Jerome entered the already collapsing Hastings building facility. From here, he began to notice the roaring sounds of desperate battle cries below him. A large hole was glaringly seen inviting him to enter.
The man grunted as he jumped inside without a second thought. The battle noises became more and more fierce the closer he got to the source of chaos. Meanwhile, he noticed the presence of claw marks, crushed interior and curiously enough, massive pillars of solid earth. Jerome mused that this might be the reason as to why the current structure was able to hold for as long as it did.
When he arrived, Jerome was greeted by the rear view of a familiar large figure. The Bloodhound Anubis, a monster he fought from thousands of miles away years ago, was standing in front of him on his turf and wreaking havoc. It wasn't a pretty sight to see.
Jerome calmly assessed the battle at hand. The monster was focused on Gerald Powers who seemed to be taking most of the agro. While on the other hand, Nick Chester made that disgusting hound face make a run for its money with strategic hit-and-run tactics. Helen Fulz though seemed more concerned with making sure that the damage done would not cause the building to collapse on their heads. Jerome quickly concluded that the large earth pillars he saw earlier had been her handiwork. That probably made her unable to focus on the ongoing battle, so she positioned herself a bit farther away. She did however spew a few earthen projectiles when an opening presents itself. Clever girl.
The elder hunter nodded at their judgment. It's not like he expected A-Rank hunters to make any rookie mistakes or anything. But considering their lack of experience fighting a Bloodhound Anubis, known for its aggressiveness, this could be the most optimal situation he could find himself in.
Jerome neared Helen who stood much closer. This prompted the woman in question to notice his presence. She let out a sigh of relief.
"Mr. Vaughn, it's nice seeing you around."
The woman acknowledged Jerome's presence. Though her countenance revealed a tired individual. Jerome noticed that the luster on her long dark hair did not shine like it used to. Dust was especially prevalent everywhere from her garments to her face. Her voice seemed especially hoarse.
Jerome nodded curtly. But something bothered him for a while now and he couldn't help but throw out a question.
"Why didn't you guys bait that thing out of here to open space?"
Helen wrinkled her brows. It seemed as if she was troubled by that same question. If they were able to pull the beast out of this facility, then she wouldn't be tied down to prevent the building from collapsing.
"Believe me, we actually tried that. But this thing doesn't seem to want to go out."
"Strange…"
"Right? When we tried to pull out a little bit, this baby tried to enter even deeper underground. We couldn't have that, so we had to make some adjustments."
At the tail end of her sentence, both hunter's focus was suddenly distracted by the sound of the beast growling in anger. Apparently, it managed to grab Gerald by the leg and threw him into a wall. The man let out a muffled groan as his back collided on the hard surface, before then crashing down towards ground surface haggardly.
"Powers, roll over!"
However, Gerald didn't have the luxury to lay around as he moved by instinct according to the sudden prompt shouted out by Nick, his colleague. That warning came with impeccable timing, as the ground where Gerald covered earlier had been crushed by an intense force. The Anubis tried to stomp the tank. However, he was a step too late.
Helen took this opportunity to spew out multiple projectiles aimed to the eyes of the monster. Unprepared for that attack, the Bloodhound Anubis cried with fury. Its eyesight became compromised.
But the hunters were not done, Nick speedily closed in towards the target. His wavy brown hair ran rampant across his face and his eyes were laser focused. He strongly gripped his scimitar, his ideal weapon and aimed for the kill. Jerome noticed that the blade's trajectory was heading towards the neck of the Anubis.
Unfortunately for Nick, the Bloodhound was just a difficult S.O.B to deal with. The beast reacted with speed uncanny for its size and managed to raise its claws in the nick of time. At the same time, Nick realized all this mid-trajectory. And by the skin of his own teeth, he made a last second adjustment and escaped a fatal counterattack from the Bloodhound Anubis.
Kikiiinng!
The scimitar gashed the back hand of the Bloodhound and the hunter let out a soft curse. His momentum was gone. Though he didn't linger on it and quickly bounced off and relocated to a much safer position.
Meanwhile, Jerome got into position. The Bloodhound hadn't noticed his presence till now. So far, he had approached the situation with much care. He intentionally killed his presence in order to go off radar. But now was the time to unleash his hidden power.
"Helen―"
"I know," Helen quipped before Jerome even had to say his piece.
"I got this building, focus on delivering your payload."
The older man nodded. His energy then exploded like a rocket. The S-Rank powerhouse held back no more. He then took a deep breath and leaped forward. A sonic boom sounded out from where he left off, and it caused Helen to raise her arm for protection from the mild impact.
Whatever distance Jerome had between himself and the monster, it seemed negligible now. His speed was impeccable.
Looking at it from a different perspective, he was light years beyond compared to Nick Chester's fast paced movement. He became a like a blur, imaginary. A wondrous streak of light that could make people fall into a trance.
But behind that beautiful trail of light, a thunderous hiss brewed with venomous fury. His presence was akin to a juggernaut stronger than whatever strength Gerald Powers was able to muster; and he poised himself to blast through anything that stood on his path.
This was real power.
This was what constitutes as an S-Rank hunter.
Shiuusssshhh~
His Solar Flare Blade hummed alongside him and responded to his call; and the Enigma gathered around him like chicks flocking to their hen. This phenomenon caused his blade to whistle eerily. At the same time, his sudden outburst took the beast by surprise, and it hurriedly tried to turn around.
But Jerome wasn't going to let the monster to collect itself. Not this time. Not ever. In light of this, his hand immediately made a slashing motion, and his blade sang a tune of agreement to its owner.
'Judgement be upon you, vile beast.'
"Hooooooooaaaghhhh!"