“Umbra?” Asterios called out to their shadowy companion.

  “I can’t see anything.” The already reformed butler shook his head.

  “Maybe this truly is another vault, and this might be another trial—”

  “Wait. Is that…” Miria interrupted him with a tone full of disbelief, followed by a gasp of shock. “A Bloodfang?! Here?!”

  “Roz?” Tina frowned deeply. “What are you even doing in this place?”

  “Mom?” Silvia’s voice cracked a little. “How are you… alive?”

  Seeing the shocked and dumbfounded faces of his mates, Asterios turned back to the creature he had initially spotted. And surely, the previously obscure shape had turned into an uncannily familiar Agate Bear bearing marks from blades, arrows, and Fire Magic. It stood on all fours while eyeing him furiously.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake…” Asterios sighed deeply. “Does this place not know any other tricks?”

  “Master?” Umbra appeared next to him.

  “This is another mental attack. I don’t know what its purpose is, as nothing seems to be feeding on us like the last time. We all see different things—”

  “Master, watch out!” Miria’s shout reached his ears, and he turned around.

  The panthergirl stared at him with wide eyes, but he just looked back at her in confusion. A second later, something slammed into him from the front, throwing Asterios backward. He rolled on the ground and landed in a crouch. Glancing down at his chest, he saw three horizontal cuts in his spiritual attire, the corresponding bloody marks already closing beneath the clothes on their own.

  “—but it looks like we don’t need to see all those things for them to be able to hurt us,” Asterios finished his sentence, altering it a little. “That kind of sucks, if I were to be honest.”

  “If this is a direct mental assault, I should be able to take care of it in a moment,” Umbra said hastily. “Give me just a second, Master.”

  The humanoid shadow dispersed and seeped into Ast’s frame. He sensed an additional effort to shield his mind and welcomed it, deciding not to obstruct Umbra’s work.

  “Take your time,” Asterios whispered to himself, knowing his loyal familiar would hear it. “As for us out here, I think we need to even out the chances a little bit.”

  “How?” Selene asked, looking extremely uncertain as her gaze was locked on the figure only she could perceive.

  “It’s time to become one,” he replied. “Just like we practiced. Deepen that connection and become open to everyone. I know we mostly trained with me as the central point, but I believe this won’t be the slightest issue for you ladies.”

  Even before he finished, the Bloodfang popped into his vision right ahead. It was no surprise that Miria succeeded first with all the experience she had gotten in their early days. The panthergirl smiled at him proudly before spotting the Agate Bear, turning much more serious and somewhat angry.

  One by one, more images joined the battlefield. One of them was Roz, his and Tina’s colleague from the academy days, obviously from her mind. Another turned out to be an almost perfect copy of Selene, save for two differences, one being the much more chaotic blue pathways covering her entire skin, and the other being her crazy expression with completely manic eyes.

  As for Silvia and Althea, their guests were even more surprising.

  A woman Asterios had seen in a few paintings all over Welrond’s castle, which shared a lot of features with the princess, stood there menacingly. There was no doubt this was the man’s queen, her mother, in other words. A disgusted sneer painted the lady’s soft lips as she glared at her daughter.

  His mentor faced another familiar figure, but this time a much more recent one. Jellal, in all his glory, continued to look down on his old disciple. He seemed disappointed but also somewhat repulsed by what he was seeing. The usual haughtiness was present in his entire body, even more pronounced than in reality.

  “It’s only the second time, but I’m already getting tired of this,” Asterios said.

  Reaching deep into himself, he drew on the black source while trying to recreate the moment from the Pit of Despair. With a gradually louder growl, waves of spiritual energy burst outwards. The fog shook and trembled, but it didn’t disperse or get pushed aside, no matter how much he bombarded it with his aura. This one just didn’t want to submit.

  If it could even do so in the first place.

  Stopping, Asterios faced the bear. “I guess it’s up to the old-fashioned way to fix this problem.”

