Madeleine and Ri’s actions showed little hesitation. They, along with Dyon, had long since come up with the best solution to this problem. Dyon didn’t have to say a word, he knew how intelligent his wives were and that they too would understand.
That said, there was another reason he had said nothing, and that was because of Madeleine.
Madeleine’s personality wasn’t one conducive to a killing spirit. In fact, she very much avoided such things. This was why much of Dyon’s anger had to do with Madeleine being forced to do something she didn’t like. This was Madeleine’s very first kill!
During her campaigns, it was often her job to protect her comrades and weaken the enemy, but any of the killing was done by her supporting cast. It was why she heavily emphasized her celestial will to the point where it became an intent long before her music will. But now, there was no choice.
Ri and Madeleine didn’t have ambitions of spreading their names far and wide like Dyon did. But, what they did have was a drive to stay by Dyon’s side and to do him proud. They understood that Dyon didn’t care about such things, though. Dyon didn’t care for how powerful or well looked upon his wives were, he just wanted to be with them and protect them. However, that wasn’t how they looked at things. To Ri and Madeleine, they wanted to reach the peak of perfection so that everyone knew how special their husband was. Why? Because only he had been able to grasp their hearts.
The line of challengers froze.
Before this, everything had been laid out before them. Simply challenge the weakest rankers in hopes of continuing onward. But now what were they meant to do? Was risking their lives worth it?
The truth was that only a small percentage of the challengers were lining up with malicious intent. After all, Planet Deimos only made up a fifth of the participants and Femi Geb wasn’t even their undisputed leader – that title was left for Tau Aumen, a man Dyon had a run-in with at the Chaos Tower.
With all of these factors considered, the only people who were staunch supports of Femi were members of the Geb God Clan. The other – the Horus God Clan members of the Aumen Royal God Clan members – were mostly acting as normal participants: it just made sense for them to challenge the weakest rankers.
In fact, anyone who understood anything about Planet Deimos knew that the Horus and Geb God clans were always butting heads. This was because the Geb specialized in Earth and the Horus specialized in the skies – they had deep and fundamental philosophy differences that didn’t foster a good relationship. This was why Ode Horus and Eboni Geb were always at each other’s throats despite both being in the top 30 for their Planet.
So, why would the Horus God Clan ever go out of its way to save Femi’s reputation? They would never waste their time doing such a thing.
However, that was only under normal circumstances. There was one clan capable of keeping the Horus and Geb in check. And that was none other than the Aumen Royal God Clan.
Tau Aumen, a man with fiery golden hair that looked more like the reincarnation of the sun than a human, was a young master that was constantly mediating the interaction between these two clans. In fact, in Dyon’s short talk with him at the Chaos Tower, he had warned Dyon that attacking Eboni wouldn’t be as easy as it had been to attack Ulu. Implying he had no intention of allowing Dyon to hurt his underlings.
Under the pressure of Tau Aumen pressing for unity, the Horus had no choice but to fold to protecting Femi’s reputation.
Elder Den watched awkwardly from the skies as all of the challengers stopped moving. This was supposed to be their ultimate death match, but they had overlooked one thing: with the rankers taking their place on the stage, why would weaker non-rankers risk their lives when they knew very well that they didn’t deserve to be in the top 100?
In reality, this was exactly why the past rules dictated that stage rulers had priority challenges. It was to stop this stall tactic. But, they had deliberately changed those rules to pressure Ri and Madeleine. Now it was back firing!
Suddenly, two figures flashed onto the stages. One to face Madeleine and the other to face Ri.
A surprised look flashed on Ri’s features before anger set in.
“What are you so angry for? It’s unbecoming of a supposed beauty.” A woman with caramel skin had stepped onto the stage. By every measure, she was like an Egyptian Goddess descending from the skies. She was without a doubt a beauty beyond words and among the six peak-most beauties of the Universe. Eboni Geb.
Madeleine immediately noticed Ri’s anger and sent a glance toward her before looking toward her own opponent.
This was another beauty, although a tier below Eboni. She had flowing silver hair and there was something decidedly holy about her. This was Ode Horus.
