Is this really a Game?!

Now that they were in front of the monster, they were all sure of one thing, it wasn't powerful enough for its aura to spread through the entire forest. It was not powerful to that point, but it was powerful indeed.

The aura from the wolf truly was immense, and to the already battered and bruised group, he was more than a threat. They had gone through multiple battles before arriving here, and now, they had to battle a monster that was going to take everything they had in order to defeat it. Some of them had even used their marks previously in order for them to win their battles without suffering too much.

Neither Tank, nor Beast could use their full powers anymore as Beast had previously used his fusion to defeat a group that attacked them, and Tank had done the same before him.

In fact, Mia had done that too. She went all out, using her mark to transform an area of the forest into a frozen wasteland as they were nearly overrun by wolves, thus the group no longer had the luxury of fighting slowly and patiently. Stay tuned to empire

Reign had also used his mark in order to help his group annihilate the group of draconic wolves that had attacked them before, and thus, even though he had his transformation, the exhaustion from before was present, and his mana was running a bit low.

In fact, all of them were tired, battered, and low on mana, which meant that even after going all out, they wouldn't be as powerful as they usually were.

"This is it, we gotta go all out, play this perfectly and win against this monster, failure is not acceptable at all." Reign said as he stared at the monster and took a deep breath.

The wolf, however, continued standing and observing them with interest, its crimson eyes gleaming with feral intelligence that made them all aware of the stakes. The forest was silent, not a sound present as if it was waiting to watch the showdown that was about to unfold.

The creature seemed to sense their resolve, and a low, mocking rumble escaped its throat as its body began to shift, dark energy emanating from every pore and merging with the shadows around it. Each tendril of darkness flickered like a serpent, coiling, and weaving, creating a chaotic, living mass of shadows that stretched across the clearing.

The group fell into formation, their expressions grim but resolute. Tank hefted his shield, Greenie gripped his hammer, and Aelrinder's spear shimmered faintly with starlight, its glow barely cutting through the oppressive darkness.

Wolf's body started changing, scales forming on top of his skin while horns slowly grew out of his head, and a pair of draconic wings suddenly unfurled behind him, blazing with flames. Shadow's body on the other hand suddenly got enveloped in darkness, forming a thick cloak around him as his hair turned pitch-black and his entire aura turned suffocating, the darkness seemingly absorbing everything that was around him.

Greenie grew, his body turning red as long white hair fell down to his chest. A feeling of pure destruction and immense power emanated from him while for Jin, the dark red aura appeared around him and his limbs, causing the air itself to shift.

The biggest change, of course, happened to Reign, who transformed immediately. Wings grew from his back, light and darkness collided around him, and his aura became almost as immense as the wolf's aura was.

The beast snarled, lowering itself to the ground as though preparing to strike. Shadows seemed to cling to its body, giving it a liquid, almost ethereal appearance as it moved. The twisted tree behind it pulsed with dark energy, fueling its power with every moment that passed. Reign could feel the oppressive aura pressing on him, a reminder of just how crucial it was to strike now before it grew any stronger.

The monster pounced, its massive claws extending like lethal blades as it swiped at Tank and Greenie in the front line. Tank raised his shield, bracing for impact, but the sheer force of the blow sent him flying backward, even as Greenie swung his hammer at the beast's side with a powerful strike. The blow landed, shaking the creature's shadowy form, but it barely flinched, retaliating with a swipe of its tail that sent Greenie reeling.

"Damn, it's like hitting smoke," Greenie muttered, regaining his footing.

"Then we focus!" Reign called out, lightning sparking from his hands as he prepared a concentrated attack. "We need to disrupt that energy around it. Wolf, use your flames to keep it from regenerating, Mia, try your best to freeze those shadows!"

Wolf nodded, flames flickering weakly around him, but his determination never wavered. He circled around, creating a wall of fire that would prevent the beast from retreating to the tree or drawing from the shadows that clung to its form. Mia, meanwhile, raised her hands, summoning shards of ice that glittered in the dim light as they spun around her, forming a barrier that slowed the movement of the shadows and limited the beast's range.

Even though she had used her mark previously, her mark was special as it was a twin mark, which meant it was almost as if she had two. She could choose to only use half of the mark's power in order to conserve the second half to use later, which she was now doing.

Aelrinder took his chance, his spear glowing with faint starlight as he aimed for the beast's exposed side. "Let's see if this starlight can pierce your darkness!" he shouted, thrusting his spear forward. The tip glowed brighter as it sliced through the shadow tendrils encasing the creature's body, a crackling hiss filling the air as the light clashed with the darkness.

The beast roared, recoiling as Aelrinder's spear struck true, leaving a scorched gash in its side. The starlight seemed to disrupt the flow of dark energy around it, causing the creature to falter, and in that split second, Reign struck.

Light blinded everything in his surroundings, causing the shadows of the wolf to be pushed back as he attacked, his sword akin to a lightsaber as it struck down.

Reign's blade, imbued with both light and darkness, sliced down toward the wolf, the blade humming with raw energy as it met the shadows cloaking the beast. The brilliance of the light blazed with such intensity that the surrounding shadows peeled back, writhing as though in agony. The sword cleaved into the creature's hide, searing through its dark energy and leaving a jagged wound that pulsed with residual light.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The beast howled in pain, thrashing as it tried to shake off the disruptive energy, but Reign pressed harder, refusing to let it retreat. His wings flared, giving him the advantage in speed as he twisted around, cutting along the beast's side with quick, precise strikes that tore through the shadowy armor encasing it.

"Keep it steady!" Tank shouted as he charged back into the fray, his shield glowing with an intense, renewed aura. Planting himself firmly, he banged his shield, attracting the beast's attention to provide Reign an opening.

The creature turned toward Tank, its fanged mouth opening in a growl, but just as it did, a volley of ice shards from Mia rained down on it, freezing chunks of shadow to the ground. The ice spread across its body, briefly encasing parts of it in a crystalline cage. Wolf took the opportunity, rushing forward with flames flickering along his sword, slashing through the frozen shadows and opening a path for Shadow to dart in, his own dark aura blending with the creature's shadow before delivering a critical slash across the beast's exposed flank.

The creature's fury ignited anew. It roared, and the shadows around it surged, regaining strength as it ripped free from the ice and swiped at Shadow, who dodged and rolled back, his movements nimble and evasive. Dark tendrils shot out from its body, lashing at the group as it sought to regain control of the battle.

Wolf seized the opportunity to press forward. Flames roared around him as he went all out,, his eyes blazing with draconic fury. "Let's see how you handle real fire!" he growled, rushing forward with an intensity that left scorch marks in his wake. With a swift, heavy swing of his sword, he unleashed a tidal wave of fire, the flames licking at the shadows and causing them to shriek as they twisted and burned.

The purple flames struck the wolf, and even the powerful shadows it had were unable to withstand the immense heat and destructive power the flames possessed, causing the wolf to howl in pain as the flame licked its fur.

The wolf quickly moved, running away from the flames, only for arrows to start raining down on it while black lightning and a torrent of water attacked from its flanks, trapping it in place, and forcing it to use its shadows to defend itself.

The wolf was in a precarious situation, which was weird, as they all expected more from it. After all, it was the big boss of the forest, the danger it should possess should have been much greater than this.