Chapter 22 - The hunt begins

The moment Kael stepped outside the inheritance chamber, he knew something was wrong.

The forest was silent.

Not peaceful.

Silent.

No insects.

No distant howls.

Not even the sound of wind moving through the trees.

Kael stopped walking.

His hand slowly moved toward the Darven katana.

Nightfang was nowhere to be seen.

That was the first problem.

The second was the System.

Usually, it gave him information.

This time—

nothing.

No warning.

No threat notification.

No monster readings.

Nothing.

Kael frowned.

“System?”

Silence.

He tried again.

“Threat Analysis.”

Nothing happened.

Kael's expression became serious.

That's never happened before.

Then he noticed something on the ground.

Footprints.

Nightfang's.

Kael crouched beside them.

There were dozens.

All heading toward the same direction.

But none were coming back.

Kael stood.

“Nightfang…”

A faint metallic sound came from behind him.

Kael spun around.

His Darven SR-01 rose into the air.

The rifle aimed toward the trees.

Nothing.

Then—

Click.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

That wasn't a monster.

It sounded like metal.

He activated Metal Control.

The forest responded.

Not naturally.

Something metallic was buried beneath the ground.

Kael pulled.

The earth cracked open.

A small metal cylinder rose from beneath the soil.

Kael stared at it.

The object was ancient.

Black.

And engraved with the Darven crest.

The same crest as his katana.

He touched it.

[Unknown Darven Artifact detected.]

[Artifact Grade: D]

[Function: Message Storage]

Kael activated it.

A holographic projection appeared.

His father.

Kael froze.

“Father?”

The projection was damaged.

His father's face flickered.

“If you're seeing this…”

Static interrupted the recording.

“…then the Fifth Gate has awakened.”

Kael's breathing stopped.

His father looked exhausted.

Not like the man from the crystal recording.

This recording had been made much later.

His father continued.

“There is something I need you to understand.”

The image distorted.

“The attack on our family…”

Static.

“…was not caused by the Northern Empire.”

Kael's eyes widened.

“What?”

His father's voice returned.

“They were there.”

The projection flickered.

“But they were not the ones who ordered it.”

Kael's hands clenched.

“Then who?”

His father's expression became grim.

“I don't know.”

The recording suddenly stabilized.

“But I know what they were looking for.”

His father looked directly toward the recording crystal.

“They weren't searching for our weapons.”

A pause.

“They weren't searching for our wealth.”

Another pause.

“They were searching for you.”

Kael froze.

The recording ended.

Silence returned.

For several seconds, Kael didn't move.

Then—

[Bloodline Resonance detected.]

Kael's eyes widened.

The black metal bullet in his pocket was glowing.

He pulled it out.

The moment it touched the air—

BOOM!

A shockwave exploded through the forest.

Kael was thrown backward.

He hit the ground and rolled several meters.

His shoulder slammed against a tree.

“Ah!”

He immediately got back up.

His weapons rose around him.

MP-01.

SR-01.

GL-02.

The katana.

All four weapons pointed toward the forest.

Something was coming.

Then he heard it.

A growl.

Not from one creature.

From dozens.

Red eyes appeared between the trees.

Kael slowly counted them.

Ten.

Twenty.

Thirty.

More kept appearing.

His expression darkened.

Then one creature stepped into the moonlight.

Kael recognized it.

Crimson Ironhide Stalker.

But it was different.

Its body was covered with black metallic veins.

The crimson mark on its chest had expanded.

[Threat Analysis.]

For the first time since leaving the inheritance chamber, the System responded.

[Species: Ironhide Stalker — Variant]

[Level: 17]

[Grade: Rare]

[Potential: Lord]

[Traits: Adaptive Armor, Metal Devouring, Blood Tracking]

[Additional Trait: Darven Hunter]

Kael's expression changed.

“Darven Hunter?”

The creature opened its mouth.

And spoke.

“Found.”

Kael's blood ran cold.

Then dozens of creatures emerged behind it.

