Before the altar of the Ancestral Followers, Sif bared its enormous fangs, excitement flashing in its eyes.
Ever since the Ancestral Follower's ritual had begun and the aura of the Ancestral Spirit had gradually started to recover, Sif had sensed it at the same time.
It had heard the echo of life endlessly giving rise to life.
Sif's fate was calling to it, and its desire for slaughter was steadily rising.
Everything it had swallowed before could only be called feeding.
Only the Ancestral Spirit before it could truly be called prey.
And so Sif slowly moved its paws forward, once again approaching the altar.
Sif did not charge forward like it had while traveling.
It walked very slowly, patiently sizing up its prey.
By now, Sif had already changed drastically.
It had passed through its childhood growth period and was gradually entering the realm of true strength.
Sif's figure was like a moving mountain. Its shoulder height even surpassed the ancient trees surrounding the Worshippers' Woods.
The fur that had once been incredibly soft, making young Sif look like a fluffy blueberry cotton ball, had now transformed into rough, tough mane resembling steel wire.
Every strand of fur shimmered with a turquoise-like luster, as though even the sharpest blades would have difficulty damaging it.
With a physique like this, Sif was on an entirely different level from the Red Wolf of Radagon.
No, forget the Red Wolf.
Even an ordinary dragon would have difficulty competing with Sif in sheer size.
Only powerful ancient dragons like Agheel and Smarag could firmly surpass Sif in terms of physical size.
Seeing Sif steadily approach, expressions of panic appeared on the faces of the Ancestral Followers.
This enormous wolf that had inexplicably intruded was something they had never seen before. They had absolutely no idea what kind of lifeform it was.
But there was one thing they understood clearly.
This enormous wolf seemed to have come specifically for the Ancestral Spirit.
At a time like this, the Ancestral Followers should have drawn their greatbows and fired the Ancestral Spirit arrows they were so proud of, piercing through its fur…
Or perhaps they should have raised their bone axes and charged forward to fight it, stopping this intruder from committing such an offense…
Yet no one moved.
It wasn't that they didn't want to.
They simply didn't dare.
Every step of Sif's powerful, muscular limbs made the earth tremble, while its thunderous footsteps echoed through the empty forest.
Those heavy footsteps struck the hearts of the Ancestral Followers again and again, causing every one of them to tremble.
When Sif slowly walked out of the Worshippers' Woods, even the dense branches and leaves behind it seemed to bow beneath its oppressive presence.
The entire forest fell silent.
Only Sif's cold, heavy breathing echoed among the trees.
No matter which Ancestral Follower it was, when faced with this terrifying beast called Sif, they had lost the courage to fight back, as though they had even forgotten how to draw a bow and fire an arrow.
Any creature would feel tiny before this enormous beast.
All it could do was flee for its life, or wait to be devoured by fate.
However, not every creature would sink into fear because of this.
In the middle of the panicking Ancestral Followers, the Ancestral Spirit elegantly shook its newly grown, silky fur and proudly straightened its body.
Moving its long, slender limbs, the Ancestral Spirit stepped over the many Ancestral Followers and walked down from the altar.
The Ancestral Spirit did not fear death.
To it, death was merely another rebirth.
Just as Sif had sensed it, the Ancestral Spirit had already known of this destined battle before its revival.
For both Sif and the Ancestral Spirit, this was a fate they had no choice but to face.
Death was fair to them.
Repeated rebirth was simply the law by which they lived.
But this was not the law of death.
It was the law of nature.
And the cruel competition for survival was the one thing that could never be avoided.
Under the night sky, Sif's eyes were like two blazing pieces of coal, radiating a bloodthirsty red glow.
The Ancestral Spirit, meanwhile, calmly advanced without the slightest fear, meeting Sif's hungry gaze with indifference.
Just then, Sif suddenly lowered the front half of its body, its eyes locked firmly on the creature ahead.
It had already locked onto its prey.
A low growl rumbled from its throat, serving as its warning before the hunt.
The azure beast transformed into a streak of light and ferociously charged toward the Ancestral Spirit.
The surrounding wind suddenly began to churn violently, yet it could not conceal the terror racing beneath the starry night.
The many Ancestral Followers were buffeted by the powerful wind until they could barely see, while the less experienced hunters were even sent staggering about.
When they opened their eyes again, the two enormous beasts had already collided violently.
Sif's thick forelimbs pressed down hard against the Ancestral Spirit's enormous antlers, yet it could not force that noble head completely downward.
As a creature resembling a deer, these enormous antlers were also the Ancestral Spirit's strongest means of attack.
Not only had it failed to be subdued, the Ancestral Spirit even appeared completely at ease.
With murderous intent to pierce straight through Sif's body, the Ancestral Spirit thrust its head upward, its enormous antlers stabbing toward Sif's soft underbelly.
