Three figures emerged from the glowing
teleportation circles.
The first was a staff-wielder clad in the
armor of an ancient Chinese soldier, his attire resembling something from 200
BC.
The second was a smaller, leaner version of
Isa—the fiendish knight Wei had fought back at the castle. Unlike his towering
counterpart, this dark knight stood only about 5'11.
The third was the most unexpected: a boy,
no older than sixteen, dressed in modern clothes—black rubber shoes, skinny
dark jeans, and a white sleeveless shirt that revealed his arms. What stood out
most were the black leather motorcycle gloves on his hands, each reinforced
with two sharp metal spikes embedded in the padding, giving him a menacing edge
despite his youthful appearance.
The three turned to Kitsune's body sprawled
across the floor, their eyes widening in shock. For a moment, they thought he
might already be dead. But then—suddenly—Kitsune's form began to shift. The fox
features dissolved like smoke, revealing his true human body—battered,
bloodied, but still alive. Kitsune was no more than a twelve-year-old boy,
lying unconscious on the ground.
The third warrior—the human boy—quickly
knelt beside Kitsune and placed a hand over his chest, channeling a faint glow
of healing energy.
"Bro, wake up!" the boy urged, his voice
sharp with worry.
Just a few seconds later, Kitsune's eyes
fluttered open. He let out a weak breath, sounding like someone who had
overslept.
"Raki… I'm glad you're here," Kitsune
murmured.
Then Kitsune stood. He looked at Wei
smiling and said. "Sorry about that, but I admit you knock me out. Good
thing I still have remaining lifepoints. Let me heal my self so we could fight
again. Kitsune noticed Wei's clone.
"Oh who is that? You got a twin?"
Wei narrowed his eyes, clearly unsettled.
Seeing other humans in Birigan should have been a relief, but instead it
twisted his gut with unease. These humans didn't feel like allies—they felt
like a threat.
"What do you mean who? Forget that. You'd
better explain why there are suddenly two more humans here. Humans aren't
supposed to be in this world."
Kitsune let out a laugh.
"Hahahaha! Just a moment ago you were
doubting whether I was even human—now you look completely convinced."
"Actually, we're humans too," the leaner
version of Isa said.
"What?" Wei was stunned. He realized that,
just like Kitsune, these others must also have received their powers from the
goddess.
"What's the reason the goddess brought you
here?" Wei demanded.
"Basically, to be her warriors—just like
our characters in our favorite game," Kitsune replied.
"So you're all gamers, huh? Alright. Since
we're all humans, why don't we just go back to our world? I can share the gold
I've earned here. My gold points are more than enough to make us billionaires
back home. You guys could sit around playing games for the rest of your lives."
"Who would want to waste time on video
games when we can live in this world with real power?" Kitsune shouted, his
grin widening. "We'll rule this world, Wei—and we'll take all the pretty elves
for ourselves!"
Wei's face twisted with disgust. "Who the
hell raised you, kid? Sounds like your brain's been poisoned by those trashy,
perverted gamers at internet cafés. Either way, you need a serious beating for
thinking like that at your age."
Kitsune smirked, unshaken. "Heh. Good luck
with that. Now that my friends are here, I doubt you'll be half as effective."
"I'll be more than effective, kid," Wei
snapped. "Let me just call another friend."
He hurled a pearl to his left. The orb
shattered against the floor, spilling into a spreading pool of white liquid.
The ground trembled as the substance began to rise, twisting and reshaping
until a towering ten-foot monster stood before them, its body gleaming like
polished ivory.
The monster raised its massive right fist
and gripped the arm with its left hand. With a deep mechanical hum, small
missile heads unfolded along its forearm and knuckles, locking into place like
a living weapon.
A sudden click-click-click echoed through
the chamber.
Then—FWOOOSH!—a volley of missiles shot
out, streaking through the air in fiery trails, aimed directly at Kitsune and
his companions.
The leaner version of Isa protected his
companions using his cape, blocking all the missiles
The missiles screamed through the air,
their trails painting streaks of fire across the chamber.
But before they could hit, the leaner
version of Isa stepped forward. His black cape unfurled with a snap, expanding
unnaturally wide as if infused with dark energy.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The explosion shook the room as the
missiles detonated against the cape. Smoke and sparks scattered in every
direction, but behind him, Kitsune, Raki, and the staff-wielding warrior stood
unharmed.
When the smoke cleared, Isa's cape
smoldered, tiny embers glowing on its edges—but he stood tall, his glare fixed
on Wei.
"Tch… you'll have to do better than toys
like that if you want to hurt us," Isa growled.
