Devin watched Jett's blazing blue eyes with detached interest. "I really hoped this would be easy," he commented.

Suddenly, Jett disappeared in a flash of blue light and reappeared mid-air, delivering a kick aimed at Devin’s chest. With lightning-fast reflexes, Devin caught Jett’s leg effortlessly.

"Predictable," Devin remarked, before swinging Jett away. Jett slammed into the wall, groaning in pain.

Devin slowly walked towards Jett. "You’re bothersome. So very bothersome," he mused, as Jett scrambled to his feet.

Jett locked eyes with Devin. "Can’t you just get lost?"

Devin sighed, then shook his head. "I wish I could," he replied. With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a massive blast of void energy toward Jett. The dark energy crackled menacingly as it raced forward.

Jett disappeared in a flash of blue light, narrowly escaping the oncoming blast. He reappeared behind Devin, aiming another kick at his back. This time, Jett could land the hit on Devin, causing Devin to stumble forward.

Devin quickly regained his balance, then turned to face Jett. "Your moves are too predictable. If that's all you've got, you’re not going to last much longer," he chided, almost bored.

Suddenly, darkness swirled around Devin as his eyes glowed with an ominous black light. He stretched his hand towards Jett, and before Jett could react, darkness surrounded him.

Jett could no longer think straight as struggled against the crushing force of the void. It was as if he were being pulled in all directions at once, disorienting and suffocating.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Devin taunted. "You’re nothing but a speck in the void—my void."

Jett gritted his teeth, struggling against the crushing weight of the void. He tried to teleport, but he couldn’t.

"You can't teleport if there's no space to fold," Devin sneered.

Jett struggled to stay conscious; the disorienting effects of the void pushed him to his limits. Not only was the void disorienting, it was also suffocating. Jett knew he would pass out if he did not act quickly. He racked his brain for a solution, but he could not think straight.

Then, an idea struck him. Jett’s ring suddenly shone blue as Jett focused on his powers. The air around Jett shimmered blue. With a smile, Jett disappeared from the void and entered his pocket dimension.

"Where the hell did he go?" Devin exclaimed.

As soon as Devin released the void, Jett re-emerged from his pocket dimension, catching Devin off guard. With a burst of speed, Jett delivered a swift kick to Devin’s face. Devin staggered back, spitting out a mixture of blood and saliva.

Devin wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "It's pitiful," he sneered.

"What are you talking about?" Jett asked.

Devin’s eyes suddenly flashed black. "You wield one of the most powerful rings in existence, and yet you can't even use it to its full potential. What a waste."

Suddenly, the air around Jett thinned rapidly as Devin created a vacuum. Jett gasped as the oxygen was sucked away, his lungs aching for air. He dropped to his knees, gasping desperately for air.

Devin just stared at Jett with a bored expression. "I'll make this quick," he declared.

Suddenly, Devin disappeared and reappeared in front of Jett with a blur of speed. Before Jett could do anything, Devin delivered punishing blows to Jett from different angles. Jett tried to defend himself, but he could not keep up with Devin’s impressive teleportation abilities.

Jett coughed up blood. The force of Devin’s attacks were too much for him to bear. Eventually, Jett passed out from the pain and lack of air, his body slumping to the ground.

Devin stepped back, staring at Jett with disdain. "Pitiful," he repeated.

Devin was just about to pick up Jett when suddenly, a swarm of millions of drones suddenly burst into the warehouse. The drones moved in a perfect formation, like a mechanical flock of birds, and swiftly surrounded Devin from all sides.

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Devin watched the drones form a tight circle around him. "What the hell is this?" he muttered.

Without warning, the drones emitted a powerful burst of blinding light and deafening sound. He dropped to the ground, clutching his ears as he struggled to regain his senses.

"This is Eric’s doing," Devin muttered through clenched teeth, forcing himself to stand again despite how disoriented he felt. Devin ran towards Jett’s unconscious body, but the drones quickly surrounded him with a glowing purple barrier.

Devin scowled, summoning a large orb of void energy in his palm. He hurled it at the force field, but his attack fizzled into nothingness upon contact.

Eric's voice suddenly crackled through a drone. "It's a negation field, idiot. Your powers won't work on it," he taunted.

Devin glared at the drone, but then, calmly, he said, "Very well, then."

In an instant, Devin teleported to where Jett was, but when he arrived, Jett was gone. Instead, there was a simple note left behind on the cold concrete floor. Devin picked the note and quickly read the message:

"I won’t let you get him that easily. Better luck next time."

