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Up on the ridge, Gerard Argent stood unmoving, his expression cold, calculating.
The black coffin behind him finally a black coffin
Inside rested a massive weapon.
Not mystical.
Not magical.
Pure engineering.
The battlefield paused again.
Not completely.
But enough.
Arthur felt it first.
Even before it fully opened.
Even before anything emerged.
A pressure.
His newly awakened senses sharpened instantly, reacting on instinct.
His crimson eyes snapped toward the ridge.
"…What now?"
The creature beneath him struggled violently, claws tearing into the earth, but Arthur barely registered it anymore.
Because something else—
Something worse—
Was coming.
Smoke drifted across the battlefield.
Broken trees.
Spent bullets.
Blood staining the forest floor.
In the center of it all stood Arthur.
His chest rose and fell slowly as crimson eyes scanned the hunters surrounding the clearing.
The white strands in his hair had spread further now, glimmering faintly under the moonlight that finally broke through the clouds above Beacon Hills.
"Proceed," he ordered.
The hunters hesitated only for a second.
Then the final locks disengaged.
CLACK.
CLACK.
CLACK.
The lid of the black coffin slowly lifted.
Darkness spilled out first.
Not shadow.
Not absence of light.
But something thick.
Heavy.
The black coffin behind him finally opened completely.
A heavy harpoon launcher built from reinforced steel and hydraulic systems.
Attached to the weapon was a spear nearly two meters long.
Barbed.
Weighted.
Connected to a thick cable spool mounted inside the coffin.
A hunter stared at it nervously.
"…You want to fire that at the kid?"
Gerard didn't look away from Arthur.
"Yes."
His voice was flat.
"Do not kill him."
The hunter hesitated.
"That spear can punch through a tungsten engine block."
Gerard's expression didn't change.
"Then aim carefully."
Below—
Arthur flexed his fingers.
Something felt different.
The moon had climbed higher now.
And every instinct inside his body felt sharper.
His hearing expanded.
He could hear the hunters breathing.
Hear Derek's heartbeat.
Hear the wind shifting through the branches.
The Lunar Wolf blood within him reacted quietly to the night.
Arthur tilted his head slightly.
"…We're not done yet, are we?"
Gerard raised his hand.
"Strike team."
Six hunters stepped forward.
Unlike the others, these men moved with practiced discipline.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Their armor was reinforced.
Their weapons specialized.
One carried a shock baton.
Another wielded a short spear tipped with silver.
Two others raised crossbows.
Arthur sighed.
"…Six of you?"
The hunters moved simultaneously.
The crossbows fired first.
Arthur moved instantly.
The bolts flew past his shoulder as he stepped inside their line of attack.
He grabbed the nearest hunter's arm and twisted.
CRACK.
The man screamed as his elbow snapped.
Arthur used the momentum to throw him into another attacker.
A baton swung toward Arthur's head.
Arthur caught the weapon mid-swing.
Then drove his knee into the hunter's stomach.
The man collapsed instantly.
Another hunter rushed from behind.
Arthur ducked.
The silver spear stabbed past his head and lodged into a tree.
Arthur grabbed the shaft and yanked.
The hunter flew forward.
Arthur slammed his elbow into the man's jaw.
CRACK.
The strike team was dismantled within seconds.
But the remaining hunters didn't retreat.
They tightened the circle.
Across the battlefield—
Derek tore through two attackers while Laura dragged an injured Beta away from gunfire.
The Hale pack had joined the battle fully now.
Claws flashed.
Gunshots echoed.
But the hunters were far more organized this time.
This wasn't a simple hunt.
It was a military operation.
Arthur stepped forward again.
Then suddenly—
A massive spotlight turned on.
The black harpoon launcher locked onto him.
Arthur looked up.
"…What the hell is that?"
Gerard gave the command.
"Fire."
The machine roared.
THOOM.
The massive harpoon shot forward like a missile.
Arthur's instincts screamed.
He twisted—
But the spear was too fast. it pierced through his body
"SHIT! AAAACK"
The barbed weapon slammed into the ground beside him and exploded upward through his coat.
The impact pinned him to the earth.
Arthur's eyes widened.
The cable tightened instantly.
"NGGGGGHHUHH"
Hydraulic locks engaged.
Arthur pulled.
The steel cable groaned.
But the barbed spear had buried deep into the ground beneath him.
The restraint wasn't magical.
It was pure mechanical force.
Gerard stepped down from the ridge slowly.
Hunters surrounded Arthur carefully.
Weapons raised.
Arthur tried to move.
The cable pulled tight again.
Arthur frowned.
"…Okay."
"haaaaah...haaaah...haaaah"
He tugged harder.
The steel cable stretched slightly.
But the ground anchor held.
Gerard finally stopped a few meters away.
His eyes studied Arthur carefully.
White hair.
Crimson eyes.
Regenerating wounds.
Strength beyond human limits.
Gerard smiled faintly.
"So the stories were true."
Arthur looked up at him. struggling.
"…so Gerald, the old turtle decided to show his face to me- now that i'm bound to this spear, right?"
Gerard ignored the comment.
"You are something extraordinary, boy."
Arthur rolled his eyes.
"Yeah I hear that a lot today."
Gerard's voice lowered.
"You are the last descendant of the most ancient bloodline on earth."
Arthur blinked.
Gerard continued calmly.
"The Corvinus bloodline."
Several hunters glanced at each other nervously.
Arthur stared at him.
"…You're making that sound important."
Gerard's eyes hardened.
"It is."
He turned slightly toward the hunters.
"Prepare containment transport."
Arthur pulled on the cable again.
Harder this time.
The steel groaned louder.
Gerard noticed.
"…Do not struggle."
Arthur looked back at him.
"…You're kidnapping the wrong kid."
Gerard smiled thinly.
"No."
His voice became cold.
"I believe we captured exactly the right one."
High above the battlefield—
Hidden among the dark branches—
The Guardian watched silently.
The sigil on the back of his hand burned faintly.
"…They moved faster than expected."
Below—
Arthur suddenly stopped pulling.
His crimson eyes looked at the cable again.
Then at the ground anchor.
Then back at Gerard.
"…You know what?"
Arthur smiled fiercely.
"…I think I just figured out how to break this."
Gerard's smile faded.
Arthur's muscles tightened.
The cable began to vibrate violently.
The ground around the harpoon anchor cracked.
Every hunter froze.
Gerard narrowed his eyes.
"…Interesting."
But before Arthur could finish—
Several armored vehicles burst through the forest line.
Reinforcements.
Heavy containment units.
Gerard raised his hand calmly.
"Secure the perimeter."
Arthur stared at the incoming convoy.
Then at the cable pinning him down.
Then back at Gerard.
"…Yeah."
He exhaled slowly.
"…this night just keeps getting worse."
Far above—
The Guardian stepped forward slightly.
For the first time—
He seemed ready to move.