Ri, though, had every reason to be angry. This Eboni Geb was nothing short of a snake disguised as a beauty. From the very first moment she met Ri and Dyon, she antagonized and attempted to lord over them as though she was great. When, in reality, her greatest feat was sneak attacking Ri and causing her womb to be sealed.
Ri still remembered that helpless feeling of her feet being fused to the floor as a dense black array was shoved into her. There was little doubt in her mind that had it not been for Eboni, Ulu’s seal would have never touched her.
Eboni didn’t seem to care for Ri’s gaze and she leisurely took out an Egyptian sceptre. It was a mere two and half feet long, but it had twin cobras wrapping along its length.
“I just thought I’d make it clear that I’m not here to please my elder brother,” Eboni spoke, clearly referring to Femi, “I’m here to make sure that fake rankers don’t make it into the top 100.” Eboni snorted, “Your husband thinks he’s a match for the top ten because he beat that old bat pretending to be part of the younger generation? Well, let me tell you and everybody else something.”
Eboni’s black eyes set in and sharpened as a crystalline will rained around her. “While everyone’s distracted by the fact your husband ranked first in his very first campaign. I’m more interested in how his wives magically ranked so high after so few attempts too.
I dare to say that you two are just as fake as he is. And I don’t mind proving it.”
Seeing as their plan to tire Ri and Madeleine out first had failed, Ode and Eboni chose to attack much earlier than expected. But, they still hadn’t given up on the rest of their plan. Regardless of what they said, they had witnessed Madeleine and Ri fight before. As such, they knew that they had no certainty of winning.
But, what Eboni did know was that Ri would be very angry with her. Because of that, she may utilize more energy than she should. With the Geb clan’s specialty being based in the Earth, their stamina and defenses far outmatched most. This meant that Eboni could stall until Ri tired – banking on the fact Ri would be angered into trying to finish her off quickly.
So, when Eboni saw Ri flash forward, a small smile was already playing on her lips.
Madeleine saw this, but there was little she could do. If she tried to communicate with Ri now, the judges would pick up on it because her cultivation didn’t match theirs. They would use any excuse they could to kick her and Ri out so she could only focus on her own opponent.
In reality, Ode had drawn the short end of the stick. Despite being just in the top 30, she now had to fight Madeleine, who was in the top 20. None of them were stupid enough to think that Dyon had manipulated Madeleine’s rankings for real. For one, Madeleine wasn’t even on the same planet as Dyon for this past campaign and even before then, Dyon obviously had never campaigned before. This meant that both of Madeleine’s campaigns had no influence from Dyon.
But, Ode could only accept her fate. As a Horus God Clan member, she specialized in something she knew Madeleine was weak in: Speed and her sky specialties gave her a special advantage over music will users. All she had to do was evade for long enough to tire Madeleine out. She didn’t have to win, she just had to make sure that the second phase of their plan was easier.
Ri and Eboni clashed first.
Plates of crystalline defense shields shattered as Ri’s sword pierced forward.
There was an unfettered wild aura to Ri’s swordplay that she hadn’t tapped into before. Her movements were fluid and her instincts were sharp. It seemed almost unnatural at times, and yet so fitting at others. It was as though a cunning fox had picked up the blade.
Her faints were damning, her cuts were decisive, and her power was wild.
Eboni’s brows furrowed as defense shield after defense shield shattered.
She was quite confident in her crystalline will, but Ri was making it look like a joke. ‘That dense black on her sword… What is that?…’
Eboni’s flowing Egyptian dress fluttered in the wind and her feet flashed around the arena, clearly avoiding Ri. What she needed was time.
Eboni’s crystal will followed a completely different path than Dyon’s. While Dyon focused on amplification to compliment his array alchemy, Eboni was entirely focused on defense. It was known as the hardening path – a path that was known as being a step up from the shield path.
This was because hardening effected both offense and defense, it was just that Eboni had yet to use its offensive capabilities just yet. She wanted to first understand the extent of Ri’s will.
Surprisingly, though, Ri didn’t seem bothered by Eboni’s constant avoidance. Ever since the initial provocation, Ri’s anger had faded. Instead, she saw Eboni as prey. A mouse caught in a trap. Nothing more and nothing less.
