Bloodbath [31]

Even before Jin-Woo could fly away, red mana coiled outwards from where Yogumunt's hand connected with Jin-Woo. The mana surrounded Jin-Woo's body before disappearing. Jin-Woo was left with a feeling of sudden emptiness, invisible shackles restricting him.

[Yogumunt has used the Combination skill: External Soul Binding.]

[Soul Fusion and Soul Extraction have been restricted.]

[Summons will be banished to the Void.]

Jin-Woo's eyes widened as he felt Igris and Tempest slipping away from him. But more importantly, the summons he left with Jino, despite how far away they must've been, he could instantly tell they were banished as well. Before he could do anything, they completely slipped through his fingers.

"Did you think I'd come unprepared? While I couldn't do this to Ashborn, you're far weaker than him, so this is much easier than I thought it would be," Yogumunt spoke as he vanished, reappearing before Kei's Ice Dome.

Wordlessly, he slammed his fist into the dome, shattering it in a single punch. As the recovering Hunters within were revealed, Ichigo and Fanzer fell from the top, unable to do much against the sudden surprise.

Before any of the Hunters could react, Yogumunt's hand burst into Akari's chest. Blood spurt from her mouth as her expression suddenly morphed, terror rising to her face. Her pupils dilated before her murderer yanked his hand back, his crimson red, blood-soaked hand holding a spherical light green orb.

As the Hunters began processing what happened, Yogumunt observed the sphere. "Beautiful, truly. This is a truly charming soul. I'm sure it'll be useful."

As he finished, Atsushi reacted first. His silence spoke nothing of his overwhelming rage. His eyes glowed red before he let out a roar, his Berserker state activating. His dagger fell from his hand as his clenched fist flew towards Yogumunt's head.

It hardly seemed to matter.

A hand pierced Atsushi's skin and was drawn back in the same breath, holding yet another translucent orb. Atsushi began falling to the ground, his hand slowly reaching for Akari's. Before Atsushi even hit the ground, both translucent orbs disappeared, being drawn into Yogumunt's hands.

With the death count suddenly rising, instinct started carving paths for the remaining Hunters. Ippei Izawa and Mari Ishida tried stepping back, the former's Soul Attribute momentarily warning of imminent danger. The latter opened her mouth, her Soul Attribute passively activating.

"Stop—" She began, but the Hunter was interrupted by her opponent, the Sovereign's hand shooting into Mari's chest, silencing her. He drew his hand back, the other stealing Ippei's soul with the same violence.

In less than two seconds, four Hunters died. The number only got higher.

Kenzo was next, then Tatsumi, then Minoru. They didn't have much time to react. Even between blinks Yogumunt shifted around the area, disappearing and reappearing with nothing but his speed alone.

Choi Jong-In and Kei were next. Two hands and two deaths. They started falling to the ground, but Yogumunt was gone far before then.

As Yogumunt came for Cha and Goto, they managed to barely block against his heavy blows, the power stunning them and blowing them off their feet. Sensing their higher level of power, Yogumunt created two Gates behind the two Hunters.

The Sovereign gazed over the two flying Hunters, who slowed even as they flew.

[Yogumunt is using the skill: Temporal Slowdown.]

However, the skill wasn't limited to just those two. Ichigo, Fanzer, and Jin-Woo were also caught by the skill. Even as Jin-Woo tried to turn around to see what was happening, he could hear Yogumunt speaking clearly.

"Hmm, I shouldn't let you two go alone, no, no. Loneliness is quite a killer, so I shall stave off such an awful thing," Yogumunt's aura stretching across the battlefield in two heavy strands of power. It passed Jin-Woo, then Longshen before being lodged in the bodies of two unnamed Constructs.

[Yogumunt is using the skill: Soul Endowment.]

Mana flowed into the Constructs, but more importantly, souls flowed into them. Some of them Jin-Woo recognized, but most of them Jin-Woo didn't. Immense power started growing from within the Constructs, spilling out and stunning the Hunters.

As the once fallen Constructs rose, they were abruptly different than before.

"Oho? So, you two are perfect now, hm? Good, good!" Yogumunt clapped happily, childlike glee rising from him.

The remaining Hunters, however, felt indescribable dread.

As the Constructs approached their creator, Yogumunt spoke. "Ah, I don't have a name for you both, unfortunately. I do have a pattern that I follow, but to commemorate this momentous occasion, I'll allow you both to choose your own names. What would you both like to be called?"

The Perfect Constructs kneeled to Yogumunt, bowing their heads.

