Shin got up from the bush, throwing his bag down as he prepared to march forward. He made his way toward the agitated demon jackals.
As soon as he got close enough, all the jackals turned and looked at him with infuriated glares.
The jackals began moving around Shin, forming a wide half-circle. Shin stood puzzled by this action.
Since when do demon jackals work together in such high numbers?
Bael looked on in confusion.
"Well, my father's successor should be able to handle a few dormant monsters. Though their wind magic is problematic," he said.
"Have fun, student," Bael said as he jumped into a tree and watched the battle that was about to unfold.
Shin stood in front of the group of demon jackals. All the demon jackals opened their mouths and let out a concentrated gust of air.
Shin used wind magic to propel himself up into the air.
"Dark magic, remember," Bael instructed.
Shin rolled as his right hand turned pitch black, his shadow enveloping him and his already black clothes.
He thrust his robotic left hand forward, and tentacles burst out from it. They tore through the demon jackals as most evaded the attack.
Shin landed on the now-destroyed terrain and smirked.
"Really, man, this is child's play," Shin yelled out arrogantly.
Bael simply pointed at the demon jackals. When Shin turned around, he was met with an unpleasant surprise of large jagged teeth.
Shin was unfazed. He stuck his robotic arm into the mouth of the demon jackal.
In the next instant, the demon jackal's torso ripped open as black tendrils split it into two halves.
Shin then threw the corpse aside. The other demon jackals growled as the white contraptions on their ribs glowed green.
"Hey, Bael. How worried should I be?" Shin asked as his face grew more concerned.
"Demon jackals are light and built for speed. Their white chest piece glows when they are prepping to go Godspeed or release howling winds," Bael said, laughing.
Shin readied himself as one of the demon jackals let out a huge howl of wind. Shin quickly responded by lifting his hand forward.
A ball of wind formed on his palm and then started compressing. The wind rushed out in a compulsion-ray sort of way.
Shin's wind repulsion technique cut through the demon jackal's howling wind and hit it with such outstanding force that it broke its white rib contraption.
"Hey. Dark magic only!" Bael yelled as he hurled a branch and hit Shin.
"How the hell am I supposed to do that with dark magic?" Shin retaliated.
"Figure it out, genius," Bael scoffed.
Shin stared at his hands.
The only thing closest to that would be Void Strike…
I'll need something stronger to test it on.
Shin then looked at the remaining demon jackals that were starting to slowly flee from him.
A few of the demon jackals that were not fleeing charged at him with speed that left sonic booms behind.
These booms dazed Shin as the jackals tried to gang up on him. But with swift and methodical precision, Shin slashed them up using his enhanced robotic hand.
The rest of the demon jackals backed off.
"Ohohoho. Finally, a challenge," Bael cheered as a larger demon jackal walked toward Shin, the other jackals bowing down to it.
Its orange fur was silky smooth, with white skeleton-like contraptions on its chest and jet-like thrusters made of bone on its hind legs.
It towered over the other demon jackals and was tall enough to measure up to Shin's neck while still on all fours.
Shin immediately knew from the color of its aura that he was now facing an awakened demon jackal.