The air crackled with tension as Faelix's low growl reverberated through the chamber. What was once a cold, claustrophobic space began to tremble, the very walls shaking under the weight of the fox's fury. In an instant, a surge of mana erupted, warping the surroundings. The entire room transformed before their eyes, stretching outward into a vast open field that seemed to go on forever. Green energy swirled around the fox, its wounds healing at an unnaturally fast rate, while its golden fur gleamed with an intensified brilliance with each passing second.
Dante's eyes widened as realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "The room changed to an open field for it to have an advantage and more space. We're fighting at a disadvantage now… be ready for anything!" he shouted, his voice urgent.
The golden fox stood tall, its eyes glowing with an eerie, ethereal light. Faelix's massive tails swayed with intent, and in an instant, it leapt high into the air, its powerful hind legs propelling it effortlessly onto one of the golden platforms that had appeared in the sky. Faelix's eyes locked onto SteelArm, the air around it humming with lethal intent. From its mouth, the fox forged a gleaming golden sword, its blade shimmering with an intense, divine light.
The sword hummed with the raw power of the fox's ancient magic, a formidable weapon forged from its very essence. As orbs of blue flames materialized from its tails, the blade absorbed them effortlessly, shifting in color as it fused the fiery blue fox flames with divine energy. The once gleaming golden blade now radiated a mesmerizing mix of gold and blue, crackling with a potent power.
Faelix twisted its body in an unnatural motion, leaping toward SteelArm with terrifying speed. It landed in front of him with a force that shook the ground, and in one fluid motion, swung the blade in a vicious arc.
SteelArm's eyes narrowed. With incredible speed, he activated [Mountain Body], his skin turning to stone as his muscles expanded in preparation for the incoming blow. The sword clashed against his form with a deafening crash, and SteelArm was knocked backward with a grunt. His body skidded across the ground, but the [Mountain Body] skill absorbed most of the impact. Still, the sheer force of the strike sent him flying back, but he remained standing, gritting his teeth as blood ran down from his chest.
"Damn, that's some serious power," SteelArm muttered, his feet planting into the earth.
As the the fox leapt back and landed gracefully on the solid green grass, the golden-blue blade gleamed in Faelix's grasp, the fox's eyes flashed with a wild intensity. In a swift, fluid motion, it summoned four spectral copies of itself, each radiating a divine aura. The copies mirrored Faelix's every move, creating a dizzying blur of golden fur and divine energy.
The copies charged as one, their movements precise and calculated, each one circling Stiles, Dante, and SteelArm from different directions. Faelix, now flanked by these ethereal duplicates, grinned wickedly as they all descended upon the trio.
"Stay alert!" Dante shouted, as he swung his spear toward one of the copies, the blade crackling violently as it met the phantom fox's sword. The force of the impact sent shockwaves through the air, but the copy vanished in a flash of golden light, reforming moments later beside its master.
Stiles darted to the side, twin blades flashing as he engaged another copy. He struck fast, aiming to hit vital points, but each blow was met with uncanny agility. The copy twisted its body in mid-air, narrowly evading Stiles's slash, only to retaliate with a flurry of lightning-fast strikes from its tails that forced him to jump back as blood drenched his arm from just being hit by one of its tails.
The four copies of Faelix suddenly vanished from sight, becoming nothing but faint distortions in the air. For a moment, the trio stood frozen, their senses on high alert, searching for any sign of movement.
Then, without warning, the sky erupted with energy. Forty-five flaming orbs, each a burning sphere of blue fox flames, materialized above them. They hovered ominously, circling the trio like a storm of death. With a deafening roar, the orbs shot forward, darting at them with blinding speed.
"Move!" Dante yelled, his voice tinged with urgency. In an instant, SteelArm's hands shot up, activating [Earthen Grip] twice, slamming into the earth below with a thunderous force. The ground rumbled and split as massive stone hands erupted from the ground, creating two solid walls of stone around them. The orbs collided with the barriers, the flames raging with wild intensity. The sheer force of the explosions sent shockwaves that rattled the air, and the stone walls of SteelArm's barrier cracked and splintered under the onslaught. But despite the destruction, the barrier held—just barely.
The air sizzled as the blue flames scorched through the stone, turning it to ash and dust in an instant. But by some miracle, the group was unharmed, shielded by SteelArm's quick thinking.
As the dust settled, Dante, Stiles, and SteelArm didn't waste a second. They all jumped backward, narrowly dodging the remaining flames that scorched the ground where they had just been standing. The air was thick with smoke as the ground beneath them disintegrated into nothing, leaving a smoldering ruin in its wake.
"That was too close," Stiles muttered, his breath ragged from the near miss, his eyes scanning the sky for any sign of Faelix or its copies.
The air grew thick with tension as the copies of Faelix flickered into visibility once more, only to vanish almost instantly as she called them off. Faelix stood before them, its golden fur shimmering in the light. its eyes locked onto theirs.
Faelix's tails swayed with a grace that belied the deadly power within them, and then, as if responding to an unseen command, its tails flowing around Faelix's body before hiding the fox, golden energy enveloped it, warping and twisting the air around it. In a heartbeat, the fox's form began to shift, the golden fur retracting and molding into something entirely different.
