“You disgust me, Fred...” Kanari’s entire body was wreathed in pale blue flames as her mana output continued to climb. Her domain continued to stretch far and wide, creating a tense atmosphere for anyone to breathe in. At Rank 51, Kanari was far stronger than most of her peers. Not to mention, her Kumiho Spirit highly versatile and extremely powerful. Although it couldn’t compare with Shin’s Celestial Dragon, the Kumiho was still a Legendary-Beast Spirit that was capable of using three elements.

“Say what you want, Kanari… I don’t care anymore!” The man coated in a dark-iron hue directed his crystal right at the ladies. Umbras screeched in happiness, like puppies finally released from their collars. “Kill them all!!!” Fred barked.

Fred’s objectives had changed drastically. He didn’t need Kanari’s soul to be housed in that voluptuous body. He only needed the body to satisfy his own carnal and emotional needs. Momo, one of the Nine Coloured Noble Beasts, had promised to reanimate the woman, no matter what shape the corpse was in. If so, Fred would be able to live his fantasy, making the Kanari into his loving, faithful wife.

Thea wasn’t going to just let that happen though… The Spirit Venerate raised her weapon and let out a berserker’s war-cry. The shockwave that flowed out from her mouth pushed all the Umbras far away as the spiritual pressure she unleashed pushed many of those beasts on the floor. Not only that, the Black Masks that emerged from the tunnels were all universally kneeling on the ground, completely flattened by the Spirit Venerate’s presence.

“Tsskkk, annoying bitch...” Fred clicked his tongue, unconsciously taking two steps back.

The other Spirit Emperors were still recovering from the initial explosion and were mostly immobilized. Only Thea, the woman responsible for taking care of Kanari throughout her stay in the Lantis Republic, was fully healthy. Still, that one woman was enough to hold the Black Masks back. Thea continued to spew out dense mana particles as her fingers turned into a solid claw. She wanted to kill the toad that lusted over the swan’s flesh in one single palm strike; however, Thea’s movements was stopped by a soft, supple arm.

“Aunt Thea… You should focus on the other Black Masks and the Umbras...” Kanari coldly said. “I was the one who caused his fall, so I should be the one to end him… Let me deal with the pervert.”

“Kanari… Are you sure?”

“Yeah...” the black-haired girl nodded. “Against someone like him, lifting one finger is more than enough.” Kanari’s nine fluffy tails wagged against the torrents as her claws were instantly sharpened. A pale green flame ignited from the centre of her left palm while her right was decorated in her signature blue foxfire. Both of the flames were mesmerizing to watch, but their functions were far less beautiful.

The green fire… Kanari’s Mind Flame, was a spiritual ability that directly targeted one’s consciousness. Those that were inflicted by the flame would fall into the femme fatale’s control and would be manipulated beyond their body’s control. The blue fire was far less sinister, but it didn’t mean that it was weak. Packing enough mana to burn down an entire forest, Kanari’s Foxfire would detonate anyone that dared to come near.

Adding to the flames, Kanari had her domain firmly set up, creating thousands of gorgeous auroras that glittered the rainy day. With her gale control, Kanari could expertly fan her flames, making her overall power output a dozen times more dangerous.

“Phew…” Emma whistled as she slowly took a few steps back. It seemed that many people had forgotten that before Kanari became known as Shin’s other half, the woman was once renowned throughout the modern world as the Witch of the South, the most talented genius that the Himmel Empire had. Just like Shin, once she unleashed all of her powers, there were only one or two Spirit Lords in the world that could deal with her, let alone a hack like Fred, who needed the support of the Allfather’s mana.

“You could have lived a happy life in the Highgarden Duchy… You could have become one of my most treasured lieutenants...” Kanari looked at the fallen prodigy, not just with rage, but with a tinge of sympathy. In a certain aspect, Kanari felt responsible for causing Fred’s fall from grace. Therefore… Kanari felt obligated to be the one to end him. “It’s a pity… A pity that you’ve chosen this path...”

The beauty leapt high in the air, creating a flaming tempest that was coloured in green and blue. It was as if a miniature, decorated sun had been summoned to grace the earth and charm the poor souls that laid eyes on it. All of the Black Masks and Umbras who saw the beautiful sun were spellbound and locked to their positions. Only those with slightly higher resistance to the Mind-Elements were able to keep their wits.

“Die...” Kanari waved her arm down and the sun she created fell rapidly onto the centre of the Black Masks.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

Kanari’s sun found the weakest point of the formation and triggered an explosion of epic proportions. Anything within half a kilometre’s radius was burnt to shreds, and the Black Masks that weren’t in the Spirit Core realm had fallen into a pile of dust. It was hell, even for those that remained living. The residue green flames that piled on the ground kept infiltrating and disrupting the survivor’s minds, bringing all of their actions to an abrupt halt.

