[MAIN STREET]
The dust began to settle.
Aria lay unconscious against the rubble of the destroyed building, barely breathing.
Her Air Elental—disintegrated.
The buffs she had provided—gone.
Kael felt the difference imdiately.
His movents, previously enhanced by [Wind’s Blessing], now felt... normal.
Heavy.
Slow.
"Damn," he hissed through his teeth.
He looked at Alex—who was standing thirty ters away, shoulder bleeding but smiling.
That smile.
That damn confident smile.
"What’s wrong, Kael?" Alex shouted, his voice amplified. "Feeling slower without your support?"
Kael gripped his twin swords so hard his knuckles turned white.
Thirty years. Thirty years as an elite bounty hunter.
Thirty-seven successful captures.
Zero failures.
And this nineteen-year-old kid was making him look like an amateur.
"Thorne," he growled. "Marcus. Lyra. Regroup. Delta formation."
Delta formation—an encirclent tactic designed to crush single targets through pressure from multiple angles simultaneously.
The three hunters responded imdiately.
Thorne and his Golem advanced from the front, war hamr and massive fists ready.
Marcus and his Infernal Hound flanked left, knives gleaming, flas dripping.
Lyra and her Mist Serpent flanked right, moving like living shadows.
Kael remained in the center-rear, coordinating.
Four hunters. Four companions.
Level 49 to 54.
All focused on Alex from four directions simultaneously.
"They’re grouping up," Raven observed ntally—the residual telepathic link from Fragnt Synergy training still working weakly.
"I know," Alex replied. "Perfect."
"Perfect? How is that perfect? That’s four against one!"
"Because when they’re grouped up..." Alex looked at Raven, who was twenty ters away handling her own flank. "...we can crush them all simultaneously."
Understanding dawned in Raven’s eyes.
"Fragnt Synergy."
"Fragnt Synergy."
"Now?"
"Now."
---
Alex touched the Fragnt mark on his chest.
He didn’t say a single word.
He just thought: I accept.
Raven touched the mark on her right hand.
I accept.
[SYSTEM – MASSIVE ALERT]
[FRAGNT SYNERGY ACTIVATED!]
[FRAGNT 1 (CORE) FRAGNT 3 (HAND) – RESONANCE INITIATED]
[DURATION: 10 MINUTES]
[WARNING: CORRUPTION 3% FOR BOTH USERS]
Energy exploded.
Not a physical explosion.
An energetic explosion.
Alex’s dark aura—black as the void—erupted from his body.
Raven’s green aura—like a brilliant erald—did the sa.
The two auras expanded.
They touched.
They rged.
And when they did—
BOOOOOM.
A pure shockwave shook the entire street.
Windows from nearby buildings shattered.
Pavent cracking under pressure.
The skeletons Raven had summoned—a hundred level 40 ones—
CHANGED.
Their empty eyes filled with a brilliant crimson light.
Their white bones turned black as obsidian.
Size increased—from 1.7 ters to 2 ters each.
Armant improved—rusted swords beca gleaming black blades.
[100 Skeletons – Level 40 → Level 70]
[Buff Applied: 50% to All Stats]
An army.
Not of weak skeletons.
An army of level 70 warriors.
"What the hell...?" Marcus took a step back, watching the transformation.
But the skeletons weren’t the scariest thing.
Alex and Raven were.
---
Alex’s eyes glowed—crimson rings around his pupils.
His hair waved as if an invisible wind was blowing, the white streak shining.
The Fragnt mark on his chest BURNED through his leather armor—black patterns pulsing with each heartbeat.
And his stats—
[ALEX CARTER – FRAGNT SYNERGY ACTIVE]
Level: 40
HP: 950/1,020 → 950/1,581 (Max HP 55%)
STATS BOOSTED ( 55%):
· Strength: 104 → 161
· Agility: 110 → 170
· Intelligence: 73 → 113
· Endurance: 116 → 180
UNLOCKED SHARED SKILLS:
· [Necromantic Control] (from Raven)
· [Death March] (from Raven)
· [Skeletal Reinforcent] (from Raven)
Dark energy swirling around his hands.
Not just dark.
Dark with green veins.
Fragnt 1 and Fragnt 3 intertwined.
---
Raven’s eyes glowed full erald green—no white visible.
Her Fragnt 3 attire began to glow, arcane patterns appearing on the corset and cloak.
