章 60: 60 Kitsune
Lucas followed Akane and her daughter deep into the forest behind the resort. The air grew cooler and the forest denser as they moved towards the wilderness. Akane's movements graceful and assured, while Yuki trotted alongside her, occasionally glancing back at Lucas with curious eyes.
Eventually, they reached a hidden glade illuminated by soft, ethereal blue light coming from Will-o'-the-wisps. The trees here were ancient and towering, their branches intertwined to form a natural canopy with dozens of the small flames floating around.
As they entered the glade, Lucas felt the shift, this place was protected by strong magic he had never heard of or felt for that matter. It was completely different from Hogwarts, less refined, more primitive.
Several Kitsune emerged from the shadows as they walked in, their forms shifting from fox to human. They regarded Lucas with a mix of curiosity and wariness. Lucas also made out a weird sense of infatuation from the women as well as the men, mixed in with wariness.
Akane stepped forward, her presence commanding respect. "This is Lucas, a human with powerful magic who seeks refuge in our land," Akane announced. "He and his mother mean no harm and have been through great trials."
One of the elder Kitsune, an imposing figure with silver fur and wise, penetrating eyes, stepped forward. "Akane, why did you bring a human with such powers? And such problems?"
Akane's gaze met the elder Kitsune's without hesitation. "He might be able to help us in the upcoming gathering." She replied, her voice carrying a tone of respect.
The elder Kitsune regarded Lucas with a scrutinizing gaze, his eyes narrowing as if assessing Lucas's very soul. "It is not something to be taken lightly," he said, his voice deep and resonant. "Furthermore, I don't think you comprehend what you have brought here."
Elder Kazuki was born with the gift of sensing other people's souls, a rare ability under Kitsune, but not unheard of. It was also the reason for the peace they had had for the past 15 years. He was able to get a feel for a person's nature, yet what he saw in Lucas frightened him to the core. He felt like if he made a wrong move he would get swept up in the barely suppressed storm standing before him, uncertain of what the outcome would be.
The elders words hung heavy in the air, and Lucas could sense the tension and fear rising among the gathered Kitsune.
"I don't understand why you are acting that way," Lucas said, his voice steady, stopping the unease from getting out of control. "But I assure you, I mean no harm."
Elder Kazuki's eyes remained locked on Lucas, a flicker of surprise passing through them at Lucas's calm assertion. The tension in the glade eased slightly, though wariness still lingered in the air.
Suddenly, one after the other, the Will-o'-the-wisps turned from their soft bluish colour to a deep crimson red, followed by the sound of an explosion in the distance.
"Attack!"
"There is an attack!"
"Enemies approaching!"
Panic broke out in the clearing. The mothers hastily grabbed their young and fleed in the opposite direction from where the noise was coming from. Akane took Yuki's hand and did a step back, standing behind Lucas.
The remaining Kitsune prepared for the inevitable clash that was to come.
Three fit young warriors that had sprinted from the commotion all the way here were yelling.
"The Oni have come."
"The Oni are attacking."
"Prepare for combat."
Elder Kazuki quickly took charge, yelling orders, calming the agitated Kitsune.
Lucas watched the spectacle unfold before him with cold eyes. To him it mattered little, who the owner of the land on which the hotel stood was, all that mattered was that they could hide there. However, it wouldn't hurt knowing the political landscape. "Why are the Oni attacking your people?"
Akane, still holding Yuki's hand, glanced at Lucas, her expression one of worry and uncertainty. "Although the Oni and the Kitsune have a long history of conflict, in the last 15 years we had peace. But two years ago a new matriarch rose to power and the talks ever since were... difficult, which worsened year by year. She wants to expand their territory and drive everyone else out of these woods. We knew that they could attack at any moment, Elder Kazuki has warned us. I am sorry that I dragged you into this."
As the Kitsune organized themselves, Lucas felt a strange sensation, a tingling in the air that signaled the presence of powerful magic. The crimson light of the Will-o'-the-wisps cast eerie shadows across the glade, and the distant sounds of battle grew louder.
"How strong is she?" Lucas asked out of curiosity.
"As strong as an eight tailed Kitsune." Akane replied dejectedly, because Elder Kazuki, the strongest in their clan, only had seven tails. There were a handful more, but the Oni did have others as well on top of the matriarch. The battle wouldn't turn out to be in their favour.
Lucas listened intently, taking in Akane's words as the tension in the glade continued to mount. The distant sounds of the destruction of the Kitsune's defences echoing through the forest, punctuated by the occasional roar of the Oni. It was just a matter of time until they reached the clearing and the true battle started.
He considered the situation, his mind racing. Despite his indifference towards the Kitsune's lives, he knew the potential danger to his and his mother's safety if the Oni succeeded in their attack and weren't satisfied with merely this land.
The heavy steps and the manic voices of the Oni drew near and finally the first one reached the glade.
She had two horns, a slender body as well as a savage grin on her face. The crop top and hot pants didn't hide her toned body, which had its own kind of allure. But that was not what caught Lucas' attention. Instead it was the almost painful amount of magic she radiated.
