"Th-the enemy!" A fiery haired Fox spirit stood up. The fire grew bright as nine tails swooshed behind her. She lifted her hand and pointed at Lee seng, as if she was charging an attack. She fired it straight at Lee Seng, who was knocked backwards, landing on the ground.
"Enough!" General Halys ordered.
"Sir, that's the monster we've been watching for the last month! I'm sure of it! It isn't Lee Seng, it's something else!" Cori argued.
"Oh, shit." Valen cursed in Fox tongue. He turned to help Lee Seng when he felt Cori's heated finger point at him.
"It must've taken Valen! We cannot take any chances!" Cori shouted.
"Stand down, now!" General Halys shouted. "That's an order." Cori gritted her teeth and lowered her fiery finger.
"Lee!" Evan turned and moved over to Lee Seng. "Are you okay?"
"Man, that could've been worse." Lee Seng sat up. Cori's angry eyes tried to burn them through Lee Seng's head.
"Are you okay, Lee Seng?" Ritsuka asked, watching Cori.
"I'm fine." Lee Seng replied. Evan stuck his hand out and helped Lee Seng up.
"Take a good look, everyone. Doesn't this rag tag team look too specific to reproduce with the monsters?" General Halys asked. Ysa frowned, folding her arms together. She had instantly noticed the difference but it seemed like Cori didn't.
"Is it really him, though, General? What if he's a fake?" Cori asked, clearly still not wanting to accept what she had done was clearly wrong. General Halys motioned at Lee Seng.
"Then let's ask him ourselves." General Halys suggested. "Who are you and can you prove you aren't a fake?"
"How're you supposed to answer that?" Evan whispered to Lee Seng. Lee Seng patted Evan and moved to the front, stopping where Valen was.
"Long story short, I tried to confront the Creator about everything and unveiled the Failed Ones in the process; learning there was one inside of me the whole time and technically died and caused the climate to literally change because I was revived by Keng and forced into [Cultivation II] because of it." Lee Seng summarized.
"Cultivation 2!" Fennec squealed excitedly. He stood up and went over to Lee Seng. The eight tailed Fox Spirit grabbed Lee Seng's arm and jumped up and down. "I can't believe you achieved it."
"The way he did it was… quite… sad." Ysa commented.
"Well, Keng's not entirely gone, right?" Valen asked Lee Seng. "If he was… you, uh, wouldn't be here… right?" Lee Seng nodded.
"Have you started gathering souls?" Fennec asked.
"I can't start until Keng's out of his egg." Lee Seng answered. He looked at General Halys. "That's basically the gist of things. Can we get to business? What's all this about? Chrono didn't tell me what I was doing."
"Told you she didn't tell him anything." Fennec looked at the two other Fox Spirits. "Chrono doesn't tell anyone anything. She just pops in and then disappears again. It's rare she even shows up to catch up with any of us.
"Someone sounds upset." Cori casually jabbed at Fennec with her words after letting the situation go.
"I'm not upset. I'm just… disappointed." Fennec planted himself next to Cori. Cori chuckled as they all turned to look at General Halys.
"Well… it certainly seems like you've had a rough time." General Halys empathized with Lee Seng. "But things might get more complicated. Take a seat, everyone. We got a lot to talk about." Valen motioned the group of four over and quickly gathered four chairs from around the room. He sparked with electricity, smirking at the group before turning his attention to the General.
"I'm glad you could all come to us." General Halys started as soon as the group sat. "Chrono's skill set would've been nice here, but your abilities might do the trick." He scooted forward in his seat and pointed on the map. "Ever since the lab exploded, there's been strange sightings of humanoid monsters. And these monsters, who would've thought, are intelligent enough to tactically maneuver many of them around. At this point, we've been seeing an influx of monsters entering but never leaving. On closer investigation, some Fox Spirits have felt very familiar energy emanating from the home."
"That's why you attacked me." Lee Seng commented.
"If anyone felt and saw what I saw, they would do the same." Cori replied, not apologizing.
"It's dangerous since it's… a version of you we're unsure of. I hope you know what to expect?" General Halys asked.
