A pair of crimson eyes peer at me from within the Abyss. They're filled with the anger and killing intent of a wild beast.
I jump backward at the sight of it.
My vision is completely black and white, making this bright red gaze stand out even more to me. I can't sense any monsters nearby, but I begin to connect the dots while skidding to a halt on the desert sand a ways back from the black wall.
Expecting some horrific and bloodthirsty Demonic Creature to crawl out from the fog, I grit my teeth and deactivate my manipulation skill.
If it's anything like the Knights I fought on the 25th floor, one solid wave of mana will take it out no matter how strong it is.
To my surprise, the moment I deactivate my skill the glowing red eyes disappear from my vision.
Golden sand below and blue sky above come back into full view and the black Abyss slowly churns lifelessly in front of me.
My breathing is heavy, and my eyes shift back and forth. I'm positive what I just saw was really there, but now.. it seems to have been an illusion. I use all my mana-powered perception skills, but they do nothing for me.
There is no level that pops up, no readings on my enemy detection radar, not a single bar of text from my appraisal skill, and most importantly my All-Seeing Eye draws a blank.
I gulp, taking another step back, then reactivating my Demonic Energy Manipulation skill again.
A loud growl fills my ears and the crimson orbs stare at me from the edge of the Black Abyss yet again with unwavering resolve. The outline of a large wolf begins to form around the floating eyes. It waits patiently for me to approach, but doesn't show any signs that it will willingly walk out from the wall of darkness.
Its eyes burn red, and the vague outline of its body from behind the black wall has 10 units of raw energy swirling inside it.
My mind begins to race at the thought that the only reason it let me manipulate its energy earlier
was because it was curious to see what was greeting it from outside its domain.
With this Demonic skill activated, I can't use any of my magic. However, without it activated, I can't see or sense this creature at all.
I have no gauge of how strong Demonic Monsters are, and I'm not sure if right now is the time to find out.
"Well... First things first, I'll need to check if you're working alone"
Extending the range of my Demonic Energy manipulation skill, it can be used as a makeshift radar system. It seems like whatever this wolf creature is, they store raw energy deep within them.
If there are any like it in the vicinity, I know exactly what to look for.
After about 15 seconds of searching, 3 other similar bundles of roughly 10 units of Energy just like this one scattered around the edge of the Abyss waiting for something to draw their attention. Luckily, they aren't too close by.
I let out a relieved sigh, powering down my skill to let mana flow through me again. Taking out my sword I release a barrage of high-powered attacks at the portion of the wall where the crimson-eyed wolf stood moments ago.
It may be invisible to me now, but if anything is caught in a chain reaction like this it's as good as dead.
As the sparks fly and the thin layer of black wall mends itself I put away my sword and switch back to my Black and White Vision.
The final remnants of the wall are forming back to their original form, but the glowing eyes of the wolf creature don't budge. It's waiting too far into the Abyss for an attack like that to affect it at all.
I assumed so, but wanted to give it a shot.
Its burning red eyes still stare at me from a distance, but it refuses to walk out from the safety of its dark protective veil.
Curiously, I take a step forward.
With only a handful of the monsters in the area, and just one within a range I'd like to try another test. This one has a more promising potential outcome.
Taking another step forward, I point a finger straight ahead. The closer I get to the red eyes the deeper and louder the guttural growl becomes. With every step on the hot sand I take, the more clearly I see this beast for what it is... Less than 5 meters from the slowly churning black wall, I let my final remaining unit of Demonic Energy flow from my core, through my right arm, and out my finger as a cool dense blade.
Unlike the magic from my previous attack, the thin crescent slices through the less dense refined black energy and heads straight for the outline of the wolf's neck.
At this close range, its eyes shine bright and its thick black fur and muscular body become visible too. The creature stands nearly half my height and is over twice as long. Its claws dig into the sandy ground below and its curved white teeth reflect the red glow from its eyes.
As my thin blade of energy gets close to the beast, its gaze sharpens and it twists its body away with a snarl.
The energy hits the side of its body missing any direct vital points, but leaving a heafy wound behind on its side.
It's hard to tell exactly how baldly it's been injured, but considering the ear-piercing howl it lets out I'm guessing it's pretty bad.
"Great here comes company..."
Not wanting to bite off more than I can chew, I do a quick scan of the environment to find the other creatures start running my way almost instantly.
They're fast.
I grit my teeth. Not knowing enough about the enemy is the most powerful advantage it could have on me.
The only two things keeping me from running away are the desire to see what loot this monster drops and the fact that they're potentially very easy to kill...
I've come to this conclusion because an energy blade that hardly made a dent in my cell door a few days ago managed to critically injure this beast. It must either be much weaker than I first thought, or my energy attacks have a higher effect on Demonic Monsters than regular material objects.
I'm hoping it's both.
My look of concern turns to a confident grin as the essence of raw Demonic Energy leaving its body shows up in my mind's eye. Small black wisps start to leak out from its wound as the monster attempts to crawl away into the void undetected.
"Not so fast."
With my same outreached right hand I begin to manipulate the escaping Demonic Energy and filter it through my core. There's no resistance at all and the whimpers from the creature get fainter and fainter.
It never stood a chance.
At the same time, 3 distant howls from the wolves I detected earlier ring out in reply over and over while drawing closer.
Almost half a minute goes by and the wolves only get louder.
All 10 units of the fallen monster's energy reside inside my core now and the wolf lies lifeless 15 meters away behind a wall of darkness. It's hard to make out its body, but I'm positive its red eyes go dark.
"One down, three to go."
I raise my hands and get ready for another fight. The howls stop and 6 crimson eyes appear from behind the fallen monster deep within the darkness.
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