Chapter 48: Black Fangs

They exchanged a brief glance before cautiously stepping into the cavern.

The moment they crossed the entrance, a peculiar sight greeted them.

The cavern was dimly lit, but it was far from dark. Countless crimson rocks were scattered throughout the enormous chamber, emitting a faint yet eerie red glow that illuminated their surroundings.

Some were no bigger than ordinary stones, while others were enormous, towering formations. A few even resembled miniature hills, their uneven surfaces casting strange shadows across the cavern floor.

It was an unusual sight.

However, none of them were in the mood to admire the scenery.

They proceeded cautiously, their eyes constantly sweeping across their surroundings as they searched for potential threats.

Tommy and Kelly naturally took the lead, while Aaron remained a few steps behind, carrying their makeshift Soul Bag.

They hadn’t walked very far when—

Grrrrrr...

A series of low growls suddenly echoed through the cavern.

Aaron immediately turned his head towards the source, his expression tightening.

He knew that sound.

’Black Fangs.’

They were evolved wolves, each possessing a physique comparable to that of a tiger. Their bite force was roughly three times that of a Jaguar, making them considerably more dangerous than ordinary beasts.

However, their greatest threat wasn’t their strength.

It was their hunting instincts.

Black Fangs excelled at laying ambushes. They rarely attacked carelessly, preferring to conceal themselves and surround their prey before launching a coordinated assault.

Once their target was cornered, escaping became considerably more difficult.

Aaron’s expression turned serious as he glanced at the two people ahead of him.

"Don’t let them drive you into a corner. These things specialize in ambushes."

Tommy Warian chuckled.

Without even sparing Aaron a glance, he casually responded.

"Just focus on carrying the Soul Bag, Goldilock. We’ll deal with the threats."

As soon as he finished speaking, several white sparks suddenly materialized beside him. They twirled in the air, gradually gathering together until a small white wolf appeared out of thin air.

Aaron blinked.

’He already has a Spirit Animal?’

His eyes lingered on the creature for a moment.

It was a Low Second-Dimensional Beast.

’He must have obtained it during their earlier battles.’

Getting a Spirit Animal wasn’t particularly easy. In fact, it was largely a matter of luck combined with considerable effort.

One could slaughter hundreds of beasts without obtaining a single Spirit Animal. Alternatively, they might get incredibly lucky and kill the right beast among those hundreds.

After all, not every beast possessed the necessary qualities to become a Spirit Animal.

Aaron had personally killed close to a hundred bats earlier, perhaps even more, yet he hadn’t obtained a single one.

He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

’Lucky bastard.’

At that moment, Tommy reached into his pocket and retrieved a palm-sized metallic ingot.

He briefly examined his surroundings, his eyes moving from one crimson rock formation to another.

Then, the tiny ingot began to expand.

Its surface rippled as though the metal were nothing more than a pool of liquid. In the blink of an eye, it stretched, twisted and folded in on itself, rapidly taking shape between Tommy’s fingers.

Within seconds, a magnificent greatsword materialized in his grasp.

Aaron stared.

He knew about Tommy’s ability, but seeing it in action was still rather impressive.

The guy could manipulate metal with astonishing precision, reshaping it into practically anything he desired.

A sword, a dagger, a machete...

As long as he had sufficient metal, the possibilities were seemingly endless.

’What a convenient ability.’

Meanwhile, Kelly remained relatively relaxed.

Much like Aaron, she simply watched Tommy’s preparations without making any particularly grandiose movements. Her hands hung loosely by her sides, and her expression remained remarkably composed. It wasn’t until Tommy turned towards her that she finally reacted with a slight nod.

A thin layer of frost immediately began spreading across her palms.

And then—

The two of them lunged forward.

Their movements were astonishingly fast.

Much faster than Aaron had anticipated.

Within a single second, Tommy had already closed the distance between himself and one of the Black Fangs, leaving the unfortunate creature no time to react.

Its eyes widened as the human suddenly appeared before it, moving at a speed it hadn’t anticipated.

However, before it could even open its jaws, Tommy’s greatsword had already descended, separating its head cleanly from its body.

Its massive frame collapsed heavily onto the cavern floor.

Aaron instinctively held his breath.

’That fast?’

His gaze immediately shifted towards Kelly.

Unlike Tommy, she wasn’t particularly reliant on speed.

In fact, her movements were considerably more measured. However, if Tommy was a walking embodiment of chaos, Kelly was undoubtedly death itself.

She dashed straight into the midst of the Black Fangs, deliberately allowing the creatures to close in on her.

It was almost as though she were inviting them to attack.

Several Black Fangs lunged towards her from different directions, their enormous jaws opening wide as they attempted to tear into her flesh.

But just as they entered her reach—

Her frost-covered palm touched one of them.

CRACK!

A layer of ice instantly spread across the beast’s body, encasing the contacted area in a thick sheet of frost.

Before the creature could retreat, Kelly clenched her fingers.

The ice shattered.

Unfortunately for the Black Fang, the body part encased within it shattered along with the ice.

It was a simple ability. But terrifyingly effective.

Sometimes, Kelly touched their backs. Other times, she targeted their legs, crippling their movements before finishing them off.

However, her favourite target appeared to be their heads.

The sight was nothing short of gruesome.

One moment, a Black Fang would still be snarling viciously, its enormous head completely encased in ice.

The next—

CRACK!

Its head would explode into countless bloody fragments alongside the shattered ice.

She was practically handing out death with every touch.

And Tommy?

He was creating absolute chaos.

He swung his greatsword with ridiculous ease, handling the enormous weapon as though it weighed no more than an ordinary wooden stick.

But that wasn’t even the most impressive part.

The weapon constantly changed its shape in the middle of combat.

Whenever a Black Fang managed to get too close, the greatsword would ripple and compress, transforming into a pair of short daggers that allowed Tommy to attack with greater precision.

At other times, it stretched into several long metallic chains.

These weren’t ordinary chains, either.

Their surfaces were covered with countless sharp spikes, each one capable of tearing through flesh.