The fire burned brightly, granting them warmth and safety.

None of them knew whether it had truly connected to the Mother Flame, since the city still prevented them from using the teleportation linked to bonfires.

Yet the warmth was real.

And it granted them a sense of comfort they had rarely experienced within the gloomy city.

Among them—

Jackson’s eyes never left the burning sword.

A distant look lingered within his gaze as complicated emotions swirled deep inside him.

Longing.

Sorrow.

Anger.

Regret.

After spending so many years imprisoned here.

Soon afterward—

The first day came to an end.

Then the second began.

And the large-scale hunt continued.

Together, they advanced deeper and fought another battle within one of the distant outskirts regions.

The monsters there were just as weak as the previous area, making victory achievable.

But the task itself remained far from easy.

Because the monsters were simply too numerous.

After the curse spread, it had not merely transformed the city’s living residents into monsters—

It had also awakened the corpses buried beneath the earth, turning them as well.

Which caused their numbers to swell to horrifying levels.

Even the animals—

And insects—

Had transformed.

As a result, the hunters had been forced to battle every imaginable type of abomination since arriving in the city.

And once again—

They won.

And once again—

They lit another fire.

Then came the third day.

The day that brought true change.

They won once more by the end of it.

But this time—

One of the knights died after receiving a stray blow the moment he unconsciously lowered his guard.

He had been a powerful Advanced-rank knight.

Yet he died to a weak monster after exhausting his Aura Armor and relaxing his vigilance for only an instant.

The knight’s death reminded every hunter present of one brutal truth—

Death was always lurking nearby.

Even the weakest monsters could still kill them.

They burned their comrade’s body so he would not transform—

Then used his ashes to ignite the third bonfire.

The resulting flames became far greater than the previous ones due to the enormous amount of ashes left behind by a member of the Heart family.

At the very least—

Something had come from his death.

And in the blink of an eye—

A week passed.

Raiden returned to the battlefield by then after recovering enough to fight again.

He and Ethan had both begun training under Jackson, whose methods pushed them far beyond what human bodies were meant to endure.

Ethan, in particular, drove himself mercilessly.

He fought while enduring the curse.

Endured Jackson’s training afterward.

Then continued practicing Asterion’s sword style whenever he found even the slightest opportunity.

Asterion’s style did not suit the Executioner’s Blade.

Which prevented Ethan from bringing out its true potential for now.

Yet Ethan never stopped practicing.

Because he knew—

Sooner or later—

He would obtain the proper weapon.

And the days continued to pass.

The hunters kept fighting.

Killing.

Killing.

And more killing.

Blood flowed endlessly before the fires were lit again and again.

Until the distant outskirts of the city became filled with burning swords planted into the earth.

At first—

The influence of the flames was weak.

But as time passed—

A ring of fire slowly began forming around the depths of Old Ashvarn and the cathedral itself.

Flames that existed only in the far outskirts—

Yet still surrounded the horrors of the depths while illuminating streets that had remained drowned in darkness for countless years.

Another month passed in the blink of an eye.

The hunters’ condition worsened considerably.

Their armor and clothing had torn apart and shattered repeatedly, forcing them to repair everything with whatever scraps they possessed.

Food was beginning to rot and run out quickly.

And everyone had started fearing the day nothing remained—

Except human flesh.

More hunters died as well.

Three additional deaths before the month’s end.

Yet on the positive side—

Their levels rose day after day thanks to the massive number of monsters dying by their hands.

It resembled a constant flood of experience points, bringing many of them closer and closer to reaching the Elite rank.

On the other hand—

They continuously received new weapons from Ethan, who forged the souls of hundreds of monsters into armaments through the blessing of the Legendary Weapons Master.

The hunters began resembling broken barbarians wielding elegant weapons fit for nobles. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The contrast made their appearance utterly bizarre.

Everyone except Jackson—

Who had maintained his savage appearance from the very beginning.

The days passed faster and faster until they eventually found themselves standing at the threshold of the deep regions after successfully purifying most of the outskirts.

Yet despite igniting hundreds of bonfires and feeding their ashes into the flames—

No one came.

None of the elders appeared.

No external aid ever arrived.

Some of the hunters began breaking down, losing all hope.

Yet they continued forward regardless.

Because they had no other choice.

By the time they entered the depths—

Ethan had already activated his curse hundreds of times.

Luna remained beside him throughout it all.

She activated the curse at the start of every battle—

Then sealed it again once the battle ended.

Each time, she had to use her own blood to redraw the barrier.

At first she bit her fingers to obtain enough blood.

But over time, her fingertips became completely ruined—red, swollen, and covered in wounds from constant repetition.

Eventually, she began cutting her palm with a knife instead.

Leaving countless scars behind.

The intensive hunt exhausted them physically—

And mentally—

To an unbearable extent.

Especially because none of them knew whether what they were doing even held meaning.

Perhaps help would never come at all.

And after entering the deep regions, the hunts became vastly more difficult.

Purifying areas could no longer be accomplished within a single day.

Sometimes it required an entire week due to the monsters’ growing intelligence and overwhelming strength.

Then another month passed without them even realizing it.

Gathered around the flames of one of the bonfires—

They stood on the verge of reaching a decisive turning point in their grueling battle.