Chapter 207: The Celestial Fox Who Thinks She Has Definitely Won
The result of Noah standing guard outside the Great Yata Barrier was—the Heavenly Fox, split apart.
Originally, such an attack was a trump card for the Heavenly Fox, a final assault, but she…
After the first roar came a second, which Noah easily blocked as well.
After the second came a third, and naturally, the third was no exception...
After that, Tamamo-no-Mae could no longer stand by and watch the Heavenly Fox continue to howl here.
After all…
"We still have children who need to sleep over here. If you keep howling like this, you'll wake them up or give them nightmares!"
Once the power initially gathered around the Heavenly Fox gradually cooled, Tamamo-no-Mae's Great Bounded Field enveloped her once more.
Then, Tamamo-no-Mae's attack landed on her.
Though Tamamo-no-Mae didn't know what exactly the spear in the sky was, she was grateful to its wielder!
And then…
She had no intention of giving this so-called Heavenly Fox any more chances!
Go all out, kill this creature quickly!
The sight of her invoking the real sun instead of the Conceptual Sun had truly frightened Tamamo-no-Mae.
After all, unlike conceptual planets or phenomena, invoking the real sun had an extremely high lower limit!
Even at its weakest, it was incredibly powerful! And its impact was immense!
So Tamamo-no-Mae would no longer give her any opportunities!
Her mirror flew out, emitting a gentle radiance that pinned the Heavenly Fox to the ground.
The Heavenly Fox's tails continued to flutter wildly, her power spreading out once more and stirring up waves of Magical Energy, but Tamamo-no-Mae had already taken action.
She raised one hand toward the sky, her feet moving rhythmically as if dancing.
In the sky, golden sun rain descended, completely calming the tide of magical energy stirred up by the Heavenly Fox.
Finally, Tamamo-no-Mae stood before the Heavenly Fox, aimed her hand at its head, and fired a purple beam that pierced straight through its skull.
In the end, Tamamo-no-Mae even used Cursed Arts to confirm whether the creature was truly dead.
Only after confirming that its body was completely lifeless did she finally let out a sigh of relief.
"What a troublesome creature… but thankfully, it seems someone helped me in this battle."
As she spoke, Tamamo-no-Mae looked up once more at the spear in the sky.
"If I ever get the chance, I must properly thank them."
Just as Tamamo-no-Mae sighed and prepared to clean up the battlefield before returning to Little Kiara and the others, something happened at the Heavenly Fox's corpse. Though the creature itself was dead, its five tails vanished.
The next moment, these five tails reappeared, directly burrowing into Tamamo-no-Mae's body.
And then…
"Ah————!!"
A terrifying energy erupted from Tamamo-no-Mae's body. On top of her original four tails, five more grew directly!
Instantly, she transformed from Four-Tails into Nine-Tails!
This sudden change made Tamamo-no-Mae feel as if her entire being was shaking.
But…
In reality, this Nine-Tails state was different from what she had originally understood!
Logically, Tamamo-no-Mae should have started losing control from Four-Tails onward, and by Five-Tails, she could already be called a lesser version of the Golden-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox.
And the nine-tailed fox... even if one of its tails isn't its own, making it effectively an eight-tailed fox—in this state, there shouldn't be any Tamamo-no-Mae left.
Only the Golden-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox!
...
Tamamo-no-Mae, aside from feeling some pain, was completely unaware of being replaced!
This meant that she was not the Golden-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox but still Tamamo-no-Mae.
An impossibility...
The eight-tailed Tamamo-no-Mae!
"How is this possible...
Tamamo-no-Mae was completely immobilized by the power suddenly swelling within her body. At that moment, she once again heard the voice of the Heavenly Fox.
"I know all about your plans..."
The Heavenly Fox's voice spoke, and its first words left Tamamo-no-Mae stunned.
Then the Heavenly Fox continued.
"I also know that I am not you. I am just a weak little fox, not one of the Three Great Evil Yokai like you... a Great Yokai as powerful as a heavenly god."
