Is this really a Game?!

Wolf lay crumpled against the tree, some of his scales broken, blood flowing down his face as he coughed, having difficulty breathing. The impact had knocked the wind out of him, leaving him temporarily dazed as Laura quickly knelt beside him, her hands glowing purple with demonic energy as she poured it into his bruised body upon placing her hands on his chest.

His expression first changed into one of more pain before softening as the pain subsided and his wounds started closing quickly. Laura's healing was most effective when she was making physical contact with the other person, the effectiveness and speed at which she was able to heal a person were higher in that state.

Meanwhile, Reign and the others stared at the monstrous creature that was in front of them, a huge wolf standing at about 6 meters tall, more than double the size of the one they had just bested. An aura of an apex predator came from the monster that was staring down at them with hatred and fury while shadows pulsed around it.

One glance at the dead wolf that Reign and the others had just bested, and the beast's fury rose even higher, the mana inside its body growing as a low growl that sent shivers down their spines came from the depths of its jaw. The presence itself was overwhelming, causing even Reign to stare in apprehension as he was confident that even if he was at his peak form, he wouldn't be able to defeat the monster in front of them.

It was too powerful.

Not powerful enough for the entire group to be unable to go against it, he was certain that if they were at their peak, even though they would suffer injuries and a lot of difficulty, they would be able to defeat it.

The problem was the fact that they were not at their peak currently, they had used up quite a lot of energy previously when going through the forest, and they had used up even more when fighting the wolf that they believed was the final boss, the last enemy they had to deal with in order to end the trial.

Unfortunately for them, that was much further from the truth than they would have ever realized at that moment. The truth was that the wolf they had taken down was merely the cub of the one standing in front of them now. It was still immensely powerful as the giant wolf had done its best to raise it to be stronger than it was.

It had placed it into the tree so that the power of the entire forest would diverge into it, the ability to control shadows that most beings of the forest had was further enhanced, and after merely a month, the cub had become stronger than any being in the forest, other than its mother.

And now, that cub was dead, killed by Reign and his teammates, and the giant wolf wanted revenge.

Before sparing Reign and the others a second glance, the wolf moved, the shadows twisting as it nearly teleported in front of Wolf and Laura, its massive eyes staring down at them, its breath causing their hair to sway as the claw that was coming down on them seemed akin to a scythe of the death reappear that was about to reap their lives.

Before it could do so, however, the claw was knocked aside as a powerful explosion struck it from the left, and a figure that was enveloped in light and darkness appeared the next instant, standing right in front of the wolf's head, his sword stabbing forward, light converging at the tip and forming a powerful spiral that was about to stab into the wolf.

The energy around Reign's sword flared brilliantly, the light pushing away the shadows that clung to the wolf's body, but then, just as the blade was about to reach the eye of the wolf, the shadows moved, seemingly not bothered by the powerful light any longer.

Multiple shadows suddenly layered atop one another, forming what seemed to be an impenetrable shield that blocked the bow, the impact actually sending Reign flying backward. He flipped in the air and then stopped, staring at the wolf that was now staring at him.

Flames suddenly rose from the bottom, hitting the wolf, engulfing its entire body in them as the monster moved, escaping the wrath of the flames without a single burn before staring at Wolf as well, an angry glint present in its eyes.

"Don't think that because you managed to hit me when I was off guard, it will be so easy to kill me," Wolf stated as he held his sword with a smile plastered on his face, dry blood still present on it.

The wolf growled as it sensed Beast and the others arriving and attacking it as well, sending the shadows around it in a frenzy. The shadows formed powerful tendrils that lashed around it, hitting the attacks that were launched its way, making it impossible for any harm to reach the wolf.

Shadow then appeared, stepping through a shadow some 6 meters away from the wolf as that was the closest he could get to it. The shadows closer to the wolf were all under its control, and there was no way for Shadow to use any of them.

A ball of darkness was in his hands, and he quickly threw it at the wolf. The ball shortened the distance immediately and made contact before imploding, forming a small black hole that started sucking in all the shadows around it, as well as attempting to draw in the fur, muscles, and skin of the wolf.

But something happened at that moment, something that had never happened before.

The shadows that were being sucked into the hole moved, colliding and suddenly enveloping the hole, closing it.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"How … is that even possible?" Shadow asked in shock before disappearing into the shadow he had stepped out of, appearing several meters away as the spot he was previously standing on got decimated in an instant by the wolf's shadows.

The massive wolf had countered one of Shadow's most powerful skills, one that has never before been countered, as if it were nothing. In fact, Shadow and the others had no idea that something could even envelop the hole like that, it was a small black hole after all, a hole in space itself, doing something like that shouldn't be possible at all.

The wolf's sheer physical prowess and its absolute command over the shadows made it so powerful that Reign and the others truly didn't know how to win against it.

"Everyone, regroup!" Reign shouted. "We need a new plan, fast. This thing is beyond what we've faced!" Explore more stories at empire

The others pulled back, forming a loose circle around the wolf. Their faces were tense, their bodies battered and worn from the long succession of battles that had led them here, but they were resolute. The sheer intensity of the wolf's aura was almost paralyzing, the weight of its hatred and fury pressing on them like a physical force. But they didn't waver.

Tank moved in first, his shield at the ready, aiming to create an opening for the others. He bashed forward, the shield glowing with a dull, pulsing energy as he attempted to disrupt the shadows encircling the beast. But the wolf snarled, and with a flick of its massive paw, it sent a wave of shadows hurtling at Tank. He braced himself, yet the impact sent him flying back.

"You dumbass, you're not even using a mark, why would you try to go first!?" Reign shouted in anger as he appeared in front of Tank, blocking more shadows before Greenie appeared from above, jumping toward the wolf that didn't even spare him a glance as the shadows moved upwards, forming massive spikes on which Greenie would impale himself.

"As if it was that easy!" Greenie shouted as a powerful red aura appeared around his hammer, which he suddenly threw down.

[ Vajra Annihilation ]

The hammer struck the shadows, and suddenly, a massive shockwave of red power that was formed out of nothing but destruction itself spread around the area, destroying the shadows with ease, but also making Greenie pant.

It was a new skill he had gained from his bloodline, one he rarely ever used thanks to how massive the toll it took on the body was, not to mention that one needed to wait several days before being able to use it again.

But this time, it was worth it, as that attack had suddenly destroyed more than half of the shadows the wolf controlled.

Frost then suddenly spread from the ground, freezing most of the other shadows for an instant while a powerful spear of fire zoomed through the area, aiming to hit the wolf while an explosion struck it from above.

Reign then placed both of his swords in front of him, poured as much mana as he could, and fired off a ray of light and darkness at the wolf, hoping that it, together with the attacks of the others, would be enough to at least damage the wolf.