Anastasia stretched her hand out. The smoke scattered, and a new Fox Fire wrapped around her. Boom! Boom! Boom! The Wave of Fire exploded before it could reach her, but the building she stood on couldn’t withstand its power and immediately collapsed.

Sparks flew, and the heat became a storm that lashed around them.

“S-shit! Run away!”

“Ms. Anastasia and the Hoarder are fighting!”

The locals quickly began to flee. To ordinary people, fights between high rankers were akin to natural disasters. No one could predict how much damage would be caused. Some people were about to lose their businesses but neither Yeon-woo nor Anastasia cared.

“Blow.” At that moment, one of Anastasia’s tails burst into green flames. The monstrous energy around Anastasia intensified. She blew on her fingers lightly and the energy around her shot out air projectiles that were as big as a head.

The Fox Fire flared again. Strange phenomena appeared wherever it passed. Space itself would shake or suddenly go cold. Yeon-woo pulled the Wave of Fire back and combined it with black Aura. He swung Vigrid at Anastasia, smashing a projectile with each swing.

The monstrous energy turned into Fox Fire again but it couldn’t pierce through the wall of souls protecting Yeon-woo.

[The 2nd Soul]

Kyaaa! The group of souls that was nearly a single entity shifted out of Yeon-woo, energizing him and protecting him at the same time. It was a new twist on the martial arts he learned from the One-horned tribe.

He split through the smoke and reached Anastasia, raising Vigrid to cut off an arm or one of her tails. He thought it would be enough to intimidate her.

However, she didn’t avoid his attack and only snorted in amusement. At the same time, her second tail glowed, and she swung the pipe in her hand.

Boom! Vigrid and the pipe clashed against each other with an explosion. The buildings around them were swept away as heat blasted out, but the two didn’t stop there. Boom! Boom!

Strange letters glowed on Anastasia’s pipe. Yeon-woo realized it was a special artifact that Victoria had made for her teacher. However, he couldn’t read the runes on the pipe—were they from another world?

Yeon-woo realized the letters streamlined Anastasia’s use of her unique power. The brighter the pipe glowed, the brighter the green fire on Anastasia’s tail grew. Anastasia threw her pipe to the floor with a huff. The Gumiho that stood behind her moved.

‘What is that?’

The Gumiho pounced on the pipe on the ground, and a new aura began to rise around Anastasia. The space around Yeon-woo began to shake, and he quickly spread open Fire Wings and activated Blink at the same time.

Like Anastasia, he could use the magic he’d learned from Victoria to transform his Fire Wings into an artifact or a skill. He landed a safe distance from Anastasia. When he looked in her direction, his eyes widened.

“You have good instincts, kid.” Anastasia snorted. She was standing in the center of a flattened area. Everything around her was completely destroyed. The monstrous energy emitting from the broken space explained what she had done.

‘A charm…’

『That…is a monster that’s been hibernating for at least a thousand years.』 Nemesis’ voice rang inside his head. 『It is a being that became one with a player and turned into a Legendary Beast after a thousand years. But since it has monstrous energy, I think it’s more appropriate to call it a Great Monster.』 It was a warning not to fight with Anastasia. 『At the very least, she’s on the level of the Nine Kings. Even if my previous master returned, it’s hard to say that he’d win. Only the Martial King or the Summer Queen can do it.』

The monstrous energy around Anastasia was growing darker, and the image behind her even was clearing up, as though the Gumiho was standing right on top of Anastasia. The monstrous energy increased each time a tail burst into flames.

『We barked up the wrong tree. I think we should step back.』 Even though Yeon-woo was becoming stronger at a quick rate, he definitely wasn’t on the level of the Nine Kings yet. If Anastasia was comparable to the Martial King and Summer Queen in terms of strength, he had no chance of winning.

‘No. There is a way.’ Yeon-woo grinned behind the mask.

“What are you mumbling about?” Anastasia must’ve read Nemesis’ presence inside the Philosopher’s Stone because she frowned and flicked her finger again. Her fifth tail burst into flames.

Boom! Boom! Countless air projectiles descended. When the Gumiho shook its tail, strong winds whirled like tornados. The Fox Fire scorched the ground black. Space crumbled in front of Yeon-woo as though someone had smashed a layer of translucent ice.

Tentacles pierced the ground and wriggled around. Monstrous energy was a power that one borrowed from a greater being, and it spread inexorably around Yeon-woo. He would have to be crazy to fight her head-on. ‘If so…’ Yeon-woo’s eyes flashed coldly. ‘Little by little. Just like the way a light drizzle can drench someone’s clothes completely.’

[Draconic Eyes]

[Extrasensory Perception]

Along with his Consciousness, two skills combined as one and began to accumulate imperfections.

