The battle had reached its breaking point. Lee Seong-jun's eyes glowed crimson, radiating the aura of something greater than a mere hunter. In that moment, he no longer stood as a man but as the Blood Demon, the feared master of the Blood Cult who had once dominated countless lands.
A torrent of blood energy surged through his body, straining his veins as though they would burst, yet fueling his strength beyond human limits. His aura expanded, crimson light burning through the shattered hall, pressing down on all who witnessed it.
Eliorus, tattered but unyielding, sensed the end approaching. The dark elf commander gripped his final dagger, pouring every ounce of his forbidden power into one last strike. Darkness swelled around him, corrupt and suffocating, consuming his body in exchange for a fleeting chance at victory. His steps cracked the ground beneath him as he charged, willing to sacrifice everything for a single blow.
But Seong-jun's presence overwhelmed even this desperate attempt. He drew all his surging power inward, condensing it into a single, devastating point. The unstable storm of energy vanished in an instant, compressed into his clenched fist.
This was the ultimate martial art of the Blood Demon—Shi-Cheon-Hyeol-Gon-Kwon, the Heaven-Slaying Blood Fist.
The clash was apocalyptic. Crimson blood force met blackened dagger, shaking the world with a roar like earth splitting apart. Buildings crumbled, marble cracked, and the remnants of the battlefield collapsed under the weight of their collision.
When the dust settled, Eliorus was gone. His body and the shadows that cloaked him had been erased without a trace.
A crisp chime resounded. The system declared victory—the A+ Named Boss Monster, Knight Commander Eliorus, had fallen. Contribution points were tallied, and the results were staggering. Lee Seong-jun alone claimed ninety-one percent, his dominance undeniable. The system awarded him level sixty-eight as the gate cleared.
Kim Hye-young and Jung Yun-ho, who had fought elsewhere in the raid, stood amidst the ruins in stunned silence. Their disbelief mirrored the truth: Seong-jun's battle had surpassed anything they could have imagined.
The hunters were pulled out of the collapsing dungeon in radiant light, returning to the raid gate's entrance where reporters had gathered. The press, waiting in boredom, suddenly erupted into a frenzy as the exit order defied all expectations.
First emerged Kim Hye-young, then Jung Yun-ho, both unexpectedly at the bottom of the ranks. The shock deepened when the third figure appeared—Song Seung-jun, the one hailed as the strongest rookie and the favorite for first place. His fall to third shook the gathered crowd to its core.
Whispers turned to shouts. Something unthinkable had happened inside the raid. Questions bombarded Song Seung-jun, who only confirmed the worst: there had been casualties. The press reeled, their reports writing themselves in their minds.
And then, in the midst of confusion, light shimmered once more. Out stepped the one thought to be dead—Lee Seong-jun. Not only alive, but revealed as the victor who had surpassed even Song Seung-jun.
The impossible had become reality. The Baekho rookie, once overlooked, had defeated the most promising hunter of his generation. The battlefield had birthed a new name to shake the world.