"He practically has all of my powers so it'll be hard trying to infiltrate and get the sneak on him." Lee Seng sighed.
"We could use the Shadows to hide." Ritsuka suggested.
"If he can feel the way I can feel, it'll be hard to a certain degree."
"If the other you has your powers and skills, would that mean you're… powerless?" Cori asked.
"Cori!" Ysa spoke loudly. She turned to face the fiery haired Fox Spirit, who coldly glared at Lee Seng.
"What? Did I say anything wrong? If that monster took all of his powers, wouldn't you be useless?" Cori looked at the other Fox Spirits. "We should've gotten Chrono's help. Her stealth and Fox abilities are second-to-none."
Lee Seng lifted his hand out and a fire appeared. The fire grew, turning into a mini-sun as the energy began to grow complicated. Fire rings spewed from the mini sun and heat pushed into the room. Lee Seng swatted at the sun and turned it into lava, pulling it onto his hands and arms. He snapped his fingers and a bright light flashed. The light dimmed in an instant and there was nothing but a strange energy dancing in Lee Seng's body.
"Clear your doubts?" Lee Seng asked Cori. She sneered, letting flames escape her mouths.
"I can do that too." Lee Seng blew some fire out of his mouth and smiled. "If the other me is here than that means they traveled here recently… That means they'll probably have a couple of places he's familiar with teleporting to." He looked to his friends.
"And if he's creating portals to move monsters in and out from this area… That must mean he can easily—"
Cori was off her chair. The flames grew hot and everyone watched as she ran across the table, not singeing the map. She lowered her body, swinging her leg straight for Lee Seng, who pushed his chair backwards and fell. He crashed onto the ground, rolling backwards as Cori jumped off the table and lit her fist on fire and swung at Lee Seng. Lee Seng rolled out of the way, listening to Cori's fist land. She swung her tails at Lee Seng, knocking him away from her.
Lee Seng bounced on the ground, rolling straight into a wall. He grunted, pushing himself up onto his feet. Cori wasn't letting him up.
"Shouldn't we do anything?" Evan asked.
"Just let them fight." General Halys sighed. "I guess she needs more convincing." He didn't seem surprised by what was happening.
Lee Seng dodged the punch, lighting his fist and going for Cori's chest. Flames blasted out of her body, pushing Lee Seng away as the flames caught on the bookshelves. Ysa sighed and waved her hand, moving the bookshelves away.
"She never worries about what's around her…" Ysa complained. "If it weren't for us needing this place, I would let her deal with the repercussions." Lee Seng backflipped away from Cori, landing and letting the flames dance around his hands.
"Rah…!" Cori growled. "All you know how to do is run away? How are you going to deal with the other you if you're this weak?" She conjured a fireball and tossed it at Lee Seng. Lee Seng stepped forward, swatting the flames away expecting Cori to rush him. Cori wasn't there. She had disappeared from his sight.
Lee Seng's eyes glanced left and right, ducking as Cori flickered into existence, kicking the air. Lee Seng's flame ignited, growing into a dagger as he swung for Cori's leg. Cori blinked, flames dissipating in an instant. Cori reappeared to the side of Lee Seng, grabbing him and picking him up and tossing him opposite to their peers.
"Let me show you the difference between me and you, pipsqueak! This is the power of a real Fox Spirit! Blue Flame Devil Punch!" Cori launched herself at Lee Seng, right fist igniting in blue and white flames.
"H-hey, that doesn't look good! We should stop it!" Ritsuka stood up.
"Just wait." Calis told Ritsuka. His arms were folded and he was carefully watching hte fight. "It's going to be over soon."
"For Lee Seng! We should—"
"I wouldn't interfere with that if I were you." Valen warned Ritsuka and the others. "Cori's Blue Flame Devil Punch is deadly if more people get involved."
"You should stop them then if it's so dangerous!" Ritsuka shouted. Valen's eyes gleamed with interest.
"Just watch, Ritsuka or you'll miss it." Calis nudged Ritsuka. Ritsuka turned his attention to the fight and watched as Cori's blue flame fist flew straight for Lee Seng. A smile cracked on Lee Seng's face.
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