  Taking hold of his greatsword, he charged straight at his opponent.

  “Sorry, buddy, but I’m not the same helpless guy as before,” he said as he swung at the Agate Bear.

  The blow connected, and the monster roared in pain, but surprisingly, the cut seemed shallow, and its flesh felt unexpectedly tough. Its shoulder was barely scraped, even with Asterios not holding back.

  Glancing down, he noticed that his hands were shaking for some reason. It was much harder to control them properly. Another glance, this time around, revealed that others experienced similar troubles with their own apparitions. Miria bounced around the Bloodfang, but her legs kept shaking a little, and her blades didn’t have much effect on the beast. And in terms of the humanoid opponents the other girls faced, none of the ladies looked like they were going to attack.

  “Something is wrong,” Asterios noted. “But it’s not clear what in this case.”

  ~I identified our opponent already, Master. I can cut its influence off right away,~ Umbra relayed mentally. ~Hiding its presence is its strong point, but I easily traced it back through the invisible psychic tendrils it has latched onto your minds. This monstrosity brings out its prey’s biggest traumas, fears, or regrets and throws those against them. The weaker individuals fall right then and there, but the stronger ones challenge their past, not knowing that it’s all a ruse and they can’t defeat their horrors, thus the name. The damage they suffer is real, as this fog is the predator’s body and can cause physical injuries matched with what the victims see. It’s currently split between the phantoms it’s controlling.~

  “So it’s like that.” Asterios snorted.

  ~Should I take care of it, Master?~ his familiar asked.

  “This gives me an idea, so wait a little. Thanks for the save, by the way.” He turned to the girls. “Ladies! What do you say about switching things up a little now that we can all see our respective opponents? It looks like we are at a disadvantage trying to face our horrors.”

  His mates all looked at him, then between themselves, realization flashing over their faces, and some relief in the case of a few individuals.

  “Let me at him, Master!” Miria was the first one to respond with an eager grin, her legs immediately calming down. “There’s a thing or two I didn’t get to discuss with that bastard back then.”

  She happily hopped past him and moved towards the bear.

  “I’ll handle the dog, then.” Selene crossed his path while aiming for the Bloodfang and cracking her knuckles. “I heard it caused you two quite a bit of grief in the past.”

  “Anyone wants to teach a vulgar kid some manners?” Tina asked around.

  “Allow me.” Althea curtsied at her politely.

  “Great. I’ll return the favor then.” The blue-haired girl smiled appreciatively, finding the humanoid Lesser Dragon on the side.

  “Well, that leaves me with only one option.” Asterios directed his gaze at the mature woman.

  “Sorry about that.” Silvia came to him and ducked her head in apology.

  “It’s alright.” He gently patted her hair. “I always knew I would one day have to fight someone’s mother for their daughter’s hand. I’ll take this chance to introduce myself properly. You go and handle the Mad Selene. I don’t envy you. She looks pissed.”

  The princess chuckled daintily and showed a warm smile. Grasping Ast’s collar, she joined their lips in a delicate kiss. Throwing a look full of gratitude his way, she sauntered away. He followed her with his gaze for a moment before giving all of his attention to the mother-in-law he had never expected to meet.

  Life was just full of surprises.

  Chapter 5

  Facing Each Other’s Horrors

  Miria stopped in front of the sizable bear and cocked her hip. The wounded beast ignored her, however, and slowly bounded after its main target, which was Asterios. Being blatantly ignored like that didn’t make her happy, and her cute snout twisted into a pout. She slashed her sharpened blades over its side, finally getting its attention as they sliced through its round body.

  “Yep. I can see you just fine.” The panthergirl smirked at the monster’s surprised look. “I’m your opponent today, big guy. You are getting nowhere without taking me down first.”

  Throwing one more glance at Asterios, the bear turned to her, its feral muzzle dripping with saliva as it growled at her in annoyance.

