Flames rose and gathered along the fire‑walker's arm.
Boom.
Crimson fire burst across the sky. Countless sparks surged toward the Wrathbeast Peacock, but the creature only twisted once in midair and answered with a roaring blast of water.
Thud.
The fire‑walker took the hit, the impact blowing apart all the buildings at the village entrance.
He skidded back to a stop on the surface of the river, eyes going cold as numbness crawled up his arm.
This opponent was no simple beast. If he didn't go all out, he might actually be in danger.
"Haah…"
Steam billowed as water met his flames. The fire‑walker drew his power in, both fists wreathed in fire, and dashed across the river toward the charging peacock.
They crashed together.
Boom.
The water's surface exploded.
Man and monster tangled in a brutal melee.
Their battle was so fierce that the forest in front of the village was reduced to char and ash.
The fire‑walker's strength truly was formidable. Even when the Wrathbeast Peacock fought with its best weapon—its own body—it couldn't suppress him. Blow after blow, the fire‑walker focused his spiritual power into his palms; three consecutive strikes blasted open the peacock's guard.
"Haah!"
Flames surged skyward.
His fist crashed home, and the peacock shrieked. The entire mountain range seemed to tremble.
A streak of fire carved across the sky as the peacock, seizing its chance, broke away and fled.
"Hahaha… brat, I admit you're strong. But you're not my goal," it laughed over its shoulder.
With a flick of its wings, it soared higher.
The fire‑walker watched the direction it was headed and his face changed.
"Damn. It was maneuvering on purpose…"
Over the course of their constant exchanges, their positions had shifted again and again. Now the peacock had used his own power against him and broken away toward the mountain behind the village.
"Not good. I have to get there first, or that thing will slaughter people."
He broke into a run, racing downhill.
For all his combat prowess, he couldn't fly. He could only use raw leg strength, springing forward again and again in huge leaps.
…
Inside the village, the headman, supported by his daughter, stepped out in front of the gathered crowd.
Seeing how badly several of their strongest fighters were hurt, everyone's faces went pale.
Those weren't ordinary men lying there. They were the village's "odd ones"—people who could take on a hundred foes alone.
And they were all wounded.
Who wouldn't be afraid?
"Headman, what on earth happened?"
"Yeah, Headman…"
"Why are Fifth Uncle and the others hurt like this?!"
Voices rose one after another.
Looking at their panic‑stricken faces, the old man—Lao Bai—spoke loudly. "Don't panic, everyone. I have an announcement… A demon has come to the village."
"A demon?"
"What do we do?!"
"Did… did anyone die already?"
In the flickering firelight, they could all see the blood on the headman and the others.
Faces went gray. Some people's legs simply gave out beneath them.
The headman snapped, "What good does fear do you? If there's a demon in the village, you should be grabbing weapons and fighting it off. Or do you all want to be eaten?"
They looked at each other.
No one moved.
His expression darkened.
Then a chilling voice sounded just behind him.
"A demon? Heh… and where would that be? I'd really like to know."
"Why so quiet?"
"I just shook off that mortal little pest for this."
Cold feathers grazed the headman's cheek and settled on his shoulder.
"Y‑you're…" he stammered.
He knew that voice all too well.
It was the demon's.
It had actually escaped the fire‑walker and come here.
His heartbeat seemed to slow to a crawl.
"Do I have to ask again?" the Peacock said lazily.
Those nearby saw what was happening and broke into screams.
A blind old woman began to wail. "It was always going to come to this. Sin… it's all sin…"
"Father!"
Seeing her father about to be killed, An cried out, voice cracking.
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from the darkness.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Wooden clogs struck stone in a strange, steady rhythm, coming closer from afar.
The Peacock's head whipped toward the sound. "Who's there?" it snarled.
The presence it felt was faint, flickering in and out—not the same as the fire‑walker from before.
Another strange demon?
"Me," a woman's voice answered. "I'm just here to do a job. And I'll be taking a few things from you while I'm at it… You don't mind, do you, Mister Peacock?"
She walked into the light.
Hearts sank.
Another demon.
