Artus watched Shadow Wolf rapidly retreat and snorted.
"I knew you were lurking in the shadows! Now I've finally forced you out."
He pointed his black Staff toward Shadow Wolf and began chanting an incantation laden with mysterious power.
An inexplicable aura tore through the dimensional barrier and descended upon the Civilization Ruins.
Overhead, the Death Aura, which had been churning with black mist from the outset, began rotating counterclockwise.
Like a storm cloud, it formed an eye of Death Aura at its center.
A vertical black slit divided the amber eye in two, its gaze cold and hard.
It held no trace of emotion.
Amid Artus's sinister laughter—
Roar!
A faint yet terrifying sound echoed throughout the Civilization Ruins.
With that roar, the Black Mist condensed from Death Aura gradually took the shape of a serpent's body, each scale clearly visible.
The Black Mist, which had resembled a millstone, became an enormous coiled serpent, slowly writhing.
Had Yu Yuan been there, he would have immediately recognized it as the Serpent of Revival worshipped by Snake Kiss.
The Serpent of Revival fixed its eye on the fleeing Shadow Wolf.
Then more than a dozen dark green rays shot from that single eye toward him.
They sealed off every possible escape route.
Pew, pew, pew—
Despite dodging with all his strength, Shadow Wolf's shadow form was still struck by several rays.
With a scream, he was forced back into his physical form.
A conspicuous hole appeared in his black cloak, and Death Aura spread across the fabric.
Shadow Wolf clutched his abdomen, his expression incredulous.
After repeatedly dodging until he reached cover, he hastily treated himself, pulling a potion glowing red from inside his clothes and swallowing it.
Then he poured another potion, this one shining gold, over his wound.
Sizzle—