"Why don't we introduce ourselves first,
before we crush you, Mr. Legion Slayer?" the staff wielder said with a smirk.
Wei chuckled darkly. "Oh, is that really
necessary? I won't bother remembering your names once you're all dead—hahaha!"
"Yes, it's necessary, Wei," the staff
wielder replied firmly. "Because our goddess is recording this battle. All of
Birigan will witness your downfall. Isn't that wonderful, Mr. Legion Slayer?"
Wei's eyes narrowed, then curved into a
mocking grin. "Really now? Then prepare yourselves to be the laughingstock of
Birigan instead."
The staff wielder slammed his staff into
the ground. "Enough of your ego! It's time for you to know who we are."
Kitsune stepped forward first, his eyes
gleaming. "My name is Kitsune—Master of the Blade of Reflections!"
The dark knight followed, his voice sharp
and resonant. "I am Liriel, the reincarnation of Isa."
The staff wielder raised his weapon, wind
swirling around him. "I am Son Wu, wielder of the Whirlwind Staff!"
Finally, the youngest stepped forward,
lightning sparking across his gloves. "And I am Raki—the bearer of Burning
Lightning!"
"Corny," Wei scoffed, smirking, "but you
can all kiss the floor now! Hahaha! Oh—by the way, let me introduce my friends
as well. This beast here is Hino, and that one—my clone, Xue. They'll be
assisting me in giving you all a proper spanking!"
The ground trembled as Hino suddenly
charged forward, his massive steps echoing like the thunderous sprint of a
giant, each impact shaking the floor beneath Kitsune's group.
Liriel and Son Wu immediately leapt
forward, springing into the air to intercept the charging giant. Liriel's
blade-cape flared out like a storm of steel as he slashed across Hino's left
shoulder, while Son Wu descended with a fierce overhead strike, his whirlwind
staff aimed squarely at Hino's skull.
Clang! Crack!
Both blows landed with precision—but the
massive white monster didn't even flinch. The strikes barely grazed his armored
hide, like twigs snapping against stone.
With a guttural roar, Hino retaliated. His
colossal left hand swung upward in a brutal arc, slapping both warriors
mid-air. The impact sent Liriel and Son Wu flying back, their bodies crashing
through the air before slamming to the ground.
Enraged, Raki charged straight at Hino.
"Take this, you lousy white liquid
monster!" he roared, his spiked gloves crackling with energy.
He drove his fist forward with all his
strength. Hino met the strike head-on, his colossal fist colliding with Raki's.
The impact shook the entire room—BOOM!—a violent spark of electricity erupted
where their fists connected.
"I'm far stronger than you!!!" Raki
shouted, his voice thundering like the storm itself. He followed up instantly
with his left arm, slamming another punch into Hino's colossal fist.
CRAAASH!
This time the collision unleashed a surge
so powerful it split the air with blinding light, crackling like a raging
lightning storm. The explosion of force blasted Hino off his feet, hurling the
giant backward. His massive frame rolled across the ground, gouging deep cracks
into the tatami floor as he skidded to a halt.
Raki staggered, chest heaving as he gasped
for air. That last strike had drained a massive chunk of his mana, and his body
trembled from the strain.
His eyes darted left—
thud… thud… thud…
Out of the shadows, massive shapes emerged.
Wolves. But not ordinary ones—these beasts were twice the size of a horse,
their fur glowing a deep crimson, their eyes burning like molten fire. Drool
dripped from their fangs as they charged, claws gouging the ground with every
thunderous stride.
"Red Fang Wolves…" Raki muttered, his
breath ragged. His fists clenched, sparks still twitching around his gloves.
"Damn it—I've still got thirty seconds before my skills are ready!"
The pack was rushing straight at him,
hunger and bloodlust in their eyes.
Raki's eyes widened as he caught the blur
of movement above—Wei's clone, Xue, sprinting along the ceiling like a predator
in the shadows. At the same time, a pack of crimson wolves thundered toward
him, their snarls ripping through the air. In the blink of an eye, the noose
tightened—Xue's red blade descended in a deadly arc, gleaming like silver
death, while the wolves lunged forward, jaws gaping wide, their fangs
glistening with bloodlust.
In a flash of light, Kitsune materialized
before Raki, his body shifting into his fox form mid-leap. Xue's blade came
crashing down—only to be caught by Kitsune's parry, steel shrieking against
steel. At the same time, his afterimages flared into existence, streaks of
silver and flame carving through the charging wolves. Their snarls twisted into
howls of pain as fangs shattered and bodies split apart under the storm of
Kitsune's slashes.