Amaterasu was running in the destroyed streets of Whifur, her mind filled with countless thoughts. When she felt B?rü’s mana flare up she was sleeping. The sensation of massive mana woke her from her sleep but it wasn’t until she felt another mana nearly equaling B?rü’s she opened her eyes fully. There were only a handful of people in this town she knew that had that much mana and the mana she felt belonged to none of them.


    “How did he get here? Why didn’t alarms ring?”


    The mana she felt was Regal’s. The memory of defeat she suffered at the hands of him was still fresh and he being in Whifur left a foul taste in her mouth. But with B?rü already on his tail, she didn’t have to worry about him for now.


    What she had to worry about was something else. The magical barriers she created weren’t disturbed despite the portals opening every 50 meters or so in the city. The guards also didn’t ring the alarms until the portals opened. Something was wrong, she could feel that.


    “Mom, Dad how you would have done?”


    Ember and Kai were the previous head mages of the Whifur. They came from a long line of sorceries and held the secrets of magic used by beastkin. Their teachings had laid the foundation for her understanding of magecraft and they were sure that she would succeed them as the head mage of Whifur. Unfortunately, fate had other plans as both were killed alongside Adriel Blackclaw, taking the secrets of the magecraft, their guidance, and the warmth of their family with them.


    Amaterasu was barely a teenager when she lost both of them. She knew the basics of the magic but most of them were lost with her parents as beastkin was not a race that held written records. Even though Whifur had some other mage beastkin, none of their knowledge was as deep as her parents. After 2 years of studying with others, she absorbed everything they knew but it wasn’t enough to fill the void left by her loss.


    In her desperation, Amaterasu turned to human magic. At their core, both human and beaskin magic were the same. One needed mana and mental strength to shape that mana into a formation to cast magic. However, as Amaterasu came to learn, the similarities ended there. Humans with their greater mana pool and mana control created sharp, geometric patterns for formation by forcing mana to take shape while beastkin spell formations often used swirling, organic shapes by moving mana fluidly using dances and gestures.


    Despite her initial reservations, Amaterasu had found herself drawn to the intricacies of human magic, recognizing its potential to complement and enhance her own abilities as a mage. Through rigorous study and practice, she had sought to master the techniques and principles of human magic, integrating them into her own spellcasting repertoire, and creating her own mix of human and beastkin magic.


    Even though she thought that delving into human magic was necessary to protect her people and that knowledge was never evil, Amaterasu sometimes felt like her Ancestors were unhappy with the decision she made. Maybe that was why she couldn’t control Primal Evocation. Her Ancestors felt insulted that she felt that the magic passed down to her wasn’t enough.


    She snapped out of her thoughts with a demon jumping in front of her. Even before her mind registered what the demon looked like her mana was shaped.


    “Fire Ball.”


    Even though demons were naturally resistant to fire and darkness, the fireball she launched was strong enough to blow the heads of the lower-level demons. Resistant didn’t mean immune. Another demon jumped in her way and three more joined it.


    “Mage Hand.”


    The debris from destroyed buildings rose into the air with a simple gesture from Amaterasu.


    “Explosion.”


    The explosion rippled through the air, shattering the debris into countless shards which rained upon the demons. Their screams echoed through the devastated streets as shards tore through their bodies. Amaterasu didn’t even flinch as she moved forward.


    The gates remained open, spewing forth demons with relentless fervor as the ominous red light shone upon the city. Amaterasu knew she had to act swiftly to close them. Demons couldn’t simply enter the mortal realm at will; it required either a forceful intrusion or a summoning ritual. As she pondered the situation, she realized that this wasn''t a brute force entry – it was a summoning. And summoning always demanded a sacrifice, something in return.


    "A great sacrifice must be required."


    She murmured to herself, recognizing the gravity of the situation. The sheer number of demons suggested a significant sacrifice had been made. But who could orchestrate such a summoning, and for what purpose? It couldn''t be the work of humans; their motives lay elsewhere. Was Regal behind it? But his goals seemed focused on earthly gains, not unleashing demonic hordes. He was a slaver and he couldn’t get slaves if demons slaughtered every single beastkin in Whifur. Pushing aside these troubling thoughts, Amaterasu focused on the task at hand: stopping the summoning. Assessing her options, she saw two paths forward. If the sacrifices were fueling the summoning as the gates opened, she had to find the source and stop the sacrifices from being made. Alternatively, if the sacrifices had already been consumed, she would have to find a way to redirect or dismantle the energy. She prayed it wasn''t the latter, as she doubted her ability to handle it alone.


    “Hello, beauty. Long time no see.”


    A masculine voice made her stop in her tracks. She raised her head and met with the sight of Regal sitting down casually on top of one of the intact buildings.


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    “Where is my good-for-nothing brother? Did he really leave his woman alone when demons were roaming all around the city?”


    Regal asked with a mocking tone.


    “Where is B?rü?”


    Amaterasu answered his question with a question of her own. Regal raised his hand, revealing the blood covering it.


    “I killed him.”


    “Solar Flare.”


    Without pausing for a second Amaterasu fired a concentrated beam of red energy towards Regal. She knew that he was lying. It was impossible. He was just trying to distract her.


    The beam blew a large chuck of the building but Regal was nowhere to be found. Undeterred, Amaterasu swiftly pivoted while swinging her arm in a wide arc, unleashing another spell in a desperate attempt to catch Regal off guard.


    “Flame Arc!”


    The arc of flame cut through the streets with ferocious intensity but she knew that it wasn’t going to be enough. Opening her mouth, Amaterasu cast another spell.


    “Haste!”


    Just like Amaterasu guessed, the flames were cut into two by a single punch from Regal.


