[Recap: From Throne to Rift]
When Hayate inherited the Revenant Monarch's Throne, the heavens trembled.
His soul had been reforged in the void, his will fused with an ancient power that once split gods from their altars.
He had awakened as something beyond mortal—a bridge between man and forbidden divinity.
And when he stepped through the rift to return to the mortal realm, the entire cosmic balance shifted.
[System Notice: Dimensional Reentry Successful.]
[Warning: Host identified as "Anomaly – Revenant Successor."]
[Divine Countermeasure: Initiated.]
The heavens had declared war.
[Scene: The Mortal Realm – Broken Lands of Ertheon]
A blinding flash tore through the storm clouds above a ruined plain.
Lightning hissed like serpents as the tear in the sky widened, vomiting golden fire into the world.
Then—he emerged.
Rengoku Hayate landed in a crater, dust and black flames swirling around him. His new armor shimmered with red-gold sigils; the Revenant Sword pulsed in his hand, alive and heavy with celestial resonance.
He exhaled slowly, feeling gravity again, smelling air—burnt, metallic, real.
"Home…" he muttered. "Or what's left of it."
Around him stretched endless ruins: a battlefield turned graveyard, ancient towers split in half, the bones of long-dead titans half-buried in earth.
But before he could take another step—
[System Alert: Divine Energy Signature Detected.]
[Threat Level: Catastrophic.]
Hayate froze. His heartbeat synced with the pulsing of the system interface floating beside him.
"Already?" he said bitterly. "Can't I even breathe first?"
The air twisted—temperature dropping to freezing. The once-dark sky lit up with ribbons of silver and gold.
A single feather drifted down… glowing white. Then another.
And then he descended.
[Entrance: The First Deity Hunter – Seraphel]
He didn't step down.
He manifested.
A tall figure clad in immaculate silver armor appeared in midair, wings of light extending behind him—each feather a blade sharper than time. His face was calm, beautiful, inhuman.
His voice carried across the battlefield like the sound of judgment itself.
"Rengoku Hayate, successor of the Revenant Monarch. By decree of the Celestial Tribunal, you are to be erased."
Hayate tilted his head. "Erased? Not killed?"
The angel's silver eyes didn't blink. "Death would be mercy. Your existence is an error to the divine equation."
He raised a hand. A halo of radiant light formed above his palm, condensing into a spear of pure sanctified flame.
"I am Seraphel—First Deity Hunter, Executor of Heaven's Bounty."
[First Clash]
The ground cracked the moment Seraphel moved. He vanished in a blur of white light.
Hayate barely saw him before the spear smashed into his blade with an explosion that shattered the air.
BOOM!
The shockwave blasted across the ruins, pulverizing stone into dust. Hayate skidded backward, his boots carving trenches into the ground. His arms trembled from the impact—but his eyes burned with defiance.
"So this is heaven's hitman?" he growled. "You hit hard."
Seraphel's wings flared. "You speak too casually for one already condemned."
Hayate smirked. "Condemned or not… you're standing on mortal ground now."
He lunged, black flames spiraling up his sword. The Revenant energy flared—wild, unstable, divine. Their blades met again, and again, sparks of gold and crimson igniting the night sky.
Each swing carried a sonic boom. Each step cracked reality.
[System Update: Combat Synchronization 73%]
[Skill Activation: Celestial Severance – Level 1]
Hayate's sword roared to life, an arc of black-gold energy slicing through Seraphel's barrier and grazing his wing. A streak of divine blood spilled into the air—glowing silver.
For the first time, Seraphel's expression changed.
He looked… surprised.
"You drew blood from an Executor."
"Guess I'm just full of surprises," Hayate shot back.
[Lore & Revelation]
Seraphel landed lightly, his wound already closing with light. "So it's true… you've inherited his essence. The Revenant Monarch's heresy lives again."
Hayate's sword lowered slightly. "You knew him?"
Seraphel's eyes narrowed. "He was once one of us. The brightest among the Celestial Order. Until he defied the Creator."
Hayate frowned. "So he was a god?"
"No," Seraphel said coldly. "He was human—like you. But he reached too far. He tried to drag heaven down to earth. And for that, he was erased."
Hayate's jaw clenched. "Then you erased him. And now you're here to erase me."
Seraphel nodded. "History must not repeat itself."
