One of the Fox's tails glowed white, pristine and pure—
And then, in an instant—
Rays of light pierced through .
---
They didn't just burn.
They seared into my very existence, threatening to illuminate out of being.
From every direction, holes bored through my body—massive wounds that oozed pain, my flesh charred and flaking apart.
This wasn't magic.
This wasn't a normal attack.
And worst of all—
My regeneration did nothing against it.
I felt my spirit wane, dwindling before this light of purification.
The sheer agony of searing burns left with only one certainty—
A slow, excruciating death.
And yet—
Despite all the tornts she had inflicted, despite how effortlessly she was unraveling my very being—
She didn't even move.
Much like her Master, she simply punished from afar.
.....
...
*
"Mama?"
"...No. I'm not your mother."
"...Ma...ma?"
"I said I'm not your mother. I killed your mama just now, you see?"
"...Papa?"
"Oh, Great Lord of Darkness... You won't give up, will you?"
"Papa!"
"...Such hopeless offspring... Fine. Since I had to kill your parent, I'll beco your father. All of you. Satisfied now?"
.....
...
*
"It's not over... It's not over yet!!"
My voice thundered through the air.
My wounds weren't healing, but I forced myself up.
I willed my shattered wings to regrow, pouring every ounce of strength into them.
And though the very laws of this battlefield forbade my flight—
I rejected them.
I flapped my wings with such overwhelming force that the very ground split apart, and my body was hurled away like a cot.
In the blink of an eye—
I was 500 ters away.
Away from them who sought my end.
Away from death.
I had escaped.
Even if my body remained eternally wounded, even if my strength had been drained to the last drop—
It didn't matter.
I was alive.
I could still see those foolish children of mine.
I could still serve Lord Sarvest.
Even if all I had left was the scraps of my existence—
"Hahaha, you're really an, Tamayo!"
Or so I thought.
'H... Huh?'
That voice—
The Supre Lord's voice?
I didn't understand.
I escaped, didn't I?
Then why—
Why was Chronikus still there, lying on the ground, gasping for breath, on the verge of death?
And why was I... standing before the Supre Lord at the exact sa spot I had fled from?
500 ters erased—
As if I had never moved at all.
Was I being ntally manipulated again?
Was my mind untangling beneath another layer of illusionary tornt?
Or—
Did I truly escape—
Only to have the very space I occupied carved out and dragged back to them?
No...
No, no—
This Fox Spirit—
Isn't she too strong?
Isn't she just... A god now?
No, even gods couldn't twist space to this degree, effortlessly.
Even gods couldn't erase distance without consequence.
Even gods couldn't rewrite reality itself without a single incantation.
No.
No, no, no.
What about my speed?
Even if my space had been robbed—
My montum shouldn't stop.
I should have still been moving.
My speed wouldn't have halted too, correct?
...Soone...
Please.
Tell I'm right.
I... I...
"...I don't want any more pain." I swallowed my pride, my voice trembling as I dropped to my knees. "Please... I just want to go ho. My loved ones... They're waiting for ."
My forehead pressed against the ground, my existence reduced to a desperate plea.
"Mhm. I think I have a good grasp of you guys' fighting abilities now."
I was ignored.
Not a glance. Not a word.
The Supre Lord and his... wives(?) continued chatting, as if I wasn't even there.
Even as I begged.
Even as I bowed.
I was nothing to them.
What... exactly is my existence in comparison to theirs?
"You see now, my Lord, that I easily surpass those coal-sared mutts?"
"W-Well... you certainly are stronger than the others, but don't let it get to your head, okay? Levina is still several tis more powerful than you, despite everything."
"Wait. Master Raven, what do you an 'despite everything?'"
Wait... what?!
The white-haired woman—several tis stronger than that Fox?!
That wasn't a joke.
The Supre Lord spoke with absolute certainty.
Then—
Who is the one the white-haired woman calls 'Master'?!
"No, Supre Lord. I'm certain in a short while I'll leave her in the dust."
"Hehehe. Keep dreaming, you conceited she-fox. I'd battle you anyti! But it might take you a few thousand years before I even take you seriously."
"You fox, your arrogance knows no bounds, does it? Just because of those flashy lightings you displayed, you think you've done sothing major? And despite it all, Leviathan is imnsely powerful. Enough to act as a at shield for Ruby."
