When Mason reported the veil tear incident to his superiors and later to the hunters'' community, chaos erupted. Even if Mason had wanted to conceal the news of Zol''s near-fatal injuries, too many people had witnessed it firsthand.

    S-class hunters weren''t just humanity''s greatest warriors—they were symbols of hope, standing tall against the horrors that plagued their existence.

    To most, the idea of someone like Zol being gravely injured in combat was inconceivable.

    That illusion shattered when the news spread. The revelation alone was enough to shake the public, but the emergence of a new class of void creatures added fuel to the fire.

    People were already teetering on the edge of despair, and the thought of a monster capable of effortlessly defeating their strongest defenders pushed them into a state of hysteria.

    Ordinary citizens panicked, many barricading themselves in their homes. Some turned to violence, though those outbursts were swiftly quelled by the overwhelming presence of powerful individuals maintaining order.

    As if the situation couldn''t worsen, reports began surfacing a week after the incident.

    Similar veil tears were appearing across the observable universe, spreading fear like wildfire.

    If the creature that had emerged from the first tear was any indication, humanity was staring down the barrel of an even greater catastrophe.@@@@

    ........

    Aboard James''s spaceship, a month later.

    Julia and her unit members as well as the other units were gathered in the conference room waiting for James to arrive.

    Things were getting hectic out there and some new information about the behaviour of the new class of void creatures surfaced that needed to be shared with the hunters.

    While they waited, Julia was lost in thought. The previous month had been one of the hardest for her. She was not even allowed to go out with her teammates until she recovered.

    "Hey..." Julia raised her head when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she noticed Ross with a warm smile on his face.

    "You shouldn''t think too much. Your uncle will be fine. If anyone can pull through, it would be him."

    Ross tried to cheer her up, but Julia could barely smile. her once radiant smile and beauty were now dimmer than usual.

    "When hunters were dispatched, including three S-tier elites, these creatures would halt their destruction and redirect their forces to engage the hunters. But here''s where it gets... interesting," James said, though his tone carried no hint of amusement.

    The hunters shifted uncomfortably, swallowing hard. There was nothing remotely interesting about void creatures and their relentless carnage.

    "The weaker ones would attack first, testing the hunters and gradually sending in stronger forces. But here''s the disturbing part—when some of these creatures succeeded in killing a few hunters, they would retreat. And then, they''d just... wait."

    "Wait?" one of the hunters echoed aloud, voicing the collective confusion in the room.

    "Exactly." James nodded, his expression grim. "It''s as if they''re being cautious—of what? Don''t bother asking, because we have no answers yet.

    "What we do know is that if nothing happens during their waiting period, they resume their attacks with even greater ferocity. It got so overwhelming that the hunters were forced to retreat."

    Ross narrowed his eyes, deep in thought. "That level of intelligence and caution is terrifying," he muttered, a shiver running down his spine.

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    "Yeah..." Ethan agreed, his tone grim. "And they''ve reduced their sizes too. They''re no longer just dumb, oversized creatures that make easy targets."

    James nodded, his expression unreadable. "The current situation is even more concerning. The S-tier creatures aren''t directly engaging in the destruction anymore.

    "Instead, they''re acting like generals, orchestrating the chaos. Thank god for that... but there''s no guarantee it''ll stay that way."

    The room fell silent as the hunters absorbed his words. The weight of the looming threat was intense.

    With the creatures closing in, the situation would only spiral further out of control. Even the might of S-class hunters was no longer enough.

    Humanity needed something more.

    "The good news," James continued, breaking the silence, "is that the void tech we''ve been developing is nearly complete.

    "These weapons, forged from materials infused with void energy, will make our jobs of eliminating these monsters significantly easier."

    Humans were finally on the precipice of utilizing the power of void energy through advanced technology. But the question was if that would be enough to save them.