*The battle carries on, and so the body count keeps growing as well, both sides continuously

suffering losses. Harpy and Grey Eye lead the charge, mercilessly decimating the numbers of the
enemy in exchange for big amounts of their own power. Screams of rage and agony echo through the
hall, but the Imbued stand their ground. Emerald riddles the Cultists with bullets while Satoru does
the same with his SMG, flying through the air as he does so, making it look easy. Angelica fends the
opposing assailants off with her shield while Alaric fights his way through the horde of enemies.*

&npc greyeye “All of you, keep going! I got this.”

&npc Harpy “We’re not going to leave you here!”

&npc greyeye “You need to kill him. I won’t make it out of here… just go.”

&npc Harpy *Harpy grinds her teeth, but remains silent. She knew that he made up his mind and
wasn’t going to change it.* “You, come!” *She shouts to the Imbued and starts moving towards the
end of the corridor.*

&npc greyeye “I didn’t think I’d have to use *this.*”

*An unbelievable amount of energy suddenly builds up in Grey Eye before it gets released. The blood
in his own wounds begins to glow, changing from red fluid to a golden ichor. His irises turn into a
radiant gold and his very body begins to radiate literal sunlight. He conjures a flaming sword, blazing
with an intensity none of you have ever felt before. He was no ordinary Imbued anymore, at least not
for this particular moment, for in this moment, he became the mortal embodiment of something
more, something even greater than the Heralds. Moving at the speed of lightning, he slices’n’dices
through all of the Cultists as he’s exceeding any limit imposed on ordinary humans, even that of
regular Imbued. Holding everyone off, the rest of the Imbued, and the few Bystanders that are still
alive, proceed to another, smaller, and yet still great hall.*

*During the few seconds in which you’re out of combat, you actually realize how exhausted you are,
some of you even with minor injuries. Out of Tonic and mundane medical supplies. But you keep
going as your Conviction drives you as a unit. The Hunt is not over yet, with the biggest so far, and
perhaps final fight, directly lying ahead of you. Inside the hall, you instantly notice the metallic smell,
no, stench, of blood. Loads of it all over the floor and on the walls, fresh blood flowing out of recently
slain cultists. At the end of the hall, you see him. The man you once called your family. The zealous
one, the mad one, the exiled one. Adrian. Or what was left of him. His blood-red eyes glowed in the
dark, as he was drinking something from a golden chalice. As you all enter he gets off the throne he
was sitting one and throws the chalice away, spilling a red fluid. Blood? But he was not a vampire.*

&npc Exile “Bravo! You found me, and made it past all the worthless scum. Truly master-class.” *He
claps slowly.* “No really, consider me almost impressed.”

&npc Harpy “You! Die!” *Harpy runs up, and unleashes the Wrath of the Heralds upon Adrian with a
beam of lightning.*

&npc Exile *Moving faster than light, he somehow manages to evade the attack. A shit-eating grin
creeps onto his face.* “Cute.” ***”Slit your throats.”*** *He shouts with a godlike-booming voice.
The Imbued are unaffected, but all of the remaining Bystanders draw their blades… and cut their
throats… Exile bursts out in maniacal laughter before the onslaught begins.*

*A hail of bullets flies across the room but Exile moves like a blur, evading all of them as he runs up
to the Imbued. Wearing Celestial Gauntlets infused with the power of his Patron he knocks the
everliving crap out of them, one by one. With seemingly unwavering stamina he decimates the
remaining numbers of the Hunters who desperately try to take countermeasures, utilizing both
mundane and supernatural options. But it is all in vain with Harpy cut off from access to her powers
for the time being.*

*The fight seems to come to an end sooner than anyone could have imagined as the morale only
keeps sinking and some Hunters even stop trying. Soon enough, only Harpy, Alaric, Angelica, Emerald
and Satoru are left as the last resistance, and the only hope to put an end to all this. It is at this
moment where the group comes up with an idea, a desperate last attempt. Much was at stake, and
the odds were against them.*

*Satoru launches himself into the air, Emerald builds up eye contact with Exile and symbolically drags
him in front of the Heralds, draining a huge amount of his energy. Angelica uses Bluster to halt Exile’s
ongoing assault in order to open a time window for Satoru, who spins in the air, before delivering a
devastating Thunderkick to Exile. Harpy, whose access to the supernatural arsenal has been restored,
lunges at Exile with her own flaming sword in an attempt to finish him off as he lies on the ground.*

&npc Exile “I’m not done yet.” *He fires a sickly glowing red beam out of his palm and Harpy freezes
in place, her eyes going wide, before she slowly falls to the ground, dead.*

*Alaric, who watched all this unfold, suddenly heard a voice.*

```ini

[Finish it. Fulfill your Destiny.]

```

*A surge of incredible power overwhelms him, as well as a burst of enlightenment. Just like Grey Eye
earlier, he begins to radiate golden light as his own body becomes imbued with more power than it
could ever possibly hold. Suddenly more than one par with Exile, a battle between the two breaks
out, both of them possessing a pace no ordinary mortal could ever hope to follow. It only goes on for
about ten seconds which feel like an eternity. At the end of this, Alaric and Adrian stand in front of
each other. Their blades buried into each other’s flesh. Golden ichor flows out of Alaric’s wound,
while a sickly red glowing fluid flows out of Adrian’s.*

&npc Exile “I can’t…. why? Why did I fail?”

*Whatever life was left in Exile, slowly begins to leave him, as it does Alaric. Ichor/Blood drips off
their chins, and Adrian cracks a wry, tired smile before he drops to the ground. Alaric turns his head,
getting one last glance at his companions. Emerald. Angelica. And also Satoru. Everyone feels how
four forces of nature just left this world. Which could only mean that Grey Eye bit the dust too. A few
moments after, the entire underground base begins to tremble as if some kind of self-destruction
mechanism got triggered. There was no time for mourning, not here, not now. Everything happened
so fast. Everyone was dead. The Cultists. Grey Eye. Harpy. Alaric. But also Exile. It was a victory for
The Hunt. But a loss for the Division. Rushing all the way back to the entrance, the trio barely
managed to escape this nightmare before the whole place blew up. And somehow, it felt like not just
that blew up. A part of their soul died here with them, a part of their humanity.*