He lifted his hand again—and the sky split. A hundred golden sigils formed above him, each one summoning a spear of holy light.
"This time, mortal… heaven will not fail."
Hayate laughed softly, the kind of laughter that chills even the divine. "Neither will I."
[Battle Escalation]
The heavens rained spears.
Each impact was an explosion of fire and radiance, turning the ruins into a field of craters. Hayate weaved through the barrage, the world blurring around him.
[Skill Chain: Phantom Step + Dark Reversal]
[Critical Dodge Rate: 96%]
He reappeared behind Seraphel, sword spinning in a reverse arc, catching the angel across the chest.
Light and shadow collided—holy hymns versus vengeful roars.
Every strike of Seraphel's spear sang with divine harmonics; every swing of Hayate's blade echoed with the cries of fallen souls.
They were two forces that shouldn't exist together—and yet they did, clashing with the intensity of creation and destruction intertwined.
"Why do you fight?" Seraphel demanded mid-clash. "You could surrender. The gods might spare your essence."
Hayate's aura exploded, crimson eyes blazing.
"Because I've seen what your gods call mercy."
His blade ignited, black flames wrapping his arm, burning against divine light. "And I refuse to kneel ever again!"
[Turning Point: Heaven's Chains]
Seraphel's wings expanded fully—six radiant arcs spreading across the sky. His body glowed white-hot, his voice booming like a divine verdict.
"Then vanish beneath Heaven's Chains!"
Golden tendrils burst from the sky, spearing into the ground, wrapping around Hayate like living bindings. The pressure crushed the air from his lungs, his armor cracking.
[System Alert: User Restraint Level 87%]
[Warning: Core Stabilization Failing.]
Hayate gritted his teeth, blood dripping from his lip. "Tch… not again."
Seraphel descended slowly, spear aimed at his heart. "It's over, Revenant's Heir. Rest, and let balance be restored."
Then, just before the strike—
[Emergency Override: Revenant Protocol – Unsealed.]
Hayate's eyes snapped open.
Black flames surged through his veins. The bindings shattered like glass.
Seraphel's eyes widened. "Impossible—!"
Hayate roared, his aura exploding in a pillar of crimson-gold light. The ground fractured for miles, the shockwave reaching the horizon.
He appeared behind Seraphel in an instant, his blade glowing with runic energy.
[Skill Activation: Celestial Severance – Level 2.]
"Let's see how heaven bleeds," Hayate whispered.
He swung.
The world split.
Seraphel's barrier shattered; the divine spear cracked in half. The angel was thrown backward, crashing through mountains, golden blood scattering like rain.
[Aftermath: The Hunter's Message]
Seraphel knelt in the debris, coughing blood that shimmered like starlight. He looked up, eyes no longer cold—but solemn.
"You've become… something even the gods will fear."
Hayate's blade pointed at his chest. "Then tell them to stay out of my way."
Seraphel shook his head slowly. "They won't. You've been marked by fate now." He raised a trembling hand. A fragment of light floated between his fingers—a sigil shaped like an eye.
"This… is Heaven's Bounty. The mark of eternal pursuit. Every angel, every divine enforcer, every celestial creature… will now see you as their prey."
The sigil burned through the air and branded itself onto Hayate's left arm.
[New Status: Heaven's Bounty – Active]
[All Divine Beings Will Seek the Host's Termination.]
Hayate stared at the mark, expression unreadable. "Then let them come."
Seraphel smiled faintly. "You sound just like him… the Monarch."
Then his form disintegrated into feathers of light, carried away by the wind.
[System Update]
[Quest Updated: "Heaven's Bounty"]
Objective: Survive the next celestial descent.
Reward: ??? (Hidden)
Penalty: Permanent Erasure.
Hayate looked up at the sky, where the clouds were slowly reforming, golden lightning crawling across the heavens.
He sighed, lowering his sword. "So this is what it means to be the Revenant's Heir…"
Then he smirked. "Fine. Let's see how far I can push the gods before they break."
He turned toward the ruins. Somewhere beyond the horizon, he could feel a familiar presence calling to him—one that wasn't divine, but human.
"Time to find the others."
[End of Chapter 44 – Heaven's Bounty: The First Deity Hunter Descends]
[Quest Complete: Divine Clash – Victory Recorded]
[New Title Acquired: Godslayer (Provisional)]
[System Synchronization Increased to 112%]