Sin Of Greed (Greedy Fox Book 2)

~~THREE~~

In the middle of the road sat an askew caravan, horses fled, and two humans - male and female - standing stationary with the doors wide open. Towering over them, clutching a grizzled corpse in its blood stained fist was a Red demon.

I watched in horror as it dropped the remnants of a human into its mouth, swallowing it whole. Then with delicate slowness, it licked its fingers and lips clean before giving a gruff laugh and grasping the man in hand.

The humans didn't even move, didn't flinch or cry out.

"Hey!" I screamed, barrelling towards them. The demon put the man's head between his lips. "Don't you dare!"

There was a sickening, tearing sound as the demon yanked back its head, beady black eyes on me the entire time as it swallowed. The headless body toppled to the ground, ruby red spreading quickly in the dirt towards me.

The demon merely chuckled then turned and reached for the next unmoving victim.

Something primal and instinctual snapped inside me. My paw hit the ground and Kitsune bloomed to life, feeding me the Mana from the earth faster than I'd ever absorbed. My canines lengthened, senses sharpening, the rancid smell of blood filling my nostrils.

I sank my teeth into its arm, demon blood spilling out over my tongue. With a howl, it stumbled back and tried to shake me from its arm. I let go as it threw its arms upwards and I landed on all fours. The mana within the ground skittered up towards my paws as I prowled around the demon, my enlarging muscles rippling beneath my fur.

Those beady eyes followed me, human target forgotten, malice written across its clown face.

"Man, you are ugly," I spat, luring it away from the human. Static danced in the air around me. "Wonder if smashing you in the face would fix the problem or only make things worse."

It charged with a roar, swiping at me with palm splayed. I jumped out of the way as it took out a tree, ripping it, roots and all, from the ground with the powerful swipe.

With a quick word, I cast Cold Fire over the remaining human and her companion's bodies and she glowed blue-green from the harmless flames. That would shield her from most of my attacks.

"Is that all you have?" I goaded, laughter bursting past my canines. "That's probably why you only attack helpless humans, barely the strength to go up against a fighting one."

It roared at me again, bringing both fists down onto the ground. A shockwave went through my feet in an attempt to unbalance me but I only smiled as the static around the demon multiplied.

"Boom, boom, big boy."

The explosion flattened the trees around us. I pressed myself low to the ground, my claws barely enough to anchor me to the ground. I heard the human's body thwack into the side of their caravan but when I glanced back, she still had Cold Fire protecting her.

The echoing booms dissipated and debris rained down on me with clinks and clatters. A fine layer of dust coated me and I shook it from my fur. Something wet slapped the ground next to me.

A chunk of demon flesh lay beside me. With a yowl, I jumped away from it then realised that all around me was a minefield of broken demon bits.

Had I just decimated a red demon with Firework? The mana inside me quickened and that feeling arose again. The need for more fighting, more bloodshed. It craved the thrum of power I felt at my paws, to paint the heavens in the flames dancing in my veins.

I cut my connection with Kitsune and felt the strength ebb slightly from my muscles. The craving subsided, simmering below the surface.

Firework had never caused that amount of damage against the new generation back in Liones. All it had managed back then was to knock them from their feet and that was with a supposed helping of demonic power courtesy of siphoning it from him with that newfound Thief power.

Maybe I was stronger than I had been in Liones and, coupled with the close distance, it had caused more damage. Or the Mana in the ground here was strong. Because if I had this strength inside me, perhaps even a Grey demon would have little chance against me. I could have taken Hendrickson down and I wouldn't be in this mess; I could have delayed those high powered demons... I shook my head. No point considering, I had more important things to do instead of imagining battles and whinging over the unfairness of a past one.

I pondered what to do with the bodies. I couldn't just leave them to rot in the middle of the road, carrion for the birds. Even the thought turned my empty stomach. So I dragged the bodies into a pile and resolved myself to the only option. A funeral pyre.

But before I could light my tail and use Enflame, which seemed the smartest and least destructive option of all my skills, four blue dots zipped past my ears. I ducked then faced whatever they were.

Three of the wisps bobbed over the mangled bodies before floating off into the blue sky. A fourth and final one fluttered over to the only human technically still alive. It bonked her on the chest and disappeared into her. I cocked my head as the light in the woman's unblinking eyes returned.

Slowly, she looked around, her eyes taking in the shattered caravan, the pile of bodies, the flattened trees.

"What happened here?" she rasped, pushing herself onto her elbows.

"You were attacked," I said.

She jerked, only now noticing me. "A talking fox?" Her wild eyes darted about for a weapon.

"You're safe now. The demon's dead," I added.

"You-you killed it?" She scrambled over on all fours and threw her arms around me before I could react. Her tears wet my fur. "Thank you, oh thank you!"

Then I made the startling realisation that I had grown larger.