The broken obelisk was not cleaned immediately.
City forces surrounded it.
Guards formed rings around the fallen divine structure like ants around a shattered pillar.
No one touched it.
Not even the priests.
Because everyone could feel it.
The stone was not simply broken.
It was rejected.
Kael stood at the boundary of Sector 9 and watched from a rooftop.
"They're scared to move it," Mirel said.
"They should be."
The system flickered faintly.
❝Divine Node Destroyed: 1/6❞
❝External Authority Pressure Increasing❞
Noa leaned over the edge of the roof.
"…Something's coming."
Kael did not ask how he knew.
He felt it too.
High above the city, silver light gathered.
Not slowly.
Deliberately.
Three streaks descended from the heavens.
They landed beside the ruined obelisk.
Silver hunters.
Higher class than those sent before.
Their cloaks were longer. Their armor etched with moving authority glyphs.
Execution class.
Sector 9 felt the pressure instantly.
The system pulsed violently.
❝High-Order Divine Agents Detected❞
❝Classification: Silver Hunters – Execution Rank❞
Mirel exhaled sharply.
"He sent cleaners."
Kael nodded.
"They're not here to rebuild."
Noa stared downward.
"…They're angry."
The three hunters examined the broken obelisk silently.
One knelt beside the fracture.
Silver light moved through its fingertips, analyzing the damage.
"It was not brute force," it said calmly.
"Collective authority output," another replied.
The third looked toward Sector 9.
"They learned."
High above, the radiant god watched quietly.
"They will retaliate," a silver attendant said.
"Yes," he replied.
"Permit lethal engagement?"
The radiant god's gaze remained fixed on the district.
"Yes."
Inside Sector 9, Kael stood.
"They're moving."
Mirel followed his gaze.
The three hunters had begun walking.
Not toward the obelisk.
Toward the territory.
"…They're crossing the boundary," she said.
"Yes."
"They're not waiting for permission."
Kael's voice hardened.
"Neither are we."
The first hunter reached the boundary.
It paused.
Not respecting the line.
Examining it.
"Level II territory," it murmured.
Its blade of condensed authority formed instantly.
A single downward strike.
The boundary flared violently.
❝Territory Integrity: 100% → 92%❞
The strike did not break it.
But the message was clear.
Kael stepped forward.
"Everyone inside," he said calmly.
Noa looked confused.
"…But we can help."
"You will."
Kael's eyes hardened.
"Just not here."
The hunters stepped fully inside Sector 9.
The air thickened.
Authority clashed with territory influence.
The system roared.
❝Hostile Divine Entry Detected❞
❝Authority Dampening Engaged❞
The first hunter raised its blade.
"Destroy the anchor."
Kael smiled faintly.
"You first."
The fight began instantly.
The hunter moved faster than human perception.
Its blade cut downward.
Kael twisted aside, the strike carving a deep scar into the stone street.
Mirel swung her metal rod into its side.
The impact echoed like iron striking a bell.
The hunter barely moved.
It backhanded her across the street.
She crashed through a wooden stall.
Noa stepped forward.
The second hunter intercepted him.
Silver light wrapped around Noa's arms instantly.
Binding.
"…Hey," Noa said quietly.
Then the bindings vanished.
The hunter's head tilted slightly.
"Erasure anomaly confirmed."
Noa looked up.
"…You're loud."
Half of the hunter's blade disappeared.
The hunter recoiled instantly.
Kael engaged the first hunter directly.
Territory authority flowed through his limbs.
Each step heavier.
Each strike grounded.
The hunter's blade met Kael's reinforced arm.
The impact cracked stone beneath them.
The third hunter moved toward the crowd.
Not attacking Kael.
Targeting civilians.
Mirel saw it.
"Not happening."
She launched herself forward despite the pain.
Her rod struck the hunter's knee.
For the first time—
A divine agent staggered.
High above, the radiant god watched silently.
"Interesting," he murmured.
The second hunter adapted quickly.
Its missing blade reformed.
Silver light surged around it.
It lunged toward Noa again.
Noa frowned.
"…Stop moving."
The hunter froze mid-step.
Not time stopped.
Space erased.
The distance between them vanished.
Noa touched the hunter's chest.
For a split second—
Nothing happened.
Then half the hunter's torso disappeared.
Clean.
Erased from existence.
The hunter collapsed.
Silver light spilling like broken glass.
The system detonated.
❝Divine Agent Eliminated❞
❝First Silver Hunter Casualty Confirmed❞
❝Territory Authority Surge Detected❞
The entire district pulsed.
Power surged through the boundary.
❝Territory Integrity: 92% → 100% Reinforced❞
The remaining two hunters stopped instantly.
Not panicked.
But recalculating.
"Agent loss confirmed," one said calmly.
"Withdraw?"
The other looked toward Kael.
"No."
The second hunter attacked with full authority output.
The blade expanded into a massive arc.
Kael stepped into it.
Not away.
Territory authority flowed through him like a river.
He caught the blade between both hands.
The street beneath his feet shattered.
But the blade stopped.
The hunter's eyes flickered.
Impossible.
Kael headbutted the divine agent.
The helmet cracked.
Mirel's rod smashed into the same fracture.
The hunter fell.
The final hunter stepped back.
It looked at the fallen agent.
Then at the erased remains of the first.
Then at Kael.
"…Escalation acknowledged."
Silver light erupted around it.
Retreat.
High above, the radiant god watched the retreat without anger.
One hunter dead.
One incapacitated.
One withdrawn.
He exhaled softly.
"So it begins."
Back in Sector 9, silence fell.
The dead hunter's body dissolved slowly into fragments of fading authority.
Noa stared at the empty space where the first had vanished.
"…Did I break it?"
Kael placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Yes."
Mirel wiped blood from her face.
"You just killed a divine agent."
Noa blinked.
"…Oops."
The system pulsed again.
❝Historic Event Recorded❞
❝First Divine Casualty within Territory Authority❞
❝Collective Authority II Progress: 64%❞
The air felt heavier.
Stronger.
Sector 9 had crossed another invisible line.
Kael looked up at the sky.
"You lost one."
Silence answered.
But far above—
The radiant god finally smiled.
Not kindly.
Not angrily.
With interest.
"Yes," he whispered.
"And now the war is real."
Sector 9's fires burned late that night.
Not with celebration.
With understanding.
They had not just defended.
They had killed something divine.
And the sky would remember.
"A divine hunter has fallen.
Power Stone if you want to see what falls next."