Before the Storm Breaks
The night settled over Arclight like a heavy shroud, though no one truly slept. The streets buzzed with hurried footsteps, shifting torches, and whispered rumors spreading like wildfire.
They all revolved around a single name.
Rengoku Hayate.
He walked through the damaged main avenue accompanied only by Flare, who darted in nervous circles around him.
"They're all staring again… but this time it's different."
Hayate could feel it too.
Not fear.
Not curiosity.
Expectation.
The citizens were waiting for him to stand against the coming threat—even if they didn't fully understand why he would.
The royal family was sending their strongest.
The king himself.
Flare landed lightly against his shoulder.
"You should rest, at least for a bit. The king won't arrive right away… probably…"
Hayate stopped walking.
A powerful pressure brushed against his senses—faint, distant, but unmistakable.
"He's already on the way."
Flare jolted upright. "W–WHAT!? But the capital is days away!"
"He's moving quickly."
No—moving was the wrong word.
He was tearing through the land like a beast scenting prey.
Hayate looked toward the northern gates.
"Let's return to the Association. I don't want civilians caught in what comes next."
Flare followed as he resumed walking.
"Hayate… do you think he'll attack immediately?"
"That depends on the king."
"Do you think he will?"
Hayate answered without hesitation.
"Kings trust power. They do not trust what they cannot control."
Flare grimaced. "So… yes."
Hayate said nothing.
But they both knew.
Yes.
A Kingdom Trembles
Inside the Adventurer Association, the air was different. Adventurers were restless, tense, shaken.
Hayate's entry silenced the entire hall.
Some stepped back.
Some bowed like they weren't supposed to.
Some stared at him with trembling awe.
The Guildmaster, an elderly woman with silver hair tied into a braid, approached him with a cane.
"You've stirred up a storm, young man."
Hayate shrugged slightly. "The kingdom stirred it themselves."
"Hmph. Spoken like someone who doesn't care about politics."
Her voice lowered.
"Listen carefully. The king coming this far means only one thing—he either wants to recruit you or eliminate you. There is no middle ground."
Flare shivered. "See, Hayate? SOME people know how scary kings are!"
Hayate met the Guildmaster's gaze calmly.
"I'll deal with him."
The old woman studied him… then sighed deeply.
"Just try not to destroy my Association while doing it."
Hayate didn't make promises.
He simply moved to the back training yard, the largest space available, and sat cross-legged in the darkness.
He closed his eyes.
Flare hovered above him, casting a small, warm glow.
"You're preparing?"
"Yes."
He submerged into the quiet.
Into the Devouring Star's pulse.
Into the growing hunger that refused to sleep.
Tonight, he would need to force it into obedience.
King Aldric Arrives
Hours later…
A vibration rippled through the ground.
Not footsteps.
Not horses.
Not carriages.
Something far more primal.
Flare bolted upright.
"HAYATE. HAYATE. HAYATE—HE'S HERE."
Hayate opened his eyes.
He stood up slowly.
A heavy, oppressive aura rolled across the city like a black tide. Even the air seemed to shrink back, fleeing from its weight.
Voices erupted from outside the Association.
"The king! The king is here!"
"Get off the street—move!"
"The First Knight Battalion! They're actually here!"
Hayate stepped out into the open courtyard.
The sky above Arclight darkened—not from clouds, but from the formation descending upon the city. A massive obsidian airship carved with lion emblems drifted over the plaza, eclipsing moonlight.
Its hull glimmered with layered defensive barriers—kingdom-grade, reinforced by runes from the royal magi.
The ship lowered slowly, silent despite its size.
And standing at the bow, cloak billowing, was the man himself.
Aldric Leonheart.
The Black Lion King.
His presence commanded instinctive submission. His golden eyes scanned the ruined city with sharp intelligence, while the pressure of his aura sent many to their knees.
Flare hid behind Hayate's neck.
"Hayate… w–why is he so strong!? That aura… it's like a walking natural disaster!"
Hayate's eyes narrowed slightly.
"He cultivates a divine martial body."
"…What?"
"No ordinary king could release an aura like this."
Aldric stepped off the airship, landing on the ground without a sound.
Dozens of royal knights flanked him, forming a protective crescent.
But the king raised a hand.
"Stand down."
The entire battalion froze.
Aldric's gaze locked onto Hayate, unblinking, sharp, evaluating.
"You are Rengoku Hayate."
Hayate said nothing.
Aldric continued.
"You resisted my Inquisition. You withstood holy suppression. You shattered divine binding magic. You negotiated with my general. You challenged my authority."
His lips curved slightly—neither a smile nor a threat.
"Interesting."
Flare whispered, trembling.
"Oh no… oh no, that's the voice of someone deciding whether to hire you or kill you…"
The King's First Question
Aldric stopped five paces away.
His aura pressed down like a mountain—but Hayate remained upright.
Unmoved.
Unbroken.
Aldric studied him with visible intrigue.
"Tell me, Hayate… do you intend to harm my kingdom?"
"No."
"Do you intend to conquer it?"
"No."
"What do you seek?"
