A Fox's Family (49 page)

“Very
well. I look forward to seeing what you’ve got in store for
me.”

More
Void fire appeared―small black dots that hovered around Shílì,
orbs of infinite darkness that seemed to absorb all light; the
absence and negation of concept.

“Entertain
me.”

“
Void
Art: The Infinite Oblivion.”

The
orbs of darkness merged together, combining and growing, swelling
like a rising tide. Actually, come to think of it, the Void fire
looked a lot like a giant tidal wave…

Kiara
blinked.

“… That
cannot mean anything good.”

“Sa…”
Shílì grinned. “Die now.”

***

The
wave fell. The fire spread. Everything was consumed. Plants
disintegrated within seconds. Animals were engulfed in darkness,
disappearing beneath the encompassing wave of absolute destruction.

Kiara
avoided that fate.

High
above the ground consumed in dark flames, she flipped and corkscrewed
through the sky. Kiara oriented herself towards Shílì,
who stood within a small circle, a clear patch of undamaged, pristine
land amidst a plane of annihilation.

Shílì
looked up as she descended, her body twisting and flipping. Her leg
struck out as she dropped down on the black-haired fox-man with a
powerful heel drop.

The
ground cracked underneath the power of her attack. A large crater
formed in the earth, with Shílì standing at its
epicenter. With his left arm raised above his head, holding the
woman’s ferociously powerful leg back, the Void kitsune
grinned.

“Good.
That’s very good. You’ve got some serious power.”

Kiara
pushed off the arm, flipping over and landing on the ground several
feet away. All around them Void fire continued to burn, devouring
everything within sight. Only the area they stood on was kept safe,
protected by Shílì’s will.

Standing
up from her crouch, Kiara clapped the dust off her hands. “You’ll
find that I have a lot more than just power.”

She
took a deep breath, her chest puffing up as oxygen filled her lungs…

Then
she roared.

A
storm emerged from her mouth. A torrential flood of powerful winds
tore the ground apart. The land was ripped to shreds.

Shílì
jumped, ascending above the powerful tempest. The storm continued
moving, even with its target no longer there. The five-tails then
bore witness to something amazing. The gale-force winds smashed into
his Void fire, pushing it, splitting it. The black fire which had no
beginning and no end was blown apart, dissipating back into
nothingness.

“Well,
now.” A low, impressed whistle emerged from between his lips.
“That was impressive. I don’t know anyone else who can
destroy Void fire like that. And to think, that was just an exercise
in manifesting raw youki into a physical attack.” He shook his
head. “Truly, your prowess continues to amaze me.”

“Then
allow me to amaze you some more!”

A
shadow fell over him. Shílì looked up in time to see
Kiara descending from the sky head-first. Her hand was outstretched,
forming a fist clearly meant for him. Covering her body from head to
toe in red was her aura, blazing away like an infinite bonfire.

Shílì
tried to block the attack by crossing his arms, putting him in a
disadvantageous position. When Kiara’s fist struck Shílì’s
forearms, the fox with five tails was blasted away at speeds that
surpassed even the fastest sports car.

He
hit the ground. A loud, earth-shaking rumble followed his descent.
Another crater formed in the earth, this one nearly twice as large as
the previous one. The earth shook violently. Rifts appeared as the
ground split apart. Dust rose into the sky, a mushroom cloud of smoke
that ascended like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion.

Kiara
landed on the ground some distance away. She walked over to the edge
and peered down. A frown formed when she saw that Shílì
was missing. There was only a small hole where he had been.

“Did
he dig a tunnel underground?” Kiara wondered, then shook her
head. “No. He’s not an Earth Kitsune. He should not have
the ability to dig a tunnel, and the Void is not something that can
be used for such delicate work.” She pondered the problem a bit
more. “Then it must be…” Her eyes widened. “An
illusion!”

“Exactly!”

Kiara
turned around and was just in time to see the fist before it smashed
into her stomach with the strength of a cannonball. She didn’t
even have time to wheeze as she soared through the air and slammed
into the ground several yards from the crater, creating yet another
crater.

