Hero of Darkness

Chapter 1227: A New Hope

Out of nowhere, the entire scenario of the colosseum suddenly went from cheers and enjoyment to dread and despair as soon as the World Hunter Association showed up, declaring their attack on this entire hidden settlement.

But the biggest highlight of this surprise was the man who jumped almost 50 meters from the transport helicopter in the middle of the arena.

His landing sent tremors through the entire colosseum despite being made of hard concrete, and the aura emitted by this man was on a completely different level.

"That’s... that’s, the strongest hunter in the world!"

The announcers’ shouts filled with bewilderment echoed in the colosseum as people froze on the spot due to shock.

The tall golden-haired hunter in the pristine white and blue armor raised his sword, pointing towards the crowd as he slowly rotated himself clockwise he gazing intently at the audience.

"Your crimes against humanity will be judged by the people around the world. Surrender quietly if you want to live to see another day.

Otherwise, I won’t think twice before massacring you monsters right here!" shouted the hunter with an enraged tone.

BZZZ!

BZZZ!

On one of the hovering helicopters was an entire camera crew filming his declaration with a full setup, gathering the footage of their ambush while highlighting these powerful entities, their faces, as well as their entire cohort of elite friends.

This wasn’t just a raid... it was also a live broadcast.

******************

Meanwhile, in one of the pavilions occupied by the organizers of this event...

"What fucking bullshit is this?! Why the hell is the World Hunter Association here?

Why didn’t our security radars pick up their arrivals, and why aren’t our artillery guns attacking their soldiers?

Besides, our people in the hunter association should have warned us about this before the operation even began.

Why didn’t I hear anything about this?" he asked, flabbergasted.

The group of people behind him, the team that managed the whole settlement, was just as surprised as the owner.

It was right then...

Bang!

A man opened the door to this room in a hurry and shouted...

"Sir! Our security has been breached by a virus. None of the digital equipment is functioning, and even satellite radars have stopped responding.

The entire defense mechanism of the facility is unresponsive, while only the soldiers with guns are fighting back.

But even they are struggling against the hunters with tank classes and defensive abilities," spoke the man who reported what was happening outside.

At this moment... everyone in the room realized collectively.

This was a carefully orchestrated attack that was months in planning, while none of them suspected anything.

In simple words... this was an inside job.

Taking out the entire security grid and disabling the defense artillery can only be done when it’s from the inside. And their top-grade firmware was also rendered useless through weeks of data breaches that should have been noticed by their experts; unless the spies of the world hunter association were also part of those respective teams.

But at this moment, no matter how one looked... none of it mattered.

The only thing they could do now was escape as soon as possible.

"Send them... they will create a distraction and stop the hunters while we can use the secret tunnels to escape," ordered the owner.

"We’re on it," spoke one of the men as he switched on a walkie-talkie, as he ordered...

"Attack the hunter in the middle of the arena."

******************

Meanwhile, the arena candidates also jolted in joy after seeing that someone called the strongest hunter in the world came to save them.

But it was right then...

BOOM!!

BANG!!

Over 5 different people also jumped from the different pavilions of the colosseum and surrounded the man in white and blue armor.

Their auras were weaker compared to the man, but their numbers made up for the lack of strength.

"Those must be the candidates for the hunters’ battle. They are surrounding him," spoke Neo.

Before Morpheus could grasp the situation...

Bang!

The fight between the powerful hunters started, and as a result, the attack skills launched by them started destroying the arena as well as injuring the audience.

Even the entrance where Morpheus and other kids watched this fight was hit with a sword energy wave from the strongest hunter in the world, instantly decimating the black doors.

"Run!

We will get hit by those attacks too if we stay here!" shouted Mopheus as he charged towards the passageways where they came from.

The battle between the hunters was not something they could withstand as people with no powers. The only way to ensure their survival was to run away and seek help.

Huff!

Huff!

