"It's not my fault spatial magic doesn't come with safety settings!"
"Try it again. This time, don't summon the spoon like it owes you money."
"Rude. But fair."
I exhaled slowly. I closed my eyes. Focused.
ZAP.
"Why does the air smell like burnt fox?" Fran asked, sniffing the air as I sat smoking slightly from my tail.
"I-I might've accidentally used lightning storage."
"You stored it... while it was still active?"
"...Shut up."
After a long string of failures, including one where I summoned an entire weapon rack onto my foot, I finally got it.
I tossed a small coin into my storage.
Held out my other hand.
Fwoosh. The coin blinked out, then reappeared perfectly in my palm.
I opened my eyes slowly. The mana had flowed like a ripple in space. A shimmer of controlled magic.
Fran, now lounging in her cat form atop a folded towel, cracked open one eye.
"You finally did it."
"I know." I dropped onto my back, arms spread wide. "I deserve a parade."
"You deserve a nap and a tail comb."
"...Not happening."
Fran yawned. "Still. You did great."
"Yeah yeah," I muttered, sitting up and brushing off my burnt sleeves. "Anyway, I've got to go. One of my clones is fighting Amari at full power. Can't let her overdo it."
Fran rolled onto her side. "Sure. What do you want for dinner?"
"Anything that wasn't murdered by your cooking."
Her ear twitched. "Oi."
"Not commenting." I stepped forward, opened a stable blue portal, and disappeared into it.
Behind me, Fran muttered, "It was one burnt fish. One time..."
[Five Hours Later-Return to Camp]
"Understand barriers now?" Fran asked as I emerged.
"Kind of. I'm no expert, but I could break most with time."
"Good. And the finals?"
I paused. "Wait, just got the update from my clone. Finals are tomorrow. Guess today's the quarterfinals."
"Then tonight you rest, recover, and resync your stats. Pull your clones in."
"Right."
I dispelled all my clones, watching as waves of mana surged back into me.
[Status Update]
Name: Kitsuna Draig (Shiro Adachi)
Age: 15 (Immortal)
Race: Primordial 3-Tail Demon Fox
Bloodline: Primordial 9-Tail Fox
Class: Weapon Sage (Wrath Lord)
Level: 163
HP: 8884 / 8884
MP: 53,536 / 76,536
STR: 4644
VIT: 4442
DEF: 3963
INT: 38,268
END: 5849
AGT: 6471
Skills:
Dimension Storage
Devil Fire / Devil Lightning
Fox Ice
Fox Golden Fire/Golden Lightning
Saint Healing
Sword Domain
Mana Sense
Master Flash Step
Novice Dimension Teleport
Novice Dimension Creation
Analysis
Pseudo-God Blacksmith
Passives:
Heightened Senses
Soul Regeneration
Eyes of Intimidation
Human Form
Night Vision
Mana Tails
Mana Eyes
Soul Sensitivity
Tail Abilities:
Clone
Spiritual Magic
Fox Illusionist
[LOCKED]
"Just one thing," Fran said, looking me dead in the eyes. "Do not take the Wrath skill lightly. I know we've been training it to extend the safe time, but anything can break that control."
"I understand. You know how good I am at concentrating."
She scoffed. "Keep telling yourself that, fox. It might come true someday."
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Chapter 203: Final stage, final fight, final breath
"Do you really think I won't kill him just to finish you off?"
The god's voice was bored, like he wasn't even trying anymore. His blade lazily scraped against the ground, eyes gleaming with mockery.
I gave him a toothy grin, blood smearing down the side of my chin. "Well... yes. I do."
He clicked his tongue.
"Tsk. You foxes really are the worst. Always dancing around, hiding behind illusions. Never once winning a fight head-on. Just tricks, tricks and tricks."
He raised his arms and began to monologue like a theater reject.
"I mean seriously," he said, gesturing wildly, "I've been exterminating your kind like pests. Not out of justice or vengeance-no. Simply because you're annoying."
He paused, glaring at me like I had personally insulted his fashion sense.
"It was fine-great, even. A year ago, your kind just vanished from the surface. I thought, 'Finally, they've all died off or slithered into some hole to rot.'"
'What the hell is this guy even going on about now?' I thought, one brow twitching.
"But no! It wasn't extinction. It was because your fucking queen came back! That golden bitch ruined everything! Now you're all crawling under her tail like good little pets again!"