Nightfangs.

Ironhide Stalkers.

Crimson Claw Wolves.

Even creatures Kael had never seen before.

They weren't attacking.

They were surrounding him.

Kael slowly looked around.

“So that's what the message meant.”

The masked figure had said it.

Reach ten percent.

The voice beneath the chamber had said it.

That's when the real hunt begins.

Kael smiled.

Not because he was confident.

Because he finally understood.

“I'm not being hunted because I'm weak.”

The Crimson Ironhide Stalker took a step forward.

Kael raised his weapons.

“I'm being hunted because somebody is afraid of what I'll become.”

The creature suddenly charged.

Kael fired the SR-01.

The shot struck its shoulder.

The creature staggered.

Kael immediately switched to the MP-01.

A burst of magical rounds forced the surrounding creatures backward.

Then—

the forest exploded into movement.

Kael ran.

Not toward them.

Away.

He knew he couldn't defeat this many enemies.

Not yet.

He sprinted between the trees while controlling his weapons behind him.

The GL-02 fired.

A magical explosion forced several monsters to retreat.

Kael turned sharply.

The SR-01 fired again.

Then he heard something.

A familiar voice.

“Kael!”

He stopped.

Nightfang.

The Golden-Eyed Nightfang was standing on a fallen tree.

But it was injured.

Its fur was dirty.

One of its eyes was partially closed.

Kael's expression changed.

“Nightfang!”

“Don't come here!”

Kael froze.

Nightfang looked behind him.

“They're not hunting you.”

“What?”

“They're herding you.”

Kael's blood ran cold.

Nightfang pointed toward the northern forest.

“They're driving you somewhere.”

Kael looked ahead.

The monsters behind him weren't chasing randomly.

They were controlling his path.

Every time he changed direction—

another group appeared.

They were forcing him north.

Toward something.

Nightfang's voice became urgent.

“Kael!”

“What is there?”

Nightfang hesitated.

Then it said something Kael never expected.

“The place where the first Darven died.”

Kael stopped breathing.

The monsters surrounding them suddenly stopped too.

Every single creature turned toward the north.

Then the forest trembled.

Something enormous moved beneath the ground.

Kael's System activated on its own.

[WARNING.]

[Ancient entity detected.]

[Level: ???]

[Grade: ???]

[Threat: Unmeasurable.]

[Classification: Unknown.]

Kael stared at the message.

The ground split open.

A massive black structure slowly rose from beneath the forest.

Not a monster.

Not a building.

A weapon.

An enormous ancient Darven weapon buried beneath the earth.

Kael stared at it in disbelief.

The structure began glowing crimson.

Then a message appeared across his System.

[Hidden Inheritance: 6%]

[Emergency Event Activated.]

[THE DARVEN HUNT]

[Objective: Survive.]

[Time Limit: 24 Hours.]

[Warning.]

[You are not the only target.]

Kael's eyes widened.

Behind him, the monsters suddenly stopped attacking.

They all looked toward the sky.

Kael followed their gaze.

Something was descending through the clouds.

A black-armored figure.

Silver eyes.

The same mysterious hunter who had tested him before.

But this time—

he wasn't alone.

Five other figures floated behind him.

All wearing different armor.

All carrying different weapons.

And all bearing the same symbol.

A symbol Kael had never seen before.

The figure looked down at Kael.

Then removed his mask.

Kael's eyes widened.

The man's face looked almost exactly like his father's.

The man smiled.

“Hello, Kael.”

Kael couldn't speak.

The stranger continued.

“I am Darven.”

A pause.

“And your father…”

His smile disappeared.

“…was my younger brother.”

Kael's mind went blank.

The forest fell silent.

Then the System displayed one final message.

[Bloodline anomaly detected.]

[Relationship confirmation: High probability.]

[Unknown Darven branch detected.]

[Warning.]

[Host's known family history is incomplete.]

The man looked at Kael.

“Now…”

His eyes turned crimson.

“Let's see what our family created.”