The Shade Shaman swept her gaze across the view.
Her children... or the creatures she accepted as her children were howling.
A united front that had never been seen since before being separated from their original world.
Conflicts always exist between them.
Many of them ca from different princes, different packs, so conflicts are bound to happen.
It’s simply unavoidable.
Back in their original world, conflicts are encouraged as that would give birth to unity, strong warriors, and a clearly defined hierarchy. Everyone would know how they stood in society, and that encourages a higher level of beastly competitiveness.
However, in this world, they weren’t the dominant race as they were.
In this world, they were fighting to survive.
Conflicts are unnecessary when every turn they took would lead to a battle of life and death.
Neglecting the stark problem between them, the Shade Shaman knew exactly that they would only be heading to their doom. Sothing must be done. And that’s where she realized her unique position can be used to keep most in check.
It worked.
But it doesn’t work instantly, and a massive loss ca first before her plan could work.
Even so, that wasn’t entirely sothing bad.
Now, the surviving Shade Crawlers were the strongest of them, and their loyalty to her was fiercer than anything she ever hoped for. Seeing how low their numbers were, they started to prioritize her more to survive in this world.
After all, she was the only one who could help them navigate the Black Rift.
Over countless years, their loyalty evolved.
Now, the Shade Crawlers considered her more than a Shaman.
A mother.
Even though they were still mostly living separately, avoiding contact with one another, all of them had a special place for her in their hearts. It was the sa for the Shade Shaman. She, too, holds them in her heart deeply.
So, seeing them united like this—it brought a sense of happiness that she had long forgotten.
For that, she must find this mysterious figure who bears the scent of their kind.
"One of my children saw him. Slled him. He was uncertain, but he saved that creature anyway."
"So took the liberty of locating him before I even heard of the news."
"And I was shown what my children found."
Shade Crawlers have been living within the Black Rift for thousands of years, and their bodies have adapted to the environnt. Now, the biting cold no longer affected them. Now, the violent rush no longer impaired their hearing. And now, their sense of sll could single out a scent from the rest.
Adaptations that made them different, but allowed them to survive in the harshness of the Black Rift.
"Locating that creature was not hard for my children, but it takes ti and power."
"Avoiding monarchies, voidal princes—all take ti and power."
"But hope is a strong force. My children managed to locate all the places he had visited."
Now, the Shade Shaman stood upon what should be two bubbles interconnected to an Obelisk of Life.
But those bubbles were no longer.
The Obelisk of Life died, and the bubbles were razed to the ground.
Spirits could still be seen picking up corpses after corpses, bringing them to be given proper burials.
One corpse was placed before the Shade Shaman by a Shade Crawler.
She looked down and couldn’t hide her smile anymore.
It had their kind’s signature written all over it—no room for doubt. The corpse was mangled by claws and fangs, torn apart with a brutality only they possessed. And the scent lingering in the air... familiar, yet twisted enough to be wrong.
No doubt about it: the one who caused this was the mysterious figure.
The one they were looking for.
"Even though the corpse has already gone cold, I can still feel the heat of fury from the killer."
"It was the sa as theirs. Or at least starkly similar."
"Our Origin made it clear. We are hunters. Creatures of the night who served the full moons. And this creature is certainly one of ours. I thought I was starting to know you, understand you, but I was wrong. Too hasty to conclude."
Another Shade Crawler brought her to another place.
A tower in the distance.
Just like the place before, the scent of that mysterious figure brought them here.
Considering that mysterious figure was supposed to be kin, the Shade Shaman expected another place that would fall victim to his claws. Another bloody carnage where mangled corpses littered the ground. But no carnage was in sight.
Not thick enough to still linger in the air.
And besides, the ruin beside it was still flourishing.
The Shade Shaman was... confused.
"Helping the Spirits... Why? What’s the reason? I do not know. Maybe our world has beco peaceful. Or maybe this mysterious figure was exiled for his kindness to this world. I’m curious... I really want to understand him.
"But still, we still have to find him."
Moving on to the next location, the Shade Shaman was t with a familiar sight.
A long road of carcasses.
Most are Voidal Monsters, with a few of them being Spirits.
It was a long, bloody path that stretched for miles and miles, ending with another monarchy being well-established by an unfamiliar Voidal Monarch. The Shade Shaman beca certain; the mysterious figure was helping the Spirits.
Close to a princess.
"A Luna...? From a different race? Is it possible? I... couldn’t rember. Maybe having a Luna who is not kin is acceptable now."
"No. Our Origin—will never accept this. His scent has a pleasant tinge to it. He’s royalty. But he’s now doing this? Who is he...? An impostor? That’s what I thought, but I kept it within . Hope is high, and at the very least, I want to let my children savor it longer."
"If it’s an impostor, maybe I should capture him. Hmm, keep him as a symbol of hope. False it may be, it’s better than having no hope."
"But our Origin... If he were here, he certainly would want to kill this creature."
A Shade Crawler approached from the side.
He knelt down and caressed the Shade Shaman’s hand before pressing it against his forehead.
Like a reverent child thanking his mother for everything she had done.
Even before he spoke what he intended to speak, the Shade Shaman already knew what it was.
