After a short while, the sizzling, wispy snaps of burning finally ceased. Granny held out her staff again and gently drew an imaginary sphere in the air. She used a small amount of Mana to cast an incantation which acted against the glaring heat that had risen into the air.

A small grey cloud conjured beneath the outstretched helm of her staff. Seconds passed, and heavy rain began pouring out from the black cloud.

The decayed and burning land sizzled beneath the cooling embrace. The magma quickly hardened into an uneven, callous-looking ground. Once the fires and white smoke had lifted away, a frown creased against her face, seeing the glossy grey rocky hill, now in place of her once luscious grass-covered hillside.

"Finally," she exhaled a soft breath, feeling the gathered tension racing through her bones, finally dispersing away. But she felt weak, frail, and very spent. Granny's gaze lazily combed over the terrain. The last wisps of silvery smoke rose and vanished into the air.

Suddenly, her accursed golden eye flashed open. Something stirred in the corner of her eye. Towards the tall standing oak, it was, where the two children were still soundly asleep. Toto was beginning to regain consciousness, and by now, the little gryphon had freed itself and was trying to nudge Demoria awake.

Something else caught her attention. Something was wrong. What had she missed?

As she peered into the tussle of leaves above, she quickly noticed a shadowy figure lurking. Slowly, the creature steadied itself along the thin branch, emerging away from the shadows and into the sunlight.

A sleek-furred feline, shaped like an adult-sized leopard, emerged. A soft growl crackled against the warm air while small puffs of warm breaths steadily breathed through its slightly opened maw. Granny felt a stiffness gather in her staff-wielding arm. On the cusp of firing another Mana missile, her eye locked onto three glowing emerald eyes unearthing open.

"Three eyes... is that?" Her thoughts shifted towards the memory of that tiny kitten she remembered perched on the shoulder of that masked fellow.

The more she observed it, the more she was sure that little strange-eyed cute thing was the same cat. She sensed something that drew her attention away from the Panther—the sounds of a forceful eruption from the glossy dark rocks covered in jagged stones.

A hand broke free, a shivering hand, with the might to physically pull the rest of his body away from the ground. Granny saw his body set ablaze, and yet he was practically unscathed, albeit his countenance was a complete mess.

Besides missing his trench coat, the masked fellow was practically as good as new again.

"Why—how did you—"

"Bah! That wasn't very sportsmanlike. Tsk! Without my cute friend over there, I might've died," he said, stretching his arms. At that moment, Granny moved her eye towards the three-eyed Panther . Her golden eye whirred, and a bright golden light traced the outline of the strange creature.

Race : {Prince of the Three-eyed Mink Clan—Black Cat}

Rank: N/A

Demeanour: Dangerous

"That Mana signature? It's just like those strange clothes he's wearing," her dark passenger reminded him.

"A magical artefact?" She abruptly spoke

"Oh, you've finally noticed," the masked fellow said, rising gingerly to his staggering feet.

"Kekeh, I feel somewhat dishonest admitting this, but the only reason I felt remotely comfortable appearing before you like this, dear Rank 5 Arcanist, was because of that thing over there." He pointed toward the three-eyed Panther and Granny returned her concerned gaze towards the strange creature, lounging against the stiff branch.

'That little feline from beforehand?'

'How did it grow so big?'

The layers of mysteries continued to pile on top of one another, and at the same time, she understood very well she couldn't allow her mind to lose track of these fellows for even a moment.

{Prince of the Three-eyed Mink Clan—Black Cat}

"The Three-eyed Mink Clan is considered one of the rarest clans of beasts, just behind the Cyan Dragon race. Ah—you wouldn't believe the trouble I went through to acquire a cub. Did you know these things only breed once every 400 years? And don't get me started on my experience dealing with the mother... sigh... You thought dragons were bad! Ha! Try fighting a fully grown three-eyed black-furred Mink."

Across the realms, where countless creatures thrived in a forever-changing ecosystem, among these beasts, there were five known beast clans, heralded as the rare five:

The Phoenix Clan

The Cyan Flood Dragon Clan

Three-eyed Mink Clan

The Four-tailed Tri-Colored Fox Clan

And the White-Furred Four-eared Ape Clan

Granny couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. In all her years as an active adventurer, never had she even gotten a sniff of a high-ranking member of the Three-eyed Mink Clan. One would know the hierarchy of these fellows by the colour of their coats.

'This is getting ridiculous. I've had it. It's time to go all out.'

Granny swallowed the gathered spit down her throat before exhaling a relaxed breath in a calm cadence. She held her hand towards her floating grimoire and slowly began closing the thick book. Once the golden lights shimmered away, Granny held the book by its spine and slowly raised it above her head.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Wait, I know what that look means," he pleaded from afar.

"And while such a response is quite warranted, given my devious behaviour, I must appeal to that tiny bit of humanity deep inside you. So, whatcha say?"

Everything seemed to fall still, as though the air had been momentarily frozen. Granny tilted her head to one side, and with a sadistic smile, she said

"Book. Last Volume!"

A loud howl sent a baleful aura skyrocketing into the air. Dark, tiny, slimy hands writhed away from between the thick pages, crawling down the inside of her robes before latching onto her skin. A grimace appeared across her face, feeling the uncomfortable sensation of her blood being forcefully drunk.

A surge of thick, carmine liquid, red as blood, began bubbling around her grimoire. Granny didn't hesitate and forcefully cast a one-time incantation, which unlocked her grimoire. Her only grievance was the price she would have to pay. Most of her life force would be fed to the spell since she didn't possess nearly the level of Mana to sustain an incantation without her intent going wild.