Kiara
tried to suck in a breath that would not come. She attempted to fill
her lungs with oxygen that refused to enter her mouth. Everything
hurt. Her lungs, her chest… they felt like something heavy, a
70 ton anvil, had been dropped onto her chest, crushing her bones and
compressing her body.

A
groan escaped her. Blood leaked from between her lips. Kiara
struggled to get up, wincing every time her muscles screamed in
protest. That attack had been stronger than anything she’d ever
felt before.

“So,
this is the strength of a kitsune with five tails.” A pained
chuckle emanated from within her blood-filled mouth. “Damn. And
here I thought Kotohime was strong.” Kiara spit out several
globs of carmine liquid and climbed to her feet. Her legs wobbled,
but quickly stopped as her youki began to strengthen her body. “I’m
gonna need to be more careful.”

“I
am pleased to see that you are still alive.” Shílì
walked over to her, seemingly both curious and happy. “Hehe…
Truly, I have not faced an opponent as worthy as you in many years.
To think you would survive my reinforced punch. I put everything I
had into that attack, you know?”

“We
inu can never be outdone when it comes to physical strength,”
Kiara boasted. “There are very few creatures in this world with
more strength in their muscles than us. However, those few yōkai
whose physical prowess exceeds ours all lack our durability, which is
second to none.”

“Indeed,
your species appears to be a most hardy stock. That attack would have
killed any kitsune with less than at least six tails, even if they
were using reinforcement. You were able to survive it with nothing
but the natural durability given to you by your species’
genetics. That’s very impressive.”

“Let’s
see if I can’t leave you even more impressed.”

Without
warning, Kiara rushed Shílì with every intention of
bringing the fight to him. Her straight jab struck out with hurricane
force. Her foe tilted his head, his hair getting blown in his face as
he avoided the attack.

He
could not avoid the follow-up.

Now!

The
fist that missed Shílì unclenched and grabbed the back
of the now surprised fox’s head. The surprised face didn’t
last long. It became replaced with a pained grimace as Kiara brought
his head down to her knee, the loud
crunch!
of
breaking cartilage echoing across the vast desert landscape.

Shílì’s
head snapped backwards. His spine arched along the curvature of his
back as it also bent in an attempt to keep his head from flying off
his body. Blood sprayed from his nose, a fountain of vermillion gore
that splattered the ground, staining the earth.

“That
was a good hit…” His abdominals flexing, body contorting
in a boneless manner, Shílì’s spine twisted back
into its proper alignment. He grinned at the gobsmacked Kiara. “Very
good indeed. Let’s see you do that again.”

A
fast and furious battle of fists followed Shílì’s
proclamation. The air around them burst as their strikes canceled
each other out and created miniature explosions of displaced air,
sending their hair and clothes whipping about them as if caught
within a terrible and mighty hurricane. Cracks formed along the
ground as the displacement of incredible power lashed out at
everything around them.

Kiara
saw the tail coming before it attacked. She hopped backwards, dodging
the mighty blow that descended from above. The ground where the tail
struck not only split open as if the mighty hammer of a god had
smashed into it, but a gigantic pillar of Void fire ruptured from the
surface.

Kiara
set herself in a wide stance; knees bent, center of mass lowered,
fists tucked into her torso. She called upon her aura, and the red
youki came to her, caressing her mind and soothing her body like the
touch of a lover. She channeled her power into her fists, encasing
them in a brilliant flame of the darkest crimson.

“HA!”

With
a mighty shout, the fists shot forward. The aura extended from her
fists and plowed into the pillar of Void fire, blasting a hole right
through it. The fire, unable to maintain its consistency, dispersed
into the wind.

The
aura attack continued forward, the ground breaking apart. Shílì
saw the attack coming his way. His tails rose into the air, extending
to incredible lengths and twisting around each other until they
morphed into the shape of a drill. As the aura attack came near, the
five combined tails smashed down on it, destroying the attack in a
single blow.

Kiara
had to cover her face with her arms as dust and rubble flew
everywhere. It pelted her skin. It didn’t hurt, but it was
annoying.

“More!
MORE!”

The
dust parted as a large cylinder of Void fire lanced out of it.
Looking more like a beam of black energy, the fire raced towards
Kiara, who moved swiftly to dodge the attack.

