Kanari was the first person among Shin’s group to advance into the Spirit Lord realm. Many tend to forget, but before she was the Prince of the Lantis Republic’s consort, Kanrai was the heir of the Highgarden Duchy. The Duchess of Highgarden had been supplying Kanari with a constant source of resources and mentors that could help her unlock her best potentials. Not to mention, the Kumiho Spirit has many prior users, which meant that there were much more recorded tomes about cultivating the Spirit, unlike Shin’s Celestial Dragon.

Adding to the fact that Kanari was the biggest beneficiary to Shin’s residue essence, it was no surprise to anyone that she breezed her way into the Spirit Lord realm. The two orbs, one representing the aspect of the solar, the other taking the form of the lunar, continued to mesmerise all who peered into its divine power.

The everlasting downpour of Ao’s doing should have long extinguished any flames in the area and diminish whatever fire elements that existed. However, that didn’t affect Kanari’s power one bit… The Solar and Lunar orbs left the ethereal beauty’s fingertips and orbited around her like they were satellites to her body. The spiritual pressure that Kanari unleashed was also a cut above any Spirit Lord that existed. Auroras continued to flow out of the black-haired woman’s body, creating an endless domain that could only be described as otherworldly.

“Ah… So beautiful...” Fred stopped in his tracks, completely spellbound by the empyreal scene. His mind darkened as a flashing film emerged from the recesses of his memories.

Fred had lived in extreme poverty for a good part of his early childhood years. His parents were born paupers, and their fate was carried down to the young Fred. Months before he was born, Fred’s father left his pregnant mom, uninterested in raising a child when he was suffering on his own. When he was one, his mother was forced to prostitute herself to earn what little money she could to support the budding infant. When Fred was five, he had to rummage through trash cans in the slums, praying to the Immortals that he would get an unfinished lunch that someone threw out.

Every single day of his early childhood, Fred had been suffering. His mother, who had long been broken down by the years of abuse to her body, passed away before Fred was even nine-years-old. Left alone in this world, Fred was forced to fend for himself. He lacked everything in the world, except for a phenomenally strong body. By fighting against the other beggars in the slum, Fred had obtained a potent body that could easily overpower those that were twice his age.

Fred train in the conventional sense as just trying to stay alive for the next day was training enough. He would fight off beggars for food scraps and even steal from vendors. All just to survive.

Everything changed when Fred turned ten years of age. Just like every other child his age, Fred attended the mandatory Spiritual Awakening Ceremony, conducted by the Himmel Empire’s missionaries in the local church. His amazing constitution and colossal size at ten-years-old made Fred a child to watch during the Day of Spirits. Sure enough, the child pauper who struggled to even feed himself on some days awakened the Iron Giant Spirit, a mutated elemental Spirit that was sure to put him onto a path of greatness.

From then on, nobles whose territories surrounded the slums began to take notice of the new wonder kid. Some of them tried to woo Fred over, with the promise of a solid roof over his head and the fact that he wouldn’t have to scour for food ever again. However, in the end, Fred decided to go with the household that seemed the most generous with their offer. The nobility that his friend Charles was formerly from.

Slowly, Fred would climb up the ranks, becoming a retainer for the very noble that took him in. Fred’s expertise in martial arts and cultivation was staggering, particularly for someone who had no actual background. At the age of thirteen, he had reached the Spirit Apostle realm and was capable of learning Spiritual Body Enhancement. Not only that, Fred’s long years in the slums had honed his cunning and survival abilities. His temperament was perfect, never complaining about a single session of training. In fact, he sought out more training, even though he wholly didn’t have to.

As Fred grew older, more and more people started to take notice. He’d even become close friends with Charles, and the noble family was going to sponsor him throughout his education. Overnight… Fred turned from a budding nobody, into a genius that everyone would fawn over.

Thus, Charles’ father had started seeing Fred as an asset no less valuable than his own son. He forced the youngster to take etiquette lessons, foreseeing that Fred would marry into a High Noble’s faction in the future. He gave the boy all the resources he’d given Charles… Basically, anything to foster a good relationship with Fred, Charles’ had done.

And that includes bringing him to High Society parties that were inaccessible by mere peasants.

Fred remained rooted to the ground, watching on as Kanari’s gorgeous Solar and Lunar Dance was reaching its apex. “It’s just like that day...” he muttered in pure awe.

Many years ago, when Fred was still under rigorous training, news had broke that the Highgarden Duchess was inviting every noble under the Himmel Flag to attend her daughter’s twelfth birthday. Everyone had long heard of the Highgarden Duchess pretty little flower, a genius that awakened the legendary Kumiho Spirit. From a young age, her distinct and adorable features showed hints of the beauty she was to become, making her the prime target for nobles who wanted to set their son’s up.

Hundreds of nobles attended that party in Highgarden. Extravagant wine and scrumptious delicacies were served, while lower nobles rubbed shoulders with Princes and Dukes. It was a legendary feast that cost over a thousand gold ingots to pull off. It was the first-ever time that Fred had experienced such luxuries in his entire life. However, that wasn’t the key takeaway of his entire experience.

What really struck the young and impressionable youth at the time… Was the star of the show.

When Kanari first came out in that striking flaming violet dress, Fred’s jaw dropped all the way to his knees. The young maiden back then was far more mature than her age would suggest, and there was a hint of mystique with her every movement. She wore light make-up, but even that was enough to make her the prettiest girl in the entire room filled with nourished nobles. Kanari was… by far… the most beautiful flower that Fred had ever come across.

The typical girl that came up to Fred back then were all money-hungry girls, sent by their families to butter-up with the man. At any given time, Fred could have gone out with any of them or even bed them. Nobody would ever care. However, for the first time in his life, he’d met someone that was so far from his world… So uninterested in his talent… That she hadn’t spared him a single glance.

