Chapter 150

[Third Person's PoV] 

Alpha and the Deadly Sins all appeared in the old facility where Claire was once held captive.

"It's nice to see this place hasn't changed a bit," Epsilon said teasingly.

Delta sniffed the air. "I smell bossu!" She dropped to all fours and started running toward the scent.

The others looked confused but followed her, trusting her keen sense of smell.

Delta stood by a large wooden door and scratched it with her hands like paws.

"Delta, I don't detect anyone there," Alpha said.

Delta puffed out her chest. "Of course you can't. It's bossu. No one can detect him if he doesn't want to be found, but Delta can smell him," she said with a grin.

Alpha nodded and opened the door, finding piles of gold coins.

Delta walked toward the bags of coins and nudged them sadly. "Bossu?"

"Stupid mutt, what you were smelling wasn't our master. It was his lingering scent," Zeta scoffed.

Delta growled at Zeta before lunging at her. The two rolled on the ground, wrestling.

"Stop," Alpha commanded.

They froze, each with the other's hair in their hands and their fangs bared. Delta grumbled and got off, while Zeta scoffed and stood up, dusting herself off.

Alpha turned to Gamma. "Send the money to Nu. She'll know what to do."

Gamma nodded as her shadow expanded and consumed all the money. "Nu is a good choice as a substitute while we're absent. She's smart and has been shadowing me for a while, so she'll definitely know what needs to be done. Not to mention, our husband has a certain fondness for her, so it works."

Alpha nodded in agreement before calling for Bellion. Bellion soon appeared and asked if they were ready.

Alpha and the others nodded, while Eta leaned on Zeta, fast asleep. Bellion surrounded them in his shadow, and they all appeared in Cid's shadow realm.

"Woah…" Beta said, looking at the giant statue of Cid being polished by some of the Shadow soldiers.

There was also a giant black castle with an ominous presence.

"Where are we?" Zeta asked, looking around.

"We are in our lord's shadow, in other words, the shadow realm, where I will be training you all," Bellion said, hand on his sword.

"Here, time works differently. We can spend days training, while only seconds pass in real time. Apart from training, we will try to get you all to attain the same level of power as the gods themselves."

"Huh?" they all said at the same time.

Bellion sighed. "You all have the blood of a Monarch running through your system. Even with that, you are all still so weak. Haven't any of you ever wondered why?"

"We're not weak," Delta grumbled.

Bellion unleashed his pressure, causing them to struggle to breathe. "You can't even handle a hint of my aura, so by that definition, you are all still weak."

"So, as I was saying… You all have the blood of a Monarch coursing through your veins. So far, you have gained immortality and the ability to use a bit of his shadow, but do you truly believe that's all the blood of a Monarch can accomplish?"

"That seems like enough…" Beta muttered.

Bellion scoffed and clenched his fist. "It seems you still don't know what a Monarch truly is. A Monarch is the pinnacle of existence. They are the law of the universe brought to life, and you, who have his blood and essence coursing through you, should have powers no less than the gods themselves!"

They all looked at their hands in amazement. Epsilon raised her hand. "Does that mean we can become goddesses?"

Bellion nodded. "And I expect no less from those who will be known as the Wives of our Monarch."

They all gained excited expressions upon hearing that. "We're ready for your training, Sir Bellion," they shouted, saluting.

Bellion smirked and nodded. "Good. Now let's begin… First things first… Getting rid of your mortality."

"Eh?"

…

Cid was sitting up on a branch, leaning against a tree and swinging his feet to the side as he watched the snow fall, painting the ground with its white colors.

From opposite ends, Yukime and Gettan appeared, each walking slowly toward the other, meeting in the middle.

"Just before the credit collapse, someone made a very large withdrawal of money. Thinking they were suspicious, I went to investigate, and imagine my surprise..." Gettan withdrew his katana and shouted in anger, "...that you were involved in this mess, YUKIME!"

Yukime held a closed fan near her mouth, then opened it to cover the bottom half of her face. "I have longed for this day for a very long time, Gettan. The Union is already done for. You should have given up, Gettan," she said, narrowing her eyes.

Gettan laughed loudly. "HA! You're not telling me this is for revenge, is it!? If I steal the money back from you bastards, we can still get the Union back on its feet!" he yelled, taking a fighting position and aiming his sword at her.

The two charged at each other, and in one quick maneuver, passed each other. Yukime stretched out her hand, her fan dripping with blood, while Gettan was on one knee, holding his bleeding chest.

"What!" Gettan exclaimed in surprise, coughing up blood.

A magic aura began to form around Yukime, her hair and tail swaying, giving her a majestic appearance. She flicked her fan, wiping it clean of blood, and pointed it back at Gettan.

"Ever since the day I was saved, I have spent my time training, improving my abilities to the point where I am no longer the naive little girl I once was. I no longer need anyone's protection."

Yukime held her fan over her chest to the side. Her ears were longer, and her fangs and nails had grown. Bluish markings appeared on her face as her magical aura intensified.

"Take a good look, Gettan. This is the true appearance of the Fox Spirit Tribe. Against the current me, you have no chance of winning!" she snarled.