“GYAA!”

She
wasn’t fast enough. While she avoided getting smashed full-on,
her left hand got caught in the cylinder of the malicious inferno.
She gritted her teeth, fire lancing through her mind like a spear,
and looked down at her now burnt appendage. Her hand was no longer
there. What’s more, the Void fire was beginning to ascend up
her forearm. It crawled across her skin, devouring flesh, muscle and
bone with ease.

Kiara
flared her power and channeled it into the arm, which slowed the fire
down, but did not halt its advance. The fire continued consuming her
arm inch by agonizing inch.

“G-nnngg!”

Pain
flooded her nerves as the fires consumed more of her appendage. Kiara
dropped to her knees, her right hand grasping her arm just above the
shoulder, as if that would somehow stop it from spreading.

Shílì
walked out of the dust. “It seems you were caught in my last
attack.” He looked disappointed. “And here I was hoping
you would last a bit longer.” The dissatisfaction only lasted
for a few seconds. “Ah, well. Such is life, I guess. You’ve
given me a good fight, and for that I am truly grateful.” His
gentlemanly aura returned and he bowed at the waist, a show of
respect for the first worthy adversary he’d had in centuries.
“Thank you for putting up such a magnificent battle.”

“It…
this fight… isn’t over… yet…”

“Eh?”

Her
teeth grit hard enough to make her gums bleed, Kiara glared at the
five-tailed kitsune.

“Don’t…
underestimate… ME!”

A
roar filled with her tenacity and will resounded across the
landscape. Kiara, in a move that stunned her foe, gripped her arm
tighter and pulled. Flesh was torn, muscles were ripped, and bones
were shattered in a spray of blood and gore that painted the ground.
Kiara tossed the remains of her arm at Shílì, who was
too stunned to do anything as it smacked him in the face.

“Gah!
Blood in my eyes!”

“I’m
not done yet!!”

With
a cry not unlike that of a samurai charging into battle, Kiara
launched herself across the ground.

With
blood staining his eyes, Shílì completely missed the
fist that plowed right into his chest.

More
blood was spilled, but this time, it wasn’t Kiara’s.

Shílì
stared at the arm stuck in his chest all the way up to the elbow, his
eyes blatantly showing his disbelief. He then looked up, focusing not
on the appendage sticking through him, but instead on the woman who’d
just shoved her forearm into his chest.

Kiara’s
glare was fierce even though she was clearly in pain. Her sharp
canines were bared, her nose was scrunched, and her eyes had narrowed
into a look that screamed “I will not be beaten!” It was…

“Beautiful…”

“Wh-what?”

Shílì’s
shocked expression shifted into a sincere smile. “Thank you for
allowing me this most beautiful release…”

Kiara
watched, blinking as the light faded from Shílì’s
eyes. His body slumped against her, forcing Kiara to the ground as
her exhausted legs were unable to hold their combined weight. She
took a deep, shuddering breath, then slowly eased the corpse of her
now deceased opponent onto the ground.

After
staring at the dead kitsune for nearly a full minute, the pain and
exhaustion finally caught up to her. Adrenaline, which had been
pumping through her veins, keeping her body going long after it
should have given out left, finally left her system. Kiara slumped to
the ground, lying on her back, staring up at the midday sky…

Wait.
Midday sky?

“Just…
how long was I fighting that guy for anyway?”

“I’d
say you’ve been fighting for about an hour or so.”

“Kotohime.”
Kiara blinked as the woman in question marched into her field of
vision. The raven-haired femme stared at her upside down, or was that
right side up? Either way, she gave her rival and friend a smirk. “I
figured you’d win your battle. Che, you only had to deal with
that little three-tails.”

“Indeed.”
Kotohime seemed amused. Her eyes glittered mischievously. “I
was most fortunate. I do not think I could have won against your
opponent. It seems you’ve gotten much stronger since the last
time we fought.”

“Yeah,
well…” Kiara would have shrugged, but she didn’t
have the strength. “What can I say? Ever since you first
defeated me all those centuries ago, I became determined to surpass
you. Heh, I promised myself that I would never lose to you or anyone
else ever again.”