The Rise of the Winter Wolf - Book 6 - Chapter 35 - The Reward

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Wolf

As the void energy condenses and the devourer’s body shrinks, the void energy within it grows purer and purer. All the way until it begins to fight back against my own drilling attempts. And to top it all off, it somehow seems to be healing and pushing me out of its body at the same time as it shrinks.

Eventually I’m completely pushed out of the devourer, with the devourer soon reaching the size of a five-meter-tall copy of my own appearance rather than the massive creature it was before.

I grit my teeth, only to spread both of my arms out to send spears of lunar ice in the form of glowing pale blue light that tries to freeze the creature the moment it makes contact. But all it does is try to freeze it. Because any parts of it that freeze are quickly shattered and then regenerated by its own void tendrils that attack its own body.

The hell is wrong with this thing?! It’s just casually attacking itself!

My attention turns back to the others before I go ahead and order them all to attack the devourer again now that it’s small. And they all immediately do so. But their attacks don’t even scratch it anymore, leaving me grimacing before I order them away again.

No reason to waste them if they might be useful later on after all.

Of course, the contestants who aren’t lunar winter beasts continue attacking. Seeing as I can’t order them around.

But I don’t care about them, so I ignore them.

I focus on the devourer, just to find it letting out a howl out of nowhere before opening its mouth and moving it as if it’s trying to speak to me. But nothing comes out but snarls and growls. Just like earlier.

Guess the System really is censoring this devourer.

Then again, that’s probably for the best. Considering how foul-mouthed the last devourer I killed was.

Although the censoring seems to be pissing off the devourer more every second before it finally rushes at me with its claws raised, making me raise my own again to block it. Then we repeatedly clash claw for claw over and over again, sending shockwaves of void energy and lunar ice of eternity all around us.

Except that my blows are winning out with each clash, albeit barely. So the devourer’s own claws are gradually being frozen.

Until all at once the devourer’s claws shatter, letting my claws sink into its flesh again. Meanwhile the devourer lets out a loud roar of pain and anger.

But unfortunately for me, the devourer just regenerates its claws and shatters any part I’d frozen after breaking through. Leaving us at a bit of a stalemate with neither of us getting the better of the other.

The devourer can’t seem to damage me anymore, especially since my strength is gradually increasing every second. And I can’t damage the devourer faster than it can regenerate. Even if I am dealing more damage as I grow stronger.

Yet this stalemate can’t last forever. Not when I have a time limit on my transformation.

Then everything happens at once.

A loud dinging sound echoes in my head followed by a sudden echoing of the word, “Reward Granted,” throughout the dark abyss lit by my pale blue moon. Both of which make me and the devourer look up, just for a sudden bright flash to shine through the abyss.

One made entirely of radiance elemental energy that directly clashes with the void energy within the devourer.

I rush forwards and strike against the devourer again with my claws, but this time I tear out a large chunk of its body as even larger chunks of it freeze over.

As if the devourer was just significantly weakened.

A grin stretches across my face before I immediately get to work tearing the devourer to shreds bit by bit. All while freezing all of said shreds without hesitation.

And within minutes of the radiance entering the abyss, it finally fades. But by then, I find myself faced with a devourer that is almost entirely frozen and torn to bits.

Leaving nothing behind but its head that the creature is using to glare at me with.

“Better luck next time,” I tell the devourer with a grin before freezing a large cage around its head and then shrinking the cage.

Crushing its head in one last act.

Then I get the usual System notification about winning, followed by a large mini boss chest appearing in front of me and all of us being teleported back to the stadium to the roaring cheers of the audience.

Nice!

Now I just hope I don’t have to fight a third devourer. Because that would just be a pain.

I glance to the side when Sapphire appears from my shadow with a depressed look on her face.

That sight has me pursing my lips for a second before I sigh and place my hand on her head to ruffle her hair. Which has her looking up at me with some annoyance mixing in with the depression.

“Your stamina was the only reason I was able to keep fighting in the end, so don’t go getting depressed about not being able to help,” I tell her with a slight smile on my face. “Because you did help.”

Sapphire pouts a little, only to eventually sigh and accept my head pats. Then we both begin to walk over to the mini boss chest. While, of course, ignoring the annoying commentator.

As I walk though, I can’t help but wonder how I would’ve fared against the devourer without that little reward.

Because a small part of me realizes quite well that I probably would’ve run out of time on my transformation before I could get anywhere with the devourer’s defenses.

And that would’ve been a death sentence.

I grit my teeth a little as I walk over to the chest.

That conclusion really doesn’t sit well with me.

Sapphire and I stop walking when we reach the mini boss chest.

The next time I fight with a devourer, if it happens again, I swear I’ll win on my own strength.

And with that last thought, I reach out and touch the mini boss chest.