Kaelor stood still, the cold breath misting from his lips, as his gaze swept over the crowd one last time. Their eyes had been full of exhaustion, of quiet accusations.
His eyes returned to the broken hunter.
Hound's body was a ruin, his chest gouged open, his right eye shredded, his breathing wet and shallow. The man was barely holding onto life, and dragging him through the dirt had only made it worse.
He didn't belong on the ground. He belonged on a bed, surrounded by the town he had protected.
"You all saw me arrive," Kaelor muttered, his voice low but firm. "Our carriage was ambushed. My mother was murdered. I've been walking in mud for hours and now stand in a town that was supposed to be mine… I am exhausted."
He gestured to the hunter, his tone tightening. "Take him. Treat his wounds. Bring him to me in the morning, if he survives the night."
But Ned's voice cut through like an axe.
"We don't have the means to heal him. And the wolves aren't waiting. Yesterday, they devoured Josh's son. The day before, we lost six men, eaten alive. The rest came back with half their limbs. Most are dead now."
He turned to the people, though they had already begun to disperse. "We have suffered enough. The Duke doesn't care, neither does his vassals, nor any knight, no help has come."
Then he left, just like that, taking the rest of them with him, as if to make a final statement:
You want to rule? Rule this.
Only the howling wind, the braziers, and the agonized groans of Hound remained.
Kaelor clenched his fists, anger and helplessness churning in his gut.
"He's in pain," Mildred said softly beside him, watching the hunter's chest rise in shallow heaves.
Kaelor glanced at her, only for her next words to chill him further.
"Should I end his life? Make it quick?"
His jaw tightened. "What? No. Can't you heal him?"
Mildred's gaze stayed on Hound. "I don't know healing spells. I never trained at an Arcane academy. I had a teacher once, a stranger who saw my potential. Taught me a little, then vanished. Everything I've done since has been through instinct and trial."
Kaelor gritted his teeth. "Then what do we do when the wolves come again?"
Mildred met his eyes. Her voice was quiet. "We run. We'll be far from this place before that happens. Because when those in power finally consider this a threat, we'll already be bones, picked clean and left to dry."
Kaelor staggered back a step, clutching his head. 'Run? Become a vagabond?'
After everything… would he lose this place before he even had a chance?!
Was this his second life? To die again in a backwater town forgotten by nobles and ruled by monsters?
[Successful Binding! Congratulations, host.]
Kaelor froze.
[You have bonded with the Lord Fusion System. With my aid, you may fuse whatever you desire, as long as you have sufficient Fusion Points (FP).]
[Bonus gift received: 10 FP.]
A glowing interface blinked into his vision, blue and gold, hovering just above reality.
He staggered. "What in the world…"
[Ding!]
[A dying hunter and a Direwolf corpse have been detected.]
[Would you like to attempt a Fusion?]
[Requirement: 10 FP]
Kaelor stared at the man bleeding in the mud…then at the monstrous wolf's corpse lying beside him.
Two broken things.
One chance.
His heart thumped. The cold, the fear, the noise, everything faded. He looked around, making sure everyone was gone before, lowering his eyes to his only chance of survival.
"Fuse." He whispered under his breath.
Mildred looked at him with concern. She didn't know why he exclaimed earlier but before she could ask, blue flames enveloped Hound and the gray wolf.
Both of them levitated and in the next instant collided with each other, causing the flames to flare up, illuminating their faces.
Those already far away halted, their eyes widening at the sight of the flames. They began to make their way back.
By the time the flames died down, half the town had gathered. Their eyes locked on the 1.9 meters tall creature. His body is massive and broad-shouldered, easily towering over most men. Corded muscles ripple beneath a coat of dark, near black skin with fur.
His arms are powerful, veined and thick, ending in large clawed hands that seem designed for both gripping weapons and rending flesh. His chest was wide and deep, rising and falling with a bestial breath. His neck was thick, almost bull-like, supporting the heavy weight of his feral head.
That head is unmistakably lupine, yet twisted beyond nature's design. Elongated snout, dagger-like teeth, and eyes that gleam with cold intelligence. Two erect ears twitching softly.
