Demonic Kitsune

After the Senior Instructor's words, the other instructors began moving, each carrying a sack on their backs. Unlike last time, these sacks were light and silent when dropped. Soon, three Demon Cores of Dead Triton, encased in dark boxes, were distributed to each little Arrancar in the Erebus Hell grass field.

Clare, having collected her rewards for passing the trials, sat back down in her initial position in a lotus form. She took the cores, about 2 centimeters each, out of the boxes and felt a surge of compressed demonic energy in her grasp.

Closing her eyes, she pushed her spiritual awareness deep into her sea of consciousness, arousing both her Holy mana and Demonic energy. She prepared to accept the influx of foreign demonic energy into her heart while practicing Mithril Body and Soul Reinforcement to produce more Holy mana. Simultaneously, she used Mithril Physique Circulation to regulate and circulate the Holy mana.

It was a complex, multitasked endeavor, but Clare ensured she did not miss a single technique. The reason for this was to recharge her exhausted Holy mana and balance the rapidly increasing Demonic energy from the three Demon Cores of Dead Triton.

Just as she was about to start practicing the "Superiorization of True Deviation" to fuse the energies together, her tails tensed up and her ears flinched. A nasty and chilling sensation caused veins to bulge on her body as goosebumps rose. 

Something eerie was about to happen.

Her premonition was correct. The rush of Demonic energy that had just entered her body surged violently, aggressively trying to drown Clare’s spiritual awareness. It refused to merge with her existing demonic energy due to the presence of Holy Mana, attempting to break out of the Energy circuitry in her heart. Clare clenched her teeth, maintaining a mask of indifference while enduring the terrible pain that seemed to tear her internals apart.

Soon, her tails curled up in alarm and her ears stood on end as a surge of dark purplish-yellow energy from her Superiorization of True Deviation battle forcibly offset the violent Demonic energy, bringing it under control. Instead of letting it merge freely, this energy stabilized the situation, healing Clare’s spiritual awareness.

The completely new technique Clare had developed was so advanced that even she couldn't fully grasp its true worth. However, it was definitely capable of managing the demonic energy from the three Demon Cores of Dead Triton. Clare's spiritual awareness directed the surging dark purplish-yellow energy over the demonic energy, which had been offset, softening and cooling it like pouring water on hot steel.  This made the energy stable and suitable for Clare’s heart.

Soon, her body felt soothed, her breath became smooth, and her mind cleared. Her once-alerted tails relaxed. With the foreign demonic energy attempting to escape the energy pathways finally calmed, Clare combined both the holy mana from the practice of Mithril Body and Soul Reinforcement and the demonic energy she had accumulated from practicing Superiorization of True Deviation. She directed these energies toward the demonic energy from the three Demon Cores of Dead Triton. They collided, mixed, and intertwined, merging as one… At least, that was supposed to happen.

Instead, Clare began to struggle as her whole body trembled. Sweat trickled down her cheek to her jaw, dripping onto the grass and her delicate neck.

Her legs, which were in the lotus position, suddenly felt restless as if they had lost all sensation. This familiar sensation again? But different. It felt as if waves of electric current shot across her entire being, as though the well-aligned structures she had built so far had their foundations cracked. Veins bulged around her body as if she was experiencing an Energy Backlash.

Instantly, Clare knew what this meant and what the cause was through her spiritual awareness. In certain veins and arteries, the once-violent demonic energy she thought had been cooled down by the dark-purplish yellow energy repelled each other again. Clare felt partially depressed, but soon, a sneer curled her lips. Who would have expected this demonic energy from the three Demon Cores of Dead Triton to be so cunning? In that case, she had a way to deal with such a cunning brat.

Her overall body sensation became indefinite. She pushed her spiritual awareness deep through the seas of myriad energy pathways and began performing rhythmic movements according to a certain verse of an Ancient Text's chapter:

The human body is a path of different emotions, repentances, acceptances, recollections, and virtues that intertwine and blend with each other yet never met. These paths are white as snow, jade-like pride of the pinpricks of stars that roam and interconnect in the calm and modest night sky. Only a trace like this, untainted by emotions but tainted by repentance, acceptance, and recollection, can make a path with pure strings, which is hard to find and intertwined into a single point.