The survivor children that were no longer in chains because it was their turn to fight... ran with all their might to find an escape route.

The guards that brought them here were already engaged with the hunters attacking the colosseum and the settlement outside, so it was their only opportunity to find an exit and leave this godforsaken colosseum.

The remainder of the audience was no different.

As soon as the hunters started fighting and some audience members were killed as collateral due to their fight skills, people lost their minds, and a frenzy started.

A stampede with thousands of these rich elites and celebrities who came to enjoy the event and watch people kill each other for survival was now running around towards the exits without caring about anyone.

Many people fell and got run over by others, some dying on the spot, while they didn’t even get a chance to stand up.

Total mayhem... that could be the best way to describe what was happening in the colosseum.

Everywhere, the noises of fights, screams of people, and the sound of gunshots resounded while the hunters started destroying the colosseum as they faced a single man.

Huff!

Huff!

Neo and Morpheus were running away. And at this point, they were separated from other kids since everyone was looking out for themselves.

10 minutes later...

They exited the colosseum from one of the main entrances and mixed with the crowd of guests as everyone was running for their lives.

Just outside, there was a large-scale battle between hunters and the militia troops as both sides were currently at a standstill on this particular side of the colosseum.

BANG!!

Out of nowhere, a big explosion breached the walls because of a fireball blast caused by one of the top S Rank hunters, who soon led his team to support the other hunters.

One side was launching magic spells, aura attacks, and inhuman skills, while the other was fighting with guns, grenades, and pure skills.

"Find the survivors and capture these bastards," spoke the S Rank hunter as he entered the battle himself while commanding his troops.

"Let’s go. Those hunters are attacking these people. They will save us," spoke Neo.

They finally saw a glimmer of hope to leave this hellish place.

However...

Morpheus stopped in his steps as his body shivered.

"Save us? Like those bastards did in the camps? Are you sure?" asked Morpheus to Neo.

"Then what other hope do we have? We’re just kids. Only heroes like these can save us," responded Neo.

Morpheus, in a cold tone, asked with a stern gaze...

"Haven’t you realized it yet?"

"Realize what?" asked Neo.

To his words, Morpheus responded with a lifeless expression, devoid of humanity...

"There are no real heroes in this world."

******************

Morpheus intently gazed at Neo, who wanted to contact the hunters for safety, but Morpheus, despite the perilous situation, couldn’t bring himself to do so.

"It was good knowing you," said Morpheus as he nodded at Neo.

Gasp!

Neo gasped, but then he understood what was running inside Morpheus’ mind.

They all were fooled once already, and their lives turned into mere entertainment for the rich and elites. They had to choose whether to trust these hunters or try to flee somewhere else.

However, one way could ensure their safety, but the other could bind them again.

In the end, it came down to what kind of choices one would make.

Morpheus didn’t want to trust anyone ever again, while Neo simply wanted to survive.

They both had to make a choice and choose their path, which would define the rest of their lives.

"It was nice knowing you, too." spoke Neo as he made his own choice.

Soon, he started running towards the marching hunters that had already pushed the militia soldiers behind.

"Here! Help me!" he spoke and ran towards a group of hunters who brought jeeps and were gathering victims.

This was Neo’s choice. To trust the system for his survival.

But soon, Morpheus looked to his left side, and he also saw a bunch of men and women, in similar clothes as his, being slaughtered by a group of hunters.

The hunters didn’t seem to care about the collateral damage. Killing indiscriminately.

"Just keep a few captives alive to stare in front of the press and tv channels. And we will be the greatest heroes in the world after we break the news.

The whole world will worship us for subduing these evil bastards, and nobody really cares if a bunch of orphans and useless people with no powers die.

They care more about the story and how it makes them feel instead of the truth." spoke the leader of this group.

Morpheus, who finally saw new hope... was terrified.

Because the hunters didn’t come here to save them. No, it was to put up a farce of them being saviors of humanity.

The warriors of justice... were just as evil.