Appearing inside the room, the demon looked around and saw the other weak blonde-haired fox girl in her battle stance, ready to fight him. He looked around and couldn't find his master and the other powerful girl.
"I guess master must have taken their fight somewhere else," the demon said to himself.
Dora looked at the demon with caution. "Who are you, demon?"
The demon looked at Dora and smirked at her. "Forgive me girl, but I seem to have forgotten my manners. My name is Zodiac, and I am a newly promoted demon Duke."
Name: Zodiac
Race: Demon
Level: 600
Rank: Demon Duke
Realm: Lower Realm
After Zodiac introduced himself to Dora, he released his aura, which was overwhelming on its own. After all, he is comparable to a powerful A-rank. The entire dungeon began to shake due to the overwhelming mana of Zodiac.
With Jeanne Baret
Jeanne Baret and her team were on their way to the highest-ranking dungeon in the kingdom of Eclipsora. Jeanne had arrived at the city of Mufti a week before and inquired about the new A-rank from the Guild. She discovered that the new A-rank adventurer was a girl named Lilia and that she was partnered with a female fox named Dora.
She then discovered that Lilia and her partner went on a dungeon mission not too long ago, and the dungeon seems to be the strongest dungeon that has never been conquered before, as it requires a party consisting of at least three A-rank in the lower realm to conquer.
Which is why Jeanne and her team decided to go to that dungeon to meet this new A-rank adventurer.
Her team members consist of three people, including Jeanne, making them a four-team party.
The team members consist of a female B-rank magician in the middle realm named Aiko, who was known as the crazy magician due to how insane her spells were. She dressed like a typical witch with a witch hat and black robe.
The next is a female B-rank Elf also in the middle realm named Elano, who was the archer of the party. Elano was nicknamed "one-hit kill" due to her only using a single powerful arrow to take down most of her opponents.
Finally, there is a B-rank male swordsman in the higher realm whose dream is to one day surpass the current world's strongest swordsman, who is one of the S-rank of the human realm. His name is Kirito, and he is said to be invisible against opponents of the same rank as him when magic is not involved.
And those are the team members of Jeanne Baret, who is said to be among the top ten strongest A-ranks in the human race. Her team was named the Crimson Fortress.
On arriving at the entrance of the dungeon, Jeanne stopped and watched the commotion in shock. Her party members also stopped and observed what was happening.
What they saw was that all the adventurers were crowding the entrance of the dungeon, with some visibly shaking from fear.
Seeing this, Jeanne wondered what happened. "We should ask around and see what the commotion is about."
Kirito nodded his head. "I agree. Usually, with commotions like this, it means a powerful enemy has appeared at the dungeon."
"Yep, yep, we won't know what happened standing around here. Leader should go and ask what's going on, yes, yes," Elano said to Jeanne.
Jeanne walked up to a buff male adventurer carrying an axe and tapped him on his shoulder to get his attention. The male adventurer turned to see who touched him but became shocked at who was actually behind him.
"IT'S THE LEGENDARY JEANNE BARET!" The male adventurer screamed.
Immediately, all the adventurers turned around and saw that indeed it was Jeanne Baret and her team of the Crimson Fortress. All the adventurers momentarily forgot about the source of their fear in the dungeon and were looking at Jeanne with admiration.
Jeanne sighed at this and turned back to the man. "What happened here? Why are all you adventurers standing at the entrance of the dungeon rather than going inside?"
The man was obviously nervous from speaking to a powerful legendary figure like Jeanne, but he still answered. "We don't know what happened exactly, but a few days after the new A-rank adventurer and her partner entered the dungeon, we felt an overwhelming mana that was so massive and evil. My party and I ran as soon as we felt it, but the huge mana suddenly vanished. Not long after, another overwhelming mana that is weaker than the first one, but still overwhelming, was felt. Which is why none of the adventurers here are willing to enter the dungeon."
Jeanne nodded and thanked the male adventurer before walking back to her party. "You guys heard all that, right?"
Aiko gave a crazy smile. "Sounds like a demon, and from the looks of it, it must be a demon Duke. I've always wanted to see if my spells can work on a demon Duke."
Kirito smacked his head with his hand in frustration. "Only Aiko will be crazy enough to want to fight a demon Duke with her current level."
"Yep, yep. So, leader, what do we do, yes, yes?" Elano asked Jeanne.
Jeanne began to walk to the entrance of the cave. "Isn't it obvious? We go in and kill whatever is inside."
Aiko's eyes turned crazy with lust as she looked at Jeanne's back. "And that's why I love our leader. She understands just how to turn me on so much!"
She ran after Jeanne, leaving both Kirito and Elano deadpanned.
"Why are we in a team with those two battle junkies again?" Kirito asked.
"Who knows, who knows. We better hurry up or they will leave us, yes, yes," Elano said.
