Wind back the clock a few minutes.

Bingbing and Momo were spitting spiritual energies at one another, wholly unconcerned about the destruction that each wave brought. Bingbing’s icy angel wings sent droves of chilling pixie dust flying in the air, plummeting the temperature by tens of degrees with each flap. Momo, on the other hand, was expertly sending out black mana out from her pores, breaking down the frosty spiritual energies and warming up her immediate surroundings.

Neither Bingbing nor Momo were physical-type Spirit Beasts that fought solely with their fists. They both affected their environments using the overwhelming elemental spiritual energies that they had. In Momo’s case, she was a master puppeteer that could take control of deceased Primordial Beasts. It was no surprise that a fight between the two Tier 9 Spirit Beasts would bring utter destruction to the land that they fought upon.

The battle raged on as neither of them wished to give in even the slightest bit. They had been trading blows for almost five minutes now, and the landscape was utterly unrecognisable. There would be a desolate wasteland separated by an ocean of melted ice. All while massive ice mountains towered over the former grasslands. It was complete pandemonium.

“Hah… Hah… Hah...” Bingbing panted heavily, her face flushed and body exceedingly hot. In that five minute exchange, almost all of her mana had been sucked dry as she fought the hardest she ever fought in her entire life. If her opponent were any other Spirit Beast, Bingbing would have frozen them into a crystal by now. However, Momo was far from any ordinary opponent.

All of Bingbing’s attacks were falling short as the Moon Rabbit asserted her dominance using the faux sanctuary she created. Bones were spiralling about like a tornado, protecting Momo from the icy powers that the Kamaitachi tried to inflict upon her. Often times, the Moon Rabbit would raise her hands, creating a new mindless minion that faithfully executed her bidding.

“Nenene… Just die already, will you?” Momo was getting frustrated. She hadn’t expected that Bingbing would put up such a tough fight, and was quickly getting impatient. The Moon Rabbit was connected to her three top minions, the ones responsible for tying down the other senior executives from the Alliance.

The rotting Giant was fighting a losing war against Zishen, and its body was on the verge of breaking apart. That was to be expected since it was a former Primordial Beast that only had a fraction of its power. Against a bona fide Spirit Beast, the Giant could only be the punching bag before its eventual collapse.

The insect and tiger were no better. Guild Master Xerxes and President Ingram weren’t easy foes, particularly since they were being enhanced by two of the world’s top auxiliary Spirit Venerates. It was only a matter of time before they faded into dust, leaving Momo all alone to fend for herself.

Naturally, the Moon Rabbit wasn’t unaware of that fact. Hence, she began to turn a little frantic. Looking deep into her soul, Momo went into the well of pure spiritual energy, one highly reminiscent to that of Ao’s back when he was still at Tier 9. It was the power bestowed upon her by the Allfather, the ace in the hole that was supposedly reserved for her advancement into the Primordial Realm.

Every corner of the Moon Rabbit’s body started to glow as a pinkish hue filled the peaceful sanctuary that she’d built. Dark mana pulsated into the air and Bingbing’s ice all melted back into water. There weren’t any cold winds anymore. No, there wasn’t any winds at all… All that remained in the atmosphere was Momo’s cheerful voice.

“Nenene, let’s end this?” With a raise of her hand, the Tier 9 Spirit Beast sent forth an endless surge of mana, forcing it to congregate into a banana shape. The dense spiritual energies stunned all those in the battlefield, the mindless corpses that Momo controlled included. They all stopped fighting and moved their eyes to gaze at the black banana shape.

And then… Something cracked.

“What’s she doing now?!” Lady Seph flapped her Iofiel Angel wings as her face filled up with concern. “Damn it, you guys take care of this! I’ll go help Bingbing!”

“Yeah, do that!” Guild Master Xerxes shouted back. “We’ll back you up in a sec!”

“...” Lady Seph didn’t even listen to the elite Spirit Venerate’s reply. She bolted right towards the snow white-haired girl, all while a translucent golden string tied her with her companion beast.

