Knowing that she needs to replace the energy she burned, I start pulling food out of my pouch. When Asuna sees the food she whines a little, so I provide her with a second breakfast as well. It will actually help her replenish her mana so I am not too worried about it.

Once she is done eating Lizzy takes a nap, so I spend some time playing with Asuna. Since she is low on mana I keep it simple and not too strenuous. When Lizzy wakes up from her two hour nap she looks much more energetic.

"Feeling better, Lizzy?"

Lizzy says "Yes, thank you. I am ready to go."

"Alright, let's go then. But there is no need to rush, let's take it easy."

Once I am mounted we start heading south at a nice easy pace that won't strain Lizzy. While she could go faster, I don't see a reason to push things, at least for today. Tomorrow, barring any complications, we can get back to normal speed.

We stay at a nice steady pace until we stop and make camp, then we have dinner. Instead of continuing on after eating I decide to let Lizzy get some extra sleep. This way I can be absolutely sure that she has recovered her energy reserves.

Lizzy doesn't even try to argue with me and goes straight to sleep as soon as she is done eating. Asuna isn't tired at all and since she has recovered her mana I spend some time helping her practice. After setting up some targets I have her take her time and aim properly before firing.

"Take your time to aim, don't worry about being quick, speed will come with practice."

Asuna says "Okay, dad!"

With just an hour's practice Asuna's aim has improved by leaps and bounds. Her biggest problem is that every time she scores a hit she gets excited and misses the next one. This is understandable, after all she is still just a child, so I am not too hard on her.

When Asuna is finally tired we both curl up with Lizzy and go to sleep. In the morning, after a big breakfast, we head south at a much faster pace. After we cross another set of hills I start noticing that we are being watched.

"Lizzy, do you see them?"

Lizzy says "No, but I can smell them."

"Do they smell like foxes?"

Lizzy says "Yes, they do."

"Then we must have entered their territory. If they suddenly jump out at us, don't kill them."

The further south we move the more watchers there are, but they don't do anything else. Then we come over a hill and spot their camp, several dozen tents arranged in a circle. There are almost a hundred beastmen in the camp, all looking at us.

We slowly ride down the hill, as we do the watchers start coming out of hiding. Adding them to those in the camp there are over two hundred members of the fox tribe. As we ride closer to the camp, the beastmen move aside and open a path to the center of the camp.

In the center of the camp is a tent that is much larger than the others. The camp has been cleared of snow, so once we pass the boundary Asuna gets off her sled and walks. When we stop in front of the tent the flap opens and a woman emerges.

She has bright red hair and nine red fox tails dancing along behind her as she walks out. When I first see her two thoughts cross my mind, she is sexy and dangerous! I can see heat waves in the air all around her, she must be a fire type fox mana beast.

Her every movement as she walks out of the tent makes my heart beat a little faster. As she steps towards us I dismount from Lizzy to meet her on equal footing. When I look at her again I realize that she is just as tall as I am, she is looking me right in the eye.

As soon as I meet her gaze I can tell that there are no human thoughts or emotions behind them. While her red, slanted eyes are quite beautiful, they are those of a beast. When she looks at me, all she sees is a potential threat, or possibly prey.

Muyaun says "So, I take it you are the one who thinks he is qualified to be the Beast King?"

"My name is Ash, and no I'm not qualified. Yet, I will be the Beast King."

Muyaun says "My name is Muyaun, chieftain of the Fox tribe. Have you come to subjugate my tribe?"

"No, I am actually here to hunt a rabbit type mana beast."

Muyaun says "I know the beast you speak of. We consider it a delicacy. What is your interest in it?"

"I need to hunt a single female beast with a mass equal to a human."

Muyaun says "That is a very specific target. What is the reason that you need it?"

"I need its heart to save a friend of mine."

Muyaun says "That is the only reason you are here?"

"That's right."

Muyaun says "Would you be interested in making a deal?"

"That would depend on the deal."

Muyaun says "I will swear my tribe to you and help you find your rabbit."

"And what do you want in exchange?"

Muyaun says "I want her!" and points at Asuna.

Instantly I step between the two of them and draw Blitz, at the same time Lizzy moves to my side. She looks around at all the beastmen and starts hissing angrily at them. The beastmen look intimidated and back away, but Muyaun doesn't look worried at all.

"I will kill you and destroy your entire tribe before I let you lay a single finger on her!!"

Muyaun says "I don't want to hurt her. I want her to become my daughter and successor!"

Asuna says "No! I won't leave daddy!!"

Muyaun finally has a reaction, she looks angry, and her body blurs as her form shifts. She looks just like Asuna, only red, and she is just a little bit bigger than Asuna. Once she is in her natural form her body is wreathed in translucent black flames.

Muyaun says "Foolish child! If that is the case then I will just kill him!"

Her nine tails snap towards me and before I can dodge I am hit by a ball of black flames. Each of her nine tails threw a small ball, but before they reached me they all merged together. The fireball hits me in the chest and burns right through my tabard, but doesn't hurt my armor.

In fact, when the fireball touches my armor it seems to just disappear. I don't even feel any heat from it before it is gone, the armor completely blacked it. Since I got the armor from an angel I am guessing that the black flame is something unholy.

Muyaun says "What?! How?! What is that armor?!"