After getting back from Detroit, we received news of people going missing in Sunrise Park and apparently that’s the kinda thing that gets investigated. Due to magic residue being found at the scene, we are handling it. The MFBI places magical wards on all mundane law enforcement badges that notify them of such residues.

I caught flashes of tooth and claw as whatever was responsible for the attacks was magical enough to cloud my psychometry. All I knew was that some number of beasts were infesting the forest doing something to people.

After telling Olivia what little I knew, we entered the forested park in the center of Sunset City.

After twenty minutes of walking, we entered a clearing near the center of the park.

After turning in place and taking in the surrounding trees, “You want the good news or the bad news?”

“Let’s go with the good news.”

“I found what’s causing the disappearances.” I told my partner.

“And the bad news?”

With a touch of unease in my voice, “The skulk of tailed foxes eating those who pass through the park now surrounds us.”

With a chuckle in hers, “That seems like good news to me. Now we don’t have to go looking for the perpetrators.”

“That’s what I like about you, always looking on the bright side.” I said before prepping for the battle to come.

The tailed foxes stepped from the shadows revealing foxes of various pastel colors and number of tails.

Due to our skillsets, it was decided that Olivia would take the pastel pink four tailed suspected leader, while I would take the one to three tailed subordinates.

Olivia faced the four tails holding up a spear and aspis.

The four tails charged her in a zigzag pattern before splitting in two. As Olivia did not know if the fox truly split, created one illusion, or created two, she had no choice but to assume both were real and look out for a hidden third. She blocked the left one with her shield and pierced the right with her spear.

Unfortunately, both passed through her armaments like the weapons were not even there, mainly because the foxes were the ones not there. The real fox was behind her with its tail acting as a spear headed towards her back.

Olivia’s instincts saved her at the last moment though and she pivoted. Instead of piercing her heart, the spear shred through the back of her armor and left a large gash across her shoulders. Her chest armor fell off. As a result, the next time an attack reached her would likely be fatal.

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The fox pulled the same maneuver again, only this time came in from the side. The fox overestimated its wit and underestimated Olivia’s though. Olivia had the same response as she still did not know what is real and what is fake. Only this time the second the foxes passed through her armaments; she swept her spear three hundred sixty degrees around herself. The fox’s head and throat were bisected into top and bottom. The four tails was a clever beast, but a beast all the same it was.

Meanwhile I quickly dispatched my opponents as my way of perceiving the world plus my intertwined body state made me practically immune to all but the most powerful of illusions. Take away illusions and low tailed foxes are virtually helpless. The grass in the clearing was turned to spikes using the bones accumulated over the centuries in the ground and my newest ring. That move killed all the one and two tailed foxes, leaving only a handful of three tails. Those were taken care of by holy water bullets.

I proceeded to feed all the tailed foxes to The Mentalism Ring, strengthening its illusion capabilities. One mildly concerning event was that a blond two tailed fox boosted my illusion capabilities way more than it should have.

“Ready to get going.” My partner asked.

“Yep.” I said before dropping to my knees due to a vision forcing its way inside my skull.

It was a tall, emaciated woman with golden hair a Rapunzel level of length. She had white paper covered in blood red kanji rolled up into balls inside her mouth, nostrils, and ear canals. She wore a blindfold made of the same paper covering her eyes and keeping the paper balls ears, nose, and mouth. There were chains completely wrapping her body leaving no inch of body unexposed and stakes driven through all nine of her tails.

“This will be remembered.” The figure whispered in my mind.

Even the slightest whisper from someone so powerful, even as suppressed as she was, was deadly to my interconnected state. My fruit got turned into mush, my stem grew cracks all along it, and all my apples dissipated.

Olivia rushed up to me, “OH MY GOD!!! Are you alright?!”

“I’m gonna need to have a several day coma, but I’ll be fine. Well as long as you put all the tiny red crystal in the pouch hanging around my neck on my bare skin after I pass out.”

With that I shambled up to our car and threw myself into the backseat. I promptly passed out and woke up from my several day coma tucked into my bed. Olivia, such a sweetheart.

Current Equipment:

Head:

[The Black Wasp Jackal’s Face]

Earrings:

[]

Necklace:

[The Energy Baron’s Stomach]

Clothes:

[]

Rings:

[The Mentalism Ring]

[Succubus’ Kiss]

[Mena’s Book]

[Matthew’s Water]

[Orpheus’ Melody]

Bracelets:

[]

Shoes:

[]

Armaments:

[Sacrificial Scarf]

[Beastly Heart]

Storage:

[Various Essences]

[Chi Organ]

[Spirit Shards]

[Various Murder Weapons]

[Green Thumb]

[Glass Eye]