גוף האדם הוא שביל של רגשות שונים, חרטות, קבלות, זכרונות ומעלות שמשתלבים זה בזה, אך לעולם אינם נפגשים. השבילים הללו לבנים כשלג, גאווה של אבני ירקן ככוכבים שמהם משוטטים ומתחברים בשמי הלילה הרגועים והצנועים. רק עקבות כאלו, שאינן מוכתמות ברגשות אך מוכתמות בחרטה, קבלה וזיכרון, יכולות ליצור שביל עם מיתרים טהורים, שקשה למצוא ושמשתלבים לנקודה אחת.

Understanding the wisdom in these verses, Clare’s spiritual awareness began working. She led not only the cunning demonic energy but also the rest of the energies within her body through the energy pathways. She ensured the cunning demonic energy flowed into one half of her body and the other energies into the other half, forming Yin and Yang.

She then directed the dark, purplish-yellow energy—a mixture of demonic energy and holy mana from Superiorization of True Deviation—into the middle section of her body.

Inside her body, all the energies moved smoothly yet aggressively, flowing back into the energy pathways in her heart with a steady momentum without merging. This process repeated throughout her body, over and over, pulsating. Clare’s internal energy pathways began to expand, with more veins and pathways being forced open and cleansed to adjust to the surges of the three different energies.

One energy was yellow—holy mana. Another was dark, purplish-yellow—holy mana blended with demonic energy. The third was dark, purplish—cunning foreign demonic energy. 

Then, a saying came to mind: “Two fishes flow in an autumn-clean river, one white, one black. These fishes flow around each other every day but never mate or become one. Why? Because they know quite well what monster would be born if they do so.”

In her sea of consciousness, Clare decided to go against the heavens and create something forbidden. Her circuitry, mainly her tails, ears, and other demonic features, was filled with emptiness and without any schematic shape as if it hadn’t seen any energy in ages. Clare pushed her spiritual awareness, leading a large turbid wave of dark, purplish-yellow energy into this section of the pathways, serving as the foundation of her half-breed Nin’s power to build in the future.

The pathways in that section, once loose and void, were pushed apart, filled with life and definiteness as the surge of energy flowed through. They expanded to support her joints and contracted even more with the energy flow. Making her body a retainer of holy mana and demonic energy was agonizing, but the pain wasn’t as enormous, showing how her Nin body was adapting to her training over time.

With her heartbeat stable, breathing normal, and senses serene and steady, Clare sensed an internal shininess, sparkling with new life and blossoming with passion, like a jade palace of the gods. Another section was dark, filled with voids and nebulas, with pinpricks of small fiercely burning stars circling a single big pulsating and raging ball akin to the sun. Together, in the middle, was a wave of streams of both scenery and oddities, moving with the embrace of the heavens, serving as the connection of both realms of Yin and Yang.

Eventually, with warmth as well as frost escaping her mouth, a sensation welled up in her heart. Clare circulated the finished expansion of her energy pathways with all the split energies and moved them back to her heart, merging them together. Like how waves rise and collide, they swallowed each other up and became one. One with life, one with power, and one with a flame that burns two entities and fundamental repelling forces.

Asura energy.

As the impact of all three energies became one, stable, and brimming with unwavering force, she sprayed them out into every organ in her body. Slowly but gradually and meticulously, she practiced the Superiorization of True Deviation. The Asura energy began sculpting every nook and cranny of her body to become an unparalleled retainer for both demonic energy and holy mana. Steadily, the Asura energy began to adapt to the retainer. Eventually, with warmth escaping her mouth, a sensation welled up in her heart.

‘Finally, I acquired a new energy,’ she thought.

Her spiritual awareness was proud of her hard work and unwavering persistence as she inspected the new energy. Clare guessed that’s enough for now—she could either use holy mana and demonic energy separately as different entities or use the newly acquired Asura energy.

