"What the heck do you mean by that?"

Despite the predator's mindset in effect, those words managed to spark a hint of hatred in my soul.

"You see, when they fed me some insane amounts of various herbs, it took me only a short while to break through all the bottlenecks that blocked me from evolving. After going through this process for several times, I thought that my limits didn't exist, only to be painfully brought back to reality, when I faced with a bottleneck, that no amount of treasures could help me overcome."

Finally standing up, the beast looked just like it's previous self. Just a slightly overgrown wolf, with some additional traits here and there.

Even with how dire this situation was for me and my previous display of strength in my fight against Veriel, it was completely calm, continuing its monologue with every step that it took.

What's worse, the closer he got to me, it's body seemed to grow in size!

At first, I thought it was just an optical illusion, that my eyes were cheating my mind when passing through my current emotional state, but when a pair of dark wings suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the beast's back, I realised this was really happening!

"That's where your person comes to the story. You see, when I was struggling to find my way to break through this damn bottleneck, I stumbled upon a small strand of energy that somehow was able to wash impurities in my bloodline. Now, I know that without it I wouldn't even be able to reach my current strength!"

Step by step, the beast's size was growing, to finally stall when it was about three meters high, not to speak about its length. Only now did I realise that its aura had exactly the same taste as the energy that forced me away from Veriel's body!

While it's size was already respectable, in the end, it was nothing to be worried about.

It was its insanely condensed power that was seeping through every pore of its body that planted a seed of fear in my soul!

"At first, I was going to step in and save this guy, if he proved to be unable to defeat you. From the very first move of yours, I managed to confirm that it was indeed your energy that had such a wondrous effect on me, so I just wanted to pick my time to feed on it. But seeing how you managed to down this pathetic kid without much effort, I can't afford to laze any more!"

Stomping hard on the ground, the beast accented it's words, while probably unintentionally, making me feel as if an earthquake struck the entire area.

Standing fright in front of me, barely a few meters away, it was imposing enough to strike fear into a heart of any other cultivator. For some reason though, it was only waiting there, as if it felt urged to finish its monologue before attacking.

"While I would love to just settle it peacefully by making you give up enough of your energy to allow for my breakthrough, but I can't afford to do it anymore. I'm not sure if you know, but us, the so-called demonic beasts, have an instinct that makes us irritated when in presence of stronger being. Seeing how this excuse of a man dared to fight you, I assume that you, humans, are not capable of the same feat."

I have no idea what this guy is speaking about. Just his presence is almost enough to break through my predator's mindset and just overwhelm me with terror!

"The point is, a new person came today, far stronger than I could ever imagine. Seeing how it cares for this guy to the point of giving him some pills that made even me tremble, I can't afford to stand back when you try to kill him. Seeing how he is no longer able to fight, no matter how much I hate exerting myself, I need to be your next opponent!"

So that's how it is.

I'm not sure if that was the intention of this beast, but I'm finally able to understand why both Jelier and Venna didn't dare to make a move. They were simply faced with such an overwhelming strength of a new expert in the city, that any kind of resistance would prove to be most probably, futile!

But that doesn't mean that they are excused in my eyes! Contrary to that, it only serves to show how little value does they place in having a good relationship with me!

I have no need for such friends or allies! If they want to cut ties with me, so be it! I will make sure to make them regret it!

"If that's the case, what's stopping you from attacking?"

Doing my very best to clear my thoughts, I can only stall for time while my mana is regenerating even the slightest bruise or exhaustion within my body. The size of his beast alone warranted my utmost attention, not to speak about the density of its energy.

I guess for the very first time since I fought Pengu, I will have to put my life on the line and use any means possible to come out on top!

"You see, from the simple fact that you didn't kill me on the spot when I invaded your turf, you earned my gratitude. Seeing how angry you got when you noticed that your mate is attacked, you earned my respect. It's not like you are strong enough to pose a significant threat to me from the get-go, so at least I can give you some time to prepare yourself for the inevitable outcome of our fight!"

What a hospitable beast!

At this point, only the irony was able to break through the dense shell that predator's mindset clocked my soul with.

But no matter how much I would love to belie the reality, I was facing a powerful beast that I wasn't confident of being able to deal with, while pressured for time if I wanted to have any hope of rescuing Eve, not to speak about the need to deal with those fucking traitors!