermit glanced up, and it promptly dawned on him that he had to hurry.
The barrier was broken, which meant the gate had closed. No more demons would come out, but the ones already unleashed were now free to spread chaos in the outside world. Ermit had to settle things with his opponent quickly and eliminate all remaining demons before they could reach the city.
But first, he needed to secure his victory—after all, a member of the Headhunters was a far greater threat than low-level demons.
With his fingers pressed against the furs, Ermit pulled the wolf mask off, but what he saw shook him to the bone.
Wolf's head was missing.
There was no head, no body, and it didn't even seem like a human had ever been inside that suit. No blood seeped through the holes where the katana had pierced him.
Instead of a human head, pure, what sat there was pure seething flames. The fire radiated scorching heat against Ermit's skin, and his heart pounded as he wondered if his opponent had been a fire-made clone all along.
Suddenly, the flames erupted violently, doubling in size as if gasoline was poured on it. The flame left the clothes behind and aggressively lunged at Ermit, swallowing him completely.
It happened so suddenly, so fast, that Ermit was caught completely off guard. Engulfed by the crackling crimson fire, he felt his skin melting, and he knew that just a few more seconds inside would roast him alive.
Using his powerful legs, he launched himself upward, leaving the feisty blaze of fire to be blown away by the wind current generated by his leap.
He landed atop the three-story building—the same cracked structure where Wolf's body, or rather, suit, still hung stapled. Wisps of steam rose from his charred skin, yet Ermit stood perfectly composed, unshaken, as if the flames had barely touched him.
His eyes scanned the vicinity, and it didn't take long to locate the real Wolf, serenely poised in a menacing stance, completely unscathed. His wolf mask remained intact, and he stood atop a different building opposite Ermit.
"A fire clone? That must be your blessing," Ermit said.
(Blessing = Unique Abilities)
"Who's weak again?" Wolf mocked.
"First, that peculiar handgun… Second, the ammunition that explodes smokes… And now, you've shown affinity to the fire element. Just how much more blessing do you possess?" Ermit asked in disbelief.
Ermit was taken aback by everything he had witnessed during his fight with Wolf. He was suspicious of Wolf since there are only 10% of DH across the Earth who received dual blessings, let alone triple blessings.
"Just know this, I'm unkillable," Wolf said, his tone sounding grand, trying to intimidate Ermit.
Little did Ermit know those stunts were all a bluff and it wasn't his blessing. Wolf was actually an inch close from dying by that Thousand Blades attack. Wolf just got lucky and he knew that one more clash and he'll be 6 feet underground.
Wolf was running out of combat resources. He only has a few bullets left.
"You, having triple blessings is hard enough to believe… but at that age?" Ermit said. He knew Wolf's record well. Wolf is listed as the youngest criminal on file, presumed to be just 19 years old.
Normally, a DH awakens their blessing at 18, and some never awaken one at all.
Wolf had been a member of the Headhunters since the age of 8, meaning he'd awakened his blessing as a child, and had been using it for murder ever since.
"You're a prodigy, Wolf," Ermit said, his tone calm but heavy with meaning. "You can have that title. But why…" His voice softened, almost mournful. "Why must humans fight each other? The real threat isn't us—it's the demons. If humanity could just stop turning on itself, this world could still be saved."
Wolf snorted. "Save the world? You're out of it, old man, this thing's beyond repair. Just hit reset." He tapped his temple. "Boom. Problem solved."
Ermit straightened, his tone sharpening. "If you destroy everything, Wolf, what comes after? Chaos doesn't rebuild—it just repeats. You talk about a restart, but that's not salvation, that's surrender." His gaze hardened. "I might not know what broke you to turn this morbid, but it's never too late, so I'd like to extend you this offer."
The weight of Ermit's words hung in the air like smoke.
"The world knows Wolf as a murderer," Ermit continued. "But they don't know the man behind the mask. The Wolf persona may be cruel, but beneath it is someone who can still change course. Join us, and the White Hawks will give you purpose… and the means to save lives instead of ending them."
Ermit lifted his katana-bearing arm and opened his hand, an invitation both noble and sincere. "Take off your mask," he said softly, "and join the White Hawks."
Wolf tilted his head, brain clearly buffering. "Damn, you sound like an HR rep."
~~~~~~~~~~
10 minutes ago.
Outside the barrier, on the road leading to the school entrance, the A-rank squadron commander Victor Steele of the Twilight Guild stood guard, blocking the path to ensure no civilians crossed into the restricted area.
He had cast a high-level spell that sealed off the avenue to the school entrance. The spell was a transparent, glass-like guardrail hovering firmly at chest height. Its ends were anchored to opposite sides of the road, forming a sturdy barricade that no normal human could pass through.
At this moment, the demonic barrier still loomed overhead, just about 20 meters away from Victor's position. The barrier was still whole but trembling, its eerie aura was thick as if it's about to collapse.
Victor was aware that chaos reigned inside that school. Demons and DHs engaging in brutal, life-or-death combat. But chaos also echoed from where Victor is. People yelling, endless rumbling, and woeful cries—that was the kind of chaos Commander Victor is handling.
Victor, a man in his early thirties and a top commander from Esperanza's Twilight Guild, stood tall at 183 centimeters. His distinguished uniform reflected his rank, and though panic rippled all around, his expression remained unshaken.
As much as Victor sympathized with the civilians, he had to remain unaffected for professionalism. He stood just behind the shimmering guardrail he'd cast, communicating with the squad leaders inside the barrier through the small radio device clipped to his ear.
"Alpha, what's the status, over," Victor inquired.
A moment of static passed before a voice crackled through, "Alpha Leader reporting. West area secured. Over."
"Bravo? Charlie? Delta?" Victor called out to the other platoons.
"Bravo Leader speaking. East area secured, over."
"Charlie Leader on comms. Southern sector secured; establishing a safe zone, over."
No response came from Delta.
Frustration and worry crept into Victor's mind, his focus tightening on the silent channel. He barely even registered the chaos behind him. The civilians pressed against the glasslike barricade, shouting and hurling curses at Victor.
Deliberately ignoring them, Victor kept his focus on the problem of the Delta group. Delta is assigned to take over the north area, and now that no one from that platoon is responding, it occurred to him that Delta must've encountered something terrible.
Victor is almost certain that their platoon was unfortunately wiped out, however, Victor just mildly shook his head and bit his tongue, refraining himself from getting influenced by his emotions.
"Bravo, Charlie… Halve your forces and reinforce the Delta group," Victor commanded.
"Copy!" "Copy!" both platoons replied.
At that moment, a loud shattering sound interrupted the uproar of the hectic civilians.
Suddenly, the demonic barrier shattered into fragments, sending everyone's eyes glancing up at the crumbling barrier. Massive thick fumes spilled out of the roof of the broken barrier, making its way towards the sky and contaminating the clouds, setting the bright day slightly cloudy-gray.
Watching the barrier disintegrate makes the civilians rethink coming into this dangerous place. At the start they were all so valiant, insisting they could rescue the person they love inside the school. But now that the gate closes, half of them flee almost instantly, abandoning their will to save the person they love.
They scrambled and ran.
The other half remains silent, confused whether to smartly retreat or still foolishly think that they can save someone when they can't even save themselves. Unable to make a decision, they froze in uncertainty.
As the civilians weighed their actions, an opportunity presented itself; the guardrail Victor cast to restrict their advancement to the campus got dispelled.
Someone from the crowd of civilians had a blessing, and he forcefully snapped the spell apart, breaking the guardrail.
The path toward the school now lay open.