Trigger surveyed the bloodshed before him, a small smile curling his lips.
Then he began, his voice casual, almost playful. "How are you children doing today?"
"We are doing most excellent, Trigger-sama," Onee-sama responded with a bow.
Not far from her, Fangstrong lay in ruin, his upper half completely missing, the blood pooling beneath him steaming in the frigid air.
She continued, "If you and the Twin Shadow Jōnin had not appeared when you did, our plan was to annihilate more than two-thirds of the Specter Wolves."
"Knowing full well that they will resurrect?" Trigger raised a brow.
"Why, that is precisely the fun of it, sir. Our toys are things that can never truly be broken."
Trigger threw back his head with laughter. "You are as daring as your mother, I see. Speaking of which… how fares Tamayō? And why has she not joined you for this little rendezvous?"
Onee-sama's smile deepened, "Haha-ue has departed for the outside world. Her intent, as ever, is to weave her charms and further seduce the Supreme Lord."
At those words, Shizuka, who had been quietly bored until now, suddenly lit up with energy.
Without warning, she swung an arm, tore open the space beside her and leapt into the rift.
Almost immediately after, Bladir, Swanir's brother, followed suit and vanished with her before the tear sealed itself.
"That makes two problems off the table," Onee-sama snickered.
"Were you lying?" Hachiman asked, his star-marked eyes narrowing.
"Nothing of the sort. But I reasoned the both of them would leave for the outside world once I spoke as I did. And if you would be so kind as to join them, it would make our raid and plundering of your territory far easier."
"Understood." Hachiman gave no resistance. He simply disappeared.
Swanir, left behind, gaped in shock, her mouth open wide.
"Manipulative as ever," Trigger muttered, scratching the side of his head.
His golden eyes suddenly flared, the glow burning hotter than molten metal. "So then? What trick do you intend to use in order to rid yourself of me? Or perhaps…" He leaned forward slightly, his grin wicked, "you plan on fighting me?"
The other kitsunes flinched and shuffled backward, their courage shaken. Only Onee-sama kept her smile steady, unflinching, as though carved into her very being.
"To do battle with Trigger-sama is akin to simply returning home," she said lightly. "I never devised a plan to isolate you. However, I suspect you may meddle in our designs, and so I ask: go back to your cottage in peace."
Trigger laughed again, clearly amused. "Or else…?"
In response, Onee-sama sent a silent message directly into his mind. Whatever she conveyed made his smile falter instantly.
He turned without another word and spoke only to Swanir. "The fort is yours for now."
Then, as if dissolving into the fabric of the world itself, he sank into the shadows and was gone.
"Ah, wait a second, Trigger-sama!" Swanir cried desperately, but her pleas fell into the void.
"Do not bother, Swanir-sama," Onee-sama sneered, her words sharpened like fangs. "He will not be aiding you today."
"What did you say to him?" Swanir demanded, narrowing her eyes. "No matter. I will defeat every last one of you and still have strength to spare."
"Ohoho. Aren't you confident…"
Before Swanir could react, Onee-sama dashed forward, her speed blinding, her fist cutting the air with enough force to split stone.
Swanir, however, remained calm, smoothly sliding her katana from its sheath as though the chaos around her were nothing but a breeze.
"Now, Brown! Red!" Onee-sama barked, redirecting her strike to the ground at the last instant.
The snowy ground split and cracked, lines spidering outward for two hundred meters before the surface collapsed in on itself.
Swanir and the remaining wolves stumbled, their footing broken, struggling to regain balance.
Red stepped forward with precision. "[Delta!]" she cried, her voice resonant.
At the same time, Brown lifted his hand skyward, and the blanket of snow across the entire field was soaked in thick, sticky mud.
The pristine white landscape was swallowed into a vast lake of muck.
"Damn it, you brats!" Swanir snarled, slipping and cursing as the mire dragged her down, her every step hindered by the sucking pull of the mud.
Thanks to the clever Blue's power, the kitsunes lifted themselves above it all, hovering in the air beyond the reach of the filth.
Red blushed furiously, tugging down her short kimono, trying to shield against the gaze of the mud-splattered wolves below her. "Kyaaah! Perverted wolves! No peeping!"
"No," Brown said flatly, his tone dry. "They cannot afford to peep."
He was right.
The mud carried the command [Delta] within it, a hex that constantly shifted its properties from magical sealing, to clumsiness-inducing, to outright disorienting.
All of it worked together to ensure that Swanir could not precisely counter or neutralize the effect.
Above them, all the mischievous foxes hovered in the air, their silhouettes outlined against the gloom, their expressions steeped in eerie intent.
Onee-sama raised her hand, and her magic began to flow, spilling into the air with a rhythm like chanting.
Her voice rang out:
"From dark to light, from black to pink, I curse the Specters to turn to cute pups!"
"That is ridiculous! Behave yourself!" Swanir shouted, her body coated in mud as she struggled to steady herself upon the treacherous surface.
The fox children only giggled in delight as the wolves' fur began to shift.
Their once dark, or silver-streaked coats, gradually brightened into shades of pink, soft and almost adorable.
Swanir's own long black hair lightened into the same hue, ribbons of red curling around it, completing the humiliating transformation.
The mud beneath them then hardened, trapping the Specter Wolves in place, leaving them to wallow helplessly while the kitsunes hovered higher.
"Count this as mercy, you cuties!" Green declared, blowing them a kiss.
"Next time, I will return that sucker punch, Oji-san!" Brown shouted, his small fist clenched tightly.
"Hmph! We will let you off the hook today," Red said, folding her arms as she opened one eye with a flustered pout. "S-Since you seem to think I am cute for some reason…"
"May the fortune of the Supreme Lord be with you," Silver added, gently waving his hand. "And please forgive my siblings."
"Like hell!" one of the wolves barked in frustration.
Onee-sama winked at them, her voice sweet with mockery. "Enjoy your cute new forms. When the spell wears off in a few days, we will return to play with you again."
"Never come here again, damn brats!" another wolf howled, furious.
Their curses and booing followed the kitsunes as a circular dark portal opened.
The fox children darted into it, their laughter trailing behind them, and in a moment the snowscape was gone.
On the other side stretched a different realm: one stripped of ice, bathed instead in the golden warmth of sunset.
Ahead of them rose a great palace, surrounded by eight grand arching buildings that curved in elegant formation around a singular, towering castle.
At the entrance of that palace stood a lone woman, her long dark hair flowing like ink, her eyes sharp and unblinking.
Dark fox ears twitched atop her head, her tail swayed with restrained power, and her high-quality kimono shimmered faintly under the glow of dusk.
Her hands rested on her waist as she watched them approach.
"Uwah! So Haha-ue was home?" Gold muttered quickly, her eyes darting aside.
"Uh-oh. She doesn't look happy," Brown frowned. "I hope we won't be punished."