Chapter 28: The Storm Grows Wilder

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: The Storm Grows Wilder

Freya sat nearby as she watched proudly.

Every now and then she chirped loudly.

Almost like a cheerleader.

Damon smiled every time he heard it.

"Yeah."

"I know."

"I look cool."

Freya immediately chirped louder.

The Alpha almost looked offended as it attacked with everything it had.

Wind exploded outward, the ground cracked.

The wolf became a blur.

Its strongest charge. Its final gamble.

Damon felt the danger immediately.

But instead of retreating, he stepped forward.

His Aether surged. Silver lightning exploded across his body, stronger than it ever did.

For a brief moment he looked like a streak of silver light.

The wolf arrived. Damon arrived too.

Both crossed paths, as silence followed.

The wind stopped.

The wolf landed several meters behind him.

Damon remained standing.

Blood dripped from his arm.

His breathing was heavy.

The wolf stood motionless.

Then a thin line appeared across its neck.

Its eyes widened.

Crackle.

Silver lightning erupted from the wound.

The damage instantly spread through its body.

Destroying muscles.

Burning veins.

Shattering everything inside.

The Alpha took one step.

Then another. But Its legs gave out.

Boom.

The massive body crashed against the ground.

Dead.

Completely dead.

The battlefield fell silent.

Only the distant winds of Tempest Hollow remained.

Damon stared at the corpse.

Then looked at his knife.

Then at the silver lightning dancing across his fingers.

A slow smile appeared on his face.

The old him would have died here or would’ve been running for his life.

Now?

He had hunted the hunter.

Freya immediately ran over and jumped onto his shoulder.

Her tails wagged happily. Damon laughed.

"We need to keep moving. But first..."

Damon stared at the corpse left on the battlefield, he hadn’t forgotten his basics.

The first thing to do after the battle was collect what he could.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much left.

The Alpha Razormane Wolf had taken the worst of his attacks, while the others had suffered an even crueler fate under Freya’s claws and lightning.

Burn marks.

Torn flesh.

Shattered bones.

Most of the valuable materials had been ruined during the fight.

Damon crouched beside one of the corpses and sighed.

"What a waste."

Freya tilted her head.

Damon chuckled.

"We need to be more careful next time."

The little fox immediately nodded.

As if she truly understood.

That earned another laugh from him.

"Good."

Freya puffed out her chest proudly.

Damon shook his head before examining the remaining loot.

The harvest wasn’t great, but he wasn’t disappointed.

The fight had taught him more than enough.

His eyes moved toward Freya.

Or rather... toward the miracle he had somehow stumbled upon.

A useless Core Spirit.

That was what scholars called them.

A failed existence.

An incomplete spirit.

Yet the little fox had completely shattered that belief.

He began reviewing everything he had learned.

The first skill was the terrifying lightning art that had evolved her.

The one that carried the faint image of the nine-tailed fox.

Even now, remembering it made his scalp tingle.

The second skill was her afterimage art.

Three copies.

Each capable of fighting independently.

Not illusions.

Not distractions.

Actual attackers.

And then there was the third.

The self-destruction of those afterimages.

A move that turned each clone into a deadly weapon.

Freya could currently maintain three at once.

Damon had no idea how much stronger she would become later.

And honestly...

He was looking forward to finding out.

As for himself...

He clenched his fist.

Tiny silver arcs danced across his fingers.

The lightning element.

The white core.

The contract.

The Adept Rank.

Everything together had pushed his combat strength far beyond where it should have been.

He was no longer the powerless failure everyone laughed at.

Not even close.

A grin appeared on his face.

"Let’s keep going."

Freya chirped happily.

The pair continued deeper into Tempest Hollow.

The wind only grew stronger.

The sky above had become darker than before.

Dust and leaves swirled constantly through the air.

Every few minutes, violent gusts would rip through the landscape like invisible blades.

The further they walked, the more Damon realized how abnormal this distorted zone truly was.

Yet instead of fear...

He felt excitement.

He needed stronger opponents.

He needed experience.

And most importantly... He needed answers.

*******

Elsewhere.

The situation was much worse.

The expedition group had lost even more people.

Some had died.

Others had been evacuated due to injuries.

Everyone looked exhausted.

Even the newly awakened who had once spoken proudly now carried serious expressions.

Reality had beaten the excitement out of them.

The guides were currently gathered around a rough map.

The awakened stood nearby while listening.

"We’ve already mapped enough territory," one experienced Elemental User said.

"We should begin withdrawing."

Immediately, another shook his head.

"We’ve already paid this much. Going back with nothing would be ridiculous."

A third frowned.

"And what happens when more children die?"

Silence followed.

No one had a good answer.

The losses were already higher than expected.

One of the guides rubbed his forehead.

"We push a little further, secure more resources, then—"

His voice suddenly stopped.

A wet tearing sound echoed.

Everyone froze.

For a moment nobody understood what happened.

Then blood sprayed through the air.

The man’s arm spun away before crashing onto the ground.

AAAAAHHHH!

His scream exploded across the battlefield.

The group instantly erupted into chaos.

"AMBUSH!"

"ENEMIES!"

"DEFENSIVE FORMATION!"

The experienced Elemental Users reacted immediately.

Several barriers appeared.

Lightning flashed.

Flames erupted.

Only then did everyone see what had attacked.

A flock of creatures circled above the storm.

Storm Talons

Large bird-like Aether Beasts.

Each one possessed a wingspan of nearly four meters.

Dark feathers covered their bodies while streams of wind constantly flowed around their wings.

Their eyes glowed pale green.

Their beaks were curved like hooked blades.

Most terrifying were their talons.

Long and sharp.

Designed for tearing prey apart.

A single dive attack could rip through flesh with horrifying ease.

"C-Rank!"

Someone shouted.

The awakened immediately felt their hearts sink.

These were far beyond the enemies they had fought earlier.