Looking at the bull-headed wraith's raised fist, Stein was so terrified he closed his eyes and covered his head. He had just escaped death and didn't expect to be facing it again so soon.
But the bull wraith's fist never came down. Instead, a roar sounded as Antonio came flying in, tackling the bull wraith to the ground with a powerful lunge.
"Fuck! A beast dares to hit your grandpa? Looking to die?" Antonio pinned the bull wraith down and began stabbing it repeatedly with his small knife.
The bull wraith roared in fury and managed to flip Antonio over, choking him with one massive hand while using its other arm to knock Antonio's knife to the ground.
That small knife had been given to me by my grandfather - it bore some spiritual inscriptions and had been somewhat effective against zombies, ghosts, and monsters before. But against this bull wraith, it was useless. The creature's strength was overwhelming, easily suppressing Antonio. No matter how strong a human might be, they couldn't compare to this demonic monster.
However, Antonio had far more combat experience and skill. Unlike the bull wraith that relied solely on brute force, he suddenly twisted its pinky finger, forcing it to release its grip. In one fluid motion, Antonio performed an aerial reversal, scissoring his legs around the bull wraith's head and slamming it to the ground.
"Mr. Roger, hurry! I can't hold it for long!" Antonio shouted through gritted teeth, clearly straining with all his might.
Even so, I estimated the bull wraith would break free in under ten seconds. That meant we had very little time - less than ten seconds!
I immediately sprang up and raised the Copper Coin Sword, bringing it down toward the bull wraith's head with unbelievable speed. It's true what they say about people finding hidden potential in life-or-death situations - if we didn't kill it now, we would die. I was determined to fight with everything I had.
With a sickening thud, my sword flashed up and down. A bull's head tumbled to the ground as black blood sprayed out. Within moments, the bull wraith's entire body dissolved into black smoke and evaporated.
"Now the beast is finished - turned to smoke and dust, never to be reincarnated," Stein sighed.
At that moment, I was more concerned about the little fox. My eyes darted to the house wall where I saw the blood-covered little fox suspended in the air by the cat wraith, being mercilessly beaten. The sight filled me with both anger and heartache.
The little fox was completely defenseless, slammed against the wall by the cat wraith, left to endure torture before what would surely be a slow, painful death.
There wasn't a single unharmed spot left on the little fox's body. Covered in blood and wounds, all her fur was dyed bright red, making her look utterly miserable and pitiful. I couldn't even tell if she was still conscious - her eyes were half-closed as if she had fainted.
"Foxie, hang in there. I'm coming to get you," I said, though Antonio was too badly injured to help me up now.
The cat wraith was just like me. Since I had killed the bull wraith, it naturally wanted to come down and kill me. I wanted to go up, it wanted to come down - you could tell from the way it looked at me that I was a bigger threat than the little fox.
Realizing this, I stopped trying to go up and instead taunted, "Come down here, kitty, or I'll slaughter you just like I did that bull."
"Meow...!" The cat wraith shrieked shrilly, its hostile aura forming a harsh wind that blew toward me, forcing me back several steps.
What intense hostility and murderous intent! This cat wraith was far more frightening than the bull wraith. Its ghostly resentment must have been heavier - all these creatures from the Animal Realm who refused reincarnation were filled with unwilling resentment.
They might have been human in their previous lives, but after falling into the Animal Realm, they became these half-human, half-animal wraiths. There was no telling who had summoned them here.
"Come down then! What, scared to die? Hmph, a kitty's a kitty - you'd be better at tickling someone than fighting," I sneered, trying to provoke it into coming down and stopping its torture of the little fox.
"Meow...!" The cat wraith finally growled at me, abandoning the little fox to focus its terrible hostile aura entirely on me.
Perhaps it had fought enough with the little fox and now wanted to kill me instead.
But what I never expected was that the moment the cat wraith turned away, the little fox's tail suddenly curled around it.
The little fox was still alive! But what was she trying to do? Half-dead already, what good would that weak, limp tail do? The cat wraith had been toying with her - this was suicidal behavior.
"I told you...this is my fight," the little fox gasped, opening her bloodshot eyes with a snorting laugh. She stared at the cat wraith with unwavering determination, utterly convinced she could still win!
Why? Why was the little fox clinging so desperately to life when the battle was clearly over?
"Meow..."
The cat wraith purred, then shook its body - the little fox's tail immediately loosened its grip.
No longer looking at me, the cat wraith prepared to finish off the little fox. It raised both claws high, emitting a terrifying black light as power like black electricity coiled around its fingertips.
With this strike, the little fox would surely die. The cat wraith's expression showed it intended to use its full power to annihilate her completely!
The little fox was being foolish - why throw away her life when she could live to fight another day? While this death might be more heroic, it was completely unnecessary.
"Hey, kitty, what's wrong? Scared? Back to bullying the weak again? Tsk tsk, I told you - you're nothing but a coward." I tried once more to draw the cat wraith's attention, but it was useless. It wouldn't abandon the little fox or pay me any further heed.
It was over. That wall's height might as well have been midair - there was no way I could reach it alone. The little fox was going to die.
"Heh...not so easy...to kill...this Fox Demon Lord." The little fox laughed weakly, then puffed her cheeks and spat out her last mouthful of foxfire. But the flames that emerged were no bigger than sparks, burning harmlessly against the cat wraith's fur without even singeing it.
"Meow...!"
The cat wraith screeched, both claws spreading wide as countless lightning-fast slashes appeared across the little fox's body. The sounds of rending flesh echoed as blood sprayed through the air, leaving the little fox's body instantly shredded and covered in deep claw marks.
"No!"
We screamed desperately, but it was useless. Stein's tears streamed down wildly as the little fox was beaten to a pulp - so much of her fur was torn away that from a distance, she looked like nothing but a bloody fox-shaped mass.
"Pfft..." The little fox spat her last mouthful of blood, her body going completely limp as she began to fall. With one final strained smile, she whispered, "Master...I really...couldn't do it..."
Trailing blood behind her, the little fox tumbled from the wall, her eyes squeezing shut for the last time.