‘But how long has it been?’

The question suddenly raced through her mind as a cool breeze blew across her relaxed nine fluffy tails, tickling her skin, calming her mind and soul, and soothing her sweaty flesh under her robe. Soon, the Asura energy pulsing through her veins stopped moving. Sensations returned to her legs, and restlessness vanished.

After a calm breath, she opened her eyes, feeling refreshed.

“Umm…” She inhaled deeply.

A hint of deep, dark-purplish-yellow sheen overshadowed Clare’s emerald eyes for a little more than two seconds before dissipating. It was the last residue of her raw energy that had remained around her irises, which then returned to her heart. Clare’s eyes quickly reverted to their normal hue. No one had noticed the eerie glimmer within her eyes for far too long.

One-third Chain.

It was safe to say that Clare had become incredibly efficient in absorbing the maximum amount of demonic energy her current body could handle from the three Demon Cores of Dead Trition. She had also acquired new energy from the cores, boosting her overall power level. She looked at her hands. The two cores in her right hand and the one core in her left had melted like bloated balloons and turned to ashes, blown away by the wind.

It was a waste of about a chain’s worth of energy, with 20% lost as heat and waste disposal within her body. But this loss was inevitable for anyone absorbing the Demon Cores to forcibly increase their energy reserves. Most little Arrancars lost about "two to three chains," or 35 to 49% of the energy, through absorption, circulation, and regulation. So, it was still a significant boon for Clare to have been so successful.

If her knack had been higher through the “Mithril Body and Soul Reinforcement” and “Mithril Physique Circulation,” she wouldn’t have even lost that one chain. To Clare, this was a shame, but it couldn’t be helped. Letting go of her lingering attachment to “what could have been,” she assessed her surroundings in the Erebus Hell grass field. Her gaze soon stopped on Noir, who was observing the other little Arrancars under different trees, seated cross-legged on logs or plain grasses. Noir had a faintly dissatisfied look as if seeing playthings that couldn’t compete with her.

It seemed Noir had finished absorbing the full influence of the three Demon Cores of the Dead Triton before Clare and some other elites, just as she had passed the trials. This proved to Clare that a “prodigy is greater than a genius in every sense”. Just before Clare was about to divert her gaze, Noir made eye contact with her. Noir mouthed words with her cherry-red lips, seemingly evading the instructor’s gaze but mixed with the chilling breeze.

“Did you absorb all of it? Or did you create something new?”

These unexpected, mind-dizzying words made Clare inwardly flustered. How did this brat know? She must have been observing her closely with eerie amazement. Clare snorted and turned her head away, feeling no need to respond. Noir's expression was equivocal, somehow sending chills down Clare’s spine, making her tails stiffen.

In other words, this brat was weird and awkwardly unreadable. Sighing, Clare decided it was best not to think about it too much and just ignore her.

How long has it been? Without knowing the concept of time that had passed, the little Arrancars began to awaken one by one. There may have been individual disparities, but everyone appeared to have had some success with the Demon Core Crystals. The Senior Instructor, Edgar Le Nigel, observed that all the little Arrancars were awake and aroused a bit of his demonic energy to refocus their attention. Or at least that's how it seemed to him…

The air trembled and exploded loudly with a vigorous pulse of energy.

…but the little Arrancars, including Clare, sensed something different as disgusting goosebumps arose across their skin. A high surge of dark-red demonic energy pressured the atmosphere, booming across the Erebus Hell grass field, making each of them turn their head and concentrate on the Senior Instructor. Debris, grasses, leaves, and shrapnel erupted around him, intertwined by cracks on the ground

“It appears that everyone has absorbed the demonic energy of the three Demon Cores of the Dead Triton. Congratulations on your progress.”

The Senior Instructor stated this with a fishy yet elegant smile as he dusted the dirt from his robes. The smile implied that this was merely the beginning. Obviously, several years remained in the ten years required to graduate from the Institute. Soon, Edgar opened his mouth and spoke again.