A cold sweat permeated along Eboni’s alluring back, causing her dress to cling tightly to her curves.
‘No matter how I adjust the structure of my shields, she keeps breaking through them!’
As a specialist of the hardening path, Eboni could manipulate her crystals into any structure she chose. Utilizing her Geb clan’s analysis techniques, she was confident that she could create the best structure for blocking any will path as long as she was given enough time and her opponent was within her scope. But… There was something off about Ri’s will. No matter what she tried, it was like an insurmountable wall!
Ri’s blade was coated in a dense fog – even the edges weren’t obvious. But, despite this, the sharpness seemed to surpass anything Eboni had ever seen.
Eboni grit her teeth, if she kept running away like this, what was she proving? In fact, it was even worse that she was aware that if she kept running, Ri would corner her. She felt like she was scampering away from a predator.
‘I’m a top beauty of this universe! I rank in the top 30 by my own merit! I won’t allow this to happen to me!’
On the other stage, Ode and Madeleine’s battle was going… oddly.
Madeleine’s eyes had lost a decisive sharpness they had had with the previous challenger all while Ode’s silver hair fluttered around her.
Every time Madeleine plucked a string to attack, Ode would vibrate the air violently, causing distortions in Madeleine’s notes and thus disrupting her technique.
However, despite this, Madeleine still stood elegantly at the center of the arena, gently plucking the strings of her lyre. A beautiful melody seemed to be building, but it lacked any attacking or killing intent. It was almost as though Madeleine was playing just to play as opposed to fight.
Ode didn’t know how to feel about this. But, she was much too wary of Madeleine to approach too closely. So, she maintained her distance, becoming one with the wind as her clan was so famous for.
‘Speaking in a vacuum is impossible. Without a medium, sound can’t travel. As long as I take full advantage of our Horus clan’s dominance in the air, her music will never reach me. I’ll let her waste her stamina. Then, I’ll attack when she’s given up!’ Ode thought quickly as she vibrated the air particles around her again.
“I will win!” Ode and Eboni’s minds focused on one goal.
Eboni’s stance changed. She brandished her sceptre, holding it out from her as her shining crystal will amplified.
“Don’t get cocky,” She sneered.
The arena began to tear apart under Ri’s feet as massive spikes of crystals threatened to impale her. Eboni had finally switched to an offensive tactic, unwilling to continually look so week.
Ode noticed this immediately, “You stupid bitch. We had a plan!”
Eboni said nothing. She was fully aware that she was throwing everything out, but unlike Ode, she was in this battle and had a feel for what was going on. She knew that if she kept avoiding Ri, she would only be playing into her hand. The only way to tire Ri would have been to make shattering her defenses difficult, but it was clearly much too easy from Ri’s perspective! How could Eboni know the reason she couldn’t analyze Ri’s will was because it was a domineering supreme law?
Ode could only throw Eboni’s actions from her mind. If she let up on Madeleine for even an instant, she could lose. She had had a feeling that something was off from the very beginning, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.
Madeleine just continued to leisurely play at the center of the arena, causing Ode to vibrate the air again and again, distorting the sound around her and not allowing it to reach her.
On Ri’s stage, she had begun to dodge herself. But, with every flash of her step, she inched forward. That was when something dawned on Eboni: ‘Her beast form… She hasn’t used it yet…’
Even as the words were etched into Eboni’s thoughts, Ri’s hair darkened as a bestial growl escaped from her lips.
A jet black aura oozed from her pores as the arena seemed to set itself into a somber and dense black fog.
Ten black tails whipped out from Ri. Her feet flashed faster, her sword swung sharper, and worst yet, that odd will of hers amplified.
Kawa Acacia sat in the skybox, shocked.
“Kawa…” King Acacia’s words escaped as nothing more than a whisper. How many years had he spent fighting to get his wife back? He had even given up much of his power for her. But what would they do if they ever found out about Ri?
“I didn’t know… I had no idea…” Queen Acacia didn’t know how to feel.
The memory of eleven years ago when the Kitsune had descended upon the Elvin Kingdom and taken her away was still fresh in her mind. They had wanted to take Ri away too, but after realizing she had little to no bestial qualities to her, and listening to Kawa’s pleas, they had let her leave her daughter behind. Of course, in Queen Acacia’s mind at the time, she would never see her daughter or husband again.