'I swear this guy has issues with foxes... and moms.'
He didn't even notice the tension building in the air, too caught up in his rage. My mana tried to spike-too late.
SHINK!
"Agh-!"
Pain.
I didn't even see the strikes coming.
Both my arms and legs were cleaved off in an instant, and a moment later, his hand closed around my throat like a vise.
"Let's make this simple," he said, smug now. "At least I won't have to worry about you anymore."
Blood bubbled up my throat, but I still smirked. "Hehe... You really think I was the one you should worry about?"
And then it hit.
A pressure so heavy it cracked the sky.
WHUMMM-
A blue portal tore through the battlefield behind him, swirling with arcane energy. From its mouth poured golden lightning and concentrated fury. The mana alone warped the air-distorting sound, reality, and even time for a heartbeat.
The god's fingers trembled. He turned.
"What... this isn't berserk..."
He took a step back. His smugness vanished.
"This... this is Wrath-!?"
"No..." I choked out, laughing weakly. "It's worse."
From the center of the storm, a figure emerged-not wild, not unhinged, but deliberate. Her golden eyes were sharp enough to cut. Her three tails burned with foxfire, dancing behind her like living comets. She moved like gravity bent around her.
The god stumbled.
"Th-that's the real one...?!"
I looked up at her, awe and satisfaction swelling in my chest.
"She's finally here... Good luck, asshole."
And with that, I let go.
The pain dulled.
My vision faded.
My soul pulled back to join the others.
The real Kitsuna had arrived.
Time to watch her work.
The god stared at the portal, eyes narrowing.
Nothing came through.
His lips curled in disgust. "What? A bluff?"
"You like staring at empty spaces?" a calm, chilling voice spoke behind him.
"What!-Logan?!" the god shouted, spinning around.
Too late.
Kitsuna stood there, her hand gripping the freshly severed head of the warrior Logan. Her presence radiated like a burning furnace-red smoke trailing from her body like tendrils of wrath given form.
"I can't allow you to use this guy for any help right now," Kitsuna Draig said, tossing the head at the god's feet. She met his gaze coldly. Her hair fluttered unnaturally in the rising pressure of magic, and her four tails lashed behind her like serpents ready to strike.
"You're sacrificing yourself?" The god sneered, noting the searing heat rolling off her.
Kitsuna shrugged, unbothered. "Think what you want."
"So... all the ones I fought before... they weren't really you." The god's grin faltered. "That's why I couldn't feel a soul from them."
"Smart boy. Too bad it doesn't matter now," she said, removing her coat with slow, deliberate ease. Her crimson eyes flared. A soft tick...tick...tick echoed in her mind-her Wrath timer ticking down.
The god snarled. "I'll end you before you even hit zero!"
He lunged forward, golden light blazing around his form, sword raised high.
Kitsuna flash-stepped, her form blurring just enough to dodge the first swing. In a flash, she crafted a hand cannon midair and fired point-blank.
BOOM!
"AGH!" The god barely raised his sword in time to deflect the shot-but the explosion still sent him crashing backward through a broken pillar.
"You know I can counter bullets!" he roared, wings flaring out to stabilize.
Kitsuna blurred again.
She was already beneath him-low, swift, and merciless.
She struck upward, knocking his sword arm wide with a chakram, then jammed the muzzle of her hand cannon into his chin.
Bang!
Golden light burst forth as the god raised a barrier.
Too slow.
The bullet shattered the edge of the shield, penetrated it, and tore out his left eye.
"GAHHH!"
He flew back, hand clutching his face, light sputtering around him like sparks from a dying star.
Kitsuna calmly walked forward, reloading her gun without taking her eyes off him. "You gods really are pathetic at close range."
"You-you little monster!" the god growled. He clenched his fingers. Barriers materialized in layers around him, spinning like golden shields.
Kitsuna pointed her gun at him again.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Each impact didn't pierce-but it rattled him. The barriers held, but the repeated shockwaves made his footing unsteady.
"Fuck this!" he shouted and beat his wings, kicking up dust to mask his next move.
"Really?" Kitsuna muttered. Her fox ears twitched once-then she fired twice more through the dust.
Bang! Bang!
"GAH!!"
The god shrieked as both shots punched into his wings. The golden appendages faltered, and he plummeted-slamming into the ground beside Logan's body with a sickening crunch.