However, Sif twisted its body violently in midair, using the momentum to swing around.
Its tail, hard as steel, slammed heavily into the Ancestral Spirit's body.
The Ancestral Spirit's seemingly slender body possessed extraordinary resilience. It only staggered slightly before recovering.
This time, the Ancestral Spirit took the initiative and charged forward, relying on its sharp antlers to barrel straight toward Sif.
Sif did not recklessly leap forward for another bite.
Instead, it nimbly jumped to the side and tore at the Ancestral Spirit's flank as it passed.
However, the Ancestral Spirit immediately reacted.
Not only did it swiftly turn its charge in another direction, it also repeatedly swung its head from side to side, firmly guarding itself against Sif.
The Ancestral Spirit never exposed an opening before Sif, causing several attacks to end without success.
Gradually, Sif began to lose patience.
Because it had been born powerful, the prey it hunted during its usual outings had never been able to provide it with enough experience.
The only thing that could truly be called hunting, truly be called battle, was this fight before it.
Finally, Sif let out a roar and opened its enormous jaws, charging straight toward the Ancestral Spirit.
Seeing Sif charge again, this time revealing its long fangs as sharp as blades, the Ancestral Spirit immediately leaped straight upward in an attempt to evade it.
Sif had been waiting for precisely this opportunity.
It immediately pounced toward the Ancestral Spirit, which had nowhere to escape in midair.
However, while airborne, the Ancestral Spirit did something that completely defied common sense.
It stepped on the air itself.
Borrowing the power of souls, it performed a second jump and leaped even higher.
Sif had not anticipated this.
Its pounce missed completely, and it fell back to the ground.
Meanwhile, in midair, the Ancestral Spirit opened its mouth and spewed out a large amount of pale-green soul mist, scattering it over Sif's entire body.
The soul mist fell like rain, completely enveloping the surrounding space as it continuously emitted an ear-piercing sizzling sound.
Sif's swaying silhouette gradually disappeared into the mist.
There was no longer any sound.
The Ancestral Followers knew the power of that technique and all relaxed.
In their eyes, nothing could possibly remain alive beneath the soul mist, especially when it had been released by an Ancestral Spirit itself.
Even if that enormous wolf had somehow survived beneath the mist, its combat strength would surely have been severely reduced.
It would no longer be a match for the Ancestral Spirit.
At this moment, however, only the oldest Ancestral Follower Shaman remained deep in thought, recalling memories from the distant past.
After observing the battle just now, he had finally remembered an ancient legend.
It was said that in an extremely distant past, there had been an enormous wolf just as strange as the Ancestral Spirits.
They had also been rivals of the Ancestral Spirits, enjoying the same status and representing another form of the cycle of "nature."
However, unlike the Ancestral Spirits, who were repeatedly revived through rituals, those enormous wolves relied on another method of bringing forth new life.
If the rebirth of the Ancestral Spirits could be described as new life sprouting from the soul, then the enormous wolves sprouted new life from the flesh.
Once it sensed that its death was approaching, an enormous wolf of the previous generation would give birth to its offspring before rapidly dying.
Then the newborn life would take its place and rise again.
But that species had already disappeared, becoming nothing more than a distant legend.
The Shaman had never expected to see it appear once again.
With that thought, the Shaman no longer felt worried.
Since that enormous wolf was also a rival of the Ancestral Spirits, then this matter no longer had anything to do with them.
Respect nature.
Revere life.
No matter which one ultimately remained, it would still be a continuation of what they believed in.
The Shaman raised the staff in his hand and used a language that only the Ancestral Follower could hear to calm his tribesmen.
Gradually, even the simple and innocent Ancestral Follower understood the situation.
Thus, the priests resumed scattering soul mist, while the hunters beside the altar put away their bows and began dancing once again.
——
The two Silver Knight undercover agents were still holding their telescopes as they watched the battlefield from afar.
Seeing the Ancestral Follower start dancing again, they actually thought the people on the other side were already popping champagne at halftime.
The heavily armored Tarnished frowned, clearly displeased with the Ancestral Follower's reaction.
As a member of Stormveil, he naturally had to stand on his own side. The other side was getting a little too carried away.
"What the hell? The winner hasn't even been decided yet…"
"They're already dancing. Just wait until it comes charging back out. They'll be in for a surprise."
The other Tarnished wore a troubled expression and did not voice his own opinion.
Sif was still trapped inside that obviously dangerous soul mist, and there had been no movement for so long that it was genuinely impossible to say how the battle was going.
He quietly glanced at the completely composed Selinsax beside them and barely managed to swallow the pessimistic words he had been about to say.
In the end, he gathered his courage and boldly asked Selinsax,
"Excuse me… Lady Selinsax, aren't you going to intervene?"
"The current situation seems a little… uncertain?"
Selinsax looked at the mass of soul mist and laughed softly.
