CHAPTER 35: A SWARM

The shapeshifter noticed my change in expression and immediately started looking around. But her eyes were unable to see through the darkness, leaving her oblivious to what was happening. She looked at me warily but didn’t utter a word.

I also noted that I could see the life span of the demogorgons. It was hovering above their heads.

[HP: 1500/1500]

I watched silently as a demogorgon snuck up behind her, ready to tear her head off with just one strike. She stood oblivious to the incoming death and instead kept all her attention on me. Just as the beast’s hand was inches away from decapitating her, something happened.

Cerberus leaped from the shadows and clamped down on the beast’s hand. The shapeshifter gasped as she quickly turned around to see what was happening. Seeing the demogorgon that close behind her, her face went pale.

The demogorgon screamed loudly as Cerberus ripped away at its flesh, and that scream was like a beckoning, calling all the others down on us.

The hideous creatures charged at us; their very smell was enough to make the night air smell like death. I immediately summoned my pack of shadow hounds. And without the slightest hesitation, they all went to devour what was left of the demogorgon I killed beforehand. This very act made them stronger; not enough to level up, but close enough.

The shapeshifter’s expression froze stiff when she finally saw the sheer amount of demogorgons heading toward us.

"Let’s form a truce, at least until we exit the school," I suggested.

She immediately nodded, agreeing to the truce.

"SKREEEEE-URGHKKKHHH!"

The demogorgon that Cerberus had clamped down on screeched in pain while trying to slash at him. At the same time, another of my shadow hounds snuck up on the demogorgon from behind. It was then that I switched places with that shadow hound and appeared behind the beast in an instant.

I plunged my claws between the gaps in its bones and grabbed at its heart from behind. I was all too familiar with the noise these creatures make when they were about to die, so I quickly pulled out the heart before it could make a sound.

Before the demogorgon’s body could even hit the ground, my hounds were already feasting on its remains, and I too consumed its heart.

[You have slain a demogorgon.]

[You have consumed the heart of a demogorgon.]

I savored the feeling of power running through me after I had devoured the demogorgon’s heart. The stronger the creatures I kill, the more addicting it felt to eat their hearts. I felt a subtle wildness taking over my body. It was the full moon effect; I knew it perfectly.

My bloodlust would continue to rise as the night progressed, and soon I would only be driven by pure primal instincts to kill anything that shared a heartbeat. In this aspect, I was no different from the other werewolves. I was but a slave to the moon. I could feel every logical thought I had slowly slipping away.

My senses were so heightened that I could smell the blood beneath their flesh to the point where I could practically taste it in my mouth. I could hear everything that was going on for miles, spanning the entire university campus, but my mind was in such a foggy state that I couldn’t even comprehend anything I heard.

For some reason, it seemed that my shadow hounds were also slightly affected by the full moon. I wondered how Isabella was doing. How would a hybrid even react to the full moon? What sort of monster would she become? I couldn’t help but feel curious, and a part of me wanted to find her and find out.

My shadow hounds spread themselves out among the demogorgons, allowing me to switch places with them seamlessly. With this skill, I was able to launch surprise attacks on the demogorgons, but with their number and formidable strength, it was difficult for me to catch them off guard.

All I managed to do was land shallow wounds on them while trying my best to evade their attacks. The professor offered support with her crystals, but they weren’t very effective against the demogorgons. They mostly saw her as just an annoyance rather than a real threat and kept their attacks mostly aimed at me.

I weaved through their ambush of assaults with only a few scratches. The air crackled around us as we engaged in the high-speed battle. I counted eight of them in total, and all of them seemed to be at level 1 or two.

The first demogorgon charged at me, but I switched places just in time and appeared in front of another weakened demogorgon with its health at 400/1500. At first, my attack might’ve seemed random, but I was wearing them down by absorbing their life force with my Hellfire skill. I didn’t even have to worry about stamina this time. As long as I kept absorbing their lifeforce, I could replenish my stamina as many times as needed.

With its life force less than half, I plunged my claws into the demogorgon’s chest, ripping out its heart and killing it in one blow.

[You have slain a demogorgon.]

[You have consumed the heart of a demogorgon.]

[You have leveled up to level 10:

+5% Strength

+10% Agility

+15% Stamina

+10% Claw Sharpness

+20% Bite Force]

A warm sensation enveloped my entire body as my stats increased. My heartbeat felt as if a war drum was being pounded away inside my chest. In that next instant, another demogorgon leaped at me. It had an HP of 800/1500.

I dodged below its attack and clawed against its legs, then made my way up to its midsection in slashes. It slashed at me, but I moved through every one of its attacks and clawed away at it until its HP dropped to zero.

With my shadow hounds by my side, I continued to cut my way through the demogorgons one at a time until their health dropped to zero. My hounds feasted on the remains as soon as they fell, getting stronger with every monster I defeated. The battle felt as if it had gone on for hours. When it was finally over, I was covered in their black blood, and I had gone up several levels.

[You have leveled up to level 14.]

In total, my stats were more than double what they were before.

[Your skill Phantom Pack has been leveled up to Level 3:

Description: Phantom Pack has grown to 20 members. You can now take control of any member of the pack you choose.]

I read through my stats, feeling a bit satisfied by my results. With the boost granted to me by the full moon, I could level up a lot faster than I did before. If it wasn’t for its effects, I probably wouldn’t have been able to kill the first demogorgon that showed up.

The shapeshifter stood to the side with a frown on her face.

"You could’ve at least shared one of the hearts with me," she said while glaring at me.

"You eat what you kill. That’s the basic rule of hunting. Come on, let’s go find the others."

She folded her arms and hesitantly started following behind me. I tracked Isabella and the others by their scent. I could sense that they were inside a building, and there were demogorgons where they were.

The shapeshifter and I headed toward where they were, but only a few minutes in, I was forced to stop in my tracks by a vile odor. I immediately activated my thermal vision, and there it was, the source of the stink. And lo and behold, it was a demogorgon, but not like any demogorgon I had seen before.

This one was bigger. Far bigger than the ones we had encountered so far. It stood at around ten feet tall. I counted eight hands in total, all with pointed needle-like fingers. And just by looking at its skin, I could tell that it would be difficult to pierce.

But of all the menacing features it had, what really drew my attention was its life force.

[HP: 5000/5000]

I immediately knew that this transformation wouldn’t be able to stop it. To win this fight, I needed to make use of the true gift that was given to me by the full moon effect.