They didn't stop running until they reached the bypass tunnel Veyra had mentioned, the echo of Ravenous' presence fading behind them.
Jack panted, leaning on the wall.
Jack: "Not gonna lie—that guy's a nightmare."
Emilia's eyes were calm but sharp.
Henry stayed silent, his mind already processing their next move.
Veyra clutched the data shard tighter, her voice quiet but urgent.
Veyra: "… You still don't understand. Ravenous Halo isn't the one you should fear. He's just a servant."
They were almost at the end of the bypass tunnel. The faint glow of the exit was visible ahead.
For a split second, it felt like they'd made it.
Then—BOOM.
The tunnel walls exploded inward with a violent gravitational surge, the air folding in on itself. Before anyone could react, Ravenous Halo appeared in the middle of the passage—teleporting through sheer gravitational compression.
The moment he materialized, he struck without hesitation.
In one clean motion, his polearm pierced straight through Veyra's chest, lifting her off the ground.
Her eyes widened, the data shard slipping from her trembling hand.
Veyra (weakly): "…No… the truth must…"
Before she could finish, Ravenous flicked the polearm aside, flinging her lifeless body into the tunnel wall.
The shard cracked on the ground.
The group froze for just half a second—stunned by the suddenness.
Ravenous Halo didn't stop.
He raised his polearm and slammed it into the ground.
A massive gravitational shockwave erupted, slamming into the group like a truck.
Jack was hurled back into the wall. Henry braced himself, planting his feet, but even he was pushed back several meters, his body feeling like it weighed a thousand pounds.
The rest of the group hit the ground, really hard.
Ravenous stepped forward slowly, his halo spinning like a divine crown.
His voice was calm, yet it carried the weight of a judgment.
Ravenous Halo: "The traitor is silenced. Now, you too will kneel."
Jack wiped blood from his mouth, standing back up with a feral grin.
Jack: "Not today, preacher boy."
Henry straightened; his eyes were locked on Veyra's lifeless body. His head then turned to Jack and then Ravenous.
Henry (furious): "Jack, let's beat the shit out of this guy."
Jack (smirking): "Gladly."
They locked eyes on Ravenous' halo ring—their only real target.
Henry: "We cut the halo. That's the only way."
Ravenous Halo tilted his masked head slightly, almost amused.
Ravenous Halo: "…Then come. Show me what defiance means."
He raised his polearm, the gravity in the tunnel intensifying instantly—the floor cracking, debris floating upward before slamming down violently.
Jack lunged first, wings propelling him forward with a burst of purple lightning. His claw strike met the polearm head-on, sending shockwaves through the tunnel.
Ravenous countered immediately, twisting the gravity mid-clash to redirect Jack into the ceiling—but Jack used his wings mid-spin, slamming back down with a punch that cracked the ground.
At the same time, Henry moved fast, using Jack's distraction to close in. He struck for the halo ring, his fist shining with blue energy—but Ravenous bent the air around the halo, creating a gravitational shield that deflected the strike.
Ravenous Halo stomped his foot.
The entire tunnel inverted, and gravity flipped upside down, throwing Henry and Jack toward the ceiling before snapping them back down.
Jack roared, bracing with his hardened scales, but Henry had to roll mid-air to avoid slamming into a spike of debris.
Ravenous swung his polearm in a wide arc, and the gravitational pull dragged both fighters toward the blade like a magnet.
Jack anchored himself by slamming his claws into the wall, while Henry countered by using the pull's momentum to slide past the swing—getting just close enough to hit the side of Ravenous's armor, punching him into the wall.
Jack exhaled, his draconic lightning gathering in his throat.
He unleashed a massive blast of purple dragon lightning point-blank.
Ravenous gets out of the wall, raising his halo ring, creating a gravitational dome that bent the lightning around him—deflecting it into the walls, which exploded outward.
But that brief defense left a micro-opening.
Henry darted in with Shooting Star, striking directly with his energy-boasting fist at the halo's stabilizer.
This time, it cracked.
Ravenous staggered slightly, his gravitational field flickering for a moment.
With Shooting Star, Henry appears before him. With his glowing fists, he connects one punch after another. Each hit releases a loud sound similar to thunder.
Jack then runs at Ravenous, punching him with his aura-enchanted scale fists.
Together they punch him into another wall.
But Ravenous recovered instantly, his voice sharper now.
Ravenous Halo: "Enough."
He unleashed a localized black hole, a swirling distortion that began pulling everything—including Jack and Henry—toward its center.
Jack roared, anchoring himself with his claws.
Henry gritted his teeth, forcing his body forward despite the crushing pull.
Henry: "Jack… together!"
Jack lunged one last time, grappling Ravenous' polearm with sheer brute strength.
Jack (snarling): "Hold still!"
Henry darted in from the other side, his fist glowing brightly from the sheer brightness of his Awakening energy.
Both struck simultaneously—Jack tearing through the polearm's shaft while Henry shattered the halo ring.
The gravitational field collapsed violently, a shockwave blasting outward that shattered the tunnel walls.
Ravenous Halo staggered back a step.
But instead of anger, his voice was calm… almost amused.
Ravenous Halo (breathing heavily): "…So you can reach this far. Interesting."
He stepped back into the gravitational distortion behind him, his form phasing out like a mirage.
Ravenous Halo (fading voice): "But the Master will see you soon. The Halo ascends… and you will still kneel."
Then he was gone.
The tunnel was wrecked, walls cracked, and debris floating faintly from the residual distortion.
Jack panted heavily.
Jack: "Hah… he just… left?"
Henry straightened slowly, breathing heavily. He stares at the place where Ravenous disappeared.
Then, they both glanced toward Veyra's lifeless body… and the damaged data shard lying beside it.
Henry: "I… I couldn't save her…"
Jack: "None of us could."
The truth they came for had been silenced—but only partially.
The rest of the group slowly get up.