"OK! So, you're serious about this... tsk! Very well—Oh! Well, well, looks like our time has ended," he said with a sudden level of coolness. Granny never wilted and continued allowing her life force to steadily be drawn away from her body while she neared the completion of her magic.

Watching the masked fellow lifting his head towards something in the sky past her, Granny's willow-white brows narrowed. Still riding on the back of her golden owl, she lifted her head slightly. Nothing but the empty azure skies greeted her. She sensed the intent of another ploy, so she swiftly lowered her eyes towards him again.

"What nonsense were you spouting just now?" she almost growled in disdain.

"Ah! Well... I told you my intentions for coming here, didn't I? Well, surprise! I was lying, hahaha—you probably worked that out by now. Bah! Thinking of these one-liners is such hard work, but no matter. It's time for me to tag myself out." He performed a ceremonial bow.

"You see, there was a reason I felt confident telling and showing you a little of what I can do. Honestly, all the skills you've seen thus far were some of the things I only picked up on the way here today, haha—how crazy is that?" His voice was still stuck in those childish mannerisms, but Granny did not take those words lightly.

"Answer me!" Her voice created a shockwave that caused the air to rumble.

"My-my, Dear Granny Baba, it's unlike you to lose your cool like this. But fear not... look. That thing has come."

Granny felt something arriving suddenly. She almost couldn't believe it. One moment, she sensed nothing; the next...

"Wait! What kind of aura is—"

Before she could finish her thoughts, she felt power being stripped away from her bones. Granny's eyes flashed wide. Her barrier was suddenly breached. Not many things could do that, but the reality was apparent.

Then she saw a ripple in the air, a small greyish crack against the empty air. The sound of something being forcefully pulled upon waned against her ears. Two tiny blue hands could be seen forcefully prying the small tear apart, widening this inconceivable rift between the atmosphere.

Granny had never seen anything like this, stuck between sheer horror and genuine marvel. Her heart began to race, her mind reeling with the implications of what she was witnessing. A tear in the very fabric of reality, a portal to some unknown realm beyond the ken of mortal understanding.

'What madness is this?' she thought, her grip tightening around her staff as she watched the rift widen, the blue hands straining to pull it apart.

The rift had gotten more extensive, and a pair of tiny blue hands finally appeared, followed closely by the arrival of a strange blue-skinned creature no more significant than the size of a toddler. With utterly smooth skin, its humanoid body was covered in silver and white veins.

It almost rolled out of the rift before hovering just above the tiny shimmering grey matter, slowly dissolving back into the regular azure backdrop. It carried a round head and two innocent almond-shaped pairs of clear eyes. Two sharply tipped ears propped adorably on its helm, which it immediately began to massage just before it started to observe its new surroundings curiously.

'What the hell is that thing?'

'I... I don't know... but one thing I'm sure of...'

She felt it even before it revealed itself.

That thing was no less weak than a beast at a monarch's rank. To put things into perspective, the most challenging race of dragons one could ever hope never to come across is the red-scaled, iron-horned dragons. A very long time ago, Granny was forced to accompany a high-level party to subdue an infant that had gone around burning cities to the ground.

That thing was at the early stages of a Monarch's rank. And it took the might of 4 S-class adventurers and two Rank 4 Arcanists to kill it after 72 hours of battle. The thought of her being almost sure this helpless-looking thing was more substantial than that sent a cold chill running throughout her body.

"Right, now that terror has arrived, I'll take my leave." The masked figure swiftly spoke.

Hearing that voice broke her away from her daydream of horror. She moved her gaze towards the masked fellow halfway sinking into a strange shimmering puddle of clear water. Halfway through it, he removed his top hat and bade farewell.

"Try not to hold it against me, Granny Baba, but that thing has been chasing me for months. Hahaha, I do hope you can rid me of it. Bye-bye now."

He was gone, just like that. Granny swiftly steadied her mind; she had another bigger problem to contend with right now. She never would've banked on facing that thing in the sky right now.

'I should've prepared... tsk!'

'There's no use mulling over the past. We have to kill it. Let's hope it's an infant in its thinking.'

Suddenly, she felt a dangerous feeling descending upon her. The creature finally noticed her presence. Its innocent gaze locked onto her, carrying a heavy weight of dread behind those pairs of large fountain-blue eyes. Filled with a dangerous innocence.

Perhaps because of its infancy, the creature was yet to understand how to control the deep power sleeping in its bosom. Since Granny felt beads of sweat continuously rolling down her face as waves of intent continued pouring out from its tiny body.

'Shit!'

'This isn't good.'

"Auuah? Oooua, Uah! Uua Ua!" It blabbered with a hint of innocence, its large eyes almost seeming to stare into her soul. Granny didn't like this feeling. She was on the verge of casting magic when the little blue creature suddenly yelled exuberantly.

"Ouah! Ouah! Ouah! OUUUUAAAAA!"

Suddenly, a baleful aura almost plummeted down from above. The air shook vehemently as though the world's end had arrived. Granny's intent naturally skyrocketed in response. Her entire mana was exhausted. Barely keeping her sanity in check.

Granny's dark passenger took over, her golden eye swirling with a burning madness. She roared into the heavens abruptly, knowing the only way to repel such a raw amount of negative energy was with her intent. Only a fully grown Monarch-ranked creature could cause such a distortion within the atmosphere.

At that very moment, Granny finally realized this would be one of the most challenging fights she had ever had.

"Heh-heh... fine then, let us see which of us will fall today."

Amid the impending battle, Granny captured a smoky voice almost drifting directly into her ears. That voice from the departed Masked fellow. And he spoke after the chorus of laughter finally ended.

"And so, die all, who stand against... Yama ."