  “Hmmm. I’m not really sure how I should feel about you.” Miria twirled one of her blades as she walked around the creature. “On one hand, you hurt Master a lot by killing his precious friend, and that’s simply inexcusable. On the other hand, if not for you, I wouldn’t get to come in, behead your fat butt, and meet the love of my life.”

  She scratched her head with the other hand.

  “So, I’m torn somewhere between being really furious and unbelievably grateful. Should I thank you and kick your ass? Kick your ass and thank you? This is making me very confused.” A tired sigh escaped her lips. “I guess I’ll go with the latter. It’s impossible to forgive such a grave sin.”

  As if understanding that the time for talking was over, the beast rushed at her with a roar, aiming to run Miria over.

  “Woah, there!” The nimble feline easily spun to the side. “Someone is eager, huh? Since it would be boring to just do things the same way, I’ll make this a bit more entertaining.”

  Black mist enveloped Miria’s body as she fell onto all fours. Soon enough, she stepped out of it in her panther form. The bear was still bigger and heavier than her, but she almost matched its height, growling threateningly at the round prey in front of her. Her fangs and claws just itched to sink into its flesh and tear the monster apart for what it had done in the past.

  They lunged at each other at the same time, but while certainly powerful, the wild animal couldn’t match her in grace and agility. She dodged its paws by twisting her frame and bit into one of its thick arms with a growl full of rage. Enhanced by her beloved master’s draconic energies, she wasn’t any weaker than the bear. In fact, she had no trouble separating its limb from its body, causing her opponent to roar in agony.

  Looking it straight into the eyes with the arm between her jaws, she smirked proudly and spat it aside. The monster took an unstable step back on its remaining limbs, not so sure about itself anymore. Miria only grew even more confident seeing how her attacks had an actual effect on it, contrary to what she had witnessed during the attempts on the Bloodfang.

  Not waiting for the bear to recover, the panthergirl launched herself at it. The monster tried to bash her with its side but missed completely and almost toppled. She raked her enhanced claws over its belly as she slid beneath it. On her way out, she chomped on one of its knees and twisted her head, snapping the joint in half. Another desperate roar, another limb destroyed.

  She was pretty much toying with the creature at this point, tormenting it for its past sins as she had said. Left with one arm at the front and one leg at the back, on opposite sides, it couldn’t do much to even turn after her. Meanwhile, the panthergirl sliced its tendons, causing it to sit its rear on the ground. As it howled in pain, she suddenly appeared before it and sank her fangs into its throat, tearing it open. The sound that came out continued as a gurgled mess until she bit into the bear’s neck and snapped it too, finishing the job.

  Unhurriedly, the sizable carcass began dispersing back into the fog. With completely zero respect for her opponent, Miria kicked her back legs behind her while dragging them over the ground until all of it disappeared.

  Satisfied with her work, she turned her attention to the others.

  ※ ※ ※

  Selene faced the snarling lupine without the slightest worry. Now that she wasn’t looking at a twisted version of herself, one that came from the days she truly believed to be troubled by a powerful curse, which might have inevitably led to her being consumed by said curse, she had no problems releasing her full power.

  And yes, that old worry might have been tackled down by her incredible mate long ago, but she had to admit that it wasn’t completely gone, just altered. It might be shameful to acknowledge, and she knew everyone would know that at this moment, due to how intimately they were sharing their thoughts, but she still had some concerns over these so-called spiritual circuits.

  In the end, Kaguya had been researching those, hadn’t she? That might have happened way after she gave birth to her descendants, but who could know if she wasn’t obsessed with them even before meeting Red? What if she did something to herself or her children, and it fell onto Selene to become directly affected by those actions? What if the more these patterns grew, the closer she got to losing control to that heartless vixen? What if she were simply a surrogate, developing these circuits just so her scheming ancestor could swoop in and retrieve them from her cold, dead body?

