The air inside GFH Forward Operating Base Iron Haven buzzed with tension. The clatter of keyboards mixed with the low murmur of tactical chatter. In the brightly lit command center, a holographic map of Manila flickered—at its center, General Azura's worn face loomed over the city's digital outline like a specter of war.
Outside that map, beyond the data and projections, the Lions-Bane, Level 47 of the Golden-Class, still roamed the burning perimeter of Manila. A scar that never stopped bleeding.
"How are our troops inside the Manila perimeter? Any reports?"Liam Pagara's voice cut through the air like a blade. Level 6 Assassin. Lean, coiled, and still as a striking predator. The whisper of his god, Hanuman, the Agile Devourer, tickled the back of his mind—eager, hungry.
Captain Anya Sharma, Level 5 Warden-Class, stood from her console. With Durga, the Unyielding Shield, as her patron, she radiated quiet, grounded strength.
"General," she said, "our field analysts report the Lions-Bane isn't moving beyond a specific zone. It's defending something. A nest, maybe… or a newly opened portal."
Liam's jaw clenched. "Send that to Aegis Command. Emphasize the 'protecting something' theory. Also, get me a readout from all GFH bases. Any unusual Host movement outside the known guild zones—especially Calabarzon—I want it."
Anya nodded, but the moment was shattered by a sudden, ripping shriek outside.
Gunfire erupted.
Then screams.
"Intruder alert!" a soldier's voice crackled over the comms—raw panic bleeding through the static.
Liam was already on his feet, daggers in hand.
"Host guilds? Crimson Blades? Free Host Coalition?" he thought bitterly.
"Everyone to defensive positions!" he barked. "NOW!"
He burst through the base's reinforced doors, nine subordinate Hosts at his back. Warriors, veterans all.
Commander Ren Acosta, Level 5 Bladeweaver, invoked Amaterasu, the Sun's Edge, and his blade shimmered with radiant steel.Sergeant Ben Torres, Level 4 Demolitionist, called on Hephaestus, fingers already on grenade pins.Corporal Lena Kim, Level 4 Scout, sank into the shadows—Hecate's magic cloaking her form.Lieutenant Sara Khan, Level 5 Pyromancer, her gaze burning with Agni's fury, whispered incantations.Staff Sergeant Joel "Jolt" Rivera, Level 6 Electro-Warrior, thundered with the crackling might of Zeus.
Then, everything stopped.
Hundreds of GFH soldiers lay dead—not killed, but butchered. Limbs severed, torsos split clean. Blood soaked everything: walls, towers, the very air.
At the center of it all stood a single man.
Casually wiping a machete clean on a fallen uniform.
"Hold your fire!" Liam roared as rooftop troops took aim.
"That's HIM!" screamed Sergeant Maya Singh, Level 4 Vanguard Host, eyes wild with recognition. Her god, Vishnu, the Preserver, showed her glimpses of tactical weak points—but even those flickered."That's the Host Killer! The one from the Manila slaughter! He's not hunting monsters—he's killing US!"
Liam's blood turned to ice."If that's true..." he growled, "Anya—send a priority one distress signal to Aegis Command. GOLDEN-MONSTER level threat."
The man raised a hand to his visor, sliding it off.
He was young. Pale. His expression unreadable—no anger, no cruelty. Just stillness. Like a reflection before a storm.
Then it hit.
A system ping. A world-stopping alert burned across every Host's HUD.
[HOSTS KILLER IDENTIFIED: Delacruz, Leo][PATRON GOD: Vortis, the World Ender][LEVEL: 19][HOSTS KILLED: 982]
A cold, wordless terror wrapped itself around their bones.
Level 19. A veteran god's Host. Nearly a thousand Host kills.
This wasn't a raid.
This was a massacre.
Leo smiled faintly. It didn't reach his eyes.
"So this is the famous GFH headquarters," he said quietly. "Too bad. I'm shutting it down—permanently."
Liam choked on the dread, but instinct kicked in. No choice.
"OPEN FIRE!"
Chaos erupted.
Bullets screamed. Spells roared. Liam vanished, a blur of motion, his daggers aimed at Leo's throat. Ren danced forward in a blur of blade and light. Ben's grenades flared—flash and boom. Sara hurled firestorms. Jolt discharged a thunderbolt that shattered the earth.
And Leo moved.
Faster than anything they'd ever faced.A blur. A ghost. A monster in human skin.
Liam's strikes found only afterimages. Leo countered with a serrated machete—brutal, fluid. Sparks flew as blades clashed, but Leo's swing shattered Ren's parry and carved a deep wound into his chest. Ben's explosives roared—but Leo reappeared behind Lena Kim. Her shadowy form barely had time to scream before the machete ended her.
"He's hunting us," Maya choked out, her divine vision failing to find anything vulnerable. "He's not even TRYING."
Jolt slammed a full-power electric punch into Leo's side. Leo grunted—then backhanded him through a wall.
Sara's fire met a creeping black aura of unholy cold. Her flames died like candles in a blizzard.
Within minutes… it was over.
The courtyard was quiet again.
Too quiet.
Dead quiet.
Liam, pinned beneath a fallen beam, bleeding out, watched helplessly as Leo walked toward him. Calm. Controlled.
Leo knelt beside him. No rage. Just a mechanic finality.
The machete swung once.
Liam's head hit the ground with a sickening thud, rolling through the carnage before landing in a puddle of blood. Leo stood and casually kicked it—like a ball—sending it bouncing off a soldier's helmet before it settled, lifeless.
Leo surveyed the devastation.
Then, to the empty air, he asked, "What now?"
A voice responded. Deep. Cold. Resonant. Ancient.
"Hmmmm... Let's find my little brother."
Leo blinked. "Your brother?"
"Yes," said Vortis, the World Ender, with a purring malice. "My younger brother. Zyx."
Leo tilted his head. "Is he strong like you?"
Vortis scoffed. "Strong?""No. He's stupid. A disgrace. But he's probably watching me from the heavens… as always. His Hosts? All dead. Every one. Every miserable little failure."
A pause. Then the voice turned sharp.
"No matter. We'll deal with him soon. But first… let's finish cleaning up this little sheep pen."
Leo didn't reply. He just started walking.
And Iron Haven, one the forward stronghold of the Philippine government defense, was no more.