"Aaaaaghhh!!" He roared, slamming his palms into the dirt.
Golden shields erupted outward in a wide dome, forcing Kitsuna back with sheer pressure. He gasped, barely maintaining his breath as he formed the holy barrier around himself.
Inside, he tried to regroup.
'Just need a second. Just one second.'
Outside, Kitsuna was breathing a little harder too.
"Should've brought snacks," she muttered, recharging mana.
Her tail crackled with energy-blazing red-black fire curling with golden lightning.
Inside the dome, the god's thoughts raced.
'She's stronger than expected... She knows how to use wrath properly. How can she know that?'
He realized it too late.
From behind him, the blue portal that she had entered earlier shimmered again.
He turned-senses screaming.
The moment he looked up, Kitsuna was already in front of him. She fired her cannon directly at the dome from close range.
The shot cracked through the holy shield.
And with that final strike-
BOOM!!!
The shield exploded.
The god howled, light blinding the area as he soared into the sky, golden wings flaring wide.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, VIXEN!!" he bellowed, flying straight up-breaking through the blackened storm clouds overhead.
Kitsuna looked up at him with a sigh. "Oh good, now I don't have to hold back."
She snapped her fingers.
All her remaining clones in the capital were dispelled.
A massive surge of mana erupted from her body as her full stats returned-her two tails expanded into four, each one surging to over 2.5 meters in length, crackling with violent, radiant energy.
The god, now far above her, froze.
"W-What... what did I just do...?" He stammered.
Below, Kitsuna's aura turned blood-red and violet, the sheer pressure warping the air around her. Her pupils were slits. Her fangs glinted. Her magic was boiling.
"Four-tail fox... with active Wrath," muttered another voice above.
Two new figures floated in the air: other god clones.
Clones of the God of Gluttony.
"Don't get distracted," said one clone, glancing sideways.
But the first one was still glaring at Kitsuna, mouth twitching. "She's dangerous. We underestimated her."
Kitsuna's mind sharpened.
'Take out the first one. Now.'
She teleported to the original clone-the one already weakened-and grabbed his head before he could react.
"WAIT-NO-!"
Her black demon fire and golden lightning exploded outward, consuming the clone entirely.
"STOP-DON'T-" the others shouted, but too late.
Dust.
Ashes spiraled into the air, glowing faintly.
Kayda had warned her about that.
'That dust... That wasn't just his body. That was a real soul,' Kitsuna realized.
Not fragments.
The clone had inherited a full soul from the original.
And now-he was gone.
She scanned the sky-Kayda and Stacy were still fighting. Another clone. Time to help.
She teleported mid-air, appearing behind the second clone fighting Kayda and Stacy.
BOOM!
The clone erupted in fire and lightning before he could even speak. Kitsuna's tail wrapped around his arm to stop him from escaping.
"Kit?! What the-" Stacy yelled in shock.
"Are you okay?" Kayda asked, stepping in front of her reflexively.
"I'm fine, but I don't have long before Wrath eats me alive," Kitsuna said, giving Kayda a quick peck on the cheek. "Let's wrap this up."
She turned toward the final clone-the strongest of the three-who was still fighting another god.
The moment she turned-
SLASH!
The god was suddenly in front of her.
Hands raised.
Blade is already moving.
"Another failure," he muttered.
His golden blade carved through Kitsuna's neck in a clean arc.
Her head hit the ground before her body collapsed.
The god clone watched as the smoke rising from her Wrath aura slowly faded-along with the terrifying presence that had blanketed the battlefield.
Gone.
Silent.
Calm.
He looked down at her body for a long moment before speaking.
"Well... with that, my biggest headache is finally gone."
He didn't even look at Kayda or Stacy as he waved one hand.
The rest of the angels-those still alive-gathered behind him in formation.
"I will see you on the battlefield, Stacy Draig," the god said with a mocking smirk. "Your parents would've been proud of you."
And just like that-he vanished in a shimmer of gold, taking his forces with him.
The battlefield was left silent.
But unknown to him-
Kitsuna's fingers twitched.
Her neck stitched itself together with glowing red threads of magic.
Her head lifted.
She sat up slowly, exhaling smoke from her mouth like it was a cigarette.
"...Fucking finally," she muttered.
She wiped a smear of blood from her cheek, stretched, and glanced up.
"They really don't wait around, huh?"
Kayda and Stacy blinked at her in awe, eyes wide.
