Got it! I'll now proceed with the final draft of Chapter 13, integrating everything—Grim's emotional struggle, the full force of the Minokawa, the partial manifestation of the Bakunawa, the Crimson Crescent's infiltration led by Xavier, the arrival and powers of the three S-rank hunters, the catastrophic battle, and the heartbreaking toll on PHU and its defenders. I'll also polish the flow, eliminate repetition, and deepen the tension.
Here's the fully revised Chapter 13:
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**Chapter 13: The Taint of Eternity**
The world had already begun to unravel around Philippine Hunter University.
As the tainted celestial beast Nyxaroth burst forth from the artificial gate, the skies darkened and twisted above Luzon. Its arrival didn't just disrupt the atmosphere—it rewrote it. Birds fell from the sky, and clouds spiraled unnaturally. Students collapsed under the weight of its aura, unable to move or even breathe.
Grim stood near the epicenter, his breath shallow, heart thundering. This wasn't just a monster. Nyxaroth was calamity incarnate—a voidborn god masquerading in the skin of a beast.
The Philippine Hunter Association declared it a national-level catastrophe, and rightfully so. The moment Nyxaroth's aura blanketed the region, the country was severed from the world. Communication lines died, satellites failed to penetrate the oppressive miasma, and the very air shimmered like a veil separating the Philippines from the rest of reality.
Xavier, the enigmatic leader of the Crimson Crescent, emerged from the shadows as the mastermind behind the gate. A summoner himself, though not a Prime like Grim, he wielded corrupted seals—each etched with dark glyphs crawling across his arms like snakes. His presence only fueled the despair.
"The Prime Summoner must die," Xavier declared. "And Nyxaroth will awaken in full."
Grim's instincts screamed at him to retreat, but there was nowhere to go. Xavier's corrupted summons clashed with the last line of defense—the professors and student elites still able to fight.
The first S-rank hunter to arrive was *Aurelio Vargas*, the Blade of Tempest. Harnessing wind at hypersonic speeds, his movements blurred across the battlefield. He clashed with Xavier directly, blades and tempests roaring, but even he was overwhelmed by Nyxaroth's residual influence.
Moments later came *Isadora Cruz*, the Ember Matron, who controlled purifying hellfire potent enough to cauterize tainted beings. Her flames licked across the sky, but not even they could burn through Nyxaroth's godly hide.
Finally, *Rael Dominguez*, the Titan's Will, stomped into the fray. Each step he took cracked the earth; he could manipulate mass and gravity around him. He attempted to crush Nyxaroth with the weight of mountains, but the beast didn't even flinch.
Dean Rizalde, ever the Sword Saint, joined them—his presence stabilizing the battlefield, even if briefly. Alongside him stood Mr. Andres, the President of the PHA. Together, they unleashed wave after wave of blessed strikes, but Nyxaroth retaliated with a roar that fractured buildings and minds alike. Rizalde was sent hurtling through the air, his right arm mangled. Mr. Andres stood guard over his unconscious form, bleeding but unrelenting.
Within the chaos, Elyse pushed through debris and enemies alike, her gravity blessing warping the terrain around her. Her sole focus was reaching Grim.
But Grim had already begun his descent—both physical and spiritual.
Within his mind, the whispers of Thyce, the Goddess of Summoning, merged with the distant memories of the Bakunawa. Desperation led him to draw upon the pact etched deep within his soul. A spiraling vortex formed above him as a spectral image of the Bakunawa—wreathed in silver and starlight—partially manifested.
It was not whole. It could not be.
The sheer effort nearly shattered Grim's body. Scales shimmered into view, glowing on his skin before condensing into a tattoo of the celestial serpent wrapped around his arm and chest.
The Bakunawa could not stay. But it left him a sliver of its divine will.
With a roar that shook the sky, Grim summoned the Minokawa in its full majesty. The great eagle screeched as it dove, wings wide enough to cover buildings, talons wreathed in radiant light. The very sun responded to its cry.
Grim mounted the Minokawa as if it were instinct. Above the battlefield, he saw destruction, death, and despair—but also resolve.
Elyse cried out his name from below. Not with panic, but with faith.
The veil between them shimmered. A memory passed—a hand held in the rain, a smile shared under the stars, a promise unspoken but understood. It was enough.
Grim's eyes flared silver.
"This ends now," he whispered.
The Minokawa and Grim dove, a streak of light in the heart of darkness. Nyxaroth roared in challenge.
The fight to the death began.
And somewhere behind the veil of it all, Xavier smiled.
The sky tore apart as light and shadow clashed in a cataclysmic display above Philippine Hunter University.
Grim, bolstered by the last fragment of the Bakunawa's divine will and riding the full manifestation of the Minokawa, was no longer the overwhelmed freshman hunter from days past. The Minokawa dove with cosmic precision, its wings blinding with radiance, colliding with Nyxaroth's enormous, twisted form.
The impact cracked the heavens.
Nyxaroth retaliated with celestial shrieks that bent sound and space. With every blow exchanged, ripples of power warped the ground below. Trees turned to ash. Buildings shattered. The surrounding barrier, created by Nyxaroth's oppressive aura, pulsed like a living heartbeat—sealing the battle away from the rest of the world.
Despite the divine might he wielded, Grim's body screamed in agony. His muscles tore. His blood evaporated under strain. The tattoo of the Bakunawa pulsed violently with each summoning chant he whispered through gritted teeth. His soul was being stretched thin between dimensions—between who he was and who he was becoming.
Below, the three S-rank hunters regrouped—bloodied but alive. Dean Rizalde, wrapped in makeshift bindings and scorched armor, stood beside them. Isadora raised her flaming sigils once more, Aurelio blurred through broken terrain, and Rael summoned titanic fists of compressed gravity to pummel Xavier's remaining elite guards.
The Crimson Crescent continued their assault, aiming not for conquest—but for destruction.
Their mission was clear: kill the Prime Summoner, and ensure Nyxaroth becomes a permanent force of annihilation. They didn't expect Grim to hold out this long.
On the university grounds, professors and professional hunters fought to evacuate the students. The once-pristine campus was now a battlefield—its training arenas turned to craters, classrooms reduced to rubble, and sacred halls now covered in scorched earth and void-born taint.
Above it all, Elyse watched Grim from afar—her hands glowing with unstable gravitational energy, her eyes trembling. She had reached him before he soared, touched his shoulder, called his name through the veil of battle.
And now she could only believe.
Grim tightened his grip on the Minokawa's feathers. As Nyxaroth lunged for the final blow—its void maw wide and its celestial chains breaking—Grim whispered something only the wind heard.
"I'll carry this weight."
And with one final chant, he plunged his blade—infused with the Minokawa's solar essence—straight into Nyxaroth's eye.
The explosion that followed silenced the world.
A blinding dome of light erupted from the sky, engulfing the barrier, the beast, and Grim.
Everything went white.
And then—nothing.
When the light cleared, Nyxaroth was gone. The barrier had shattered. Rain began to fall gently across the ruins of PHU.
But Grim… was nowhere to be seen.
Elyse fell to her knees, staring at the empty sky where he vanished. The tattoo of the Bakunawa on her hand—the one left from when she held him—glowed faintly. A silent heartbeat.
Dean Rizalde stood slowly, injured but vigilant. Xavier was nowhere to be found. The Crimson Crescent had vanished.
For now.
But something told them all…
This was far from over.