"Fufu, That was only a little playtime."
"I watched Sif grow up with my own eyes. No one knows its strength better than I do."
"It simply hasn't fought very much before. Right now is the time for that child to awaken its instincts."
As soon as she finished speaking, a change really did occur beneath the veil of soul mist.
Two blood-red eyes pierced through the mist, while electrical charges continuously spread throughout it.
Sif's figure stepped out from beneath the soul mist once again.
Drops of the soul mist slid down its steel-like mane, yet it appeared almost completely unharmed.
However, Sif had not emerged unchanged.
Its appearance had changed once again.
Clear yellow lightning coiled around Sif's body, while its azure fur stood on end, making it look as though every hair had been charged with static.
At the same time, as the fur rose, the dense dark-blue scales beneath it became faintly visible.
The small Omen like horns from before had extended and curled outward, covering vital areas like armor. Even the top of Sif's head had grown a pair of sharp, demonic-looking horns.
A dazzling bolt of lightning descended from the sky and fell directly into Sif's mouth.
Sif viciously bit down on it, trapping the lightning between its jaws.
The bolt transformed into an enormous blade of lightning that spread toward both sides.
Ever since Sif had been hatched, it had been cared for almost entirely by Selinsax.
Under the influence of an Ancient Dragon, Sif had gradually learned how to wield lightning as well.
Although it had yet to master red lightning because of the nature of its own life, ordinary lightning was already completely within its control.
And now, Sif had fully released the power of lightning.
The Supercharged Mode.
With lightning held between its jaws, Sif once again charged wildly toward the Ancestral Spirit.
In its Supercharged State, Sif's speed and strength rose another level, its figure moving with the ferocity and speed of actual lightning.
The Ancestral Spirit remained fearless.
As though it had already anticipated this, it lowered its head and charged again.
Any living creature that was attacked would feel pain, fear, or expose an opening.
But the Ancestral Spirit would feel none of those things.
The Ancestral Spirit once again thrust its enormous antlers forward, charging directly toward Sif.
It intended to determine the victor through a direct clash of antlers and strength.
Sif's figure flashed past.
When it appeared again, it was already several meters behind the Ancestral Spirit.
BOOM!
One enormous, thick budding horn slowly fell to the ground.
The enormous antlers the Ancestral Spirit had once been so proud of had been severed on one side in an instant.
Not only that, a charred black mark had also been left across the Ancestral Spirit's soft white fur, extending all the way from its neck to its hind leg.
The wound had been burned and carbonized.
No blood would flow from it anymore.
The Ancestral Spirit calmly turned its head, as though the body that had been injured did not belong to it.
Sif threw its head back and howled in exhilaration, while the lightning around it grew increasingly violent.
In reality, Sif's strength had already been enough to completely suppress the Ancestral Spirit from the beginning.
It was simply that Sif had never truly exerted itself before and did not know just how powerful it actually was.
Only after entering its Supercharged State did that overwhelming difference finally become apparent.
The Ancestral Spirit's moves were far too limited. At this point, the difference in raw stats had become so enormous that experience could no longer make up for it.
Naturally, it was powerless to resist.
Perhaps it had inherited this trait from its master.
Sif, too, was going farther and farther down the path of overwhelming stats.
After realizing just how ridiculous its own stats were, Sif immediately loosened up and charged forward once again with astonishing speed.
——
Sif's enormous claw pressed down on the Ancestral Spirit's head.
This time, it finally forced that lofty head all the way down to the ground.
Looking at the Ancestral Spirit beneath its paw, Sif suddenly felt that it was no different from the little deer it had hunted in the past.
The only difference was that Sif could sense the connection of fate between them.
Sif lowered its head and looked at the helplessly struggling Ancestral Spirit beneath its paw.
Then it slowly opened its jaws.
After living in Stormveil for such a long time, Sif had gradually come to understand one fact.
There was nothing within "death."
Sif had found its own place in the world.
It could no longer regard the natural cycle of its own species as something ordinary and self-evident.
It did not want to die.
It wanted to remain forever beside the lives it cherished.
Whatever it meant for life to sprout from death, whatever the cycle of life was supposed to be, Sif did not understand any of it.
Nor did it care.
Sif did not think about that many things.
It only knew that "death" could not give birth to anything.
So if someone had to find death, then let them have it.
Sif's enormous jaws finally descended.
Its teeth sank into the Ancestral Spirit's neck, delivering death to its prey in the most primitive manner possible.
Blood gushed violently.
The Ancestral Spirit's head was torn from its body by Sif and flung aside.
The flesh that had just been reborn had not even been active in this world for half an hour before becoming a delicacy in Sif's jaws.
As Sif threw its head back and howled, the Ancestral Follower all bowed down and knelt, welcoming their new divine envoy.
The victor was king.
And that, too, was an unavoidable part of what one had to accept in "nature."