All 200 wolves erged from a swirling pool of black essence forming on the ground.
Yikes.
A chill ran down my spine as I felt the sheer power radiating from the pack. Cold sweat trickled down my cheek.
(Platform, we're not under attack, are we?)
{No, Master. These are the 200 Specter Wolves in your arsenal.}
GULP! If you say so...
Before stretched a sea of shifting shadows, each dotted with glowing irises. Not only was the sheer number intimidating, but every single one of them exuded its own unique aura of strength.
They were about the sa size as my forr Shadow Wolves, but trust —when it ca to presence and power, these guys were leagues above them.
But setting aside my growing sense of unease...
At first glance, they all looked the sa—black, spectral, nacing. But as I focused, I noticed slight differences between them.
And more importantly, they weren't just standing around. They were arranging themselves into a precise, militaristic formation.
The majority stayed at the back, forming a layered structure that narrowed as it ca forward. The numbers reduced until four wolves stood a few feet away, with two positioned in front of them.
And then, just one wolf stood alone before .
Their leader, I presud.
I narrowed my eyes. 'So, it's you... The one who got slaughtered over and over by that Gihon Champion, after I sent you to steal food.'
Sorry, pal.
But would you look at them? Each one radiated an unmistakable presence. And—here's the the—they carried a significant amount of Evil Cursed Energy.
...Which, by the way, even I didn't have.
What in heaven's na is Evil Cursed Energy, you ask?
Well, for starters, it's not the sa from a certain sorcery show... I think.
A long ti ago, a wicked and purely evil existence known as Satanas waged war against heaven.
He lost. Badly.
And from the depths of his hate and bitterness, Evil Cursed Energy was born—a crystallization of his malice. It seeps into everything, saturating certain places more than others.
Monster's very existence is tied to it. And Gihon has more Evil Cursed Energy than magic itself.
And my Specter Wolves were born from a fusion of magic and Evil Cursed Energy.
You know what? Let's call it Eve—short for Evil Cursed Energy.
{How does that work, Master?}
(Well, it's simple. The first two letters of Evil combined with the first letter of Energy.)
{And what about the "Cursed?"}
(The cursed is silent.)
{No, going by your logic, it should be "ECE."}
(...You know what? Forget it. Let's just call it Evil Cursed Energy.)
I gave up. Platform seed oddly hell-bent on rejecting Eve.
Anyway, back to the important stuff.
Technically, I didn't possess any Evil Cursed Energy myself. I could manipulate it from the atmosphere just fine, but I couldn't manifest it—
{Master, in fact, CAN manifest Evil Cursed Energy.}
...Okay. Apparently, I could do that now.
Moving on.
Utilizing my earth attribute, I raised a fairly large boulder from the earth and shaped it into a rectangular seat before settling onto it, taking in the sight of my Specter Wolves.
The one closest to —barely two feet away—stood out as their leader.
Platform confird his status as {Supre Alpha}. Like the others, he was prostrated before , his eyes glowing bright yellow against pitch-black sclera.
His eyes... they resembled Levi's—though hers had a sharper, wilder edge.
His fur was darkness itself, so black that it appeared to absorb the light around it, shifting with the soft breeze like liquid shadow.
And his presence—refined, majestic, exuding power and authority—was unmistakable. He wasn't just so high-ranked beast from the wilderness. He was flexing on my level. A true Principality-class entity.
If the rest of the pack averaged around 40% on the power scale, this yellow-eyed mammoth was sitting at a solid 150%.
I never had a Shadow Wolf like this before.
Hell, he was almost as strong as .
And before you say anything—yes, despite getting tossed around since Chapter 1, I AM very strong, okay?
I've just been up against abominations and absolutely nonsensical beings lately.
I had a feeling my Pact with Levi played a role in this particular wolf's imnse power.
Considering how much he stood out, it only felt right to give him a na.
...Problem was, nothing ca to mind. I hadn't seen him do anything yet.
Still, since he was the leader of the pack, I figured I'd go with sothing simple.
"Trigger."
The mont I decided, his status shifted to {Superior Specter: Trigger.}
'Huh? Where did the "Alpha" part go?'
As if sensing the change, Trigger lowered his head even further, closing his eyes in quiet acceptance.
That was more like it.
Levi practically fought over her na, like it ant anything to her.
Not that I'd have enjoyed being called Aurora if Pluto had decided that.
I glanced past Trigger at the two wolves bowing right behind him.
{Elite Jōnin: Twin Shadows.}
Jōnin... That sounded eerily similar to sothing I'd heard from the Eastern warriors of Gihon.
Now that I thought about it—wasn't [Shadow Wolf Summon] an ability I got after conquering the Easterners?
{Correct, Master. It was a special summon ability obtained after consuming the powerful spirits and valiant warriors there.}
You make it sound like I'm a villain, and like I had any other choice...
But I see.
They were the last group of humans I attacked before Bond showed up and dragged through hell.
Back to the present—so, Twin Shadows, huh?
Were they actually twins, though?
Technically, all these wolves were clones of one another, with only subtle markings setting them apart.
But aside from Twin Shadows and the four wolves behind them, most of the pack had uniformly black fur.
One of the twins lifted its head, locking eyes with .
Cold blue.
Shimring beautifully against the dark night.
Being reminded of the night, I glanced up—there was a beautiful bright moon hanging over Coastelle's oceanic sky.
'...Co to think of it, did this place have sothing against the sun?'
Between her head and forelimbs, a silver marking stood out, tracing a faint hue along her spine as well.
And yes, I'm using "her" because apparently she was female.
I'll not tell you how I found out, though.
Despite being a re summon, she carried an imposing presence. Those cold blue eyes alone could send shivers down the spines of battle-hardened warriors.
If we were still using the 40% average power level for the pack, she'd rank at about 120%.
Sothing about her felt... unsympathetic. Cold. Calculating.
And if I had to guess—lazy.
'Yeah. I sll a problem child here.'
But let's hope for the best.
Since she was tied to the ability I obtained from the East, I decided to na her "Shizuka"—after a warrior woman who gave the most trouble during my conquest there.
Like Trigger, she bowed on receiving her na.
I shifted my gaze to her left, where the other twin stood.
His eyes were a deep erald, each pupil marked by a dark, four-pointed... star... sothing, I don't know, but it looked aweso.
Like his sister, a faint silver sheen adorned the fur around his neck.
Actually, now that I looked closer, both he and Shizuka—along with Trigger—were slightly larger than the rest of the pack.
Nothing dramatic, nonetheless noticeable. A ".5" difference, if you will.
Unlike Shizuka's reluctant but frightening aura, this one had a different presence entirely.
His eyes were resolute.
I could tell—he had completely accepted as his master. And he'd probably throw his life away for my sake if it ca down to it.
Not like any of them could die, though. I'd literally have to die first—so... that "over my dead body" thing.
That unwavering determination reminded of soone.
Back when I fought a certain warrior in the outskirts of Asia—in Gihon—he called upon the power of Hachiman.
And let tell you, I danced.
Those magic-infused arrows of pure fighting spirit weren't just powerful—they were annoying.
But credit where credit was due, not many humans could pull off sothing like that. I never forgot the na Hachiman.
Turns out, Hachiman was an actual god residing in Gihon. No wonder the arrows hurt.
Well, until the real Hachiman shows up to demand copyright fees, let's go with that.
"Hachiman."
Just like Trigger and Shizuka, he bowed upon receiving his na.
"...I think I'm gonna like this guy."
(Co.)
I called him telepathically, and the mont he reached —
Reviews
All reviews (0)