"Where is he?! Bring me to Jack Bright at once!"
The exclamation was as powerful as loud. Whoever was coming their way seemed more like a typhoon than a human! As for the foxes…
— Whimpers —
They were already hiding in various corners of the room!
As if in an horror movie, the invader slowly but surely revealed itself.
As soon as Jack saw the attacker, he lost his breath for a second… the Flame Lord?! No, before him stood a young version of his new adoptive mother.
The same red hair, the same beauty, but instead of a traditional qipao, this one was ready for war… and decked from head to toe in a sturdy silver plate armor!
The 20 yo or so girl scanned the room, and her eyes met his. In her crimson irises, he saw an incredible mix of emotions: fury, helplessness, regret, and so much hate.
This one was 100% the Flame Lord's daughter.
Yet, he had been given the title of Prince of the Flame Mansion?!
He who had come from nowhere, he who was still a baby, who had not a single achievement to his name. Didn't this mean he had stolen her birthright?!
All because the Flame Lord was convinced "her god had chosen him". Talk about a misstep! To this girl, it was an utter tragedy and injustice.
She faced her newest and greatest enemy, towering above him.
She approached the bed, fire oozing out of her raised fist.
"You, you're the one that stole everything from me."
But suddenly, a bright orange shadow moved!
"Woo!" A fox stood in the way, legs trembling.
The poor thing could barely walk straight, utterly terrified of the girl… yet it braved death to defend its new master! After all, Jack wasn't just their protégé, but also their new family!
The girl raised an angry brow:
"Do you really intend to defy me?"
She started overflowing with fire, her aura as intimidating as a Train! Such power in such a small frame?! She was akin to a mighty behemoth baring her magical fangs.
She expected the fox to falter, she expected it to run its tail between its legs, but the opposite happened. Another trembling fox actually dragged itself to face her too!
Then another, and another, until they all stood in her way!
She gasped, seeing all the foxes in the area ready to give their lives to protect Jack.
Little did she know that this was all part of Jack's plan! While the foxes didn't have the power to stand up to her (magical contract), they could perfectly buy time!
As soon as he had heard her, he had sent a fox to bring reinforcements!
Jack couldn't wait to see her face when both his father and the Flame Lord showed up to defend him! By his calculations, the two were about to arrive and—
But then he saw the fox he had sent.
It was coming back… alone?!
"Woo!" (We're fucked!)
The poor fox could only shake its head. The Flame Lord wasn't home, Edgar was healing in seclusion, and there wasn't anyone else in the place!
That's when despair filled the Shrine. Didn't this mean they'd have to face the tyrant alone?! What kind of crazy thing was that?!
Facing her was utterly IMPOSSIB—
"You're scared? So what? Fear just means you're alive!"
They heard Jack's voice as the tiniest of whispers, yet at this instant it felt like the loudest wake-up call ever. Each syllable was akin to liquid courage pouring into them!
"Let's face her together. Listen and listen well. It's time to teach you guys one of my Ultimate Secret Techniques: the Express Pizza Delivery In Da Hood! It goes…"
The more he spoke, and the less the foxes shook…. Until the light in their eyes even changed!
Fear —> Resolve to face death itself!
All the foxes came to life, bolting toward the bed! WHOOSH! One grabbed blanket and Jack in one go and rushed out! The fox was inhumanly fast!
But it wasn't the only inhuman one here. The Mini-Flame Lord gave a haughty smile as she… materialized a Flaming Blade from her chest?!
"Scoff. You think you're fast? Think again!"
She mocked as she powerfully slashed! So what if the foxes were fast? She just needed to predict where it was going! The Flames reached perfectly where the fox would land and—
"Dodge!"
The fox avoided it!
Jack used his Danger Sense to guide his minion!
"What?! You actually evaded that? Tch— Dodge this!"
With a bellow, she sent yet another wave of fire. But this time, it wasn't just a sword slash… but a huge fire net! In a matter of seconds, the poor fox was trapped!
The conqueror stepped forward, yanking the blanket toward her.
She opened it up, revealing the baby… that wasn't inside?!
There was a large hole and a very smug fox!
"Woo!" (She fell for it!)
The trapped fox actually rejoiced. So what if it had been captured? Its master had used the time to sneak out! Now, this evil woman would never lay a finger on— Oh crap!
She was beginning to cast spells!
"Oh Flames, guide my steps." Flame boots for mobility
"Fire spirits, propel me forward." Flame boosters for increased acceleration.
"Oh, Firefox… let me be fire." She freaking turned into a fire girl, maxing her speed!
Then before the foxes could do anything about it, the girl rushed out faster than a bolide!
Jack had been praising his plan when it happened. His Danger Sense once again began blowing up…. In front?! "Stop!!" He screamed.
A fraction of a second later, an explosion occurred where they would have been.
Out of it came a being of fire that seemed utterly pissed.
She gazed at them, her eyes Infernal Lights.
"You can't win. This ends here…."
Win? Jack had never hoped to win.
Instead of cowering, he started laughing. Somehow, a baby laughing as it faced death was the strangest thing ever…. Was this baby retarded?! But then it began…
She charged at them, and instantly a fox…. threw Jack away?! Wait, wasn't it supposed to protect him?! Why was it throwing him away as if he were trash?!
Luckily, another fox was already ready to receive the package!
The fox caught the baby as carefully as possible and kept listening.
In its ear, Jack was preaching about "the shotgun formation" and the importance of "spread offense". To the foxes, this was all new and exciting!
As soon as the Mini-Flame Lord would lock unto one of them… they'd pass Jack to the next fox! And even as he was getting thrown all over the place, he kept advising them!
They had this in the bag! Perhaps they were weak or weren't fast enough to outrun her… but they had teamwork and the greatest leader ever!
Time after time again, she found herself dashing to a Jack-less space.
Time and time again, she was fooled with feints.
Time and time again… she lost her mind.
At some point, he actually started enjoying himself. How fun it was! Who knew that rendering some angry lady helpless was that amusing?!
Jack even found himself cheekily pulling a pink tongue her way. 'Hehe, what can you do? My fox army's invincible!' He internally laughed.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back…
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore…
"Just die already, you asshole!"
That's when she began to power up at a visible rate. Oh god… was she really about to use an Ultimate against a baby?! What the fuck?! Abort! Abort!
"That… time out! Time out!"
Jack cried out, but in her rage, she didn't hear a word of it… they were FUCKED!