Eternal Temptation: Awakening Sinful Desires

The ground beneath the beast started to crack apart as its dark aura flared around its body. Then suddenly, a dark cloud appeared above it and shot down a beam of light that engulfed it in an instant.

The light gave off a strong pressure that weighed heavily on everyone around them, making it difficult for them to breathe. It was like a physical force trying to crush them into dust.

A few seconds later, the light dissipated, revealing the Alpha Star-Beast's form. Its body grew larger as its muscles bulged with veins that popped out of its skin, and its claws became sharper and longer.

It also gained an additional set of eyes that glowed brightly in contrast to its original pair, which now shone with a deep crimson color. The beast's aura became darker and denser than before, giving it a deadly appearance.

Upon witnessing the transformation, Asher frowned as he realized that this situation was far worse than he thought. It seemed that he had underestimated the Star-Beast before him, and now it was showing its true potential.

The creature let out a ferocious roar and charged straight towards Asher without warning, aiming for his neck.

"It was able to awaken its bloodline and evolve?! This is unexpected. Hmm, I must be careful," Asher muttered as he disappeared from sight once again using his shadow-shimmering technique.

The beast noticed his disappearance, but the very next moment, it unleashed a dark blast from its mouth in the direction of Asher.

As the beam traveled across the distance at an unbelievable rate of speed, Asher crossed his arms in front of him and summoned forth a protective barrier made from shadowy tendrils to deflect the attack.

The shadows intertwined around each other and formed a sturdy shield that absorbed the destructive energy before scattering into smoke. However, the sheer force behind it made his whole body shudder as he tried to maintain his footing.

"Shit.... Its sense of smell has gotten sharper after its awakening," Asher mumbled while glancing at the Star-Beast, whose mouth was still smoking.

Its gaze was locked on Asher, and its eyes were filled with rage.

"I should practice more and perfect the illusion technique. Right now, it's hard to fool Star-Beasts due to their enhanced senses, especially after they have awakened their bloodlines. For now, let's test the waters," Asher murmured before taking a step forward.

His shadow spread out across the ground like ink spilled on parchment. It expanded until it completely encompassed the entire area around the duo. The darkness intensified as the air grew heavier, as if being filled with something heavy and thick.

"Let's see if you can now withstand my attacks." With another flash of his signature smile, Asher leaped into action and attacked.

With a single step, he dashed forward while his figure shimmered into shadows, and his speed became comparable to that of a blur. Within a fraction of a second, he closed the distance between him and the beast and launched his assault.

A loud explosion reverberated throughout the forest as Asher threw a punch that landed squarely on the beast's jaw with such force that its entire head rocked sideways before snapping back into place immediately afterward.

Blood splattered from its mouth as its head whipped back, yet it seemed unfazed by the attack. It quickly retaliated with a swing of its massive claw, which was moving fast enough to leave afterimages trailing behind it.

The beast's strike passed through nothingness, missing its intended target by a hair's breadth, but Asher's shadowy figure appeared behind it soon afterward, and he struck again with his shadow spear that he summoned using the Abyssal Grasp technique.

The pointy tip of the shadow weapon jabbed right at the beast's left leg, stabbing into its thigh. The beast cried in pain as the attack penetrated its flesh and scraped against bone, drawing more blood.

It tried to shake off the attack by thrashing around wildly, but this only succeeded in doing further damage to its wounded limb. Asher then used the beast's momentary loss of balance to his advantage and jumped up into the air above it before falling upon it with another swift dropkick that struck at an angle that resulted in a sickening crunch resounding from its spine.

Hooooowl.....! The Alpha beast whimpered as its body bent unnaturally backward as it landed on its side.

Despite its obvious agony, however, it refused to relent. Its red eyes blazed in fury as it struggled under the pain inflicted upon it.

"Your struggle is pointless, beast. You can't win against me, and even if you somehow manage to land a hit on me, it won't affect me much. Give up and die already, or else it will only serve to prolong your suffering." Asher scoffed and leapt back as he created space between himself and the injured creature.

He stood tall with a cold expression on his handsome face as he looked down at it with a condescending air about him. The beast snarled angrily at Asher as its eyes flashed with hatred and resentment.

It roared in defiance and forced its broken body to stand up, despite the excruciating pain that shot through every fiber of its being.

Its resolve surprised even Asher, who watched on with curiosity. "You're quite stubborn; I'll give you that. Very well. Since you seem determined to continue struggling against me, then so be it. I shall grant you a swift end."

The beast howled once more in response to the declaration.

Asher narrowed his eyes and vanished from sight before reappearing right in front of the beast without a sound. Before the creature could react, he thrust his arm forward with a shadow spear that pierced straight through the center of its head.

A large hole was created through its skull, and a stream of blood flowed out of it, pouring down onto the ground below.

Its eyes, filled with many emotions, looked at its kin one more time before turning its head towards the sky to howl weakly one last time before its life slipped away.

"It's over." Asher murmured as its body fell down with a thud.