The smoke hadn't lifted when the shadow fell again.
A violent gust rolled through the burning forest, scattering ash and flame like storm rain. Hunnt's head snapped upward, and through the haze, he saw it — the wyvern, descending slow and deliberate, wings spread in full.
It wasn't raining fire this time.
It was coming for them.
Pyro's fur bristled. "Master… it's— it's landing."
Hunnt's breath came uneven, his chest burning. His legs trembled just standing. The skin beneath his armor stung where heat had seared through. They'd been dodging too long — his muscles screamed, his heartbeat felt slow, heavy, and hollow.
The wyvern landed with a sound like thunder, the impact cracking the earth. Its wings folded inward, tail sweeping lazily behind. Fire rolled off its scales, dripping like molten gold. Its eyes — cold, alive, and calculating — fixed on them.
Hunnt lifted his fists, his gauntlets blackened and warped. He could barely feel his fingers. But he stood.
"Pyro," he said, voice gravelly. "Behind me."
Pyro shook his head weakly, sword trembling in his paw. "Nyaa—like hell. I'm staying."
Hunnt almost smiled. "Then don't fall before I do."
The wyvern tilted its head, then moved.
The first claw strike shattered the air. Hunnt barely twisted aside — the wind pressure alone flung him backward. He rolled across the ash, boots carving deep lines in the molten dirt.
"Master!" Pyro darted forward, leaping high, his small blade striking at the creature's leg. Sparks flew — the steel barely scratched it. The wyvern's tail lashed sideways, striking Pyro midair.
"Pyro!"
The impact sent the Palico tumbling across the ground. He hit hard, shield skidding across the dirt. His ears rang, vision spinning.
Hunnt pushed himself up and ran — every muscle screaming, every step slower than it should be.
The creature swung again — a low, sweeping claw. Hunnt threw his arms up. "Tekkai!"
The blow hit like a collapsing wall. The ground cracked beneath him. His stance held, but the impact sent white-hot pain through his body. Blood rose in his throat; he coughed and spat red into the dirt.
He stumbled backward, body trembling. "Still standing," he muttered.
The wyvern reared back, exhaling hard, as if unimpressed. Then it struck again — the ground shaking under its weight.
Hunnt tried to use Soru but his legs buckled halfway through. He moved, but too slow. The tail came next — he didn't see it, only felt it — a crushing blow that tore through the air and hurled him across the clearing.
He hit a scorched tree and collapsed to one knee.
I can't move…
Pyro crawled toward him, one paw clutching his ribs. "Master! Get up, nya!"
Hunnt's breath rattled. His body wouldn't obey. His vision dimmed at the edges. He saw the creature's shadow loom over them — massive, silent, merciless.
It lowered its head. The light began to glow again inside its throat.
No fire this time, Hunnt realized distantly. It's going to eat me.
He tried to stand, but his legs refused.
The world around him blurred — heat, noise, fire — all fading into a dull roar.
And then — silence.
In that stillness, memories came.
Granpa Dom's voice, low and certain:
"Stand tall, boy. The hunt never forgives hesitation."
Granma Mel's gentle hands, setting bandages on a boy too stubborn to rest:
"You don't win by force, Hunnt. You win by refusing to give in."
Coerl's hammer striking the forge, each impact measured and calm:
"Steel breaks when you rush it. So does the man holding it."
Corwin's laughter echoing under a starry Ravenshire sky:
"If you can still move your fists, you haven't lost."
Elara's smile, quiet and knowing:
"The fire in you will always burn for others first. That's your strength."
Hunnt blinked. The memories felt so close he could almost touch them. His hands steadied. His heartbeat — once wild and erratic — slowed to a single rhythm.
I'm still breathing.
The wyvern lunged, jaws opening wide, the heat from its mouth blinding.
But Hunnt didn't flinch. He stood.
Something inside him broke — or awoke.
The world shook.
A soundless pulse erupted from him, rippling through the air like a heartbeat too large for one body. The ground cracked outward in a perfect circle. The fire that clung to nearby trees flickered, extinguished by sheer force.
The wyvern froze mid-motion — jaws still open, eyes wide.
Hunnt's gaze lifted slowly, steady, defiant.
He wasn't shouting. He wasn't angry. He simply refused.
"Enough," he whispered.
The pressure deepened — heavy, oppressive, ancient. The very air bent around him.
Pyro gasped, clutching his chest. "Nyaa—! Wh-what is—this?!"
The force hit him like a wave. His knees buckled. His vision blurred. His heart pounded so hard it hurt. The world tilted, sound fading into a low hum.
He dropped to all fours, panting, tail limp. "Master… your… aura…"
The pressure from Hunnt's Conqueror's Haki didn't discriminate — it surged outward in raw, uncontrolled waves. Pyro could feel it crushing the air from his lungs, pressing down on his bones.
He wanted to call out, to tell Hunnt to stop — but his voice wouldn't come. His limbs trembled uncontrollably. The exhaustion from battle mixed with the overwhelming weight of that will.
He collapsed halfway, barely conscious, eyes wide as he watched.
Hunnt's body trembled too — blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, the veins in his arms straining. Yet he stood, eyes fixed on the monster before him.
The wyvern's wings twitched. Its pupils dilated, glowing gold. It made a strangled sound — not rage, but something closer to fear.
The force pressed harder, like an invisible hand gripping the creature's throat.
Hunnt took one step forward. The ground cracked beneath his heel. The wyvern flinched.
"Get out," Hunnt said softly.
The creature recoiled, wings spreading wide. Its tail slammed the ground as it tried to resist, but its body faltered. The oppressive will suffused everything — a primal declaration from something beyond strength or instinct.
It was command.
The wyvern roared once — broken, trembling — then launched upward, crashing through the smoke and into the clouds.
The forest trembled with its departure.
The oppressive silence that followed was deafening.
Pyro gasped for air, the pressure easing but not vanishing. His limbs felt like stone. His heartbeat thudded slow and heavy.
He looked up, barely able to focus. Hunnt still stood, unmoving, the air around him faintly rippling.
"M-Master…" Pyro whispered.
Hunnt didn't reply. His eyes were half-closed now, the haze of exhaustion finally catching him. The last of the pressure faded, vanishing like the dying hum of thunder.
He staggered, knees giving out.
Pyro forced himself upright, stumbling forward to catch him. "Master! Stay with me!"
Hunnt's breathing was shallow but steady. His voice came weak, almost detached. "It's gone…"
Pyro nodded, panting. "Y-yeah… it ran, nya. You… you scared it."
Hunnt's lips twitched — not quite a smile, but close. "Not scared… it just understood."
He exhaled slowly, eyes finally closing. "Next time… it won't be the only one ready."
Pyro clutched him tighter, trembling. The air still tingled faintly, the memory of that crushing will lingering even as silence returned.
He swallowed, whispering through the smoke. "Whatever that was, Master… it wasn't fire. It was you."
The forest smoldered in eerie quiet. Far above, the clouds flickered red one last time before the sky turned dark again.
For a long time, nothing moved.
Then Pyro looked upward — eyes tired, body shaking — and whispered what both of them already knew.
"The hunt's not over, nya… but this time, it's afraid of you."