  Selene knew her thoughts bordered on paranoia, but she couldn’t help it. Especially when she stood in front of a version of herself that had lost to the curse, reminded of her old fears once again. She was thankful that others were the solution to this encounter. And for her precious family to reassure her that everything was alright with her, even as they were busy facing their own opponents. Asterios particularly.

  “So, you had enough audacity to pull a fast one on my cute sister-mate and her soon-to-be beloved at that time,” she said, squinting at the red wolf. “You are the reason she still doubts herself to this very day. Maybe I’m not the right person to say this, but I’m certainly a good one to make you pay for that.”

  Her bushy tails spread around, creating a mystical fan behind her as a cyan aura wafted off Selene’s entire figure. Sensing the change, the monster lowered its posture, growling at her frighteningly. Droplets of blood started gathering above it, quickly forming elongated shapes.

  “I recall you requiring actual blood to do that.” The fox lady raised a brow at the beast. “I guess this makes it even more clear that you aren’t the real thing, as much as you try to mimic our past foes.”

  The crimson lances spun faster and faster before all four of them shot toward her. They reached a velocity high enough to create an intense whistle as they whizzed through the air, bearing down on their target with pinpoint accuracy, nothing stopping them from reaching their destinations.

  But nothing needed to interrupt them.

  All swirling javelins struck Selene without fail. All of them pinged off the blue spiritual plates covering her front, deflected into the ground or air around her, the only thing they caused being some faint particles floating up from the points of impact. The owner of that armor didn’t even blink during the whole process.

  “Are you done?” The fox lady dusted her shoulder off a bunch of sparkling fragments. “Then, it’s my turn now.”

  Stepping forward with her gaze becoming cold, she thrust her hand out.

  “This is for hurting Miria,” she announced. “Physically.”

  In a flash, two spiritual lances appeared on the wolf’s sides and speared into it immediately, nailing its back section to the rocky terrain. An anguished whine was drawn out of the poor Bloodfang.

  “And this.” Selene rotated her palm. “Emotionally.”

  Another set of javelins pierced its midsection, making it cough up blood amidst its distressed howls.

  “Also.” The fox lady spread her fingers apart. “Mentally.”

  A third pair skewered the beast in the same crossing pattern at its front, raising the number of thick, sharp spears driven through its frame up to six. The monster could barely stand, though it technically didn’t even have to, as it was supported by those ferocious pillars.

  “And finally, this is for all the pain you caused to my cherished mate,” she continued, closing her palm into a fist with an angry frown. “It’s nowhere near enough, but I’ll have to be satisfied with just this much. Begone.”

  The half-dozen spiritual lances twitched and suddenly started rotating in opposite directions in each pair. They moved so fast that the excruciating howl leaving the Bloodfang’s muzzle was cut off after its initial note, its body bursting out from the unstoppable force stretching and pulling it in all directions. Three separate sections flopped onto the stone with a lot of blood and guts before everything began disappearing into the fog.

  “And stay down.” Selene turned around, swiping her long hair aside as she walked in the opposite direction.

  ※ ※ ※

  To say that Tina was amused at having to confront this particular Dragon again this early would be an understatement. Like many of Ast’s mates, she had truly wished she could have intervened during the man’s despicable excuses and vile attempts at painting himself as the victim. But, they had all decided it would be only right to leave those matters in the hands of the directly involved, plus Asterios.

  Today, however, she didn’t need to hold onto such unnecessary inhibitions.

  “Are you even capable of speech, or are you just a silent facsimile?” She tilted her head curiously.

  “Complete lack of manners. As should be expected from a youngling in cahoots with that ungrateful wench.” The man sneered. “I offered her the world, taught her everything I know, and how was I thanked for it? By getting spat on in the face.”

  “Whoa, mister. Your delusions are impressively advanced.” She snorted lightly. “But this might just be how Althea has viewed this situation after you two separated. I can see her becoming a bit doubtful about her choice as it certainly wasn’t an easy one.”