Hayate answered without hesitation.
"To walk freely."
Aldric's expression shifted.
Not anger.
Not surprise.
But recognition.
"Power without ambition. Strength without greed. Freedom without allegiance."
He exhaled slowly.
"That kind of man is rare. And dangerous."
Hayate tilted his head slightly.
"Only to those who want to control me."
The knights behind the king stiffened.
But Aldric lifted a hand—calm, commanding.
"You misunderstand, Hayate. I am not your enemy."
Flare whispered, "Then why does it feel like he's about to punch a mountain in half?"
Hayate didn't respond.
Neither did the king.
The tension grew.
The air thickened.
And then—
"Still… there is one thing I must know."
Aldric raised his right arm.
Power flooded the plaza.
"Are you stronger than me?"
Flare screamed.
"HAYATE HE'S GOING TO TEST YOU THE ROYAL WAY—WITH A PUNCH TO THE FACE—"
The Black Lion's Strike
Aldric's fist blurred.
Not telegraphed.
Not winding up.
Just pure, trained, devastating speed.
A blow that could crater stone walls, cleave through monsters, split the ground.
He struck toward Hayate's chest.
Fast.
Direct.
Absolute.
Hayate met the punch with his palm.
The collision erupted with force enough to blast wind across the plaza, scattering debris, knocking knights to their knees.
But Hayate didn't move an inch.
Aldric's eyes widened slightly.
"…You blocked it."
Hayate lowered his hand.
"You tested me."
"And you passed."
The king pulled back his fist and stood straight again.
But the air around him trembled.
He was smiling.
"Very well."
He raised his voice.
"Hear this, knights of the royal battalion!"
Hundreds of armored fists slammed against chests in unison.
"Rengoku Hayate is not a threat to the crown."
Gasps spread through the gathering crowd.
"On the contrary…"
Aldric's golden eyes glowed like twin suns.
"He is an asset our kingdom cannot afford to lose."
Flare's jaw dropped.
"W–wait… is he—IS HE TRYING TO RECRUIT YOU!?"
The king continued.
"Hayate. I offer you a place in my kingdom. Land. Title. Resources. Authority. Protection. Whatever you desire."
Hayate stared at him silently.
Aldric finished with a calm, deadly certainty:
"Swear allegiance to me."
The King's Mistake
For the first time since his arrival, Hayate spoke with a shift of tone.
A colder one.
"I do not kneel."
The entire plaza froze.
Even the air held its breath.
Aldric's expression didn't change.
But his aura did.
Pressure surged—doubling, tripling, darkening the air like a black sun.
Knights trembled.
Citizens collapsed.
Flare turned pale.
"Oh no… OH NO… Hayate you just said the anti-king sentence—"
The king stepped forward.
"You refuse my offer?"
Hayate: "Yes."
"You refuse my authority?"
"Yes."
"You refuse the crown itself?"
Without hesitation.
"Yes."
Aldric's aura exploded.
But Hayate remained unshaken.
Aldric slowly nodded.
"…I see."
His voice lowered to a level only Hayate could hear.
"A man who kneels cannot devour the heavens."
Hayate's eyes sharpened. "You're not angry."
"No."
The king looked almost satisfied.
"Now I know exactly what you are."
He turned, cloak billowing like a storm.
Then, aloud so the entire city could hear:
"Rengoku Hayate—"
Every knight lifted their weapons.
Every citizen held their breath.
Flare fainted mid-air.
The king finished:
"—from this moment on, you are under royal observation."
Hayate blinked. "Observation?"
Flare woke up suddenly. "NOT EXECUTION!? NOT IMPRISONMENT!?"
Aldric pointed toward the airship.
"I will not attempt to leash you. That would be pointless. Instead… I will watch you. If you continue to grow without turning your blade toward the kingdom, I will not oppose you."
He turned his back.
"But if you threaten my people—"
The king's aura sharpened like a blade.
"I will crush you myself."
Hayate met his gaze without fear.
"That day will not come."
Aldric smirked faintly.
"We shall see."
After the Storm
As the king boarded the airship again, the entire battalion marched behind him.
Not one attacked.
Not one challenged.
Not one questioned.
The city exhaled collectively when the shadows of the royal forces finally disappeared.
Flare flopped onto Hayate's shoulder like a dying sparrow.
"Hayate… I aged five hundred years today…"
Hayate didn't respond.
He looked toward the distant horizon where the king vanished.
The balance between them had been established.
Neither allies.
Nor enemies.
Just two forces walking the same land.
Two predators acknowledging the other.
Flare tugged on his sleeve.
"What are you thinking?"
Hayate answered quietly.
"The king is stronger than I expected."
Flare nodded nervously. "Yeah… he's tough…"
"But I can surpass him."
Flare did a double take.
"I— what?"
Hayate's eyes glowed faintly with the Devouring Star's pulse.
"He is the mountain.
I am the storm."
The city lights flickered in the darkness.
The Royal Hunt was no longer just the king hunting him.
It had become mutual.
Both sides watching.
Both sides preparing.
Both sides growing stronger.
but all this was only the beginning.