War Howler

"Raion, wait up!"

Amari paid no mind to the squeaky voice and continued his leisurely swing through the forest. Not a lot of time had passed since he first appeared in this world. It was only four years total, but his body said otherwise.

A toned muscular body that put his previous physique to shame, muddy white hair and piercing red eyes. He looked like a stereotypical demon straight out of an anime.

The system has still been his most significant discovery since that first day. However, he also learned many more interesting facts like the fact that demons age faster than humans. Faster in the sense that a four-year-old demon looks like a sixteen-year-old human.

They were also extraordinarily wiser than most humans at that age.

'Luckily I also reincarnated with my memories intact,'

He stopped in front of a large spacious cave and looked behind him. He saw a little wolf pup scampering behind, tripping over anything and everything.

"Hehe. I'm still faster than you, baby bro!" He bent and ruffled the pup's fur.

"It's not fair, you're taller and faster!"

Amari smiled and picked Belat up.

"Well, when you grow up, we'll race again and see if that's true. Come on let's go see Mom and Dad."

Yes, Mom and Dad.

Amari found it difficult to admit it at first, but eventually, the realization settled in after a while.

"Raion'shalang, what have I told you about bullying your siblings?"

Amari winced. That was one thing he'd never get used to, though. The constant scolding! Parents were way too strict!

Belat was an unexpected addition to his siblings. A few months ago, Reida got pregnant again, but this time only one pup came out. Belat was a one-in-a-hundred thousand possibility. Outcomes like this happen in demon beasts when one pup consumes the other's essence while in the womb.

This came with some disadvantages, though. The first is that Reida came out weak in multiple ways when she gave birth. The others weren't as relevant as that though.

"I wasn't bullying him, he asked to race me in the first place!"

Reida was the same as ever. She didn't look any different from when he met her and Felaud.

"Alright, alright. What did you catch today?" She rolled her eyes and walked deeper into the cave.

Amari followed after her with Belat in tow and fell to the ground into his makeshift bed, eager to return home.

"Nothing. The area was empty. I found it quite strange," He shrugged.

Reida, though, fell silent immediately.

"That is strange indeed, but it'll be fine," She concluded after a while then turned back to thinking.

Amari furrowed his brows and put a finger to his teeth, nibbling it harmlessly.

Reida was hiding something, and he was sure of it. He had never seen her so quiet in a long time and Felaud had gone out with the other pups but hadn't shown up in days.

He tried to convince himself that all would be fine. That only made everything more miserable. Edward's terrified face appeared in his mind and Amari bit his finger even harder.

"What are you hiding, Mom?"

Reida sighed and sat down next to Amari.

"Raion…"

Amari looked away from her, then felt a warm palm on his arm seconds later.

"Can you please look at me?"

Reida's voice had become more feminine as had her body according to antropomorphic standards.

Up until now, Amari had no idea what had happened. Whenever he checked Reida's status it still showed the same thing it had four years ago. He still couldn't see anything and that was frustrating!

[Name: Reida (Weakened)]

[Species: Shadow Dweller Wolf - Luna]

[Race: Demon Beast]

[Rank: Higher Demon Beast]

[Attributes: ???]

[Remark: An incredibly fatal being that lurks in the shadows and hunts in packs. Further information is hidden.]

[Upgrade your Observation skill to obtain more information]

He had, however, inferred that her power had increased when she gained the ability to transform into a human two years earlier.

She had almost pitch-black hair and wonderful yellow eyes that reflected everything in their sight. Any straight man would feel some attraction. She was naked too, but Amari didn't care.

Four years living in the forest with all the other demon beasts desensitized him to many things. He'd seen creatures with nuke powers, witnessed the genocide of sentient beasts, murdered sentient beasts with his own two hands and many more.

A naked lady didn't faze him much.

"Everything will be fine, love. Felaud will return soon with the others and I'm sure the other beasts living in the forest are gathered somewhere. They do that sometimes."

Amari sulked a little, remembering the last time one of them was gone for so long.

"But don't you remember that time?" he asked, but Reida cut him off

"That time was different from now. This time, he's with your siblings, and they're almost mature wolves now. I find it extremely difficult to believe anyone could hurt them."

"I understand," He sniffed and turned away again.

Reida sighed and transformed back into her normal form.

"Hey, I'll scout out the area if it makes you feel better. You stay here with Belat. If I'm not back in three hours, look for me."

