The burning football continued to bounce.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Each bounce left a trail of black flames across the grass.
The masked man stood motionless at the opposite end of the field.
His raven-shaped mask reflected the orange glow of the setting sun.
The air itself felt heavier.
McCall instinctively stepped in front of Adrian.
“Who is he?”
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“One of the Ravens.”
“The real ones.”
McCall frowned.
“What do you mean ‘the real ones’?”
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he slowly removed the Brookhaven training jacket he had been wearing.
Beneath it…
A silver emblem shaped like a soaring eagle was stitched onto his shirt.
“I wasn’t sent here to hunt you.”
“I was sent to protect you.”
McCall stared at him.
“…Protect me?”
The Raven laughed.
The sound echoed unnaturally across the empty stadium.
“So the Eagles finally revealed themselves.”
He spun the burning football on one finger.
“You people are always late.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Leave.”
The Raven tilted his head.
“You know I can’t.”
“My orders are simple.”
He pointed at McCall.
“Capture the Successor.”
“If necessary…”
He squeezed the football.
“…break him.”
McCall felt cold sweat run down his neck.
The First King’s warning had come true.
This wasn’t a football match.
It was a hunt.
At the edge of the field…
Coach Williams was locking the equipment shed.
He suddenly stopped.
“What…”
He looked toward the training pitch.
For a split second…
He thought he saw black fire.
Then it vanished.
He rubbed his eyes.
“Must be the sunset.”
Unaware of what was truly happening, he continued toward the parking lot.
Back on the field…
The Raven tossed the football high into the air.
It disappeared into the clouds.
McCall looked up.
“Where did it—”
BOOM!!
The ball came crashing back down like a meteor.
Adrian shoved McCall aside.
“Dodge!”
The burning football slammed into the ground.
The impact blasted dirt and grass in every direction.
A crater nearly two meters wide appeared where McCall had been standing.
McCall’s eyes widened.
“If that had hit me…”
“I’d be dead.”
The Raven smiled beneath his mask.
“Good reflexes.”
“But let’s see how long they last.”
He sprinted forward.
His speed was unbelievable.
Even faster than Ethan. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Faster than anyone McCall had ever seen.
The System flashed urgently.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
WARNING
Opponent Rank:
Raven Hunter
Estimated Strength:
Far Above Host
Recommended Action:
RETREAT
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
McCall clenched his fists.
“I can’t beat him…”
Adrian stood in front of him.
“You don’t have to.”
“You run.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll hold him.”
The Raven laughed again.
“Hold me?”
He vanished.
Adrian’s eyes widened.
“Behind!”
McCall spun around just in time to see the Raven’s foot flying toward his chest.
Instinct took over.
He trapped the incoming football with the inside of his boot.
BOOM!
The force launched him backward across the field.
He rolled several times before crashing into the goalpost.
Pain shot through his entire body.
“Cough!”
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
The Raven stopped moving.
“…Interesting.”
“You blocked it.”
McCall slowly stood.
His legs trembled violently.
Every muscle screamed in pain.
The System appeared once more.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Passive Skill Activated
King’s Instinct
Duration:
3 Seconds
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Warm energy flowed through McCall’s body.
His breathing steadied.
The First King’s voice echoed clearly.
“Never fight a stronger opponent with strength…”
“Fight with your mind.”
McCall looked around the field.
His eyes scanned every detail.
The goalposts.
The cones.
Loose footballs.
Training mannequins.
An idea formed.
He smiled.
The Raven noticed.
“You’re smiling?”
“You should be terrified.”
McCall picked up a nearby football.
“No…”
“I’m thinking.”
The Raven frowned.
McCall kicked the ball hard toward the equipment rack.
It wasn’t aimed at the Raven.
It struck a pile of footballs.
Dozens rolled across the field.
Everywhere.
The Raven clicked his tongue.
“A distraction?”
McCall kicked another ball.
Soon nearly thirty footballs covered the pitch.
The Raven’s vision became cluttered.
For the first time…
He hesitated.
Adrian immediately understood.
“He isn’t trying to win…”
“He’s trying to escape.”
“Run!”
Adrian shouted.
McCall sprinted.
The Raven roared.
“You little—”
He chased after McCall.
But the scattered footballs slowed him down just enough.
Adrian intercepted him.
Their legs collided.
BOOM!
The shockwave shattered the nearest goalpost.
McCall didn’t look back.
He ran with everything he had.
Across the empty parking lot.
Past the gymnasium.
Toward the woods behind the school.
His lungs burned.
His legs felt heavy.
Yet he kept running.
Behind him…
Explosions echoed through the evening air.
Inside the forest…
McCall finally stopped beside a small creek.
He leaned against a tree.
His breathing was completely out of control.
“What…”
“…is happening to my life?”
Just a week ago…
His biggest worry had been making the football team.
Now…
Masked hunters with supernatural powers were trying to capture him.
A rustle came from the bushes.
McCall immediately grabbed a fallen branch.
“Who’s there?”
A familiar voice answered.
“Relax.”
Adrian stepped into the clearing.
His clothes were torn.
A cut ran across his cheek.
Blood dripped from his fingers.
But he was alive.
“The Raven escaped.”
McCall lowered the branch.
“You fought him alone?”
Adrian nodded.
“For as long as I could.”
McCall stared at him.
“You really weren’t lying.”
“No.”
Adrian sat on a nearby rock.
“My organization…”
“…the Eagles…”
“We’ve protected the Legacy for centuries.”
McCall slowly sat opposite him.
“Then tell me everything.”
Adrian looked into the flowing water.
“I will.”
“But once you hear the truth…”
“…your life will never be normal again.”
Before McCall could answer…
A single black feather drifted down from the trees above.
It landed between them.
Both boys looked up.
High among the branches…
Two glowing crimson eyes watched silently before disappearing into the darkness.
The Raven…
Had never stopped hunting.