The hounds had sensed the danger coming but couldn't retreat due to the overwhelming pressure crushing down on them.
The effects of [demonic presence] were much stronger than before.
Walking at a steady pace towards the pack was a figure covered in black straps and a red cloak around his neck.
The head that sat on this figure was that of a gruesome-looking demon, possessing terrifying strength.
The very air got denser around them as he walked closer.
Suddenly he increased his pace, and the cloak also moved separately from the figure.
Without saying a word, Kael lunged his dagger into the neck of the first hound in front of him—retrieving the dagger, he stabbed the beast repeatedly before letting it fall lifelessly on the ground.
"Die, die, damn it."
He rose slowly to his feet and turned to the rest.
The hounds began to jump hastily into the shadows, but the demonic presence coupled with the smoke still present disrupted their coordination, leading to even more panic.
Suddenly, a sharp entity whisked through the air, and immediately multiple heads rolled at once.
A menacing creature in a mask, covered from head to toe in a black cloak, emerged from the smoke.
A flood of system notifications echoed in his mind as several sounds died.
Kael had become all too familiar with it.
"You took really long; was there something else that happened?"
Nyx nodded.
"The people watching us are definitely inhabitants of this world, but they don't seem to want conflict with us."
"Just as I thought."
You did great work; let's clear out the rest as well."
Nyx looked at him for a second before turning to face the hounds.
"That mask is really convenient."
"Trust me, it's more than just convenient."
"So, it worked in buying time?"
"Yes, it worked like magic, and I can also control it for longer; now let's dance."
Kael smiled and changed to a fighting stance as the demonic mask disappeared into thin air.
Nyx tilted her head slightly.
"Dance?"
"Ahh."
Kael sighed.
Just forget it and let's fight."
Immediately, they both launched at the disoriented hounds fleeing out of the shadows close to the mountains.
Nyx leaped into the air and descended in a circular swinging motion to slice a pair of hounds in half with one swift strike.
Kael faced a group of three charging towards him.
He moved towards one coming from his right; the creature moved to deliver a clean strike at his neck but was suddenly pulled off its feet from behind by the cloak.
"Good work."
Kael made use of the opportunity and sliced the creature's throat, killing it instantly.
Their newly formed coordination was breaking down once again.
Another hound was already charging individually at the white-haired teenager, but the wrapped around his arm and pulled him into the air.
Just before he completely flew above the hounds, one of them leaped at him and bit down on his heel.
"Fuck."
Kael cursed under his breath, trying to prevent himself from screaming from excruciating pain he felt from the bite—and the hound was still holding onto his heel.
'This damn creature.'
"Hey, let go, will you?
I'm asking nicely now."
It was the first time he had tried talking to any of the hounds.
"Die, die."
The voice was just as husky and disturbing as when he heard from Nyx before they became contracted.
The response he got wasn't too surprising to him.
"Nyx, could you help me out here?"
The black-cloaked shadow creature whisked through the air right over the remaining hounds and sliced off the beast at the neck.
Kael felt the pain spreading through his leg ease as he watched the body fall into the midst of the pack.
Kael quickly made use of the minor distraction amongst the hounds, pulled out another explosive from his pocket, and dropped it right above them, killing most of the remaining shadow hounds.
The flood of notifications from the system was less disturbing now.
Within a few minutes, they had killed off the most.
The silence that fell on the scene after the last hound was killed felt especially relieving to Kael.
"We're done here at last."
He fell to his knees and took a few deep breaths.
His hands were still shaking a bit; he hid them in his pocket and looked around to confirm if it was truly over.
"It's finally over."
"Kael, let's do something about that wound.
He picked a spot on the dry wasteland and sat, resting his back on a rock.
He raised his leg to Nyx as she wrapped his whole leg in black tape-like material.
"Now let's just hope Serin comes back soon and unharmed."
He turned in the direction where serin was supposed to be fighting the remnants.
"Let's start harvesting soul stones in the meantime."
It had been a while since he harvested soul stones, making him remember how he fell into the Shadow Realm in the first place.
'Feels like it's been a few years.'
It was also the first time he took soul stones to absorb since he had already received benefits from killing abyss creatures.
He approached a shadow hound and, without hesitating, used his dagger to carve the creature open.
"Double reward I guess."
It also made him wonder why his benefits were different from others.
Serin had finished killing most of the hounds, but the remaining were proving to be rather tricky for her.
The advantage she gained from the aftereffects of the explosions.
Most of the fog had faded, and the hounds had begun to employ their perfect coordination strategies.
The small cracks appearing on her armor had begun compounding.
'This is starting to get troublesome.'
There were a few of them left, but they were moving in a different way from their previous pattern.
"It feels as if someone's controlling them.
I guess it's time to get a bit more serious."
Suddenly, strings of light took form in her hands, and the rapier dissolved into sparks of light.
Using the whip-like string of light, she struck at the first hound that came out of the shadow of a rock a bit further from her.
The whip moved at a neck-breaking speed, hitting her target before it could even react—slicing the creature in half.
Suddenly the remaining hounds moved back slowly.
She gripped the whip with both hands again, with a smile appearing on her face.
"This is going to sting a bit."
Killing all the remaining hounds didn't take more than five minutes.
"Finally done."
She said as she stretched her arms.
She looked at the corpses that were scattered over the place, covered in blood.
"Collecting the stones will be a real hassle."
Just as she was carving the creatures and retrieving stones from them, she caught a figure move in the shadow of her vision.
Within a fraction of a second, a whip of light appeared and lashed toward the shadow.
A muffled sound came from the spot as the creature disappeared completely.
"Got lucky, huh?"
She turned around and returned to soul stone retrieving.
Kael and Nyx were almost done harvesting soul stones when he paused.
"Nyx, they're coming."
She nodded and stood up straight.
Kael had been monitoring the pair of unknown individuals since they came within the range of his [Essence sight] ability.
They indeed possessed shadow essence, which signaled abilities that were related to shadows.
Suddenly two figures quietly emerged from the shadow of a boulder behind them.
"Well, hello, dear friends."
Kael spoke immediately; they completely emerged from the shadows.
"Nice of you to come and welcome us."
Kael and Nyx turned to face their sudden but not so new companions.
They were humans, or at least they looked completely human; in fact, unlike Serin, there was no difference between these guys and a normal human.
The first was a man who had a tall, well-built frame; his chiseled and beardless face sat on a body completely covered by a black coat, and his raven black hair was being blown softly by the wind.
Kael squeezed his face, looking at the man who seemed to be in his early thirties despite his youthful appearance.
'What is he? A movie star or what?'
The second was slightly shorter and younger, donning a grey uniform covering him from neck to ankle.
His lean body was covered in a soft, shadowy fog.
The younger individual was definitely a close combat fighter.
He could tell from a glance even though he was in a bulky uniform.
He looked up and smiled; Serin had finished her task and returned safely.
She descended beside Kael and looked at the two figures standing in front of them.
"I'm surprised you actually noticed us."
The taller man spoke first.
Kael smiled.
"That's nothing special; I'm sure you enjoyed the scene from the mountain you were standing on earlier."
A look of surprise was rather visible on the face of the younger figure.
The older individual smiled.
"Well, I see we have an interesting group here."