Amari paused, then nodded, "Okay... thanks, Mom."

Dark shadows appeared - commanded by Reida's howl - and swept through the cave before finally engulfing Reida in their embrace.

Shadow Movement.

A second later she departed.

'Fuck!'

Belat cocked his head, unable to understand what just happened. He slept soon after, oblivious to his surroundings.

Amari was the only one awake in the cave now.

'How strong are Reida and Felaud?'

That question remained on his mind for a long while after that large wolf in the sky. However, the results remained the same as when he checked Reida's status.

[Name: Felaud The War Howler]

[Species: Alpha Shadow Dweller Wolf]

[Race: Demon Beast]

[Rank: Higher Demon Beast]

[Attributes: ?????]

[Remark: An incredibly fatal being that lurks in the shadows and hunts in packs. Further information is hidden.]

[Upgrade your Observation skill to obtain more information]

After the event those years back, Amari discovered that Felaud had gained a title behind his name.

'War Howler, huh? If that's what I think it is, Dad would be a... general I guess?'

He was still trying to figure out the name. Well, not trying, but all the correct answers weren't the nicest. He stopped mulling over it and checked his own status instead.

[Name: Amari Burrows, Raion'shalang]

[Race: Demon]

[Rank: Lesser Demon (Birth Rank) - Evolvable]

[Species: Variant Incubus- Verbum Daemonimum]

[Attributes]

[STR: 60]

[AGI: 80]

[STA: 70]

[INT: 100]

[Skills: Observation (Lv 5), Basic Shadow Manipulation (Lv 5), Shadow Movement (Lvl 5), Dark Tendrils (Lvl 5)]

[SP:0]

[MP: 200/200]

[Title: Child of the Beasts]

[Remark: A young demon who began his life in despair. Works better alone but does not reject group company. Motivation unknown for now.]

[Shadow Movement (Active)]

[Effect: Conjures a number of shadows, depending on the user's level, to transport him from place to place. Can be used in battle]

[Dark Tendrils (Active)]

[Effect: Conjures tentacle-like shadows that obey the user's commands. Can be used in battle or for movement]

His stats received huge increases over the years, but his skill count hadn't increased at all. The Shadow Dweller couple could only teach him those two skills. The other things he tried to learn were not compatible with him at all.

There was nothing he could do about that, for the most part.

Amari sighed and stared into space.

The chirping of insects filled the cave's silence. It had barely been ten minutes since Reida left, yet he felt bored.

He sniffed the air and scrunched his nose at that unpleasant smell. Unpleasant, yet familiar. Amari recognized it instantly.

He rushed to his feet and looked at the rising fire in the distance, then at Belat who still slept peacefully.

"Fuck me!"

The fire spread like an insatiable creature. It consumed everything and anything in sight. At this rate, the forest would burn down in minutes!

He grabbed Belat and activated Shadow Movement with one Mana circulation to his legs. A few shadows appeared from the ground and engulfed his legs.

It looked the same as when Reida did it but on a smaller and weaker scale. That was enough for Amari, though.

He used the skill multiple times until he reached his destination. His heart sank at what he saw.

Several large bodies lay sprawled across the ground, and a bigger fur-covered body watched silently.

"Raion'shalang, you are here." A familiar deep voice rumbled. After so long living with him, he recognized the voice. It wasn't the jovial sarcasm he was used to hearing.

Felaud stood, then turned away from the corpses of his children and Amari's siblings.

Belat tried to escape Amari's hands, unsuccessfully.

"Dad, what's wrong?" he asked. Unlike his older siblings, Belat was only a few months old.

"It was them." his father growled, grasping his siblings' furs, "They did it. Those bastards. They came here years ago... I chased them off. Didn't think they would return. They're all dead, Raion'shalang! Everyone in the forest. Tamira all of them!

"I don't know what kind of power that mage wields, but I'll make sure those bastards don't get away with it!"

Amari wanted to understand. He really wanted to. But nothing in his mind worked properly at that moment. Despite his best efforts, he was only able to a few words out at this point.

"W-who?"

Felaud shook his head and stood.

"It doesn't matter yet. Don't chase people and enemies you can't defeat. I'll deal with it."

That day, Amari saw fury. The face of justice. The face of God-killing wrath.

Felaud roared and pointed his snout up at the darkening sky.

"But there is something you can help me do, though..."

Amari remained silent and let his father finish.

"Howl with me!"