"My opinion is guaranteed to be less than yours, master, but if you must have my lowly answer, I believe whatever choice you make will be utterly perfect. Even being named nothing at all would be an honor, as you will be the one to make such a choice," The feminine Construct stated, respect and kindness highlighting her soothing voice.

The other Construct, the masculine one, nodded. "I agree. Your holiness will certainly bestow us with the best option possible, for you have made no other mistakes."

Yogumunt's gleeful expression began fading, signs of irritation flickering on his face. He stared at the two Constructs before looking away, a puff of air escaping him. He looked away from his incredibly loyal Constructs, looking towards Goto and Cha. Despite their slowed state, they were still trying to stop themselves from falling through the Gates.

"You two will be named Uriel and Beelzebub respectively," Yogumunt said, his voice unusually disinterested. "I don't care which of the two you decide to follow."

[Perfect Construct, Archangel of Hellfire]

[Uriel]

Uriel rose first, her platinum blonde hair flowing as her emerald eyes locked onto Cha. Her white-feathered wings unfurled behind her as a sword of pure fire formed within her hand. "I will follow your orders, master."

[Perfect Construct, Sin of Gluttony]

[Beelzebub]

Beelzebub stood next, his curved horns and bat wings standing out powerfully. His pitch-black hair obscured his face, his void black eyes peering into Goto's. Two shotguns appeared within his hands as he focused. "We will not disappoint you."

Yogumunt didn't speak as Uriel and Beelzebub leapt forward, their wings allowing them to take flight. He let Goto and Cha slip from his skill's grasp, allowing his Constructs to force them through the two separate Gates.

With those two suddenly gone, Yogumunt turned, facing Fanzer and Ichigo, who were still falling in their bubbles of slowed time.

"Now, I don't know what to do about—"

[Fanzer is using the Class skill: Steal.]

[Class skill: Steal has failed.]

[Fanzer is finished using the skill: Skill Disruption.]

Fanzer's mana coursed through his shell of distorted time, interrupting the skill and freeing him from Yogumunt's magical binding. Yogumunt's attention snapped towards the young man, trying to trap him within the barrier again.

Fanzer's body was enhanced with lightning mana before he blitzed away, barely avoiding Yogumunt's attack. He gasped for air but didn't stop, his hand slamming into Ichigo's prison. His mana coursed through it in an instant, freeing Ichigo.

They both dodged Yogumunt's attempt to retrap them, Fanzer using a gust of wind to push Ichigo despite her injuries. She hit the wall but kept on moving, her eyes flickering between Yogumunt, Longshen, and Jin-Woo.

She charged towards Yogumunt as Fanzer bolted towards Jin-Woo. Yogumunt let out a low hum, and Longshen suddenly moved, leaping towards the Gambler. The purple-eyed man groaned before the electricity surging through him strengthened, allowing him to barely avoid Longshen's tackle.

The Coin Thief's hand shot into Jin-Woo's bubble, freeing him like he did for Ichigo.

Yogumunt didn't bother to attack Ichigo, he just lifted a hand up and watched her dodge backwards.

Fanzer and Jin-Woo leapt to her side, the three glaring down Yogumunt and Longshen.

Yogumunt just looked at them, blinking. His eye flashed.

[Yogumunt is using the skill: Soul Sight.]

He smiled. "Ah, so you two humans unlocked your Soul Attributes after all, hm? Good, good, I guess I can take your souls after all."

The Sovereign lifted his hand up, but before he could move, Ichigo moved first. Her bat slammed into his barrier, only inches away from his head.

"You bastard! I'll kill you for what you've done!" Ichigo roared, fury igniting a raging fire within her. She slammed her bat into him several times, but he stood solidly, as if she wasn't there.

"You are quite strong, but… well, mind over matter is a saying for a reason," Yogumunt softly chided, his fist shooting towards Ichigo's bat and promptly shattering it. The shattered bits of metal barely started to fall to the ground before he grabbed Ichigo by her throat, casually slamming her into the ground. Despite the casual nature of the blow, the ground rippled outwards before that shattered, spiderweb cracks riddling the mostly broken ground.

She coughed up blood, but he stared at her pained expression carelessly, tsking softly. "How many times do you have to be beaten to learn that—"

He couldn't finish speaking before a series of Lightning Lances slammed directly into his barrier. He looked up casually, meeting Fanzer's intense gaze. Fanzer was dashing towards him, two more Lances forming within his hands.