“The good news is that this isn’t the only gift the Demoness has decided to grant you all.”

Those words, particularly the phrase “Demoness,” made Clare tremble as the wind blew tiny crimson leaves across her nostrils, causing her to sneeze cutely.

Some little Arrancars giggled but were silenced by Clare’s cold gaze. Cold sweat nervously dripped down their cheek. However, something was different this time as Noir giggled silently. Noticing her giggles, Clare turned her face away once again, “Hmph!”

Receiving those three Demon Cores crystals was already a big blessing. Most little Arrancars had absorbed a pseudo-chain’s worth of demonic energy from those crystals alone. Clare had gained roughly one chain’s worth, which was an unexpected gift.

But this wasn’t everything. Clare couldn’t hide her surprise. She expected much from the Demon Clan. Even several other little Arrancars were astonished, but one appeared to have anticipated the next gift. Noir—SETH—had a peaceful expression as she listened.

‘Why did she giggle? It wasn’t funny though; that’s aside…’

Clare’s mind wavered for a second. Is she aware of something else? Did Noir know she made something new? Probably. Or maybe not. Letting out a breath, Clare quickly put her frivolous thoughts aside and focused on the Senior Instructor’s next words.

“Since you all have mastered and made use of your chosen weapon’s basic techniques through the trials and survive, you can now begin learning serious techniques with your demonic energy… and these techniques are best recognized throughout the entire Salamander. Of course, they can only be used with demonic energy.”

What kind of demonic techniques did the Institute have planned for such boasting? Clare wondered sarcastically. But before she could think further, the sun that once illuminated the nebula sky went behind the whitish-red clouds, dimming the entire Erebus Hell Grass Field. The Senior Instructor turned around and spoke.

“Instructor Julianne Xue.”

At Edgar’s call, a stunningly black long-haired woman with a well-balanced temperament, darkish-green skin, heterochromatic eyes, and double horns protruding from slightly before both of her temples, walked out elegantly yet snappily.

“Sir!” She responded calmly. Dressed in titanium robes with dark lining and dark flower embellishments, she was highlighted by the little rays of the sun that passed through the fluttering leaves of the giant trees around her.

The Senior Instructor’s orders were simple and straightforward.

“Take them to ‘Beyond the Demonic Treasure Vault.’”

As eerie as it sounded, it was enough to make any of the little Arrancars, including Clare, curious and uneasy. But to the instructor, Julianne Xue, it was like a normal procedure, part of the Institute's tradition.

“Affirmative.” Her tone was dense and decisive.

From a distance, Clare observed Julianne Xue with full confusion and curiosity. Her demonic energy level was at the Second Pseudo-chain Demonic Instructor level. Not only that, Clare could determine that the instructor was about to break into the “Second Quarter chain” within six months if she persisted in her training. More confusing was that this demonic instructor’s jade-like beauty resembled Isolde, Clare’s ex-best friend, though absent in horns, skin hue, and energy. One could mistake her for Isolde's twin or doppelganger. Clare frowned.

But it was just a coincidence. Nothing more, nothing less. Right? This demonic instructor just looked like Isolde but wasn’t her. Otherwise, Clare would lose it. Letting out a deep breath, she shifted her attention away.

On the other hand, Julianne’s horns tingled as her eyes darted in the direction of what she sensed—someone was staring at her just now. But when she looked around, she couldn’t find the individual, little Arrancar, or whoever stared at her. What was that? She pondered briefly before her train of thought was cut off by the Senior Instructor, who noticed her attention shifted for a bit.

“What’s the matter, Instructor Julianne Xue?” he asked dismissively.

“Nothing, Sir, but I thought I saw someone staring at me.”

“Perhaps it was just your sensitivity.”

“I guess so.”

At her response, Edgar Le Nigel deepened his thoughts for a while. It seemed some were trying to measure her up… could it be underestimating? Or something else. Regardless, the Senior Instructor smiled. The little Arrancars were now thinking like demons. He shook his head with pride and spoke to the little Arrancars.

“Follow her.”