His legs were reverse-jointed, built like a wolf's hind limbs, ending in wide, clawed feet that can crush bone or propel him forward in devastating bursts of speed. His back arced slightly forward, not hunched, but braced, like a creature permanently ready to pounce.
[You have successfully fully created an Alpha Dreadclaw. A perfect fusion with the intelligence, discipline and wisdom of man with the brute strength and supernaturally gifted body of a monster. Equivalent to an Expert. Loyalty-80%!]
Kaelor blinked, his mind still reeling from what had just happened.
'This… this is real?'
Before him stood a creature no longer entirely man, no longer just Hound. Towering, broad-shouldered, and laced with newfound power, his fused form retained the hunter's muscle but now bore the lethal grace and savagery of a direwolf. Gray fur trailed along his arms and neck. His hands ended in thick claws. His senses were sharper, his posture animalistic, yet composed.
And Kaelor felt it. The sheer pressure emanating from him.
He remembered the combat rankings now, clearer than ever, etched into Kaelor's soul alongside the memories of this world. First, the Novice Rank: the threshold of true martial path. Then the Adept Rank, those who were almost at the peak of human strength. The Expert Rank on the other hand was those who had transcended the human limit. They could leap high, crush boulders and most were able to face ten Adepts alone.
Not a single man in this village had stabilized at the Novice rank. They were farmers and laborers wielding tools, not trained warriors. Against this fused Hound, they were matchsticks before a storm.
"Such power…" Hound rumbled, voice now deeper, more resonant, vibrating in his chest like distant thunder. He clenched one clawed hand into a fist and raised his head toward Kaelor.
"I feel like I've been reborn."
Then, to Kaelor's astonishment, Hound fell to both knees. His massive form bowed with reverence, head lowered.
"Was this… your doing?"
"It was," Kaelor answered, composed but proud. He could feel Mildred's gaze on him, wide-eyed, lips slightly parted in stunned disbelief.
Hound remained kneeling. "Then I owe you everything, My Lord. I offer you my loyalty. May I know the name of the man I now serve?"
A slow smile formed on Kaelor's lips. "Kaelor. Kaelor Dravion."
In that moment, Kaelor truly felt like a lord. For the first time.
Then, like a spear hurled from the crowd, a voice split the night. "What in God's name is this abomination?!"
It was Ned.
The crowd, drawn by the light and noise, stood frozen behind him. Eyes wide. Some holding pitchforks now lowered. Others trembling. Even the children didn't dare speak.
Hound straightened slowly, standing at his full monstrous height. The sight was beautifully terrifying.
"I knew it!" Ned spat, jabbing a finger. "You were cursed from the beginning! You brought ruin on your own mother! And now this?! You dare turn a man into some beast!"
Hound turned his head toward Ned, his eyes cold and primal. "I haven't forgotten," he growled, voice like a distant avalanche. "You dragged me here like some show. Left me to die, bleeding, broken, like I was trash. I always gave you a good portion of my hunt!"
Ned paled, stumbling back a step.
"You see?!" Ned barked, voice shrill now. "He's twisted Hound into something foul! A monster! This… this freak of magic is not natural!"
But Kaelor stepped forward, eyes blazing.
"No. I've given us a way to survive."
He pointed to Hound, voice steady. "Would you rather trust a man who drips poison from his tongue or this warrior, who now has the power to tear down the very wolves that slaughtered your kin?"
His voice rose over the murmurs, silencing them.
"There's no other town for weeks. No safety. No cavalry riding in to save you. You'll die in those woods if you choose to leave, chewed to bones before your corpse even gets cold."
He turned to Ned with sudden intensity, his voice sharp as a blade.
"And you will not speak again tonight."
Ned opened his mouth, but froze as Kaelor's gaze bore into him.
"Not. Another. Word."
He took a step forward, "I'll investigate the Devil Forest, but not tonight. I've buried my mother, walked through blood and mud, and died… nearly. I will rest."
The courtyard was dead silent.
Kaelor turned back toward the residence, his new bodyguard towering behind him.