The entire battlefield suddenly filled with a terrifying aura, though not excessively so.
At that moment, the divine beast was still absorbing starlight. Beneath that beast, a lotus-like aura had formed, and all the surrounding aura was flowing into it, disappearing as it sank downward. Everything was being drawn inside.
It was constantly absorbing the aura within itself. Its mouth was wide open, and a different kind of aura was flowing into its body from there as well.
Even within the fog, it stood in a terrifying manner.
On the other side, the fight between the Golden Wolf and the Asura Wolf wasn't progressing forward; instead, they were slowly pushing each other back bit by bit.
Both were heavily injured. The Golden Wolf was completely exhausted. Its face was covered in countless cuts and gashes, and blood was flowing from one of its legs. It was extremely tired. In contrast, the Illusionary Fox standing before it wasn't as heavily injured, but its body was also deeply fatigued.
Their fight had been going on for a long time. Both were worn out.
They continued colliding with each other, each impact causing violent explosions. This had become the most dangerous fight on the battlefield. Both beasts were forcing each other back purely through skill. The Asura Wolf's flaming aura had completely scorched one entire side of the land, while the Illusionary Fox countered with countless illusion-based attacks, reflexively blocking and deflecting so many strikes that the ground itself had taken on an unnatural shape.
Both advanced with the intent to kill. Again and again, they launched attacks at each other.
Suddenly, both of them sensed a horrifying aura.
That aura was rushing straight toward them like a bullet, yet nothing could be seen.
Both beasts instantly became alert.
At that moment, the Asura Wolf moved from the side of the battlefield straight toward the center, as if it intended to cut down anything that stood in its way. It charged directly toward the beasts fighting in the center.
The sky was filled with countless stars, but the starlight descending from them had significantly weakened. Only faint waves of light remained, and even those vanished completely before reaching the ground.
In the air, two moons shone with different kinds of starlight, illuminating the clouds in distinct colors. Some clouds were filled with a deep red glow, while others were bathed in a pure, soul-healing white light. As the flow of starlight diminished, a faint yet eternal internal moonlight spread everywhere. Whether it was the heavens, the battlefield, or the ocean, everything that once shone under starlight now began to glow under moonlight instead.
A faint light also fell upon the battlefield.
The Asura Wolf disappeared into complete darkness. No one knew where it went. Its speed was like a bullet, tearing through the air as it advanced. This was something no one could see clearly—and no one could stop.
Suddenly, cutting through the battlefield, the Asura Wolf appeared among several beasts. Its body had grown enormous once again. It looked as though it had become even stronger. Thick fur covered its body, and its muscles had become sharply defined. Its face was smeared with blood, yet not a single wound could be seen on its body.
It had returned to its prime state.
Its skill turned it into an invincible beast.
It appeared abruptly in that area. There weren't many beasts there—only a few locked in combat with one another.
A short distance ahead, the fight between the Golden Wolf and the Illusionary Fox was still ongoing.
The Asura Wolf was moving at full speed. It charged straight toward the Illusionary Fox to attack. The beasts fighting nearby immediately scattered and fled.
The two beasts were pushed slightly backward before charging toward each other at full speed.
But then, the Asura Wolf suddenly collided with the Illusionary Fox at a speed that was nearly teleportation-like.
Everything happened so fast that a massive explosion erupted. The Golden Wolf, rushing forward, abruptly slammed to a halt. Ahead of it, the fog had thickened to an extreme degree.
The explosion shook the entire battlefield. The Asura Wolf was growing stronger with every passing minute. The beasts before it were utterly incapable of doing anything against it.
On the other side, Ji-Hoon became calm. He turned his gaze toward the place where the explosion had occurred.
There, a massive hole had formed between the rocks. Blood was scattered everywhere. A black-and-white fox lay there, its entire body covered in wounds. One of its eyes had been completely destroyed, and bite marks covered its ears. Blood poured continuously from its body. It was lodged between massive stones, half-buried, completely exposed.
Ji-Hoon looked at it and made a strange expression.
Layla spoke, "This is a rare fox beast. It looks like it fought in a long battle, but in the end, something overwhelmingly powerful appeared and threw it here. It couldn't endure even a single strike and fell here in a half-dead state."
Ji-Hoon said, "So what should I do with it now? It's still alive. What should I do?"
Layla laughed devilishly and replied, "It's in a half-dead state, and it's a Rank 2 beast. Don't you think this is extremely good luck for a demonic ranker?"
Ji-Hoon made a slightly clever expression and said, "Haha, you might be right. This luck is really too good." He understood that he was about to gain a huge benefit. Then he asked, "So what should I do with it now? It's still alive. What should I do with it?"
Layla replied, "It's simple. You don't need to do anything. Just watch. This beast will die in a few minutes. Its heart is about to burst."
Ji-Hoon said with a shocked expression, "What are you, a butcher? Don't be so cruel. Come on, let's pull it out from between the stones. Who knows, it might become my pet."
Layla's mood changed instantly. She was completely shocked by Ji-Hoon's words. She hadn't expected him to give such an answer. In her mind, she thought that Ji-Hoon's true nature wasn't as cruel as his past self.
But then she saw something and froze in shock.
In front of them, the Dark Illusionary Fox lay in an extremely battered condition. Everywhere one looked, blood was flowing from its body.
Near the same rock crevice where the fox was half-buried, Ji-Hoon approached and simply stared at it.
Layla said, "Are you crazy? What are you thinking of doing? It's not such an easy opponent that you can defeat it. If you want to kill it, just smash its head with a stone. If you're so obsessed with fighting, look at your own body first. You can't even run properly right now, yet you're thinking of fighting it."
Ji-Hoon smiled slightly and said, "No, no, it's not like that. I just want to see how strong I am with my power. Forget running—I'm just lacking water, food, and blood right now, and this beast will fulfill all of that. It has a core too, right? I need its fur, its bones, its meat, and even its life. I can't just wait for it to die naturally. After all, it's a beast. Do you really think it would just die here so easily and let me take advantage of it?"
He laughed lightly and continued, "I really don't know what your problem is. Either you don't understand anything, or day by day, more useless thoughts are piling up in your head."
Layla said angrily, "You bastard! You called me useless? Look at yourself! If you go fight it, even in its current state, it will still kill you!"
"By the way, Ji-Hoon trash, I started talking to you nicely, and now you've started talking too much. You think you're smart? Then go ahead and do whatever you want. Huh…"
Ji-Hoon said, "Hey, isn't that true? Forget it. Anyway, before the fight, I want to ask one thing."
"You said that we gain skills in our core world naturally after surviving starlight. Can you tell me where it is, how I can use it, and most importantly—how can I see it?"
Layla replied, "Haha, I thought you had forgotten."
She continued mockingly, "I'm useless, right? What would I know? You're smart, so you must already know."
Ji-Hoon looked at Layla's nonsense behavior and called her silly.
"Hey, I'm asking you, so why won't you tell me? Don't act so high and mighty. Just tell me already."
Layla said, "You hurt me so much with what you said. Shouldn't you apologize to me first?"
Ji-Hoon replied, "Apologize? For what? I just said what I felt. And isn't it true?"
Layla went silent for a moment and then said,
"Fine. Listen. I'll tell you just one thing…"