    “Heh, you guessed where I was going to land? Smart girl! You are making me want you more!”


    Amaterasu ran, her magic helping her to gain some distance from Regal speaking nonsense. As a mage, she needed the distance if she wanted to have a chance against Regal. With newfound swiftness, she raced through the ruined streets of Whifur, her mind racing as she sought a strategy to outmaneuver her elusive foe and turn the tide of battle in her favor.


    “Come on now. You didn’t really think that you could outrun me?”


    Regal’s annoying smirk appeared in front of her out of nowhere. She tried to open her mouth but a palm strike to her stomach sent her flying to a store’s window. Amaterasu''s mind raced as she struggled to regain her bearings after the sudden and brutal attack from Regal. Pain seared through her body, but she refused to let it overwhelm her as she pushed herself to her feet, her determination burning brighter than ever.


    Regal leisurely walked through the opening. Amaterasu noticed that his left arm was covered with black bandages. It was the arm she burned nearly to the bone.


    “Solar Flare!”


    The beam she fired collided with Regal’s fist covered with mana, causing a massive explosion. The building which was already damaged couldn’t take it and collapsed. Amaterasu managed to escape but Regal was trapped under the rubble. Amaterasu took a deep breath but winced when pain flared up from her stomach. She quickly cast healing magic on herself. She was just about to leave when she felt the ground shake. She turned to the rubble Regal was under.


    “Magic Barrier!”


    The rubble suddenly started to fly everywhere. Some of them bounced off Amaterasu’s half-translucent red shield while others hit the ground. Regal with his fist high in the air, appeared. He was clearly unharmed by an entire building falling on top of him. Without giving her a second to minute, Amaterasu snapped her fingers.


    “Flame Pillar!”


    Fire rose beneath Regal’s feet but he was no longer there. He was in front of Amaterasu, swinging his fist. Instead of panicking or trying to dodge Amaterasu focused on her shield. The shield shivered before folding into a hexagon and blocking the attack.


    “Fox Fire.”


    3 blue wisps of flame appeared around Amaterasu before flying and exploding on Regal’s face, forcing him to retreat several steps. Taking advantage of the situation, Amaterasu cast Haste once again and started to retreat.


    “You should have learned that you cannot escape from me!”


    Regal roared as he shook off the attack he received and ran after Amaterasu. She on the other hand stopped running before turning to face him. She extended her arms out toward him.


    “Shock Wave.”


    The shockwave rippled through the air, creating a powerful force that knocked Regal off his feet and sent him crashing to the ground. Regal staggered to his feet, his expression twisted with rage and frustration as he glared at Amaterasu. Seeing him shake off her attacks with minimal damage Amaterasu realized something: He was way stronger than the last time she fought him.


    Amaterasu felt her mouth dry up and it wasn’t because of the heat generated by her spells. It had been roughly 6-7 months since they fought but she was sure that he was now way tougher than he used to be. This kind of growth was worrying. The only person who had a similar rate of growth was Poyraz who was the champion of the Goddess of War. The possibility of Regal actually being able to kill B?rü popped into her mind. No. She had to consider the more plausible explanation. It was clear that Regal planned this invasion at least partly. Since he fought against her once he knew that she used mostly fire magic. It was possible that he brought some kind of item that granted him fire resistance. Her eyes were once again drawn to bandages covering Regal’s left arm.


    “Magic Missile!”


    Amaterasu launched a barrage of magical missiles towards Regal, each one streaking through the air with deadly accuracy. However, Regal seemed to anticipate her attack, casually parrying them to the side with uncanny swiftness. He retaliated with a counterattack of his own, unleashing a flurry of punches. Just like their first fight even though Regal was far away from her his attacks somehow reached her. She erected her shield and despite the cracks forming it managed to hold on.


    “Your breath brings the morning. Your flame is ever-burning. Solar Flare!”


    The incantation infused Amaterasu''s magic with greater power and intensity as she unleashed a searing beam of red energy, causing Regal’s eyes to widen with shock. He dodged the side as the beam tore through a building. A faint smile appeared on Amaterasu’s lips. It was clear that spells boosted with incantations still could hurt Regal.


    “Fervor of the sun''s eternal light gave me your might!”


    Amaterasu smacked her chest, her hair rising up with the heat. A red haze rose from her body. Her knowledge of buff spells was limited but the buff she casted increased both her magic and fire damage. With this only thing she had to do was hit Regal with a boosted spell which was difficult as Amaterasu wasn’t the only one buffing. Regal’s muscles expanded as fur started to cover his body. His head turned into a lion’s. He was using Primal Evocation, reverting back to the state their ancestors were in.


    Summoning all of her strength, Amaterasu unleashed a devastating barrage of spells, each one infused with the power of the sun and fueled by her unwavering resolve. Flames danced and crackled around her as she launched attack after attack, her movements fluid and precise as she sought to overwhelm Regal with sheer firepower. But Regal proved to be a formidable opponent, his primal instincts sharpening his reflexes and enhancing his combat prowess. He was more agile than his size suggested and even with Amaterasu raining down area of effect attacks he managed to block or dodge most of the damage. An entire block of the Whifur turned into ash as their battle raged on.


    Seeing the state the city was in, Amaterasu made a mistake. She hesitated to cast her magic and destroy even more of the city for a split second.


    Hesitation meant the only thing on the battlefield: Defeat.


    Regal’s fist slammed into her chest, shattering her ribs. Her vision went black because of the pain and when it returned, she was looking at the sky. She tried to breathe but she only managed to cough.


    Amaterasu, The Kitsune had lost her battle against Tyrant Lion.