A presence fell upon Bright City.
Ancient and powerful.
Every single person, mundane and awakened, felt it and beneath its pressure they were forced to kneel. It felt as though the weight of the very sky itself had fallen onto their shoulders. It didn't matter if you were weak or if you were strong. E-Rank Hunters and even S-Rank Hunters knelt just the same.
And then it descended…the echo of an ancient ROAR.
The sky shook and the earth trembled.
It felt as though the fury of a god had descended and the pressure only seemed to increase. Those who were weak directly passed out, blood leaking from their seven orifices and those that were slightly better bled from their ears, mouths and noses. Their internal organs shaking as they were riddled with wounds.
What kind of existence could possibly render them this injured just from its voice alone? They all wondered but unfortunately — or rather fortunately for them — they never got the chance to find out and maybe…that was a good thing too.
Liam's mind entered a state of perpetual shock. It was as though his brain just stopped thinking. Even as he felt the ground beneath him disappear and he fell through the blackness of the void. He could hardly register it at all.
He continued to fall for some time, his mind in this odd state. However soon the blackness disappeared, replaced by clouds of grey and skies of blue. He felt the wind rush along his body as he continued to fall.
His eyes blinked up for a moment, his mind still frozen. Then the sound of running water echoed in his ears and his body hit the surface of a lake. His body plunged deep into its waters just as darkness finally took him.
…
Gasp!
Liam's eyes shot open as he swallowed for air…too much air, because a few seconds later he coughed having choked on it. He sat up, his skin feeling soaked and his clothes wet and clinging to his body a bit too much.
He looked down and the first thing he saw was that his legs from the waist down were submerged in a pool of clear water. His sweatpants were completely ripped and riddled with holes down to the bottom of the knee, his shirt was worn and torn through the middle exposing clear pale skin to the world.
He was submerged in a pool — no, it was a lake of the purest water he had ever seen. He rose to his feet, almost slipping on wet rocks and mud.
The lake was as wide as two football grounds (soccer fields). From his position directly in the north he could see a large curtain of water falling from above. It rose over 250 meters before the rest was obscured by fog.
Hard rocks settled at the bottom of the waterfall and on the opposite side lay the mouth of a cave.
Liam didn't pay it any mind, instead he focused more on something else that lay upon the rocks close to the waterfall. It was large with a wide body, green toad-like skin and a face with a pig snout.
'What is that?' Liam wondered. His body moving on autopilot as he stumbled closer.
It was only when he was ten meters away that he was finally able to recognize it and the moment he did, an explosion went off in his head.
'Hobgoblin!'
A rush of images flooded his mind. The Zone, the Zone collapse, the confrontation with the goblin, his encounter with the hobgoblin and finally…
'Wait, wasn't I injured?' he shivered, remembering the severity with which this monster's attack had left him. He hadn't even been able to breathe at the time and he had been all out of Aether to even heal his wounds properly…
So how was he perfectly fine right now? He wasn't just fine either. His Aether reserves…they were full.
'How?'
The hobgoblin moved, drawing his attention…or at least it tried to but failed.
Limbs twisted in the wrong way, bones poking from ripped flesh, body covered in purple blood and wounds. It hadn't been nearly as lucky as he was during its fall and had ultimately landed among the rocks. It was lying on its back, spine bent too far to not be broken.
The fact that it was still alive was testament to its amazing vitality as a D-Rank monster.
Liam turned his head and surveyed the area for a moment before his eyes landed on a rock not too far away.
He took a step in that direction. The rock was as wide as a watermelon. His muscles screamed as he tried to lift it up. With a heavy breath he hoisted it up and over his shoulder before he turned and stepped towards the near dead monster.
The ground was wet and the mud was slippery. With unsteady footsteps, Liam's shadow loomed over the hobgoblin as it looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes.
It watched Liam lift the rock over his head. His arms trembling with the effort.
"You thought you were at the top right?" Liam rasped. "Well, not anymore"
In one smooth motion, he struck down. His foot slipped and he fell to a knee but the rock struck true. There was the sound of bone snapping, flesh being crushed. The hobgoblin couldn't even let out a final sound before its head angled so far back it was barely hanging on to its shoulders, its forehead was smashed open leaking blood and pieces of pink brain matter mixed with bone.
Liam released a heavy breath as the rock rolled further down the lake. His muscles ached but the pain soon faded. He gave the hobgoblin a long look. The sight of it was gruesome but strangely Liam felt a deep well of satisfaction.
He took a moment to just sit. Then it occurred to him…
'What now?'