[Wind Path – Gust of Wind]

Yeon-woo he ran towards Anastasia, who stood inside the Fox Fire. He avoided the imperfections that looked too difficult to deal with. He was confident no other player could match his speed.

『What are you trying to do?』 However, to Nemesis, Yeon-woo looked like he was taking on something he couldn’t handle. Also, only five tails had been activated, which meant that Anastasia had even more power in reserve.

‘When the tails light up, do you see?’

『What? Oh!』 Nemesis understood what Yeon-woo was saying and glanced around. He had been focusing on Anastasia too much, so he hadn’t been looking around. 『The number of souls has increased.』

‘Right.’

At that moment, Anastasia ignited the sixth Fox Fire tail. The monster Shanon was dealing with melted and it was absorbed by Anastasia.

『She has so much monstrous energy.』

‘She doesn’t have holiness or divine power, so it’s hard for her to keep all of it inside her body. That’s why her appearance isn’t her actual form but a player’s.’

The monstrous energy Anastasia had gathered over a span of a thousand years was amazing. However, because there was so much of it, it wasn’t easy for her to handle it. As a result, she was forced to leave part of it sealed outside her body. Yeon-woo was going to take advantage of that.

If they fought a battle of attrition, Yeon-woo would have the advantage because the Philosopher’s Stone was a source of endless magic. However, the longer Anastasia used her monstrous energy, the bigger the toll it would take on her body.

‘Her true power appears when all her tails are lit up. Right now, she’s still weak.’

『But she still seems stronger than you.』

‘So that’s why we’ll use this method.’

Nemesis nodded in acceptance although he was still worried. 『You won’t be able to drain all her energy. Are you gonna go for a blind spot?』

‘Yes.’ If he faced her head-on, he would die. He quickly reached Anastasia and attacked her with Blink and the Seventy-Two Bian. ‘Like this.’

“Argh! You dare!” A deep wound appeared on Anastasia’s right leg. Blood spattered into the air and disappeared. A long mass of flesh extended from her right wrist. She had been injured by a human who hadn’t even lived a hundred years. She couldn’t let herself be humiliated like this.

However, Yeon-woo had already anticipated her movements and escaped. Then, he returned to slash her thigh once more. The Gumiho cried out to the sky. It was only a small injury. Anastasia tried to catch Yeon-woo, but Yeon-woo escaped like a rat every time.

“You!” She was furious as Yeon-woo escaped again and again. It seemed like she would have to ignite her sixth tail.

‘Now!’ Yeon-woo didn’t miss the chance and activated Blink. He landed right in front of Anastasia. It all happened so fast that Anastasia didn’t even anticipate it. She didn’t know about Time Difference, after all.

The black Aura exploded once more, cutting off Anastasia’s left arm. Although he hadn’t been able to do as much damage as he wanted, he’d almost cut off one tail as well. Yeon-woo activated Blink again. Hit and run. He was going to escape. At that moment, the seventh tail burst into flames.

He froze, unable to move a muscle. The air itself was holding him down. Boom! Blood poured from his mouth, and he fell to the ground. The impact was so great that all the bones in his Demonic Dragon Body broke. He tried to heal himself with Regeneration, but Anastasia was already standing over him.

“You dare put me in this state?”

『You dare put me in this state?』

Two faces overlapped as Yeon-woo stared up at her.

〈Monster Eyes〉

Red eyes pinned him down.

“I’m done with this. I won’t go easy on you anymore just because you’re my disciple’s friend.”

『I’m done with this. I won’t go easy on you anymore just because you’re my disciple’s friend』

Yeon-woo had forgotten that since Anastasia was Victoria’s teacher, she would know Victoria’s secrets.

“So.”

『So.』

Her loose robe revealed her naked body, but it looked more fierce than alluring as her veins bulged.

“Now die.”

『Now die.』

Anastasia brought her hand down to Yeon-woo’s mask.

「How…can a…mere…fox…dare!」 Boo was about to open his eyes when a large wolf head appeared next to the Gumiho.

“That’s enough, isn’t it? Stop it now.”

At the same time, someone grabbed Anastasia’s hand. Anastasia turned to see Freesia wearing her usual wooden mask. Her eyes narrowed.

“Wolf, don’t get in the way. Stay there. I’ll take care of you next.”

『Wolf, don’t get in the way. Stay there. I’ll take care of you next.』

“That’s why I came. I wanted to apologize. However, don’t you feel like you’re looking at your younger self?”

Anastasia shut her mouth, and turned to look at Yeon-woo, who was under her left arm. His eyes seemed both intense and desperate at the same time. Her eyes once had the same expression in a long-gone past she couldn’t even remember too well anymore. She cursed and let him go.

“Bitch.”

『Bitch.』

Freesia chuckled. “Foxes are also dogs.”