But, King Acacia had long since prepared for this. How long had he spent knowing that there could come a day where they came to take his wife away? The only reason Kawa was even in this universe in the first place was the same reason the Ragnor were likely here. Everyone knew there was something special about this formally powerful universe and everyone knew there was a mystery behind why such a potent power had fallen so far – so everyone wanted to find out why.
Back then, they had sent the young Kawa here to investigate. But, after hundreds of years and her still being nowhere to be found, the Kitsune had sent their elders to retrieve her. After all, Kawa was a holder of one of their 13 faith seeds, and a destined faction leader. How could they let her roam free so easily?
But, in the grand scheme of things, Kawa was still much too young. She wasn’t ready to take up the mantle of the River Kitsune, so many treated her as such. So, thinking the worst had happened, elder Kitsune came to this universe only to find out that Kawa had settled down with a family.
Many of the Kitsune factions had wanted to sentence King Acacia and Ri to death for tainting their supreme beast heritage. However, doing something like this was futile. Kawa was already tainted and her growth hadn’t been too stifled, much to their surprise. As such, they simply took her away.
As a beast clan, the Kitsune valued power above all else. They never took Kawa away with thoughts of her never returning to King Acacia and Ri. They only took her away until King Acacia earned the power and the right to have his wife and daughter by his side.
In the turmoil of the martial world, it was much too selfish of Kawa to hide away in a universe, doing nothing for the greater good of the clan. As a beast, she had benefited from a long line of heritages gifted to her directly through her blood line. As such, in the eyes of her ancestors, how could she not pay them back for the talent she was gifted?
Kawa understood this. This was why she had long since told King Acacia that she would likely be taken away.
What Kawa didn’t know was that King Acacia had never resigned himself to such a fate. He had given his all during their centuries together to raise his power and further his cultivation. Eventually reaching a point where he was powerful enough to pass the trials laid out by the Kitsune to earn Kawa as his wife.
In the Kitsune clan, they had a tradition for marrying members of their clan. Trials separated by the power and talent wielded by both their males and females were given to those willing to risk their lives.
This was a win-win for the Kitsune. Why would they turn away someone powerful enough to match their best talents? Wouldn’t this bolster their clan’s power?
So, that was what King Acacia did. He fought his way through the universes, eventually making his way to the Kitsune ruled Kingdom. Then, he lay his claim to Kawa.
It was no surprise that with Kawa’s talent and power, he was forced to undergo one of the most stringent trials available. But, in the end, he succeeded. It came at a heavy price… But, still. He succeeded.
But now history was threatening to repeat itself. The couple knew very well that the awakening of Ri’s faith seed wouldn’t go unnoticed by the Kitsune.
This normally wouldn’t be a problem. The trials, after all, were based on talent. It didn’t matter how young Dyon was, he only had to have talent at the peak most of his age group – something he without a doubt had.
The problem was something else entirely…
There were 9 levels of trials. Ninth level trials were for the weakest and least talented kitsune. These were still difficult because Kitsune were supreme beasts after all, but still, they were comparatively easier.
However, the first level trials were solely kept for the 13 faith seeded kitsune and they were further divided into 3 stages…
The lowest stage had a 1% survival rate. Considering only the most talented of suitors would even attempt the first level trials, this was a ridiculously low pass rate to begin with. This included the wind, earth, fire, river, ocean, mountain and forest Kitsune. This was the stage King Acacia was forced to undertake.
The middle stage had a 0.001% survival rate. In the million upon billions of years of history of the kitsune, less than 100 men have passed this trial. That also shows how few have even thought to attempt such a thing. This stage was reserved for the music, spirit and thunder faith seed kitsune.
However… The highest stage. Had a survival rate of 0%. In the history of the Kitsune, not a single Kitsune that has wielded these faith seeds has been allowed to marry. They were forced to spend their lives giving back to the clan in thanks for the talent they were gifted with.
The Kitsune this was reserved for?
The time kitsune: Jikan.
The heaven kitsune: Tengoku
And.
The void Kitsune: Kukan.