"...Again, what do you an by 'despite it all'?! I feel like I'm being abused!"
The young human girl wasn't as strong as the white-haired one, appearance-wise.
But... they spoke as if they were equals.
Could she also be more powerful than the Fox?!
She was a wife to the Supre Lord so...
The more I tried to comprehend it—
The more the Supre Lord who led them all beca sothing utterly beyond reason.
"No, it is Leviathan who is arrogant—saying it'll take thousands of years before I equal or surpass her."
"That's Lady Levina to you!"
"I am built differently; you see... I was only reborn yesterday."
Ehhh?!
The fox spirit was reborn yesterday?!
That made no sense!
Even if she was a god, her energy should be at a really low scale after just being reborn!
And... why were they calling the white-haired woman—
Leviathan...?
I stole another glance at the white-haired lady.
Leviathan?
Leviathan...?
Leviathan...?
...Leviathan?!
My bones suddenly trembled uncontrollably.
My teeth clenched and gnashed on their own.
A sudden horror that wasn't there before crashed over like a tidal wave.
Then I knew... 'I'm not going to make it out alive.'
Who are these people?!
Where did they co from?!
Could it be...?!
Was this man the culprit behind Lord Sarvest's injury?!
The humans' foreign outfits suggested they were from Gihon.
How did they even cross the bridge?
Did they defeat Pluto?!
And after assaulting and wounding my Lord, they went and subdued Leviathan?!
Turning the proud sovereign into their loyal servant?!
What is this Supre Lord's plan?
An opposing force to the Kingdom of Darkness?
A neutral force between Light and Darkness?
Either way...
With this army of his...
I cannot guarantee my Lord's safety anymore.
I have to report this.
At least...
"All right."
The Supre Lord's voice cut through the air like a final verdict.
A decision had been made.
"We're done here. And it's a good thing the reptile didn't shrink back after its defeat. It'll be a feast."
He then looked at .
Not as a warrior.
Not even as an insect.
But like an annoying stain on his furniture.
"Let get rid of this dried-up weed first."
GASP!
No, no, no, no, no!!
I have to escape!
Sohow!
Anyhow!
What do I do?!
I'm going to die!
The sky vibrated—
Threatening to collapse upon .
I looked up.
And in that instant—
I understood.
My execution was due.
The clouds had darkened.
Black and red lightning snaked across the sky, crackling ominously.
Then—
From above, peeking through the storm, ca a colossal rock.
Its descent was slow yet absolute, a herald of doom.
With its motion, the air trembled.
Roars of insanity.
Heart-wrenching cries from hell.
They echoed in my soul—a divine sermon, preaching the inescapable.
A cold, rciless fear settled in my gut.
I fathod.
Anyone who saw this massive sphere of crimson and black flas would understand.
This was the fear of God.
I did not want to be hit by that cot.
I could not afford be hit by it.
Not even my revival could save from absolute annihilation.
I had to run.
I had to try...
I had to—
Move!
But—
Sothing held back.
I looked down snappishly.
Black, liquid-like chains coiled around my feet, rooting to the ground.
Panic surged through .
My stunned gaze snapped to the Supre Lord—
Was this his doing?!
But then, behind him...
I saw her.
Leviathan.
Smiling.
No—grinning.
A grotesque, ear-to-ear grin.
Her dark, serpentine eyes rippled, shifting in distorted amusent.
She was telling sothing—
I could feel it.
"You're not escaping."
It's over.
It's truly over.
"Haha... Hahaha... Hahahahahahahaha!!!!"
Laughter.
Deranged, broken.
The sheer absurdity of it all ribbed my mind.
But—
As I laughed, tears stread down my face.
And I reflected:
"Kids... Lord Sarvest... I don't think I'll be returning today... or ever again."
A hundred ters above the earth, the cot's sheer presence devoured life.
The trees.
The plants.
All withered, burned—reduced to cinder.
Everything within a mile radius ignited.
Boiling.
Burning.
Dissolving.
Life was being wrenched away from the land.
And then—
"I don't know whether to find this outco fortunate... as I'll be experiencing, firsthand, the power of this new arrival... or lant that my eons of experience, age, wisdom, accomplishnts, and my future goals will all be abruptly brought to a clo—"
BBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!
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