Bloodsteel Horizon
Episode 6 — The Billion Eyes
Current Level: 55
Evolutions: 1 / 150
Mods: Target Lock Mk. I, Overcharge Burst, Precision Strike, Rift Breaker Rounds
Currency: $61,500
The Broadcast
The Steel Wilds were quiet again. Kael thought the rival's departure would mean a moment to breathe — but the moment the Rift closed, his HUD flared with a crimson alert.
SYSTEM ALERT: WORLD-WIDE BROADCAST DETECTED
Origin: Hunter Net — Public Channel
Subject: "First Evolution Hybrid Detected"
The screen filled with a grainy image — him, mid-fight, his newly evolved guns blazing with Rift Breaker fire. His name flashed beneath: Kael Draven — Hybrid Hunter. Evolution Stage 1. Bounty: 250,000,000 credits. Alive preferred.
A voice narrated over the footage:
"The first hybrid to breach Evolution in centuries has emerged. Possessing guns of limitless growth potential. Location: Steel Wilds, Tier 3 Rift. Five confirmed Hunters are en route to secure the target."
The broadcast ended.
Billions had seen it. Billions now wanted him.
Incoming
Kael didn't need long to figure out what came next. The air shifted — the kind of oppressive pressure only other high-level Hunters carried.
Five Rift flashes tore open the steel landscape in different directions.
From the north came a massive figure clad in plated crimson armor, dragging a chain-bound warhammer.
From the east, a woman in sleek black combat robes, twin curved blades dripping with green venom.
From the south, a skeletal figure in tattered robes, its staff crowned with a burning skull.
From the west, a hulking cyborg, one eye a glowing scope, the other covered in scar tissue.
From above, a winged hunter with silver talons and a crossbow the size of a ballista.
Each carried the same look — a mix of hunger and calculation.
The First to Strike — Crimson Warden
The armored giant didn't wait for introductions. The ground cracked as the Crimson Warden charged, his warhammer swinging in an arc meant to crush Kael instantly.
LVL 56 — Crimson Warden
Kael dodged left, feeling the impact quake through the steel beneath him. Target Lock painted the Warden's armor joints in red, but his plating was thick. Normal rounds barely left scratches.
Kael switched to Rift Breaker Rounds. The first shot blew a hole clean through the Warden's left pauldron. The second shattered his knee plate. The giant roared, dropping to one leg.
Kael closed the distance and unleashed an Overcharge Burst straight into the exposed gap in his helmet. The headless body fell with a crash.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 58
The other four didn't flinch — they only moved faster.
Second Threat — Venom Shade
The woman blurred forward, blades crossing in an X slash. Kael blocked with both guns, the venom sizzling against his barrels. She flowed around him, slicing at his legs and torso in a dance of poisoned steel.
LVL 59 — Venom Shade
Kael fired point-blank, but she bent in impossible angles, the shots grazing but never hitting true. Precision Strike mapped her movements — he waited for the one predictable arc.
When she leapt for his neck, Kael rolled under and fired a Rift Breaker Round up through her ribs. Venom sprayed the air, burning the steel where it landed. She coughed blood, but still came forward.
Kael fired again, catching her throat. She fell silent.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 61
Third Arrival — Bone Prophet
The skeletal figure raised its staff, summoning a ring of spectral skulls that screamed in unison. Kael's HUD flashed MIND ATTACK DETECTED. The world blurred for a moment — his vision swimming with hallucinations of his own death.
LVL 62 — Bone Prophet
He shook it off, Target Lock anchoring him back to reality. He fired in a tight burst, breaking the skulls orbiting the Prophet. Each shot cracked bone, but the Prophet's staff absorbed most of the damage.
Kael took a deep breath, loaded Rift Breaker Rounds, and aimed low. One shot shattered the Prophet's leg. The second went through the staff's skull headpiece. The Prophet crumbled into ash.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 64
Fourth Enemy — Scope Titan
The cyborg opened fire before Kael even turned. Railgun rounds tore chunks from the steel pillars, forcing Kael into cover.
LVL 65 — Scope Titan
The Titan's targeting was relentless — each time Kael peeked, a shot missed by inches. Kael used Precision Strike to find the scope's weak spot. When the Titan paused to reload, Kael slid from cover and fired a Rift Breaker Round straight into the glowing lens.
The scope exploded, blinding the cyborg. Kael dashed forward, emptying his magazines into the Titan's chest until the core ruptured.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 67
Final Hunter — Sky Harrier
The winged hunter descended in a hurricane of wind, crossbow bolts raining like steel hail.
LVL 68 — Sky Harrier
Kael rolled and sprinted between pillars, firing upward. The Harrier dove, talons extended. Kael timed it perfectly — two Rift Breaker Rounds into each wing joint. Feathers and blood sprayed as the Harrier crashed to the steel floor.
Kael walked forward, pressing his gun to the Harrier's helm before pulling the trigger.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 70
Aftermath
Five bodies lay scattered across the Steel Wilds. Kael's HUD updated:
Levels Gained: +15
Current Level: 70
Evolutions: 1 / 150
Currency Earned: $17,500
Total Funds: $79,000
His guns pulsed, hungrier than ever, the runes along their barrels brighter — feeding on every kill.
The Hunter Net would be louder now. Five elite hunters dead meant more would come.
Kael looked at the horizon. Another Rift was forming.
"They can send five," he muttered. "They can send fifty. I'm not running."
He stepped toward the light.