Where there had once been the fearsome nine-tailed fox, now stood a woman. Her long golden-blonde hair cascaded down her back in waves, and delicate fox ears adorned her head. Nine short golden tails flicked playfully behind her, each one radiating the same untamed power as before. Her face, framed by the soft waves of her hair, bore small whiskers on either side of her mouth, completing the image of a creature both enchanting and otherworldly. She stretched, a soft yawn escaping her lips, as if the battle was something she could enjoy at her own pace.
A golden corset dress materialized around her, exuding both elegance and revealing. The fabric shimmered with a delicate pattern of blue butterflies that seemed to flutter across the surface, their wings catching the light. The dress hugged her figure tightly, the sides slashed open to reveal her legs, while her chest was subtly pushed up against the tight fabric, the outline of her curves visible at the top. From both sides of the dress, her chest slightly spilled out, barely contained by the tension of the material. With a flick of her wrist, she conjured a sharp golden fan, its edges shimmering with latent energy, ready to strike.
"My full form is still in progress," she said, her voice calm and collected, with a hint of icy authority beneath the graceful tone. Her words echoed in their minds, "So, I apologize for underestimating you three. Rather than fighting in a form I'm not accustomed to, I'll use what I know I can use."
The way she spoke was both distant and regal, but there was a subtle grace to her voice that could almost lull one into a sense of peace, though it was clear she wasn't someone to be taken lightly.
Stiles felt an unexpected blush spread across his face as he stared at her. His mouth parted slightly before he managed to mutter, "Damn... blondes are my type, I guess."
He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure, but Dante was already glaring at him.
"Get it together!" Dante snapped, his sharp eyes on Faelix. He could feel the surge of power coming from her, the way her mana seemed to swell and shift, becoming even more potent in this new form. "Focus. This isn't the time to get distracted."
The tension in the air grew suffocating as Faelix flicked her golden fan open with a swift, fluid motion. Instantly, a violent gust of wind erupted from the fan, sending shockwaves through the air. The force of the blast was enough to hurl them backwards, crashing them to their knees.
Without warning, a sudden wave of seven-tailed foxes materialized behind Faelix, their spectral bodies shimmering with golden energy. With a single flick of her fan, they lunged forward in a synchronized charge, their razor-sharp fangs bared and tails flowing like blazing banners.
SteelArm reacted instantly, slamming his fist into the ground as [Earthen Grip] activated. A stone hand erupted from the earth, forming as a barrier in front of them. The ghostly foxes crashed into the stone with a deafening impact, their forms flickering upon contact before dissolving into golden wisps of energy.
The three warriors pushed themselves to their feet, their gazes locked onto Faelix. She stood with an air of golden radiance. She looked at them in a way as if she was testing their strength. The brief silence between them was shattered the moment she snapped her golden fan shut.
A pulse of raw energy surged through the battlefield, transforming the landscape before their eyes. The lush green fields were consumed by a radiant golden hue, stretching endlessly in every direction. Even the sky above twisted into a shimmering expanse of gold, the clouds shifting to match the divine brilliance.
Then, with a sharp flick, she opened her fan once more. A violent gust of wind exploded outward, carrying with it dazzling golden lights that surrounded them. The lights suddenly shattered into blinding radiance, forcing them to shield their eyes. At the same time, the sheer force of the wind sent them crashing to their knees once again. As the light faded, Faelix slowly closed her eyes before reopening them, her golden irises glowing with an almost celestial intensity under the golden sun's rays.
Without a word, blue fox flames erupted around her, forming an ominous ring of fire. Raising her fan towards the sky, the flames converged, swirling upward and condensing into a massive, searing orb of blue fire, its heat distorting the very air around it.
As the heat from the massive blue flame orb warped the air, Stiles, Dante, and SteelArm steadied themselves, their bodies tense with anticipation. Stiles wiped sweat from his brow, his grip tightening on his blades as he glanced at his comrades.
"Alright... I'm just gonna say it," Stiles muttered, his grip tightening around his blades. "We're fucked, right?"
SteelArm exhaled sharply, cracking his knuckles as he eyed the swirling mass of flames above before chuckling slightly. "Shit… we might be. I don't think [Earthen Grip] can handle something like that."
Dante crossed his arms, his gaze locked onto the massive blue inferno in the sky. His usual composure wavered for a moment before he let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah... we're absolutely fucked."
Dante exhaled sharply, eyes flickering between the swirling fox flames gathering around Faelix. "Jokes aside, we need a plan. If we take that head-on, there won't even be ashes left of us."
Stiles shot a look at Dante, his voice edged with urgency. "Yeah, no shit there won't even be ashes left of us. So, what's the plan?"
"Let's just run like hell first, then figure out a plan of attack—" Dante started, but his words faltered as more blue fox flames ignited around Faelix.
This time, the flames didn't just hover around her—they consumed her entirely, shrouding her in an impenetrable veil of flickering blue fire. The smaller orbs spun wildly, drawn toward the colossal inferno above, spiraling around it like celestial bodies caught in an unrelenting orbit.
Dante's throat went dry as he stared up at the growing mass of destruction. "Yeah… I don't think 'plan' is an option as of now."