CRACKKKLE!!
A deafening explosion of lightning erupted behind him.
The sound was so loud that Damon froze.
Even the wolf froze.
The pressure that followed swept through the area like a tidal wave.
The hairs on Damon’s body stood upright.
The wind itself seemed to pause.
The wolf immediately took several steps backward.
Fear appeared in its eyes.
Real fear.
Damon slowly turned around. And forgot how to breathe.
A fox stood behind him.
No.
Calling it a fox almost felt wrong.
Its silver fur looked as though it had been woven from moonlight itself.
Every strand carried faint arcs of lightning dancing across its body.
Three elegant tails swayed behind it.
Each movement seemed effortless.
Proud.
Confident.
Beautiful.
Its bright violet eyes glowed with intelligence far beyond any beast Damon had seen before.
Yet what struck him most wasn’t its appearance.
It was the anger in its eyes.
The fox was furious.
Not scared or nervous.
But Angry.
As though someone had dared to touch something precious to it.
And that precious thing was standing right in front of it.
Damon.
The sight left him speechless.
Then something happened.
For the briefest moment, space behind the fox seemed to distort.
An enormous silhouette appeared.
A majestic fox.
Nine tails.
Nine enormous tails stretching across the sky.
Its presence felt ancient. Divine. Unreachable.
The image lasted less than a second.
Yet Damon felt his entire body tremble.
The vision vanished as quickly as it appeared.
But the shock remained.
His mind struggled to process what he had seen.
Was it an illusion?
A bloodline?
Potential?
A glimpse of what the fox could become?
He didn’t know.
And before he could think further... The young fox moved.
Lightning exploded around its body.
Not ordinary lightning.
This lightning felt alive.
Violent.
Royal.
As though the storm itself had answered its call.
The wolf finally sensed danger.
It turned to flee. But it was too late.
A single paw landed on the ground.
The fox’s eyes flashed.
A silver arc shot upward. The clouds above split apart.
Then...
BOOOOOOM!!!
A pillar of lightning descended from the heavens.
The entire area lit up white.
The ground shook.
Trees exploded.
Wind scattered in every direction.
And the Razor Mane Wolf vanished.
No scream.
No struggle.
No body.
Only ash remained where it once stood.
Silence followed.
Damon stood frozen.
His mouth slightly open.
His brain completely blank.
The lingering electricity danced across his skin.
Even from a distance, he could still feel the terrifying power behind that attack.
"What..."
His voice cracked.
"What was that?"
The fox simply looked at him.. Then walked over.
Its earlier fury disappeared instantly.
The proud expression softened.
It lowered its head and rubbed against his side.
Almost apologetically.
Damon stared at it.
Then laughed.
A real laugh this time.
"You did that?"
The fox nodded proudly.
Damon almost choked.
"You seriously did that?"
The fox puffed out its chest.
Clearly pleased.
Despite itself, it looked a little tired.
The lightning around its body wasn’t as stable as before.
Its breathing had become heavier too.
That attack had obviously cost it something.
Still...
Damon’s excitement was impossible to suppress.
His gamble had worked.
Not only had the spark seed evolved.
It had evolved into something absurd.
Something terrifying.
Something that made even Kane’s Lightningstorm Serpent seem ordinary.
The thought made his heart race.
For weeks everyone had called him a failure.
A disappointment.
Someone with no future.
Yet standing before him now was proof that they had all been wrong.
Maybe he truly had a path forward.
Maybe this mysterious second core wasn’t useless.
Maybe... Just maybe...
He wasn’t destined to remain weak forever.
Damon pulled the fox into a hug.
The fox froze.
Then happily buried itself against him. Its tails wagged lazily behind it.
For a moment, everything felt peaceful.
Until growls echoed through the forest.
Three figures stepped out from the shadows.
Three Razor Mane Wolves and the peaceful atmosphere shattered instantly.
The fox slowly lifted its head.
Its eyes narrowed.
The wolves had interrupted its moment.
That alone seemed enough to offend it.
Damon tried to stand properly.
Pain immediately shot through his body. His legs nearly gave out.
The fox glanced at him.
Then glanced at the blood covering him.
Its expression darkened.
The lightning around its body intensified.
Damon could almost hear its thoughts.
Stay back... I’ve got this.
The fox stepped forward.
One step.
Then another.
Silver lightning crawled across its fur.
The surrounding air trembled.
Across from it, the wolves stopped advancing.
Their earlier confidence disappeared as fear replaced it.
Instinct screamed at them to run.
But they had already come too close.
The fox’s three tails slowly rose behind it.
Its body lowered.
Lightning exploded around it.
Damon’s eyes widened.
The pressure alone was enough to make him swallow hard.
"C Rank..."
He could hardly believe it.
A freshly evolved spirit already possessed the aura of a C Rank beast.
What kind of monster had he nurtured?
The fox stopped moving.
For one second, everything became still.
Then... It vanished.
Damon blinked.
The fox appeared to shatter into three silver figures.
Three identical afterimages raced across the battlefield from different directions.
Lightning followed behind them like streaks of silver starlight.
The wolves froze.
Damon froze.
Even after everything he had seen today, his jaw still dropped.
"What the hell..."
The wind roared.
The wolves trembled as the Fox’s hunt was about to begin.
Damon’s eyes stayed fixed on the battlefield.
Even now, he still found it hard to believe what he was seeing.
The young fox had moved.
No.
Three young foxes moved.
Each looked completely real. Each carrying the same silver fur.
The same sharp eyes.
The same crackling lightning.
Damon couldn’t tell which one was the original anymore.
The three foxes shot forward together.
Like silver streaks tearing across the battlefield.
The wolves reacted instantly, but it was too late.
One fox appeared before the first wolf.
Its small body looked harmless.
Cute, even.
Then its jaws closed. Crunch.