Elano ran after Jeanne and Aiko, leaving Kirito to follow behind them.
The other adventurers gathered there looked at Jeanne and her party, who were bravely entering the dungeon with admiration. They all wished they could be as strong as them someday.
Dora's POV
I watched the Demon Zodiac release his aura with a frightened look. I couldn't help it. There was just no way that the current me can ever hope to be the opponent of a demon Duke. I considered running, but it was impossible for me to escape due to all the monsters my sweet Lili killed before having respawned. There was nothing I could do against this demon.
"What's this? I honestly thought you were strong when I observed you before, but you turned out to be an ant, huh!" Zodiac mocked.
I couldn't blame this demon for calling me an ant because compared to him, I am nothing but an ant.
"Well, I still have use for this vampire kid here. So, scram away before I change my mind," Zodiac said.
Zodiac turned his attention away from me as if I wasn't even worth a spec of dust in front of him. He turned to the tube and began to gather mana in his hand.
Looking at him, I had no idea what he was doing, but I do know that that poor vampire kid is in danger if I don't do something. I knew that Lilia would definitely try to save this kid and would not run away.
So against all my instincts and against every cell in my body that is screaming for me to flee, I brought out my two fans and took my battle stance.
The demon Zodiac must have sensed a change in me, and he turned towards me with a confused expression. "Why are you still here? Do you have a death wish?"
I didn't respond to him, mainly because his overwhelming aura was suffocating me and also that I didn't know why I refused to run.
I rushed at the demon while chanting my spell for ice spears as fast as I could, but the demon Duke Zodiac simply waved his hand as if he was swatting a fly. That simple wave, which contained no power to it, was all it took to send me crashing to the wall on the other side of the room with almost all the bones in my body shattered.
"Trash!" Zodiac turned back to what he was doing, not caring whether I lived or died.
My mind has not yet caught up with the state of my body. I was just lying on the floor in a pool of my blood still in shock at the gap in power between a Demon Duke and a B-rank like myself.
As a B-rank, I know that I am powerful enough to destroy a city like Mufti city if I try hard enough. This is to show you that I am not weak at all. Even so, I am helpless against this powerful Demon Duke. The rank may be one rank apart, but the difference in power is like heaven and earth.
Before I knew it, tears began to flow from my eyes at my powerlessness.
Why am I so weak?
It was like this when I was little and my clan was being attacked. I could only watch helplessly as my beloved mother sacrificed herself to kill that powerful Demon General and all my kinsmen being killed.
It was also like this during my travels. As I was sold as a slave and being helpless against stronger opponents.
I need strength. I need power to be able to stand on equal footing with my beloved. In other to be a woman worthy of being loved by Lilia, I have to get strong enough to overcome this calamity.
'I am supposed to be a legendary nine-tailed fox, right? I am supposed to be strong, right? Hurry up, you stupid tails of mine and UNLOCK MY POWERS ALREADY!'
Thinking that, I felt a burning sensation deep within my heart then to my tails. That burning sensation brought out an overwhelmingly power within me. It was so overwhelming that my previous power paled in comparison to it. Before I knew it, I felt my body healing and regenerating at a ridiculous speed.
I was shocked, but I was also certain. This is the power I need. I have finally taken that first step towards becoming a powerful being in this world.
3rd POV
Zodiac, who was still pouring his mana into the vampire kid inside the tube, stopped and looked behind him in shock.
The nine-tailed female fox, which he presumed dead, was standing up from where he sent her with a whole different level of aura. He felt her mana and saw that it was comparable to his own.
'How did she get so strong all of a sudden and how did she level up to A rank at this moment?'
Zodiac thought to himself in shock.
Before he could comprehend what was happening, Dora disappeared and appeared in front of him with her fan aimed close to his neck.
"I never thanked you for the way you treated me just now. Please accept my gratitude in full!" Dora sarcastically said as she slashed her fan at Zodiac's neck.
"Don't get cocky just because you somehow leveled up to A rank. I am still a demon Duke."
Zodiac, at a speed not inferior to Dora's new speed, brought out a staff from his ring using magic and blocked Dora's fans with it before he jumped back to keep his distance.
Dora didn't pursue him because she was still shocked at her new power. She couldn't believe how powerful she has gotten in this short moment.
'So this is what it feels like to transcend the B-rank. I feel like I can kill thousands of my previous self in a fight no problem. So this is the realm of A rank.'
Dora thought to herself as she looked at Zodiac with full confidence. She wasn't afraid of him again because she has stepped into the same domain as him. She has finally reached A rank and is now in the lower realm of A-rank.
A/N: What a dramatic power-up. Dora has finally reached A rank, which is good for this coming arc of this story. I am a huge fan of this kind of Shounen power-up in battle, which is why I wrote it this way.