Chapter 357: The True Demon Fox Of Velmora
"Samsara Fox Fire?" Damian muttered in disbelief.
That flame had always been his greatest trump card against demons. It was the inheritance he relied upon whenever overwhelming power alone wasn’t enough. Yet now another demon was standing before him, wielding the very same fire as though it belonged to him. The realization unsettled Damian more than he cared to admit. It was uncomfortable, but at the same time it made perfect sense. Every one of his fox flames originated from the Kitsune inheritance.
"Didn’t I tell you?" Hagrid sneered viciously. "All your powers originated from my clan. We simply never had a leader strong enough to wield every one of them. Until now."
Swoosh!
Almost immediately, seven enormous black and crimson fox tails erupted from Hagrid’s back. They expanded rapidly as they shot across the parish, tearing through the air with enough force to split the stone floor beneath them.
"Hmph!"
Damian answered with nothing more than a disdainful snort. Seven black and violet fox tails burst from behind him as well. They grew just as rapidly before surging forward to intercept Hagrid’s attack.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The instant all fourteen tails met, the parish was engulfed in a storm of violent collisions. Every clash unleashed another shockwave that rippled across the Mirror World, shattering pillars, ripping apart pews and sending chunks of stone flying in every direction. Sparks continuously erupted between the colliding tails as they struck each other dozens of times every second.
"So fast... I can’t even see anything." Clara muttered in shock.
Her eyes desperately tried to follow the battle, but all she could perceive were blurred afterimages and countless flashes of violet and crimson light. The tails moved so quickly they seemed to exist everywhere at once.
’So this is what Damian can really do...’
The realization sent a chill through her.
Amid the violent exchange, Damian remained perfectly calm. His eyes never left Hagrid standing at the opposite end of the ruined parish.
’You’re holding out far better than I expected.’
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
’Then let’s take this to the next level.’
Buzz!
Damian suddenly stomped the floor.
Dark violet mist poured endlessly from his body, spreading across the battlefield like an invading tide. It rapidly swallowed the parish as he attempted to manifest his Domain.
Nothing happened.
The mist simply dispersed and Damian’s brows slowly knitted together. His domain skilled just failed again!
Hagrid, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised in the slightest. He had expected this. During his battle against Lin Qui centuries ago, the former Prince of Lust had attempted the exact same thing. Unfortunately for both Princes, they overlooked one crucial fact.
As the Kitsune destined to inherit every fox ability. Hagrid also possessed authority over Desire. He simply suppressed Damian’s authority before it could manifest, crushing it at its source.
Bam!
Damian’s thoughts froze. The clashing tails halted for the briefest instant. Slowly, Damian lowered his gaze. A black and crimson fox tail had pierced completely through his chest. Its tip stopped only inches from his heart.
An eighth tail. One he had never seen.
He had unconsciously assumed they both possessed seven tails. Hagrid had patiently waited until Damian became distracted trying to open his Domain before finally revealing the hidden tail.
Clara covered her mouth in horror while Hagrid’s lips curved into a cold grin.
"I can see you possess more than just a few flames." Damian said calmly, his eyes remaining fixed upon the tail protruding through his chest.
"Of course." Hagrid laughed. "A fox’s greatest strength has never been its flames. Our true strength lies in manipulating the world around us. Illusions. Deception. Misdirection. Those are the arts that made our clan feared."
Damian slowly nodded.
He understood. It was the exact same principle he had used against Mudhhibb and Bachi. All he needed was to trap an opponent inside a convincing lie for a single second.
One second was enough to end a life.
"Since you’re aware of that..." Damian smiled faintly.
"...do you really think the Prince who embodies that very concept would be defeated by it?"
Buzz!
Hagrid’s expression suddenly twisted in pain.
His hidden eighth tail erupted into blazing white Samsara Flames without warning. At almost the same moment, Clara’s horrified expression turned into confusion.
Tiny streams of sand were spilling from the edges of Damian’s wound. Only then did she realize Damian’s skin had gradually changed color. His entire body now resembled compacted desert sand.
The next instant his body collapsed into millions of tiny grains before scattering into the air.
The burning fox tail pierced nothing.
A heartbeat later, the swirling sand gathered several inches beside the tail before reforming into Damian completely unharmed.
Puff!
"Bastard!"
Hagrid immediately severed the burning portion of his own tail.
Blood splattered across the shattered floor as the severed half continued burning with white flames. His chest rose and fell noticeably faster than before.
For the first time, his composure cracked.
"Don’t tell me you completely ignored my Djinn inheritance." Damian chuckled.
The space beside him suddenly tore open.
A magnificent bow carved from strange black wood adorned with intricate purple engravings slowly emerged from the void.
The instant Damian grasped it, a massive vortex of black and violet energy exploded outward before spiraling toward his hand, condensing into the shape of a single arrow.
"Asura."
Buzz!
Behind Damian, an enormous divine avatar materialized. It possessed three solemn faces and six muscular arms, each radiating overwhelming divine authority. The colossal figure mirrored Damian’s movements exactly as another identical bow appeared within its hands, drawing its own enormous arrow toward Hagrid.
Hagrid frowned deeply. Slowly he rose to his feet.
"So the rumors are true." His crimson eyes narrowed. "You really do possess a secret method of stealing other inheritances. I refused to believe it. But now that I’ve seen the Djinn inheritance with my own eyes..."
"There isn’t any room for doubt anymore."
"Of course." Damian shrugged indifferently. "I never denied it."
Without another word he released the arrow.
Boom!
The black projectile vanished and Hagrid reacted instantly.
He threw himself backward. Yet the very next moment tt felt as though the distance separating them simply ceased to exist.
Before he could comprehend what had happened, he was already standing directly before Damain. The arrow ripped straight through his chest.
Blood burst from his mouth and his lips opened to scream but nothing came out. Pain completely stole his voice.
"Didn’t I tell you?" Damian hissed coldly.
"The first mistake you made was believing you ever stood a chance against me."
But then everything froze. A thin crack slowly appeared in the air.
Within moments, fractures spread throughout the entire world as though reality itself had been nothing more than a fragile sheet of glass.
Pfft!
Without warning, a warm liquid surged into Damian’s throat. He violently coughed up a mouthful of blood and his confident smile vanished instantly.
The shattered world around him began collapsing into countless fragments.
Only then did he finally see reality.
Hagrid hadn’t been standing several meters away. He was directly in front of him. One clawed gauntlet engulfed in dark crimson flames had pierced straight through a wall of living sand that had desperately risen to protect Damian while he remained trapped inside the illusion.
The claws had continued onward straight into Damian’s body. Blood steadily poured from the wound.
His feet were already standing inside a growing pool of his own blood.
"DAMIAN!!!!"
Only then did Clara’s terrified scream finally reach his ears.
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