Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps drew closer from the street outside. A stranger pushed open the shop door and walked in.
She had shoulder-length ash-blonde hair and wore a hoodie, dressed like some streetwise delinquent.
Gotou and Ryo both tensed, wary but unwilling to make the first move.
The woman walked straight to Katana Man's corpse, crouched down, placed a hand on his shoulder, and did… something.
Swoosh.
In the next instant, Katana Man's body jerked upright.
It was like a scene out of a horror movie, a corpse reanimated or a puppet yanked to its feet by invisible strings, standing there in blatant defiance of physics.
"Why are you dead?" the woman asked.
Though his body had already taken on a monstrous form, it was still obvious that Katana Man grit his teeth and spat bitterly, "I let my guard down. Didn't dodge in time."
"Hmph. I told you already, that girl called Pochi is extremely dangerous," the woman said. "But never mind. Judging from the state they're in now, they're probably no match for you anymore. Finish them."
"Got it." Katana Man nodded once, then spread his arms wide, taking up a dual-blade stance.
Right now, Gotou and Ryo really were like lambs to the slaughter.
They were both exhausted. Ryo was badly injured, and the Fox Devil had just been decapitated.
Pochita, after that last spin, had burned through every ounce of strength. He wasn't going to be moving again anytime soon.
"Heh… heh heh…" Katana Man grinned. "This time, you can really die."
He stepped forward to cut them down.
"You think… cutting off the fox's head means I'm completely helpless?" Ryo suddenly spoke up.
"What"
Katana Man froze for a moment. Then he saw Ryo lift her hand again, this time making a different sign.
"Fox. Give this guy a kick."
What an unbelievably down-to-earth summoning phrase, Gotou thought to herself.
From the side wall of the shop came a sudden ripple, and a massive object burst through.
It was a huge, furry foot.
Cute to look at, maybe, but being on the receiving end of something that big was anything but pleasant.
Katana Man was sent flying across the room, smashing into the opposite wall with bone-rattling force.
The dust cloud alone was enough to choke a man.
"Cough… cough… I let my guard down again!" Katana Man growled. "You… you woman. You were holding back the whole time? I clearly chopped off the fox's head. How?"
"The Fox Devil's true body was never here," Ryo replied. "The head you cut was just a clone. Same with the foot that kicked you."
The blonde woman clicked her tongue. "Summoning a devil comes with a price. Normally I've only seen devil hunters summon a single body part from the fox. You can call the head and the foot? What's next, a hand? A tail?"
She smirked. "Careful you don't overdo it. If the fox takes too much from you, you could win the fight but lose your entire body as payment."
Ryo chuckled. "I wouldn't worry yourself about that."
She knew perfectly well the Fox Devil had an unconditional contract with her family going back generations. No price would ever be demanded of her.
"Damn it… I'll cut you both into little"
Smack!
Before he could finish, a massive fox paw shot out from behind him and slapped him clean across the room.
Then, from the opposite wall, another giant foot slammed down toward him.
"Hrah!"
In midair, Katana Man twisted, bringing the blade on his head to meet the incoming foot.
Shunk!
The blade drove deep into the Fox's sole, spraying blood.
"AAAH! That hurts!"
The Fox Devil's pained cry filled the room as the furry foot flailed wildly, flinging Katana Man far across the shop.
Ryo frowned and started to form another hand sign.
But the Fox was still reeling in pain and ignored her.
Katana Man finally landed on the floor, free of follow-up attacks, breaking the chain of blows.
"To think you could make me look this pathetic…" Katana Man snarled as he got to his feet. "Hmph. My target was Pochi. Now you're on the list too."
"Fox, are you listening to my summons or not?" Ryo snapped. "Breaking our contract means death, you know!"
The Fox's voice was full of grievance, but still answered obediently, "Yeah, yeah, I hear you!"
"Good." Ryo nodded and ran through a flurry of hand signs.
In an instant, seven or eight massive shapes erupted from the ground.
All of them were the Fox Devil's limbs, forming a wall of fur like some strange, living fortress.
"If you think you can kill us, go ahead and try," Ryo said coldly.
"Tch…" Katana Man bared his sharp teeth. He knew this wouldn't be easy. "Sawatari, quit standing there and help me out!"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," the blonde woman tilted her head back. "I'll back you up in a sec."
"Hah!"
Katana Man roared, charging at the wall of fur.
Sawatari lifted a hand. "Snake. Swallow it whole."
Just then, Gotou, who had been sitting silently beside Ryo without moving a muscle, suddenly relaxed, a faint smile on her lips.
It sounded like she whispered, "Finally…"
Sawatari felt something was off, but the summoning phrase had already left her mouth. There was no taking it back.
The ground split open and a massive snake surged out, jaws yawning wide to devour every one of the Fox's limbs.
At the same moment, Gotou's left hand rose and clenched into a fist.
"What…?" Katana Man froze mid-step, eyes wide. "My body… I can't move"
Swoosh!
He suddenly leapt high into the air, not toward the fox wall or anywhere else, but straight toward the gaping mouth of the giant snake.
Its jaws snapped shut, swallowing the Fox Devil's limbs and Katana Man whole.
From the corner of its mouth dangled something thin and glistening.
Drool?
Sawatari thought so for a moment, but dismissed it quickly. The thread was retracting… sliding back into Gotou's hand.
Thread.
Pochi was controlling his body? But since when?
Gotou murmured almost to herself, "My instincts really don't lie. From the moment I walked in, I could feel that man's dangerous aura. When I passed him, I pretended to bump into him… and slipped the thread inside to control his muscles."
"I held back, waiting for the right moment. Looks like I chose well."
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Oh, you like the story? Wow, who knew. Go ahead, drop a review and throw some power stones and don't forget to add library maybe I'll be motivated to keep going.