For someone that grew up in the slums, someone that had clawed his way up from the pits of poverty… Attaining Kanari would be the most succulent achievement. That was the beginning of Fred’s interest in the black-haired beauty. Kanari represented everything that he was not… And Fred wanted to change that.

It didn’t help that Kanari also possessed immense talent, one that easily dwarfs anyone her age or older, Fred included. When Kanari quickly dispatched Rank 20 Spirit Core cultivators at Rank 11… That was a slap in the face for Fred. He’d always thought that he was special, but that was far from the case… Meeting Kanari made him truly understand what it was like to be a frog at the bottom of the well.

To be honest, Fred didn’t really know why he’d turned into a devoted lovebird. Initially, his interest in Kanari was like most guys. An innate lust to obtain something inobtainable. While other boys would have moved on to their next crush after a few weeks, Fred’s devotion turned into something else. Slowly… The interest in Kanari morphed into an obsession. Each time Fred got turned down after a confession, the resilient survivor in him would keep mending his heart, preparing him for the next confession. Fred firmly believed that he loved the girl, it was just… He didn’t really understand why…

Love… What was it really? Why was Fred so devoted to this one girl, even though she clearly would never be his? Why did he put himself through hell when he could have settled for another girl and find his own happily ever after? Honestly, Fred had no clue. However, as he witnessed the flames that were thrown out of Kanari’s two hands, Fred felt his cold and bitter heart start beating once more.

That scene… That pale blue flames that wreathed around the beauty of Kanari… It had remained the same…

The Moon in Kanari’s hands was the first to be unleashed. Concentrated Lunar Beams, ten times stronger than the usual dosage, flowed out of the Kumiho’s claws and targetted the stationary Fred. Not willing to be outdone, the Sun quickly did the same. Light pulsated throughout camp as every single raindrop that fell was instantly vapourised.

Against the force of the Sun and Moon, there was nothing that Fred could do. He summoned out his Iron Giant, creating a dense layer of protection that enveloped every part of his body. Charles’ boost was still in effect, but how much could it really safeguard the Spirit Lord from the forces of the Celestial Objects?

“ARRRRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!” An agonised cry echoed out from Fred’s dropped jaw as the metallic skin that he had was being charred at an astonishing rate. It wasn’t just the Kshatriya that felt the heat… The majority of all Umbras that surrounded the young man had been obliterated into dust, leaving nothing but embers behind.

“You...” As the Sun and Moon reverted back to nature, Kanari felt her body turn sluggish as the mana within her soul had been rapidly depleted. Manifesting the Celestial Objects was her trump card, just like how Shin used the Shard of the Azure Dragon to utterly destroy all his enemies. The power of the Sun and Moon was theoretically capable of burning down legions of Spirit Lords and even Spirit Kings if need be. Therefore, it was a miracle that Fred’s body could still remain intact.

“You just don’t die, do you?” Kanari spat, her eyes locked with Fred’s. Kanari recalled the hundreds of times that she’d rejected the man, only for him to come back the next week ten times bolder. Fred was just like a cockroach, persistent in all the wrong attributes.

“Urgh...” Fred opened his mouth, creating a thin fog that resembled that of a dragon’s heavy breath. His body was hunched down, with both his arms hanging like pendulums. Fred’s mind had been fried, just like the rest of his body, making him the embodiment of a walking zombie. However, there was still something propelling his mind forward… Something pushing him on even though his body was on the verge of collapse…

“URRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

The zombie-man bolted from his position and in a mere three seconds, was just two metres away from the ethereal beauty. Kanari, still exhausted by the mana expenditure, was a little slow to react. She was able to take a few steps back, but it was far too late. With Fred’s momentum, he would be capable of landing one fatal blow on the woman’s body before he fell to the abyss.

Alas… That would never come to pass...

Slighhhggggttttt!!! Slighhhggggttttt!!! Slighhhggggttttt!!!

A flash of silver dazzled past Kanari and pushed the colossal Iron Man a dozen metres back. On the surface of Fred’s skin, over fifty scars could be seen crisscrossing from all directions. The Invincible Iron Body, which had even endured the power of Kanari’s sixth spiritual ability, was now just like any lump of flesh… Weak to the simple cut by a spear.

“Kanari… You’d let your guard down...” A familiar voice entered the young woman’s ears. It was sweet and youthful at times, but there was a slight tinge of maturity as well. Looking up, Kanari saw a suave silver-haired man, with an equally charming spear. On his wrists and ankles, five prayer beads were oscillating around like a Ferris wheel, providing tremendous amounts of mana into the agile spearman’s body.

“Hah… You’ve gotten complacent with your abilities, Kanari...” Yet another voice reverberated through the woman’s ears. This time, it was an impish woman’s voice, one that had caused countless troubles for Kanari back in the day. As expected, a white-haired woman, who held onto a Rosary with multiple pearls levitating around her, came forward and tapped Kanari’s face. Nostalgic energy flowed out from the woman’s finger and filled the mana void that Kanari had inflicted upon herself.

“Isadore… Elrin...” Kanari gasped. “W-What are you doing here?”

“Hmph! Do you think that you’re the only ones that can avenge Shizen’s death?” Elrin snapped back, her face a little miffed. “Shizen was our friend as well; naturally, we would want to be here when that bastard Junius dies!”

“Also… It’s about time the Himmel Empire does something more in this war...” Isadore’s eyes sparkled as he twirled his spear around.

“Wait… If you’re here, does that mean!”

“That’s right,” Isadore tapped his nose twice, confirming Kanari’s conjecture. He looked up at the western skies, where the vast Obsidian Gate stood over the entire region.

“The Ancestor… He’s finally going to make his move...”