Chapter 16 Foxes' Revenge!

The scene awaiting the trio was madness!

It looked like the aftermath of a Crazy Rager Party, times 1000!

Tons of fox bodies lay all over the place. Stone floor, stone stairs, stone roofs, EVERYWHERE! But that wasn't the strange part…

Why were the surroundings full of bite marks?!

The Flame Lord swiftly grasped a fox, slapping it awake.

"Woo?!" (Where am I? Who am I? What now?)

The latter groggily opened its eyes, looking positively drunk. Even as it glanced at the Flame Lord, it barely reacted. So what if she was here?!

"Just what the hell happened here? Explain yourself!" The Flame Lord thundered.

"Woo!" (We're taking down the Flame Mansion!)

The chatterfox readily confessed, radiating pride. There wasn't an ounce of regret in its voice as it explained the previous events through expressive gestures.

1. They were avenging Jack's death!

2. They were taking down the Flame Mansion!

3. They had tried to burn it, but it was built with Flame-Resistant Materials

4. Seeing as they couldn't burn it down, they had bloody eaten it! #Improvise, adapt, overcome!

But as it finished its explanation, it finally noticed Jack. The little furry ball instantly rushed into his arms, rubbing its soft head against him, crying while half-asleep.

Jack was alive!… It never wished to wake up from this dream!

The Flame Lord had initially been consumed with anger, but instead of slapping the offender again, she simply sighed and patted its back.

Little did she know that the "planned" destruction had been way worse than material damage. Had the silly foxes not gotten stuffed from overeating….

Blissfully oblivious to how lucky she had been, she turned to her daughter:

"See the lengths they're willing to go? Do you understand now?"

The latter nodded, soulless. Seeing the foxes' reaction, Jack had to be truly blessed by the Fire Fox God! So this was why her mother had chosen a baby over her.

She excused herself and dejectedly left, the Flame Lord sighing.

"Sigh… this brash daughter of mine. All this show and for what? Even if the FireFox saw it, he would have seen through her bluff…."

Bluffing? Jack jerked in shock. His Danger Sense HAD reacted for sure…. But perhaps not as much as it should have? Wait… what if it was possible to emit fake killing intent?!

Just as he was analyzing the previous fight, the Flame Lord brought him somewhere special. It was a Stonehenge-looking circle, but the rock slabs were all glowing red!

"You see this? It's a magical formation to gather the Mana in the surroundings. Let's head in, shall we?" She smiled at him.

That's when the entire formation began rumbling…

— SHAKE! SHAKE! SHAKE! —

An enormous statue rose from the ground!

It was a gigantic fox, and the Stones above were actually…its teeth?!

The open entrance was now its gaping maw, looking like a bottomless abyss. Were they supposed to enter this?! But before Jack could protest, the Flame Lord was already heading inside.

The interior was akin to a constellation.

Utterly dark except for countless red gems sticking out of the walls. Wasn't this the same material that the above shrines were built with?! Except here, it was so much purer!

"Impressive, isn't it? Everything else in the Flame Mansion is but a decoy. This is the true core of our Faction." She heartily chuckled.

The interior was one hell of a labyrinth! Tunnels after tunnels, endlessly twisting and turning, with tons of forks! But as they progressed, Jack's blood turned cold.

He had no idea how they had gotten here!

Jack was lost! How terrifying was that?!

It wouldn't have been a big deal to anyone else, but to him, it was the biggest of deals! He was more than 100% confident in his orientation sense. This place was DANGEROUS!

Only magic could possibly confuse him like that!

Luckily, he wasn't alone.

"We're finally here."

The Flame Lord exclaimed as she pointed… to a wall?! While winking at the stunned Jack, she simply stepped forward…entering the rock?! As for what the secret passage hid…

A cross-legged man glowed with an ethereal aura, a magic circle around him.

As soon as they entered, he opened his gray eyes, eyes that instantly lit up brighter than the sun. "JACK!" As Edgar saw his son, his entire being came alive.

Before Jack could even realize what was happening, he was in his father's warm arms. His entire body was being embraced, as delicately as a water droplet yet as strong as a dragon.

"Are you alright? Have you been eating well? Are they treating you correctly? What happened while I was recuperating? Are the foxes diligent enough? What is—"

The concern of a father had never been that overwhelming!

Yet Jack didn't dislike it. He simply basked in it, enjoying the feeling.

At that moment, he left all his worries behind. The tiny events that had happened before were trivial in the face of his father's well-being. He should just focus on his recovery!

Thus the two spent the greatest father and son time, the Flame Lord watching in the back with a tender smile. This was why she had taken them under her wing: they were genuine!

Yet, the two soon had to separate, Edgar's injuries acting up once again.

"Jack, we have to let your father rest." As much as the Flame Lord wanted to help, healing wasn't her specialty, and Edgar was far from healthy just yet.

As the two left, Jack's eyes once again showed a resolve that didn't fit his age. Heck, even old monsters would have been scared shitless had they gazed into his eyes at that moment!

'Don't worry, dad. I'll find a cure for you, even if I have to burn the whole world.' He swore to himself.

But just as he thought they were about to leave, the Flame Lord suddenly took a sharp turn. "Here, we have one more stop remaining!" She cheerfully added.

One more stop? It probably didn't concern him, right?

"I'm bringing you to meet the Fire Fox God!"

Wait…WHAT?!