Morning crept into the forest without warmth.
Mist clung to the ground like a second skin, and the smell of blood still lingered where the corrupted stalker had fallen. Lumo sat against the trunk of an old oak, knees drawn to her chest, watching Fenrir from the corner of her eye.
He hadn't moved since dawn.
The great wolf lay at the forest's edge, half in shadow, half in light. His breathing was slow, measured—but the corruption marks from the battle hadn't fully faded. Thin black veins still traced faint lines along his leg.
"Does it hurt?" Lumo asked quietly.
Fenrir's ear flicked.
"Pain is familiar," he replied. "What concerns me is what follows it."
Before she could ask what he meant, Beast Sense stirred in her chest.
Not beasts.
Humans.
Her breath hitched.
Footsteps crunched against leaves—careful, disciplined, unhurried. Not the clumsy movement of villagers or travelers. These steps knew how to hide, how to kill.
Fenrir slowly rose to his feet.
"Do not speak," he warned. "They are watching already."
Lumo's heart hammered as she pressed herself closer to the tree.
A man stepped out of the fog.
He wore dark leather armor etched with silver lines, a long spear resting casually against his shoulder. A metal badge hung at his chest-an eye pierced by a blade.
Behind him, three others emerged. A woman with twin short swords. A robed man clutching a crystal focus. And a young archer whose eyes never stopped moving.
Hunters.
"Confirmed," the spearman said calmly. "Residual Authority detected. Stronger than expected."
The woman's gaze locked onto Fenrir. Her smile was sharp. "Mythical signature. Sealed, but alive. That's a fortune walking on four legs."
Lumo's stomach turned.
The robed man frowned. "And the girl?"
Their eyes found her.
Lumo felt naked under their stares—not because she was weak, but because they were measuring her worth.
"Unregistered," the archer said. "No crest. No guild mark."
"Which means," the spearman said, tightening his grip, "no protection."
The system pulsed softly, unseen by the hunters but loud in Lumo's mind.
[Hostile Humans Detected]
Affiliation: Independent Authority Hunters
Threat Level: Extreme (Current State)
Fenrir stepped forward, placing himself fully in front of her.
The woman laughed. "Oh, it's protective. That's adorable."
"Lumo," Fenrir said quietly. "Listen carefully. Humans do not fear what they can name. They will try to own you-or erase you."
The spearman raised his hand. "Easy now. We're not here to kill the girl. Not yet."
He met Lumo's eyes.
"You there," he called. "Release the beast. Walk away. You'll be compensated."
Lumo stood.
Her legs shook, but she stood anyway.
"He's not a beast," she said. Her voice was soft, but it carried. "And I'm not letting him go."
The fog shifted.
The hunters exchanged glances.
The robed man sighed. "That's unfortunate."
The archer loosed an arrow.
It happened in a blink.
Fenrir lunged, the arrow shattering against his shoulder in a burst of sparks. He snarled, power rippling off him in a wave that bent the grass flat.
[Combat State Entered]
Authority under pressure
Seal instability detected
Lumo felt it—something cracking, something old and dangerous pressing against a lock.
"Fenrir, wait!" she shouted.
Too late.
The woman vanished, reappearing behind Fenrir in a flash of steel. Her blades struck-then stopped inches from his fur, frozen in midair.
Lumo didn't remember deciding.
She only remembered the feeling.
Enough.
"Don't move," she said.
The world listened.
[Skill Activated: King's Edict — Unrefined]
Cost: 25 Mana
Effect: Temporary absolute command within a short radius
The hunters staggered.
The spearman dropped to one knee, teeth clenched. The archer collapsed entirely, gasping. Even the robed man struggled to stay upright, his crystal cracking under the pressure.
"What… are you?" the woman whispered, terror finally breaking through her confidence.
Lumo's vision blurred. Blood trickled from her nose.
"I don't know," she admitted. "But I know this-"
She met their eyes, one by one.
"Leave. Now."
Silence stretched.
Then the pressure vanished.
The hunters fled into the fog, dragging the archer with them, fear snapping at their heels.
Lumo swayed.
Fenrir caught her before she fell.
She pressed her forehead against his fur, shaking.
"I didn't want to fight humans," she whispered.
"You did not," Fenrir replied gently. "You defended your crown."
The system flickered weakly.
[Warning]
Authority overuse detected
King's Mark destabilizing
True awakening approaches
Lumo closed her eyes.
She was no longer invisible to the world.
And the world, she was beginning to realize, hunted kings more fiercely than monsters.