Devin clenched the note in fury and his ring glowed black. A sudden surge of dark energy exploded from him, obliterating the entire warehouse around him. Debris and rubble were blown away in all directions.

"The Legion will get Jett, Eric. Even you can't protect him forever."

***

The mysterious man, dressed in a long black coat and wearing a wide-brimmed hat, stood alone on the platform of the old train station. Dust covered the floor, and cobwebs hung from the high wooden beams.

Soon, the mysterious man heard footsteps coming his way. He does not flinch as the person steps closer—a man with bright auburn hair, wearing a tailored suit.

The auburn-haired man brought out a gun and pointed it at the mysterious man’s head. The mysterious man slowly turned to face the auburn-haired man with a smile on his face.

"This is it, Vito," the auburn-haired man said angrily. "The moment I've been waiting for, the moment you've been dreading."

Vito's smile remained as he studied the man in front of him. "Ah, Ray. You finally found me. I have to commend you for your persistence. However, can this wait? I’m in the middle of my preparations for my next hunt."

"To hell with your hunt," Ray snapped, his grip on the gun tightening. "I'll kill you. Because of you, my friends, my brother, my sister... they're all gone. But you got what you wanted, didn't you? That thing you were hunting three years ago."

Vito tilted his head slightly. "Did I now? Perhaps you give me too much credit." He paused. "Or perhaps not enough."

Ray's patience wore thin. "I didn't come here to listen to your nonsense, Vito."

Vito pressed on, ignoring Ray's outburst. "Tell me, Ray, what do you think I was hunting three years ago? What did you think I was after?" he asked, almost mockingly.

Ray's voice rose in anger. "I don't care!"

"Then go ahead, Ray. Pull the trigger. But ask yourself this: Are you certain it will end the way you think it will?"

Ray hesitated for a moment, Vito’s words made him have doubts. However, his anger outweighed his reason, and he raised the gun, aiming it directly at Vito's forehead. He pulled the trigger. The shot rang out, echoing in the empty station.

The bullet hit Vito square in the forehead, but nothing happened. Vito remained standing, a smile still on his lips.

"What... How...?" Ray wondered in disbelief.

Vito chuckled softly. "Oh, Ray. If only you knew. The thing I was hunting three years ago... it changed me in ways you can't even imagine." Vito calmly reached up and removed the bullet from his forehead, letting it fall to the ground with a soft clink.

Ray's expression turned to shock. "What... what did you do?"

Vito continued to smile as the wound on his forehead slowly closed by itself. "I knew you'd come for me, Ray. Your need for revenge was inevitable. So I decided to use you to test if my hunt three years ago was worth it… and as you can see, it was."

Ray stood speechless. Before he could process the situation further, Vito swiftly drew a knife from his coat and plunged it into Ray’s chest. Ray's breath caught in his throat, and he fell to the ground, gasping for air.

Vito knelt beside Ray and whispered coldly, "You were never going to win, Ray. This was always how it was going to end. I’m a master of the hunt.” As Ray struggled for his last breaths, Vito collected the gun from Ray's trembling hand and shot him in the head.

With a satisfied smile, Vito leaned in and whispered, “Checkmate,” before standing up, adjusting his hat, and walking away from the lifeless body.

***

Eric drove his car along a narrow, winding country road, flanked by dense trees and underbrush on both sides. The headlights of the car barely made the road visible. It was quiet, save for the hum of the engine and the occasional hoot of an owl in the distance.

In the backseat, Jett slowly regained consciousness. His head ached, and he could feel bruises forming across his body from the earlier fight with Devin. He glanced around the car, his senses gradually returning. He saw the dark, quiet road through the windows and the reflection of Eric’s stern face in the rearview mirror.

Jett was about to speak when Eric cut him off abruptly. "Don't say anything, or you'll make me even more pissed than I already am," Eric warned.

Jett knew better than to test Eric's patience at that moment. He closed his mouth and looked out the window instead, his mind drifting back to the events that had led him to this point. He couldn't shake the image of Mick's death from his mind, the way he had watched helplessly as Liam took his friend's life. Guilt washed over him as he realized Eric had been right.

He tried to hold back the tears, but they welled up in his eyes nonetheless. He wiped them away quickly, trying to hide his emotions from Eric.

Despite how bitter he felt, Jett was grateful that Eric had come to his rescue. Even though he did not deserve to be saved, Eric had come for him nonetheless.

"Thanks, Eric," Jett muttered softly under his breath.

The car continued its journey through the night; the road stretching endlessly before them. As Jett stared out into the darkness, he grew tired and slowly drifted off to sleep.