Her black hair with crimson highlights waved violently, levitating as if underwater.
The Fragnt scythe in her hands transford—the green blade now had black veins snaking through it like blood vessels.
[RAVEN – FRAGNT SYNERGY ACTIVE]
Level: 56
HP: 920/920 → 920/1,426 (Max HP 55%)
STATS BOOSTED ( 55%):
· Strength: 142 → 220
· Agility: 156 → 242
· Intelligence: 98 → 152
UNLOCKED SHARED SKILLS:
· [Shadow Step] (from Alex)
· [Battle Flow] (from Alex)
· [Reaper’s Aura] (from Alex)
Green energy emanating from her body.
Not just green.
Green with black veins.
Fragnt 3 and Fragnt 1 intertwined.
---
Can you hear ? Alex thought.
Perfectly, Raven replied instantly. No echo. No delay. As if they were talking face to face.
The skeletons. Can you feel them?
Every single one. A hundred connections. All clear.
Good. Fifty for you. Fifty for .
Understood. Tactics?
Overwhelming. Total. Absolute.
My favorite kind.
All of this—the entire exchange—took less than two seconds.
The hunters had barely processed the transformation.
Alex and Raven already had a full plan.
---
"CHARGE!" Raven shouted out loud—not out of necessity, but for drama.
The hundred level 70 skeletons roared—an unnatural sound, like breaking glass mixed with scraping tal.
Fifty charged toward Marcus and Lyra.
Fifty charged toward Thorne and Kael.
But not a disorganized charge.
Perfect military formations.
Vanguard with shields. Flanks with spears. Rearguard with skeletal archers materializing bows of dark energy.
"Impossible!" Marcus shouted. "Level 70?! Each one is level 70?!"
His Infernal Hound unleashed a breath of fire—
Ten skeletons were engulfed in flas.
When the fire dissipated—
The ten were still standing.
Bone armor charred but functional.
[Skeleton HP: 1,800 → 1,400/1,800]
Damaged but far from destroyed.
"Shit," Marcus muttered.
The skeletons surrounded him.
Twenty from the front.
Fifteen from the left.
Fifteen from the right.
Perfect coordination.
Marcus began to fight—knives cutting, spinning, dodging.
But for every skeleton he destroyed, two more took its place.
A war of attrition.
And he was losing.
---
Lyra attempted her specialty—stealth.
She disappeared into the shadows, the Mist Serpent dissolving as well.
Invisible.
Undetectable.
Normally.
But now—
I can see her, Alex thought.
too, Raven agreed.
Fragnt Synergy had given them [Death Sense]—a shared skill that detected all life within fifty ters.
Stealth didn’t matter.
Invisibility didn’t matter.
If it was alive, they saw it.
"Skeletons. Sector Three-North. Fifteen ters. Now," Raven commanded ntally.
Twenty skeletons converged on the seemingly empty spot—
CLASH.
Lyra materialized, blocking the attack with daggers, clear surprise on her face.
"How—?"
Another attack from behind.
Another from the left.
Another from above—the skeleton had jumped from a nearby building.
Lyra dodged the first.
Blocked the second.
The third hit her—a skeletal sword cutting her shoulder.
SLASH.
[Lyra HP: 3,200 → 2,900/3,200]
The first ti she had been hit in combat in months.
Her Mist Serpent tried to defend her—
But Luna’s [Purification Aura] was still active.
The serpent couldn’t turn ethereal properly.
Vulnerable.
Five skeletons pierced it with spears simultaneously.
[Mist Serpent HP: 3,600 → 2,100/4,100]
An agonized hiss.
"No!" Lyra shouted.
But she couldn’t help.
She was too busy surviving.
---
Thorne swung his war hamr—pure mass crushing.
WHAM.
Three skeletons destroyed instantly.
WHAM.
Five more.
But there were fifty.
And they kept coming.
His Iron Golem was also fighting—its massive fists crushing, stomping.
Effective.
But slow.
The skeletons were fast, coordinated.
They attacked joints—knees, elbows, neck.
Damage accumulating.
[Golem HP: 8,400 → 7,200/9,000]
Kael fought alongside Thorne—his twin swords cutting in precise patterns.
More effective than Thorne.
Faster.
More experienced.
But even he was being pressured.
For every two skeletons he destroyed, three more attacked.
And then—
---
Alex appeared behind Kael.
[Shadow Step]—but enhanced by Fragnt Synergy.