Like a bloodthirsty dog, who had just seen their favourite prey, she lunged at him with surprising speed completely ignoring the magical foxes, her manic grin widening as she closed the distance between them. Lucas stood his ground, his expression unreadable. The Kitsune around him tensed, ready to defend their territory, but unwilling to help the human.
As the Oni matriarch charged towards him, Lucas remained eerily calm, his eyes locked on her with a steely determination. In a normal battle of magic against her he would be dead in seconds, much less a physical one.
Thus, he had to let go of the restrictions he had placed on him in order to hide from the japanese wizarding government. After all, he still had no idea that they couldn't detect his magic.
A low-pitched rumbling filled the air as Lucas took full control of his domain. Even the weakest of the Kitsune now picked up the sweetness in the air, tempting their primal instincts. As for the Oni, Lucas turned completely irresistible. He was like a drug to her.
The Oni matriarch's eyes widened in surprise and desire as she felt the shift in the air. The raw, intoxicating power Lucas unleashed washed over her, overwhelming her senses and momentarily halting her attack. Her savage grin faltered, replaced by an expression of unrestrained hunger.
Lucas didn't wait for her to charge again.
The ground under her feet turned to liquid, making her loose her foothold, while the leaves of the trees surrounding them shot at her like bullets.
Lucas couldn't directly attack her with his domain, because the magic she radiated shredded any spell formed directly on her into nothing.
As the Oni matriarch struggled to regain her balance in the liquefied ground, her body was riddled with superficial wounds caused by the sharpened leaves. She roared in frustration, her body thrumming with magical energy as she tried to counter the onslaught.
But Lucas was relentless. He summoned more of his magic, bending the very elements to his will. The ground beneath her feet hardened and liquefied in quick succession, causing her to stumble and lose her footing repeatedly. The leaves struck her from all sides, slicing through her defenses and drawing blood.
Despite the barrage, the Oni matriarch's resilience was formidable. She raised her hands, conjuring a shield of dark energy that deflected some of the leaves and allowed her to regain her footing. Her eyes blazed with fury and desire as she focused on Lucas, her body trembling with the effort to contain her power.
"Enough!" she bellowed, her voice echoing through the glade. She thrust her hands forward, sending a shockwave of dark energy towards Lucas. The force of the blast shattered the remaining leaves and disrupted his control over the ground.
Lucas raised his own hands in response, summoning a barrier to deflect the shockwave. The collision of their powers sent ripples through the air, causing the Will-o'-the-wisps to flicker and the trees to groan under the strain.
The Oni matriarch screamed in frustration and manifested two daggers in her hands.
With a furious roar, she lunged at Lucas again, daggers gleaming with a malevolent energy. Her speed and strength now on another level.
It took barely a moment for her to reach Lucas and swing at him. She easily sliced through his erected barriers and into his flesh, only to be disappointed, because the moment she felt triumph Lucas shattered into a million peaces.
She hastily jumped to the side after feeling danger, barely dodging an invisible blade.
"I thought I would get you with that." Lucas said disappointedly, he had used enough power to actually hurt her.
The Oni matriarch snarled in frustration, her eyes darting around to locate Lucas. Her wounds, caused by the leaves had already healed. Lucas reappeared a few meters away, his expression calm and calculating.
"I must admit, you're tougher than I expected," Lucas said, his voice steady despite the intensity of the confrontation. "But this ends now."
The Oni matriarch's eyes burned with hatred and desire as she lunged at Lucas once more, her daggers slashing through the air with lethal precision. He raised his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, he summoned a torrent of water from the ground. It swirled around the Oni matriarch, forming a vortex that lifted her off her feet into the air.
The vortex spun faster and faster, the pressure building until Lucas was sure she was disoriented. She, however, had had enough of this and simply cut it in two, landing back on the ground and staring at him with utter malice. She was done with being played with.
The Oni matriarch lunged at him with her daggers cutting anything he threw at her, her movements a blur of speed and power.
Lucas sidestepped her initial strike and apparated a short distance away, while bombarding her with more cutting charms.
She cut those as well.
Suddenly, the matriarch collapsed.
"Took you long enough." Lucas mumbled to himself as he watched the bloody hole that had appeared right at the place where her heart was.
And with that the mental world he had created broke down.
Lucas stood panting, his body trembling from the exertion of his mental battle. His eyes were fixed on Elder Kazuki, who still held his bloodied fist where the Oni matriarch's heart had been moments before. The glade was eerily silent, with unconscious Oni's laying around.
The Kitsune around them were frozen in shock, their eyes wide with disbelief at what had just transpired. The savage Oni had collapsed one after the other the moment they had set foot onto the clearing. Dozens of unconscious bodies had amassed at the edge of the glade.
Akane stepped forward, still holding Yuki close to her, her eyes filled with a mixture of awe and concern. "Lucas, are you alright?" she asked softly, her voice breaking the silence.
Lucas nodded, though he was clearly exhausted. "I'm fine," he replied, his voice hoarse. "Just tired." As he collapsed.
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