9 Bloodbath

After an hour of bickering without reaching any sort of agreement, the tired Head Abbot had Bai Qingyue transferred to the caged demons section of the monastery to be dealt with at a later time. 

Naturally, every precaution had been taken to ensure the fox demon remained captive.

The long talks at least delayed any plots these vermin were cooking up for him. Settled in his new prison, Bai Qingyue carefully took in his fellow prisoners. There was a Weasel Demoness resting in the cage beside his. She was even smaller than he, with grey-brown fur and beady black eyes. She seemed like she could have been a perfectly ordinary weasel, were it not for the unmistakable demonic aura surrounding her. She was incapacitated but still awake. Bai Qingyue decided to fish for some information anyway. "Young Weasel, how did you get here?"

The Demoness raised her head from her front paws and glanced coldly at the rude fox. 'Young weasel?! How dare he call me that, especially when he looks like such a young cub!' Still, feeling alone in this unfortunate predicament, she was not opposed to chatting with others while she was still able to do so.

"Humph, I'm not young at all. I'll have you know I've already married and raised four children!" Just as she responded, the tender thoughts of her family filled her black button eyes with emotion. She proceeded to whisper her tale softly to the fox, who listened patiently just a few feet away. Turns out she and her children were abducted by the priests to be turned into familiars. They had narrowingly escaped the clutches of a Demon Hunter. Bravely, her mate had stayed behind to distract the Hunter and give them enough time to escape.

Bai Qingyue had lived for so long and heard countless tragic tales but distinctly recalled his kidnapper boasting about wiping out a Weasel Demon as he was dragged to the monastery. This filled him with sympathy for the poor mother. Not only were she and her cubs caught and caged, but her mate was surely dead. While the Demoness talked, Bai Qingyue realized that although she was weak, her power might be strong enough to break out of her cage. All she needed was a little push in the right direction.

Unbeknownst to her, he transferred the little bit of energy he had over to her.

"It will end soon," was all he whispered back.

His eyes glowed mischievously as the temperature inside the holding cell dropped by several degrees. Despite the bangles on his paws, a powerful malevolence escaped the spiritual shackles and radiated around him.

The night soon passed. With the new light of dawn, several priests arrived early at the cages. Leading the procession was the Head Abbot. 

In the chill of the morning air, a murder of crows perched ominously on a nearby tree. Waiting, they too sensed what was soon to come. 

The Head Abbot gazed down upon the caged fox and, noticing no difference, decided that it was time to end its life. He smiled menacingly. " I see now that all that talk yesterday was just a desperate ploy for time. Unfortunately for you, I am not so easily fooled!"

"Unlike my cellmate here, who you seem to have tricked easily enough," Bai Qingyue muttered, loud enough for the Demoness to hear. "She tells me her children were also kidnapped and turned into familiars. And yet, I've seen no weasel cubs lurking around."

The Weasel Demoness' head snapped up, eyes glaring at the Head Abbot in alarm.

"That's right. They weren't powerful enough to be familiars. You might as well join them now and become a source of power to increase my disciples' cultivation! It's a shame you didn't tell me more about yourself. I might have considered ending your life a little less miserably."

The Head Abbot turned his back to the cages and began preaching to his fellow disciples. "Today we've all learned something new; don't try to make deals with these creatures. Nothing good ever comes from it." His tone was filled with playful mockery.

"I concur," Bai Qingyue said, keeping his tone light. The fox yawned loudly to let them know just how "troubled" he was about his impending fate.

'This little, worthless pipsqueak is acting like some sort of grand emperor!' the Head Abbot thought before falling silent in outrage. 'He has just been told that he was going to be wiped out and he–'

Before the Abbot could finish that line of thought, it wasn't the fox who retaliated, but the Weasel Demoness who kept silent during the whole verbal exchange. 

The Demoness exploded in anguish. Upon hearing that her babies had been killed for their life essence, she went mad with grief. With them gone, she had nothing left to live for. 

"I will not be appeased until all of you perish with me!" the Demoness screamed as she expanded in size and energy, tearing the cage to shreds like a flimsy birdhouse. Fighting against the sealing enchantment would cost her life, they all knew it. Her body was on the verge of collapse, but still, she struggled on. If she didn't kill every last one of them, she would never find peace in the next life.

The Head Abbot was frozen in shock by the sudden outburst. The senior priests quickly formed a human shield to protect him. 

"How did she manage to break out of the cage?!" the Head Abbot screamed.

The Weasel Demoness' fur twisted into long sharp spikes as her irises shifted to the shade of fresh blood. Her claws grew to an unnatural size, thick and sharp as daggers. She was too far gone now. Transforming into her most monstrous of forms, something she had never done before. All that remained inside her was pure vengeful energy, surging down on the huddled priests and crushing them to the ground.

That night, nearly all of the monastery's population was exterminated.

With her giant claws, she swiped through the petrified priests' flesh, spilling their entrails all over the concrete floors of the monastery. Only a few measly priests had managed to escape the Demoness' wrath, a handful of captured demons were also slaughtered in the mayhem. It was a scene of complete and utter chaos.

After killing anyone who hadn't managed to scurry away to safety, she approached the slack-jawed Abbot. Far too paralyzed by her unbreakable hold over him, the Head Abbot could see his own terrified reflection in the Weasel Demoness' bloodshot eyes. Her long, demonic body towered over him, ready to strike. In one swift motion, her enlarged mouth engulfed the Head Abbot and swallowed him whole. 

Not even one limb was left over to bury.

The Head Abbot of the Ever Eclipse monastery was dead. He would never understand how it had happened, nor who orchestrated his demise. 

Meanwhile, Bai Qingyue sat in his cage, comfortable and unfazed, as the slaughter unfolded. 

A few hours later, when all the excitement finally 'died down', Bai Qingyue cracked the cage open with a slight nudge of his snout. Once free again, he slipped off the jade bangles from his wrists and transformed into his human form. 

Gone was the silver fur, only to be replaced by pale, smooth skin. Silver hair, soft as silk, cascaded down his back. Barefoot, his lean, muscular form circled around the bloodbath. He looked no different than a fallen angel who descended into hell.

The Celestial Fox Lord unhurriedly clad his nude body in the garments of one of the less bloody disciple's clothing. The air in the monastery was thick with the stench of blood. Expectant crows swooped down and feasted on the flesh of the priests as their mangled bodies lay sprawled upon the cold stone floor. Pecking at the innards and other body parts scattered around, the crows ate heartily.

Being used to blood and carnage, Bai Qingyue was unaffected by all this. However, the stench that filled the air was already smelling rather repulsive. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he moved about the grounds.

His lustrous golden eyes scanned the area for the Weasel Demoness. Somehow, she had managed to find the discarded carcasses of her young ones and was now curled up around them, slowly dying.

Bai Qingyue made his way over to her and knelt down at her side. "I helped you achieve your revenge, but at the cost of your life. Know that I will find the man who killed your spouse and bring an end to his existence." His voice was cold and detached, but for her, it was the sound of hope. She could now take comfort in her last moments; at least those who ruined her family would suffer the same fate.

Blinking her sorrow filled eyes for the last time, the Weasel Demoness whispered her gratitude before falling into eternal slumber.

Cold and unmoved, Bai Qingyue sniffed the air and grimaced, reluctantly inhaling all the filth. 

The Demon Hunter's scent was faint, but Bai Qingyue would still be able to track him down.