The fog clung to the trees like a suffocating blanket. Shadows of the robed hunters moved with sinister intent, circling the clearing where Renkai had first emerged. Their leader, tall and imposing, stepped forward, voice cutting through the mist:
> "Give her to us. Now."
Renkai's amber eyes blazed, pupils narrowing. Every muscle in his body coiled like a spring ready to snap. His tail twitched with restrained fury, every instinct screaming with one message: no one will touch her.
> "Never," he growled, voice low and deadly.
In an instant, his body began to shift. Fur sprouted along his arms and back, ears elongating to sharp points. His nails lengthened into curved, gleaming claws. A faint ethereal glow shimmered around him as his human strength fused with his fox-spirit power. He was no longer simply Renkai — he was predator, warrior, and avenger all in one.