Not ten ters.
Thirty ters.
Instantaneous.
Silent.
His sword cutting toward Kael’s neck—
Kael spun—veteran instinct—blocked.
CLANG.
But the impact—
Different.
Stronger.
Strength 161 versus Kael’s Strength 128.
Kael was pushed back.
Three ters.
His heels dragging on the pavent.
"What...?" His eyes widened.
"Surprise," Alex smiled.
He attacked again—[Quick Strike] enhanced.
Five strikes in two seconds.
Kael blocked three.
The fourth cut his arm.
The fifth cut his thigh.
[Kael HP: 6,800 → 6,200/6,800]
"Impossible," Kael gasped. "A level 40 can’t—"
"I’m not just level 40," Alex interrupted.
Dark and green energy swirling around him.
"I’m Fragnt 1. The Reaper’s Core. Amplified by Fragnt 3."
A pause.
"I’m your worst nightmare."
---
Raven appeared in front of Thorne—also using the shared [Shadow Step].
"Hi," she said casually.
She swung her scythe—
Thorne raised his hamr to block—
The scythe cut through the hamr’s handle.
SLICE.
Enchanted level 50 wood.
Cut like butter.
"WHAT?!" Thorne stared at his broken weapon, absolute shock.
Raven spun, kicked his chest—
Strength 220.
Thorne, with all his plate armor, flew backward.
CRASH.
He crashed into his own Golem.
[Thorne HP: 4,200 → 3,600/4,200]
Raven didn’t pursue.
Instead, she extended her hand.
[Necromantic Control]—a shared skill from Alex.
Five additional skeletons erged from the pavent.
But not normal skeletons.
These were special.
Made of pure energy—half dark from Alex, half green from Raven.
[Hybrid Skeletons – Level 80]
"A gift," said Raven, smiling.
The five level 80 skeletons charged toward Thorne.
Who was still trying to get up.
---
While Alex and Raven dominated, Grim and Luna weren’t idle.
Grim had forced the Black Wyvern to fly higher, away from the ground battle.
Every ti the Wyvern tried to descend to help Kael—
Grim intercepted.
His scythe cutting into its wings.
[Wyvern HP: 11,000 → 9,400/12,000]
Luna, for her part, kept [Purification Aura] active.
A silver aura extended in a twenty-ter radius.
All allies inside received slow passive healing.
[Alex HP: 950 → 980/1,581] ( 30 regeneration)
[Raven HP: 920 → 950/1,426] ( 30 regeneration)
And the aura kept the Mist Serpent vulnerable.
It couldn’t turn ethereal.
An easy target for skeletons.
Emily, standing beside Luna, was channeling mana.
Preparing her next spell.
[Sanctuary]—her most powerful support skill.
Waiting for the perfect mont.
---
Kael retreated, gasping.
Looking around.
Marcus—surrounded by skeletons, fighting for his life.
Lyra—nearly invisible but clearly being hunted systematically.
Thorne—on the ground, being attacked by level 80 skeletons.
Aria—unconscious.
His team.
His perfect team.
Being destroyed.
By four people.
No.
By two people primarily.
Alex and Raven.
Two Reaper Fragnts.
Working together.
"This is..." Kael searched for words. "...impossible."
Alex appeared in front of him again.
[Shadow Step].
"Impossible?" asked Alex. Smiling. Enjoying.
"No. This is what happens when you hunt weapons designed to kill Gods."
He attacked—
Kael blocked—
But Raven appeared behind Kael.
Coordinated attack.
Front and back simultaneously.
Kael couldn’t block both.
He chose to block Alex—
Raven’s scythe cut across his back.
SLASH.
[Kael HP: 6,200 → 5,400/6,800]
He cried out in pain.
Fell to his knees.
Twin swords falling from numb hands.
Alex put his sword to Kael’s throat.
"Surrender," he said simply.
Silence.
The entire battlefield—frozen.
Marcus, watching.
Lyra, watching.
Thorne, watching.
All waiting for their leader’s decision.
Kael looked up.
At Alex.
At Raven beside him.
Two young people.
Level 40 and 56.
Who had just destroyed a team of five elite hunters.
In less than five minutes.
"How?" asked Kael. His voice broken. "How is this possible?"
"Because," said Raven, her scythe still pointed, "you hunt humans."
"We," added Alex, "are Reaper Fragnts."
"It’s not the sa."
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