Free Web NovelChapter 62: _[System Alert]New SS-Rank Target Detected!
Norfolk Harbour
"Devon?!" Alisha beamed, pointing at an incoming ball of yellow flames. "That’s him. And... Leo! They found him."
Viktor followed the direction she was looking at, his eyes dimming. The beasts on land had been vanquished and no more kept pouring out of the Echo Rift.
That should’ve been good news... if the Leviathan hadn’t suddenly begun attacking. Ginormous waves rolled around it, the clouds flashing with lightning as it roared.
It tried several times to strike down the remaining Espers on the harbour—who were all S-Ranks. The others had boarded the ships, while the S-Ranks waited for the man who cleared out the most beasts.
Fortunately for them, Magnus and Irina finally stepped in, facing off against the beast and proving worthy distractions. The air trembled for miles with each exchange, ice and fire exploding in dazzling constellations around the Leviathan.
"About time!" Viktor grunted, barely able to hear himself. "This place will get flattened soon."
Once Devon landed—Ambrose on one arm and an unconscious Leo on the other—he quickly moved into action.
"Board the ships and get them to start moving!" He yelled out to Alisha, eyes moving to Viktor in the next second. "You... actually waited?"
The ice Prince smirked. "We couldn’t leave you here while mother and your old man were in action."
One of the S-Ranks had placed force fields around every ship in the harbour, protecting them from the roaring waves and stray elemental blasts.
Suddenly, a piercing bird-like cry split through the sky. Ambrose turned his head to the Rift, mouth parting when he saw the awe-striking scene.
Devon’s grandfather levitated within the chest of a massive phoenix made with golden red flames. His eyes glowed like a god here to enact vengeance, the phoenix’s wings spreading when the Leviathan roared at it.
But he wasn’t alone.
Flying around the Leviathan’s skull was none other than Irina. Yes. Flying.
The woman had large frost wings sprouting out of her back, each flap freezing the black water around the Leviathan.
’It’s like watching the evolved versions of Devon and Viktor,’ Ambrose couldn’t tear his eyes away from them. ’And they’re clearly holding back. Such... power...’
SS-Rank. Cataclysm level.
It already felt so terrifying. And yet Ambrose realised there was still one more level above this. One more step that would make these legends minuscule in comparison.
"Ambrose!" Devon’s shout snapped him out of his reverie. "You can gawk if there are any live news reports back home. Come on!"
He grabbed his hand, making the Guide realise that Alisha had taken Leo to the Phoenix Flight ship. The other S-Ranks had long fled to their respective ships.
Soon, Devon lifted Ambrose into the ship, immediately barking orders. "Set sail! Engine room—full power! I want every ounce this ship can give."
It felt like a matter of life and death.
Because it was.
The moment the Leviathan decided to take the battle with Magnus and Irina more seriously, they too would have to stop holding back. And once that happens... anyone could imagine the rest.
Devon’s neck snapped to the Rift.
His grandfather’s Phoenix projection had its wings spread, intentionally blocking the Leviathan from attacking the ships. Irina’s frost wings gave a violent flap, firing thousands of ice blades that struck the armour like scales with deadly precision.
The Leviathan screamed, creating a whirlpool around it that only grew bigger with each spin.
"Be careful..." Devon whispered although the old man couldn’t hear him, grabbing the railings of the foredeck.
For a moment, he wasn’t an S-Rank. He was just a grandson watching a legend.
The ship moved, its engines propelling it out of Norfolk’s harbour within seconds. Yet even that didn’t seem enough to escape the wrath of the Leviathan’s whirlpool.
"Any water manipulation Espers from any ship?!" Alisha’s sound manipulation carried her voice beyond their ship, but it proved futile.
[WARNING: Whirlpool pulling in host’s ship.]
Ambrose didn’t know when he held Devon’s arm for dear life, his eyes squinted hard as the winds blew heavier. He watched with horror as a ship closest to the whirlpool got sucked into it, the screams of the passengers getting swallowed by the unforgiving waves.
"Shit!" Viktor cursed from Glacier Talon’s ship, his eyes glowing.
Blasts of ice left his fingers, freezing the water around the whirlpool solid. Unfortunately, that only worked for a bit, the sheer force of the Leviathan’s power breaking the ice in seconds.
All hope seemed lost. Some Hunters began praying as every ship got pulled toward the whirlpool like stars to a supermassive black hole.
Then—
—Their prayers were answered.
[Spatial fluctuation detected.]
Ambrose’s eyes opened slowly when the roaring winds suddenly halted. He blinked once, then twice, his grip on Devon’s arm lessening.
"What just happened?" Someone yelled.
"The ships... we got teleported away from the Rift!"
"But how?"
Slowly, all heads spun to the Rift. It was now kilometres away, the lightning and dark clouds seeming like a distant nightmare they couldn’t shake off in the morning.
Ambrose’s gaze narrowed on a third figure who joined Irina and Magnus. His vision wasn’t sharp enough to make out the person’s features from this distance.
But the system flickered a screen, helping him zoom in until he got a clear view.
It was a dashing dark-skinned man in his thirties, donned in a golden blazer and surrounded by streaks of iridescent light. His arms were spread out, one of them rising skyward.
When it clenched into a fist, literal cracks in space-time appeared around the Leviathan and the Rift.
"Hunter Gabriel," Devon murmured, a weird mix of awe, gratitude and envy swirling in his chest.
Ambrose didn’t even need further explanation to know that guy’s power level.
SS Rank.
Meanwhile, Gabriel glanced over his shoulder, his eyes scouring the vast sea before locking on the ships. ’Strange. I could’ve sworn I felt someone staring too intently at me.’
He only had that thought for a split second before bringing all attention back to the beast. His fingers wiggled, creating a spatial lock around the Leviathan.
Irina and Magnus flanked his left and right, naturally showing that they trusted his leadership on this. Despite his younger age.
"Let’s make this thing regret coming to our world..." he smirked as they charged as one.
And as the battle raged, Aura rang a notification in Ambrose’s head. One that made his heart stutter.
[System Alert: SS-Rank Target Detected.]
[Target is a possible subject for future guide linking.]