Fred gritted his teeth, annoyed that his men were weak enough to perish from one attack. “Fucking useless!” Fred spat, turning to the one man he trusted. “Charles! Assist me!”

A lean Black Mask that wore the signature mask with a green snake embroidered at the centre of its forehead ran out of the tunnels and sent a wave of mana into Fred’s Spectre Soul. His already giant body started to swell, and the iron skin that toughened his body was getting more and more chromatic. Fred’s weight must have doubled as his feet sunk more in-depth into the muddied soil, making it hard for anyone to move him with any attack.

“Invincible Iron Body? Hmph! I’d fought with much tougher opponents before!” Kanari scoffed and raised both her arms into the sky. An illusion of five gorgeous moons graced the rainy skies as her mana surged to astronomical heights. Her five fingers were outstretched, and her nails clawing at the crazy skies. Fire elements turned the moist air crisp, and the winds started to spiral around the gorgeous five moons that took over the heavens.

Fred’s weight was now doubled, and his muscles were swelled up. With his enhanced properties, perhaps he could evade one of the moons, but there was no way that Fred could completely escape all five of them. So, the warrior decided to take the legendary attack head-on...

“LUNAR BEAM!!!” Her preparations complete, Kanari unleashed her signature ability. Five luminous strikes fell from the heavens, completely evaporating every single raindrop that fell in her domain.

TUM!!! TUM!!! TUM!!! TUM!!! TUM!!! TUM!!! TUM!!! TUM!!! TUM!!!

The five beams travelled halfway through the air before breaking into countless smaller rays. Light fell onto the poor ground like a meteor shower wrecking the poor world. Dozens of explosions filled the moist, muddied floor, creating a broken Hell on the face of the earth.

Fred stood on and tanked all of those hits. Each time one beam slammed upon his dominant metallic body, the Spirit Lord could feel his entire soul screaming out in terror. An intense heat, one that far exceeded that of molten lava, attempted to melt Fred’s Invincible Iron Body… and it was on the verge of succeeding. If the man hadn’t gotten buffed by the Allfather’s mana and Charles immense supportive abilities, Fred would have long turned into a pool of metallic waste.

“Hoh… You actually survived that?” Kanari was briefly amazed. Not many, including Shin himself, could take her Lunar Beams Head-on without fear. One could only imagine what lengths Fred had gone through to toughened his body to its current state.

“KANARI!!!” The man slammed both his crisscrossed arms down and unleashed a Lion’s roar. He leapt from his position and charged straight at the Kumiho woman. At the same time, he broke the black crystal that was handed down to him, creating a dense blackened fog that reigned terror upon the cold world.

Quickly, the Umbras lost all sense of control. Their movements turned haphazard as they have forgotten the difference between friend and foe. Many of the Black Masks, which should have been protected by the Umbras, were now simply prey to the mad beasts. Injured bodies were ripped to shreds while healthy ones were targeted for no apparent reason.

So why… Why did Fred break the crystal and in essence, shatter the control he had over the Umbras? Well, the answer was quite simple…

GRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

Almost instantly, each and every one of the darkness beasts howled in hunger as their eyes turned as red as the fluids within all living things. Dark mist pulsated out from their bodies, contaminating the air with a putrid stench. The Umbras all grew like swollen pigs and the mana of death that was housed in their bodies drastically increased. Some of the beasts even upped a tier, something that was completely unheard of in the long history of man.

“They’re growing stronger...” Kanari winced, pulling her arms back.

Fred threw the broken fragments of the crystal into the air before finally leaping into the air. He no longer needed to control the beasts and could now focus on ripping the heart out of Kanari’s chest. Thea, who was busy killing off some of the stronger Umbras, was tempted to jump back to the beauty’s side. However, a menacing scowl by that very same woman stopped the Spirit Venerate in her tracks.

“I see that you’ve grown stronger...” Kanari sighed as she closed her gorgeous eyes. The aurora domain continued to flow around her as an illusory mist escaped from the depths of her Spectre Soul. She raised both her arms up, peaking the spiritual energies that hid within. Bits of the Celestial starlight was incorporated into her mana pool, no thanks to the wonder boy that she slept next to every day.

And then… The Spirit Lord paused.

On her left hand, there was an illusion of a gorgeously lit-up full moon. It shone with the essence of a beautiful celestial night and brought forth a divine hue that was unmatched by the ages. On Kanari’s right, there was a green and blue coloured sun.

"The moon on the left… The sun on the right…" Kanari's face radiated out in glorious splendour.

"Fred… Let me bring you back to the light…"