The current location of the mysterious figure, "We’ll have to see once I et you.’
...
"Archangel Decree: Knives of Stelios!"
Splash!
Like a radiant solar flare, Stelios’ armor glead with holy energy as he stretched both arms overhead.
A trickle of blood drizzled down from the corner of his lips.
He was wounded.
But the humiliation was far more overwhelming than the pain he suffered from this wound.
For him to be wounded despite the preparations he made beforehand for this very mont, to hunt down the last werewolf to complete his collection as a werewolf hunter, being wounded and forced to the very limit like this was extrely humiliating.
And this humiliation could only be paid with blood.
Behind him, the magic circle containing the hundred knives floated overhead and expanded.
It glowed blindingly.
And from it erged a knife, a massive one, and the number of runic engravings was unfathomable.
Rex has never seen sothing that contained so much holy energy like this one.
"Knife of Judgnt!"
Rumble!
Across the entire Tomb of Heroes and beyond, the world convulsed—as if the end was tearing through reality. The sky split open, and the colossal Knife of Judgnt plunged downward in a mighty arc from the heavens, wreathed in holy energy so overwhelming it made the air scream.
Radiance surged along its edge in violent currents.
Each pulse was bright enough that even beings who aren’t from the Mortal Realm could track every tremor and every swirl with their naked eyes. It was a catastrophic attack that was backed by the rage of an Archangel.
Its descent was slow, but it didn’t need to be fast when everything around it was suppressed.
And under this mighty attack, Rex stood his ground.
Right now, his body felt like a million tis heavier, but it wasn’t enough to make him kneel.
"Going straight to your ultimate attack, huh..." Rex muttered inwardly—and then raised his gaze with an excited gleam, staring straight into the light. "In that case, I should respond the sa. Blood Moon Genesis..."
Upon chanting the skill, the Blood Moon Echo ignited at once.
Its glow overpowered the redness of the Red Dawn of Kaiser, like it were boasting its might.
Then, it roared outward as a living thing unleashed.
Radiant, overpowering reddish energy seethed out of the pool.
Like the sound of an inhaling titan, blood surged from Rex’s feet and flooded outward in a spreading, shallow tide. The crimson sheen rippled with power. And anyone who bears their eyes to this shallow pool could tell that it wasn’t rely a pool of blood.
No. It was a kind of portal.
Beyond it was sothing was a world of crimson, a place that exuded enormous power.
A sea of blood that exuded power far beyond the Spirit Realm.
And within its depth, sothing was awakening.
Most beings would call it a titanic monster; the kind of label living beings cling to when confronted by sothing their minds can’t wrap around. But this... thing... is far more than that. Regardless, this thing was always sleeping.
It’s deep in the crimson sea, but sothing stirred.
A call had reached it.
Soone spoke its na with intent.
Even though it was very faint, inaudible even, the call was thunderous to it.
And when it was summoned, no matter who dared to beckon, it would always answer.
"Ravenous Maw of Magna!"
ROAR!!
From beneath Rex’s feet, the seething red life energy driven wholly by the Blood Moon Echo erupted like a volcanic tide. Dozens of crimson tendrils spiraled upward, uniting and expanding until their effort ford the silhouette of a colossal wolf-abomination.
Its maw is split into four segnts, and it has ten eyes that each work individually.
Upon its appearance, the balance of power shifted imdiately.
Even the sacred radiance of the Knife of Judgnt faltered, unable to dominate over the space as easily.
Red energy surged outward, consuming space with every heartbeat as the monstrous wolf-abomination rose higher, its four-part maw opening wide. It charged straight for the descending divine knife—intent on eting it head-on.
Reckless.
That is what crossed Rex’s mind when he saw this.
But for the wolf-abomination, there was nothing in existence it feared enough to shy away from.
Especially not this Knife of Judgnt.
Above, Stelios stared at the approaching maw in utter surprise.
Not that he was surprised by the wolf-abomination itself, but the energy contained within it that doesn’t match anything in the Mortal Realm—or the Spirit Realm. "He’s hiding this power?" Stelios gritted his teeth and poured more power into the Knife of Judgnt. "Just... die!!"
KABOOM!
A massive explosion of energy happened upon impact.
Amanir or even Empress Morgana couldn’t see what was happening inside that explosion.
But Rex and Stelios could see it clearly.
As expected, the Knife of Judgnt couldn’t be underestimated.
Its holy power cleaved into the wolf-abomination with blinding force, and the runic engraving splashed with the power of the heavens, disintegrating the energy and even the air around it. But the abomination only unhinged its four-part maw wider.
With its size, swallowing the Knife of Judgnt all the way to the hilt was possible.
And it did.
For a heartbeat, the world froze like ti ca to a standstill.
Just then, the glowing fractures spiderwebbed across the trapped divine blade from within the beast’s belly.
An instant later, the Knife of Judgnt detonated, unleashing its apocalyptic fury from inside.
Naturally, Rex and Stelios were hurled away from the impact like rag dolls.
Neither could withstand the impact force from their ultimate abilities clashing directly like this.
However, there was a stark difference in their expressions.
Though the explosion ant a tie, the dominant red energy that made up the bulk of the explosion made it clear that one side was more dominant in the clash.
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