The suffocating pressure on their bodies made it hard to breathe, let alone think. Yet under the crushing weight of the presence before them, each of the bounty hunters found themselves instinctively nodding.
What choice did they have?
They were facing something beyond comprehension — not a child, not a prodigy, not some ancient spirit… but something infinitely more terrifying: a God. And not just any god… the God of Souls.
The moment their submission was clear, Deus extended his hand.
The tip of his index finger glowed with an eerie, sacred white light.
Then—
Zzt—!
Thin beams of divine energy shot from his fingertip, piercing each of the six bounty hunters in the forehead.
"Aghh!" Scarlet Fox screamed, clutching her chest as an intense burn spread through her ribs.
Bald Eagle gritted his teeth, dropping to one knee as a searing sigil formed beneath his skin.
One by one, each of them let out a pained grunt, feeling something etching itself deep into their very soul — not just on their body, but within.
Glowing faintly on their chests, the mark appeared, divine and unremovable:
[神] - [God of Souls]
In that instant, they all understood. This wasn't a negotiation. This wasn't a partnership.
It was domination. A contract bound to their essence — to betray him meant certain death. No second chances.
Even Scarlet Fox, whose mouth was rarely still, said nothing now. Her eyes were wide with horror. The others all had the same thought—
What kind of monster did Lancelot get involved with...?
But at least, Deus' pressure was no longer on them, with the sigil on then, Deus saw no need to discipline them further
Scar twitched, he was wise, he didn't resist. At that moment, he remembered something. Deus said seven bounty hunters, but Void was dead he died from the spatial he formed, so their numbers was reduced to six.
Steeling his heart he decided to speak up, Scar's voice was hoarse, trembling with both fear and hesitation. "There... There were seven of us..."
Deus turned his glowing eyes slowly toward him.
Scar continued with difficulty, "Void... he's dead. Swallowed by his own spatial collapse when we fought Lancelot. That… that thing consumed even his screams. There was nothing left..."
Deus' expression remained unmoved. His voice echoed, deep and cold, like judgment cast from the heavens themselves:
"I wasn't mistaken when I said… seven of you."
Just as the last syllable left his lips, the air warped — space itself rippling like disturbed water.
Whuuuuum—!
A circular portal unfolded midair like a blooming black lotus, radiating void essence so dense the ground beneath it cracked and darkened.
From the abyssal ring emerged a massive form.
Thoom... Thoom... Thoom...
The dragon stepped out — black as midnight, its scales reflecting an eerie silver glow. Runes of space and emptiness pulsed over its body with every step. Its eyes, like endless galaxies, scanned the area calmly.
Everyone froze.
Lancelot's breath hitched.
His eyes widened with awe.
'That… that's the species of beast my beast soul originates from!'
The Void Shattering Dragon! The apex entity of spatial and void mastery among beasts. The beast soul of a Void shattering dragon was what helped him escape Void's domain. The very reason he survived that fight.
He had assumed, prayed, hoped that Void was dead… that the chaotic collapse had destroyed him.
And yet, riding atop the back of the dragon…
…was Void himself.
His body limp.
Unconscious.
Drenched in blood.
Tattered robes, shattered armor, a hollow expression barely visible beneath the crusted wounds.
Scarlet Fox's hands flew to her mouth. Tigress hissed softly, stepping back. Bald Eagle took an instinctive stance, but his knees betrayed him.
"No... No way..."
"How is he alive...!?"
"That bastard was erased! There was nothing left!"
Lone Wolf clenched his fists, whispering, "Just what kind of being... can defy death itself…?"
Deus raised his hand slightly, and with a casual flick of his fingers — a wave.
Void's body was instantly engulfed in divine light.
Shiiiing—
Wounds stitched together.
Bone cracks sealed.
His aura returned — stronger, more stable than ever before.
In seconds, Void's eyes fluttered open.
He gasped sharply and sat up, drenched in cold sweat, eyes darting around in confusion.
When they landed on Deus, his face turned pale, then pale-er.
"Y-You..." he whispered.
Deus spoke again, voice thunderous yet refined, cold but absolute:
"I decide what is dead. I decide what continues."
"You are bound to me now, just like the rest."
Void trembled… but didn't dare speak.
The other bounty hunters looked on, now more terrified than ever.
Because now they knew — their contract wasn't just a symbol. It was reality.
They belonged to something they couldn't run from, couldn't hide from, couldn't bargain with.
Not a man. Not a king. But a god.
At that moment, Deus' gaze moved to Lancelot, Lancelot's heart sank, he couldn't help but think that something bad was about to happen to him...
The next second, Deus' finger pointed at him, a white light shooting to Lancelot's heart.
"Agh—!"
Lancelot's chest burned, his back arching slightly from the heat as he clutched at the spot.
But something was different—very different.
Unlike the rest, whose sigils glowed white, Lancelot's mark burned a bright red, flaring up violently before slowly dimming down.
The same God of Souls sigil appeared on his chest... [神]
But his glowed with a strange life force, the red hue flickering faintly even after the light had faded.
He looked down, confused, breathing heavily. He didn't understand what just happened—but he could feel it deep in his soul, this wasn't normal.
His top cloth was torn so the others could see it. The others stared at him with wide eyes, especially the bounty hunters, their hearts heavy with unease.
Why was his sigil different?
Why red?
Why him?