A fox's tail, wrapped in purple lightning, unfurled behind her, hanging in the air like a banner. Her eyes gleamed like amethyst, beautiful and dangerous.
Yae Miko looked lazily in the Peacock's direction.
The Wrathbeast, however, didn't dare relax.
In a blur, it vanished and reappeared in front of her, wings crashing down toward her chest.
The speed was beyond human sight.
Thunder cracked.
The Peacock flew backward even faster than it had rushed in.
Blood sprayed across its chest.
"Cough… Where did this woman come from…" it muttered, stunned.
It had been swatted away.
Before it could fully recover, six streaks of lightning screamed across the air.
They were foxes, forged entirely from thunder.
They howled as they slammed into the Peacock's body.
Feathers burst into the sky like rain.
The demon crashed to the ground, but even through the pain, it caught a glimpse of Yae Miko's silhouette.
She stood on a tree branch a hundred meters away, Kagura bells dangling from one hand, simply watching.
Thunder gathered quietly around her.
"Is she here for the qilin child too?" the Peacock thought, seething. "What rotten luck. First that Five Elements envoy, now this demon fox."
It spat a curse but didn't even consider retreat.
If it gave up now, it would never surpass that ominous shadow it feared.
But if it devoured the child, things would be different.
With that meal, it would become king of the demon realm.
The instant it hit the ground, it twisted, set its stance, and charged like a mad thing.
The slope itself split under the force of its charge.
In barely a second it was on top of Yae Miko again, both wings crashing down with mountain‑splitting force.
There were only thirty centimeters left between its feathers and her face.
But its power could go no further.
It was like an invisible wall had appeared.
"Heh. So that's all you've got? Fall back, trash," Yae said.
She flicked the Kagura bells.
Thunder uncoiled into a purple lash and smashed into the Peacock, blowing it away once more.
The mountains shook.
In the shattered rocks, the demon lay half‑buried, blood at the corner of its mouth.
What had happened just now?
How had she stopped its blow?
For the first time, it truly didn't understand.
…
Back in the village, the fire‑walker finally arrived—only to find no demon in sight.
"Where is it? Where'd that thing go?" he demanded.
"It got knocked away by a lady demon. They went that way!" An said, pointing.
At that same moment, another thunderous blast rolled in from the direction she indicated.
"A lady demon? Another one…" the fire‑walker muttered, frowning. "What's going on?"
"I don't know," An said. "The Peacock just showed up out of nowhere and started demanding to know where a demon was. It seemed to be looking for something.
"Then… then that fox appeared. She said she was there to do a job, and the two of them started fighting."
"A job, huh… This just gets stranger. I'll go see."
Whatever the details, he couldn't leave it alone.
He had to protect these humans.
After he left, a bearded man slipped up beside the village headman.
"Third Brother… you think they've found that thing?" he whispered.
"Even if they have, what of it? Move. While they're busy fighting, we have to get it out of here. We can't let the demons find it. That treasure is ours," the headman hissed back.
"Right."
The two men muttered a few more hurried words, then ran toward the back mountain.
An watched her father sneaking off and frowned.
Why did he look like that?
Something was wrong.
Curiosity pricked at her, and she quietly followed.
The rest of the villagers scattered like birds, each looking for a place to hide, terrified the demon would return and wipe them out.
…
On the battlefield, demonic aura billowed from the Peacock in waves.
A smoky haze rose from its body.
Watching from a distance, Yae tilted her head and smiled. "Oh? A transformation? Good. I hope you get stronger. I'd hate for this to be boring.
"You have no idea how dull it is sitting alone at Narukami Shrine.
"Every day it's just refining battle techniques. It's exhausting in its own way. But even if it bores me, I have gotten stronger.
"So I really do hope your new form can entertain me. At least enough to make me use eighty percent of my power."
As she spoke, the smoke peeled away.
The Wrathbeast Peacock now wore a humanoid shape.
It still had wings, and its skin and feathers were the same pale blue. The pressure it radiated was undeniable.
Yae took one look, clicked her tongue, and said, "Ugly."
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