Surviving the Death Hunt

His jaw was obliterated. He could feel his tongue floating in blood filling his throat, but he couldn’t see and wasn’t sure if the strike had destroyed his eyes or if it was just shock.

Everything was dark. The agony was so severe that it canceled itself out, though he could sense his healing ability struggling to rebuild his jaw.

But suddenly, when he thought the Gate God would finish him for good, he felt something cold envelop him, as if he’d been wrapped in snow or covered by an icy blanket.

Actually, he was covered in ice.

Ice covered him completely. The whole arena was freezing slowly and methodically, and Haven was controlling it all.

Her skin appeared even paler than usual, sigils radiating around her neck and brow, frost creeping across her own flesh as frigid air swept over the battlefield.

Haven and her captain, Leonard, reached the arena a split second before the Gate God attacked. She tried to move Scar with ice, making him slip, but even that wasn’t enough to dodge completely. His jaw shattered from the impact.

That brief opening allowed V to harvest countless souls throughout the arena, slaughtering more than half the students present and even claiming members of the Zheng and Kugo clan forces.

Worse, some of those were now under his control, spreading across the grounds and beyond the arena, searching for more souls to claim.

So Leonard and Kong, the only ones who could fight V in the air, engaged him directly, attempting to prevent further soul consumption. That left the Gate God to Haven alone.

The forgotten god was meant to guard V, to keep others from disrupting his schemes. But its loathing for Scar’s Inheritance proved stronger than his commands. Once he sensed it, nothing mattered except destroying Scar.

Haven met the creature’s empty gaze without flinching. Scar wouldn’t die, not on her watch. And beyond that, this was exactly what she’d been seeking: a Hostile-level Scarlet Kin to kill. Now one stood before her, and the opportunity was irresistible.

But her situation was dire. She currently had her Emotional State activated, and due to her poor control, whenever she used it, it slowly froze her body to the point where it could even reach her heart. The more powerful the attack she used, the worse her situation became.

"No matter... Scar may be weak now, but he’ll grow strong soon. I won’t bother warning you, I’ll kill you before that day comes."

The Gate God didn’t dare move. It was standing on Haven’s ice sheet and appeared to understand the threat, remaining perfectly still. The moment it stepped, the ice would freeze it instantly.

Sigh.

’Why isn’t it moving? If it doesn’t, all my efforts will be wasted, and I might perish before the fight even begins. I have to use another option before my heart freezes.’

She appeared half-frozen herself, breath misting as ice. But she had to make eye contact with Julien, standing some distance away, to signal him to grab Scar when she struck next. Julien didn’t understand the full picture, but he was already moving into position.

With a heavy heart, she spoke:

"Emotional State, Second Form, Frost Blossom."

The ice blanketing the arena dissolved into vapor, becoming almost like white cherry blossoms.

As soon as Julien saw the opening, he rushed to Scar immediately. The Gate God attempted to follow him, but with the flick of her finger, the flowers swarmed around it and immediately solidified into ice, piercing its body and pinning it in place.

The Gate God instantly broke free, but by that time, Julien and Scar were already gone.

"He’s finally gone. Now, I can fight you with all my strength."

An ice blade materialized in her hand, and she surged toward the Gate God at blinding speed. Flowers danced along the blade’s edge, moving with her strikes as though caught in her slipstream.

Kong had battled this thing ferociously, yet it never retaliated. Now, though, it fought back, launching a devastating wind slash at Haven. She tried to soften the blow with her flowers but was still hurled downward.

Haven felt like her body might shatter if this went on. She was growing rigid, the ice claiming more of her with each moment. But she didn’t shiver. She’d waited months for this chance. Humanity needed saving.

"Emotional State, Third Form, Ice Wolves."

Snow billowed from her body in waves. Blood spattered from her mouth, but she’d succeeded in summoning help. Two wolves formed from the snow itself, pure ice with jaws bearing twice the fangs of normal wolves.

They immediately charged toward the Gate God with Haven following behind. Together with her wolves, Haven began circling the creature at incredible velocity, their speed making them impossible to track.

Within moments, countless wounds opened across the creature. Its flesh was torn open by Haven’s ice blade. The wolves struck, biting deep into the Gate God’s flesh, then vanished directly into the wounds.

Without hesitation, Haven backed away, creating distance between herself and the Gate God.

"It must work. The wolves will freeze it from the inside. There’s no way it can escape."

Haven observed as the creature stood frozen, eyes darting desperately. Whatever was happening inside it should’ve killed a human in seconds.

Last time, against Robin, this technique had failed, his power made his flesh twice as hard as anything he touched, impervious to the wolves’ fangs. But the Gate God had no such defense. The wolves were inside. It would work.

That confidence lasted until she witnessed something disturbing. The Gate God’s body started convulsing, trembling like something was reshaping it internally. Within moments, it had completely shaken off the attack.

Haven felt surprised, but it was tempered by experience. She’d always known Hostile-level threats were capable of the extraordinary.

But the creature had apparently had enough. Moving impossibly fast, faster than sight could track, it struck Haven with brutal force, sending her plummeting the ground.

She activated her Protector State just in time. Without that protection, one hit from the creature would have destroyed her.

She still couldn’t move, but her form had changed dramatically. Two large white wings extended from her back, with two smaller wings at her waist.

Her eyes glowed with celestial blue light that resembled frost instead of their typical coldness. Her clothes hung in tatters, her body protected by formations of ice feathers.

This form granted her a near-impenetrable defense through an invisible ice barrier. Though some of the creature’s strikes got through, they weren’t what made her tremble. Her poor control meant this state inevitably froze her own heart.

Death didn’t frighten her, not from the Gate God, anyway. What scared her was succumbing to her own Inheritance. Her father would be livid. The disgrace to the Velanora family would be unforgivable.

Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to deactivate the form. Death would mean leaving Scar unprotected, never fighting beside him again, never seeing him again. She had to survive this.

While Haven struggled to continue fighting, the Gate God’s attention had shifted. Above, Kong and Leonard battled V, their clash thundering across the sky. But the creature showed no interest in aiding its master. Instead, it fixated on the arena’s center, where small flowers had begun to bloom.

The Gate God glanced back, searching for the source of the sudden change. Haven was still struggling to rise. Not her, then.

A moment later, it caught the scent. Its posture shifted instantly, readying itself. It knew what was coming.

It was Theo...

Theo, Ally of Mankind.