"Who the hell are you people?" Leon finally asked, his patience running thin.

The muscular man looked at him in surprise.

"You really don’t remember us, Master?"

"Am I supposed to?" Leon replied, narrowing his eyes.

The man’s expression grew complicated. ’It looks like Master reincarnated without any of his memories. No wonder we failed to recognize him. He looks far too young now. If not for the Frost Monarch’s Blade, we never would have realized who he was. But did Master already know he was going to die and reincarnate? Because, when he bid us farewell in this very place, he specifically told us not to remind him of who he was when we met again in the future. That means he knew what was going to happen to him.’

After a moment of silence, the man spoke again.

"Master, we are beasts who possess our own free will. And if you permit it, my sister and I would like to form a bond with you and serve you."

Leon stared at him blankly. ’Beasts? Bond?’

His eye twitched. ’What kind of nonsense is this guy talking about?’

Before Leon could process any further...

Rumble!

The demon burst out of the crater it had crashed into and glared furiously at the woman.

Under Leon’s widened eyes, the woman’s body began to transform.

Thick white fur rapidly spread across her skin, covering her entire body. Her face elongated into a wolf-like muzzle as razor-sharp fangs protruded from her mouth. Her fingers lengthened, transforming into deadly claws that gleamed coldly in the dim light of the cavern.

The transformation continued for several seconds. When it was finally complete, Leon couldn’t help but gulp.

Only now did he connect the dots. She looked exactly like one of the three massive statues, the one standing at one of the corners of the underground cavern when he had first entered this place.

"She’s..." Leon muttered in disbelief.

"A Glacial Wolf," the man finished for him. "One of the most ancient wolf races. We are renowned for our overwhelming physical strength and unique innate abilities."

Meanwhile, the demon appeared completely unimpressed by the transformation. It merely sneered. Then, in the next instant...

Whoosh!

Its figure blurred and vanished from its original position.

The demon appeared directly in front of the woman almost instantaneously. Without the slightest hesitation, it swung its massive club.

But just as the massive weapon was about to strike her, the woman calmly raised her right hand and spread her fingers.

Thud!

The weapon slammed into her palm. Then...

It stopped.

Completely.

As if it had collided with an invisible wall.

The demon’s eyes widened. Before it could react, the woman’s left hand clenched into a fist and shot forward.

Boom!

The air rippled violently as the punch landed squarely on the demon’s chest. The crimson creature was blasted away like a cannonball.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

One stone pillar after another shattered as the demon crashed through them during its flight.

Finally...

Boom!

Its body slammed into the cavern wall, causing the entire cave to tremble.

The woman, now in her true form, was already moving again.

Whoosh!

She appeared before the demon like a ghost.

Then...

Bam! A devastating punch exploded forward. The crater in the wall deepened, and countless cracks spread outward like a spiderweb.

Bam!

Another punch followed immediately after.

The demon’s body was driven even deeper into the wall.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Punch after punch rained down mercilessly.

Each strike produced a deafening explosion as the demon’s body disappeared further and further into the stone.

Finally...

Bam!

Splat!

Blood sprayed outside. When the woman slowly withdrew her arm, crimson blood covered it from her fist all the way to her elbow.

Leon stared at the scene with wide eyes.

"S-She’s strong..." There was undisguised awe in his voice.

The muscular man immediately puffed out his chest with pride. "Noira is one of the strongest female Glacial Wolves ever born. And her unique ability is special even among our race." He sounded so proud that one would think he was talking about himself rather than his sister.

Leon nodded in understanding. "Good to know." His gaze shifted toward the demon buried within the wall. "But is that thing dead now? I need its core. If you two don’t mind, I’d like to take it. After all, your sister was the one who defeated it."

At those words, the man’s proud expression darkened. The smile vanished from his face as he slowly shook his head.

"No, Master. It’s not dead."

Leon frowned.

The man continued, "Although we are powerful, we are incapable of truly killing a demon. In fact, no one can, regardless of how much stronger they are than the demon."

He paused briefly. "Unless they can wield the one thing required to destroy a demon completely."

Leon’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t interrupt. He simply stared at the man, silently waiting for him to continue.

The man’s expression turned solemn. "Demon Purging Aura."

Boom!

Almost the instant those words left his mouth, a violent explosion echoed throughout the cavern.

Leon and the man immediately turned toward the source.

The female wolf was sent flying backward.

The demon emerged from the crater. Its body was in terrible condition. Large sections of flesh had caved inward from the earlier barrage of punches. A gaping hole pierced through its torso, blood pouring out from it.

Yet all of those injuries were healing at a visible speed. Muscles regenerated. Flesh reformed. Bones reconstructed themselves.

Within seconds, the demon looked as though it had never been injured at all.

"Do you see, Master?" the man said quietly. "Unless a demon is killed with Demon Purging Aura, it will continue to regenerate endlessly."

His gaze remained fixed on the crimson creature. "It doesn’t matter if you tear it apart. It doesn’t matter if you reduce it to pieces. Even if those pieces are burned to ashes... As long as a single cell remains alive, the demon will regenerate."

A chill ran down Leon’s spine. He didn’t speak. Or perhaps he couldn’t.

The information was simply too overwhelming to process.

His gaze remained on the demon now walking slowly toward the female wolf.

’Then how am I supposed to get its core?’