“Yipyip! Master?” Feeling the familiar mana, Bingbing turned her head towards the flying woman. All of her fatigue was quickly being washed away as her depleted mana slowly went on the rise. All of the elements were scurrying, creating an illusory fog that shrouded Bingbing from Momo’s line of sight.

“Bingbing, stay hidden!” Lady Seph sent. “You’ve done enough! I have a bad feeling about the Noble Beast’s next attack! I doubt that you can take it head-on!”

“Yipyipyip! I can still fight!” Bingbing protested, a tail breaking free from her adorable little girl bum. “I must stop anyone from disturbing Shin!”

“Don’t be foolish!” Lady Seph chided. “Don’t you remember when Shizen died? How much pain it caused Shin? If you overextend yourself like Shizen and potentially lose your life for Shin’s sake, how do you think he’ll feel?”

“Yip!” Stunned, the Tier 9 Kamaitachi froze in her tracks. The adrenaline pumping through her head froze, and the Spirit Beast was no longer willing to move a single inch.

“Yes, just stay hidden! We’ll deal with the Noble Beast now!” The blonde beauty took significant strides in protecting Bingbing and was already reaching her companion Beast’s side. However, before she could completely grab the Kamaitachi in her arms, the black banana started to shatter from the inside.

“What’s going on?”

All eyes in the battlefield, it didn’t matter if they were fighting or not, were glued to the new entity flying over Momo’s head. It was unleashing a terrifying amount of mana, one not inferior to that of any Primordial Beast or Spirit Saint. Even Zishen, the only Saint-levelled being in the area, felt apprehensive when staring at the blackened entity. And finally… Like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, the creature within the banana broke free.

Tall and grey, the being had a thick coat of fur and pure black beady eyes. Three-metre-long whiskers grew out from its adorable nose, and its face was as round as can be. However, even though it looked like a cute pet that every human would love to have, the dense, black aura surrounding its body was anything but welcoming. Anyone who dared to breathe in the same air that it did, would feel the intense pressure that was capable of crushing any mountain with ease.

“A Grey Otter?” Lady Seph raised her brows, perplexed at the new addition. Compared to the other puppets that Momo commanded, this one seemed far superior and therefore, far more dangerous. There weren’t any signs of decay on its corpse, and neither were there any visual weaknesses that the Alliance members could exploit. There was only a potent iron defence that seemed capable of protecting against even the mightiest of blows.

The Grey Otter looked down at its enemies like a dojo master examining those that entered into its school. It was frowning… Though not because of the enemies it was supposed to face, but the cell that was located just a few hundred metres away.

“Hmmm?” Once the Grey Otter appeared on the battlefield, Momo’s senses had almost quadrupled in sensitivity. She could feel every blade of grass dancing with the breeze and every bit of precipitation that fell from the heavens. And therefore…

“WHAT?!” Like the Grey Otter, Momo extended her senses towards the prison cell and was appalled at what she’d witnessed. Not even caring about Bingbing and the rest of the foes surrounding her, the pink-haired girl leapt upon the Grey Otter and surfed straight towards the open hole in the ceiling.

“YIP!!! NO, STOP HER!!!” Bingbing cried. Her moment’s distraction had given Momo a chance to bolt past her defences. Lady Seph and the other Spirit Venerates tried to stop her, but it was far too late. In a blink of an eye, the Moon Rabbit had already hopped her way towards the prison opening, giving her a good glimpse of the scene within.

Shin and the four Spirit Saints were frozen in place her companion Shiro was flashing a brilliant light at the prison walls. Usually, watching the Alliance members’ suffering was a good thing for the Noble Beast, but this time, two more beings were affected by Shiro’s power.

Gin’s face was on the verge of being melted off while Kin was crying her heart out, begging for Shiro to stop his onslaught. Momo was confused in the beginning, but her sisterly instincts instantly kicked into gear. With the lowest voice she could ever muster, the Moon Rabbit asked:

“Nenene… What are you doing to my siblings?”