"Even with Amaterasu's help, after obtaining four of your tails, I am still not you."
"I never imagined that even with four of your tails and Amaterasu's assistance—I would still be no match for you. Even Amaterasu's attack was somehow blocked by you."
"You are so strong... I envy you so much... So, let me become you!"
Tamamo-no-Mae couldn't move at that moment, but she could feel a force within her body constantly fighting for control!
The opponent's power wasn't particularly strong on its own, but it carried a strange energy that could suppress Tamamo-no-Mae's own Cursed Energy, leaving her temporarily unable to do anything about it!
So, Tamamo-no-Mae began trying to communicate with this creature.
"Amaterasu? So the one behind you is her... But how is that possible? Her dark, malevolent side shouldn't appear while I'm still conscious, and her benevolent side would never persuade you to do such a thing!"
Moreover...
The most crucial point was, Amaterasu... could she really wield the power of the sun in reality?
Tamamo-no-Mae found this hard to believe, but the Heavenly Fox insisted.
"Of course it's Amaterasu. Her form is the sun itself. She is the sun, so she is Amaterasu—it is you who do not recognize the true god. You and that Minamoto-no-Raikou even dare to disrespect Amaterasu by calling her a Foreign God!"
"You all deserve to die!"
The sun itself?
Tamamo-no-Mae found the Heavenly Fox's words increasingly incomprehensible.
First, the sun itself could never be Amaterasu... Second, the sun shouldn't have self-awareness. That meant... some terrifying being resembling the sun had deceived this little fox.
And...
No.
—The other party could even manipulate the sun...
If this little fox said the other party was the sun itself, then...
At that moment, Tamamo-no-Mae instinctively looked up at the sun in the sky.
————Could the sun in the sky be fake?
But... is something like this really possible?
Tamamo-no-Mae found it hard to believe her own speculation, while the Heavenly Fox continued speaking.
"Keep resisting, but in the end, victory will be mine!"
Hearing the Heavenly Fox's voice again, Tamamo-no-Mae let out a light scoff.
"I must admit that with your power, you can indeed hold your own against me for a short time. But, little fox—who do you think I am?"
"Do you really think you can outmatch me in this struggle?"
This was precisely why Tamamo-no-Mae still had the mind to ponder other matters.
Because the Heavenly Fox simply couldn't compete with her!
Once she found an opportunity, she would cut off the tail representing the other party—tail 947—in one go, then use Fox Fire to burn it away and force her opponent to retreat.
In fact, it seemed she had turned this misfortune into a blessing.
She didn't know why these tails were so obedient, but once she dealt with the Heavenly Fox, she would truly become something even her former self had never dared to imagine—the Eight-Tailed Tamamo-no-Mae.
However, upon hearing Tamamo-no-Mae's words, the Heavenly Fox showed neither fear nor anger, simply letting out a laugh.
"Hahaha, of course I know I can't possibly defeat you. After all, I'm just a little fox fortunate enough to receive Amaterasu's favor—naturally, I'm no match for you..."
"But, as I said, I know all about your plans."
"Though I don't know how you managed to contact the outside world, I know you've reached out to outsiders, intending to have them use a Spell Formula to seize control of the Great Yata Barrier's authority."
"And I also know you've bound your current body with a Core Spell Formula!"
"But for now, at least temporarily, this body has two owners—us. Although the original authority over the Great Yata Barrier wasn't entirely in my hands, I held a portion of it, while the rest belonged to Amaterasu."
"To steal something from Amaterasu's grasp—even I must admit your wickedness has reached an impressive level."
"But it's all futile."
"Once you succeed, as one who already holds a share of the authority, I will gain complete control this time. With the full support of the Great Yata Barrier, the victor of this struggle will be none other than me!"
So...
"You're the one who should give up. I will win. I will become you. I am Amaterasu's true divine messenger. I am the true Nine-Tailed Fox!"