Chapter 97 - Determination

Little more than a minute after the alarm had been sounded, the Grand Elder had appeared at the mouth of the Abyss with a stern expression on his face. He could see Fenrir floating in the air and, with her wolf-like ars and tail, it wasn't difficult to ascertain whether or not she was a human.

With his expression darkening further, the Grand Elder pulled out a string of prayer beads and a vajra as he shouted, "Vile creature! I will rip your soul from your body and refine it for a hundred years! You will suffer for antagonizing the Searing Sword Palace...!"

Hearing the man's words, Fenrir just snorted through her nose as her aura turned into a total of thirteen massive wolves, each formed from Devouring Laws. This caused the Grand Elder to inhale sharply and, for a brief moment, he continued retracting his statement and trying to settle things in a more peaceful manner.

Unfortunately for him, his fate had been decided even before he uttered the hateful name of the Searing Sword Palace. Thus, without the need for a verbal response, Fenrir raised her paw, pointing a clawed finger toward the Grand Elder and sending her pack to hunt him down.

Feeling an irrepressible sense of dread welling up inside him, the Grand Elder didn't even consider trying to stand his ground and fight. Instead, he fled like a bolt of lightning toward the sky, his body shrouded in vermillion flames that caused the surrounding temperature to skyrocket.

Without moving from her spot, Fenrir watched as her wolves, seemingly with a mind of their own, gave chase after the fleeing Grand Elder. They were slightly faster than him so, while she was forced to give chase to prevent the man from fleeing beyond her range, he didn't require her to lift a finger as another ripple of foreign Qi was absorbed into her ever-expanding reserves.

What Fenrir didn't expect was, moments prior to his death, the Grand Elder pulled out an ornate scroll covered in gold. It burned with a brilliant light before fading out of existence just as his body was ripped to shreds by the voracious pack of wolves. Though he had tried to deter them with a few powerful blasts of Qi, this had only made the wolves even stronger so he knew there was no escape.

When the Grand Elder vanished, Fenrir appeared like a blur at the point where he had burned the scroll. Her paws waved through the air, sending small ripples through the void that drew her senses to an area far to the north. Though she didn't understand the exact purpose of the scroll, her instinct told her that several powerful enemies were now chasing after her.

Rather than flee, Fenrir's eyes turned sharp and, instead of thirteen wolves, her shroud expanded to create more than a thousand, each flanking her. This left her standing at the head of the pack as one of the wolves, nearly three times the size of the others, walked on the air to nuzzle against her. Fenrir gave the amalgamation of Devouring Laws a scratch under the chin before ultimately climbing onto its back and saying, "It is time to hunt..." in a husky tone of voice.

(Fenrir's Commentary: 'Come...I will devour you all...!')