"Get your hands off her!" He roared, lightning shooting from his skin as he rushed forward. Yogumunt casually let go of Ichigo, allowing her to start gasping for air. He met Fanzer's speed with his own, kicking Fanzer in the stomach. He shot off the ground, shooting back before skidding to a stop next to Jin-Woo. He coughed up blood, falling to his knees. He gasped hard for air that didn't seem to come.

Jin-Woo met Yogumunt's eyes. He stared hard, rage bubbling up within him.

Yogumunt looked around, glancing over the nearby corpses with a smile on his face. "They were annoying, weren't they? Of course, there's still that girl who was blessed by Mana of Death, but everyone else is basically done. So, not-Ashborn, what will you do? Your allies are dead, incapacitated, or gone. There's nothing left to do. Fighting is useless, as I'm sure you can tell."

The necromancer—granted, he was cut off from his necromancy, but he was still a necromancer—didn't speak. He held out Legacy, the black dagger dripping with the blood of the slaughtered Constructs.

"Ah, and of course—" Yogumunt tried to trap Jin-Woo again, but Jin-Woo narrowly dodged back, grabbing Fanzer as softly as he could to take with him. Before the Hunter could get close to counterattacking, Yogumunt's aura outstretched to Kali, Nyx, Xuan Zang, Enkidu, and Lilith.

[Yogumunt is using the skill: Soul Endowment.]

Jin-Woo tried to Dash forward, but Longshen opened his mouth and a beam of pure electricity shot towards him, forcing him to take Fanzer and move again. Regardless, Sung flung Legacy towards Yogumunt, Telepathically accelerating the soaring blade, but before it could hit—

[Perfect Construct, the Bringer of Doomsday]

[Kali]

Legacy was snatched out of midair, Kali holding onto the blade tightly. Jin-Woo tried his best to pull the blade back, but it wasn't moving under Kali's multi-armed grip. The Construct grinned cockily.

Jin-Woo tsked but didn't make a move. Ichigo was surrounded by Yogumunt and five Perfected Constructs and Sung didn't want to see what they'd do if he gave them a reason to.

[Perfect Construct, the Enlightened Monk]

[Xuan Zang]

[Perfect Construct, the Night's Goddess]

[Nyx]

[Perfect Construct, the Metal Giant]

[Enkidu]

[Perfect Construct, the Fallen Goddess]

[Lilith]

Before, he slaughtered several of them in no time, but now, he knew the same thing wouldn't happen.

"You're outnumbered too, not-Ashborn. Just in case, you somehow thought that was on your side," Yogumunt grinned.

Jin-Woo glanced over the bodies of his allies. There were plenty that he didn't know anything about. All the Japanese Hunters were completely new to him. But Choi Jong-In was different. Cha was different.

The Guild-Master to the Hunters Guild laid on the ground. His mouth hung open, blood dribbling out of it slowly. His eyes still shined bright, the fire of determination burning within them. He barely managed to move his head, looking towards Jin-Woo.

Their eyes met, and Choi's blood covered lips moved silently.

"Run away," Choi whispered, too silent for the words to travel very far. The Guild-Master then turned his head to get a proper look at Yogumunt.

Jin-Woo's body lit up with fiery rage, but before he could move, a black blur appeared before Yogumunt, ignoring his five Perfected Constructs entirely.

Dark grey mana swirled before Yogumunt, and out of it, Kanae emerged, her sword shooting for Yogumunt's neck. The Sovereign stepped forward, his hand shooting up towards Kanae's chest. There was a guarantee that she wouldn't be able to escape in time. Before he could touch her, pure white flames shot towards him.

[Choi is using the secret skill: Yeon-Hon Soul Blast.]

Yogumunt's attention suddenly shifted, his head shooting to Choi. As a massive wall of flames blinded the Sovereign, his Constructs assisted him. Enkidu led the pack, a wall of dense metal shooting up before mana coated it to reinforce it further. With a rather small amount of the Sovereign's attention, he shoved Kanae back, opening a portal a few feet behind her. As she helplessly fell through, a blur sped past Yogumunt.

[Ichigo is using the Soul Attribute skill: Satiety -> Speed.]

[Ichigo's speed has momentarily increased by 1000%.]

With Yogumunt distracted for just an instant, Ichigo acted. Before anyone could react, Ichigo swept up Jin-Woo and Fanzer, rushing towards the open Gate. Ichigo leapt through, and Jin-Woo was forced to watch as Choi's onslaught finished, leaving him defenseless against Yogumunt and his Constructs.

His eyes flickered over the bodies. He remembered them each, painting a picture that he knew he'd never forget.

He failed. And his allies paid for it.