Chapter 36: Mommy Rachel’s Comeback

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Mommy Rachel’s Comeback

BOOM!

Ivy’s body exploded forward, moving far beyond what any normal trained human could accomplish.

This was... the realm of superhumans.

In nearly an instant, the distance between her and the scarred man vanished, her figure becoming a streak of white mist and flashing steel.

It had been exactly two months since Ivy left the academy.

Two months since she broke up with the one person she loved the most.

Two months of relentless training after receiving the first half of the Fox Family inheritance—the inheritance she had worked so hard to earn.

Throughout those two months, she had done nothing but accumulate merit, merits that could eventually earn her the title of Main Matriarch Heir of the Fox Family.

It was precisely because of this that she had deprived herself of her lover’s touch, all because she needed to remain a virgin to learn the inheritance technique.

With that grit and motivation driving her forward, she had thrown herself into rift after rift, risk after risk, all so she could accomplish every goal she had set for herself.

Honestly, if she hadn’t met Rachel that day at Michael’s house, Ivy knew she would have been dead by now.

And yet now, the woman who had become her partner through countless rifts—even this strange, multi-layered dungeon appearing across the domes—was lying on the ground because of her carelessness.

Her jaw tightened. ’I’m going to kill this bastard!’

Ivy wanted nothing more than to take the strange man’s head right then and there, but she knew the gap in their strength was simply too great.

After all, she was still only Rank 7 (Low), with a few techniques capable of giving her the output of a Rank 7 (Peak) fighter.

But the man floating before her had shrugged off Rachel’s full suppression—a force powerful enough to pin down even a Rank 6 and wielded by someone who stood at Rank 6 (Peak).

That meant a few tricks wouldn’t be enough. If she wanted to win this, she would have to use the Fox Family’s ultimate technique.

A technique capable of briefly pushing her strength all the way to Rank 6 (Peak).

The price? Complete exhaustion for several days afterward.

But Ivy didn’t care.

If that was the price for cutting this monster down, then she was more than willing to pay it.

Ivy’s ice-wreathed blade carved toward the man’s neck with clear intent to kill.

At the last second, he twisted in midair. The blade still managed to graze his flesh, leaving a thin line of blood along his forearm.

The moment the blood appeared, frost raced into the wound and spread downward along his veins.

The man staggered a step backward, his boots scraping against the stone.

A small smile touched Ivy’s lips.

Not because of the man’s condition, but because a distant memory had suddenly flickered through her mind.

Back then, they had been thirteen years old, taking part in a survival exam.

Michael had been cute back then, with round cheeks and an adorable voice that made even his most serious words sound like a joke.

’What did he say again...?’

Her mind raced through the memory.

Michael had always had some weird quote ready whenever she needed it, usually while grinning like an idiot.

’Oh... that’s right.’ Her small smile widened by a fraction. ’Sometimes... it’s better to play the pig to eat the—’

The memory shattered instantly as a black claw suddenly swept toward her face.

Ivy leaned back with liquid grace, the tips of the claws missing her nose by barely a finger’s width.

The man’s eyes widened. "How did you—?"

Ivy didn’t answer.

She simply raised her sword high, ice mana gathering along its edge as she prepared one of the Fox Family’s standard Ice Arts.

[Flower Blossom!]

Translucent ice flowers bloomed along the length of his extended arm in the space of a heartbeat. Petals of razor-edged crystal unfurled before detonating, shards punching deep into his muscle and bone.

"Argh!" A raw scream tore from the man’s throat.

The disciples behind Ivy immediately erupted.

"Yes! That’s our Senior Sister—"

Before they could finish their praise, the man’s scream twisted into a strange kind of laughter.

The wounds on his arm sealed over with wet, unnatural speed. Flesh knitted back together, bones realigned, and he lowered the fully restored limb before actually clapping, excitement lighting up his scarred face. Bloody veins crawled across the sclera of one eye until it glowed a bright golden-red.

"Wonderful. Truly a wonderful move, princess."

The man didn’t waste a second; he lunged, his fingers reaching for her throat.

Halfway through the motion, he suddenly stopped, his knee going weak as it buckled beneath him. It felt as though an invisible mountain had been dropped onto his shoulders.

Fury raged through his eyes as he twisted his head sharply toward the source and found Rachel already on her feet, one hand outstretched, pale green light blazing around her palm.

The man clenched his jaw tightly, causing the white of his veiny eye to turn an even deeper red. "This bitch!"

He clenched his clawed fist so hard that his claws drew blood. However, the more blood that dripped from his hand, the more his muscles and veins began to bulge until a single translucent dragon wing manifested from his back.

Immediately, he launched himself straight at Rachel, claws extended. "I wanted to play with you two a little, but it seems I’ll have to kill you first!"

Rachel’s lips curved into a faint smile. "You seem to have forgotten someone."

The man’s eyes flew wide as he suddenly felt an oppressive pressure and killing intent directly above him. He quickly twisted in midair like a cat thrown from a roof, completing a full midair roll before landing hard on the ground and shoving himself upright just in time to see Ivy pulling her sword free from the exact spot where his head had been a second earlier.

He glanced frantically left and right. The Fox Family disciples had now regained their composure and closed ranks, with the melee fighters forming the front line while the mages behind them were already chanting their spells.

His gaze snapped toward his own men "What are you fools doing? Get up and—"

The words died in his throat.

His three subordinates, whom he had thought were freed after knocking Rachel out, were still in the exact same positions, pinned to the ground with bloodless faces, unable to move even a finger.

His gaze slowly shifted back toward Rachel.

The earlier gut punch that should have crippled a pregnant woman had left no lasting mark. She stood perfectly straight, breathing evenly, with her glasses once again perched neatly on her nose.

Even Ivy had to turn toward Rachel, her eyes widening as she tried to figure out what the hell was happening.

Rachel covered a quiet chuckle with her hand, the elegant gesture completely out of place on a battlefield "Did you really think that weak little punch could do anything meaningful?"

The man’s golden-red eye narrowed to a slit. "So you were playing with me."

Rachel stepped forward and activated her ability. The suppression force doubled, then tripled, sending the scarred man crashing to his knees as bones creaked beneath the immense pressure.

She looked down at him the way a teacher might look at a particularly disappointing student, then shook one finger at him.

"No, no. As my dearest once said—I was simply playing the pig to eat the tiger."

She took another step closer, and the suppression force increased with each movement. Cracks raced across the man’s shoulders as capillaries burst beneath his skin, painting dark spiderwebs across his neck and cheeks.

Rachel’s voice remained soft, almost conversational.

"I won’t lie. You are stronger than anyone I expected to meet inside a Babylon-class rift. But I’m not weak either. The reason you lost is because you made the same mistake my dear sister made earlier—looking down on your opponent."

The force spiked one final time, and multiple bones shattered with wet pops as blood vessels ruptured in a grotesque cascade. Only then did Rachel release the technique.

The man collapsed onto his side, his body already beginning to wither as whatever dark energy had sustained him leaked away.

Both Ivy and Rachel’s faces turned grim.

"This is..."

One of the Fox Family disciples stepped forward and carefully examined the body before speaking.

"Senior Sister, I think it’s best if we leave here as soon as possible."

The elderly man glanced toward the corpses of the man’s subordinates, which had also begun to wither. "Because whatever person was controlling this man is something we cannot afford to go against."

Ivy nodded in understanding. "Then we’ll do as you say."

She turned toward her brother. "The teleportation circle is done, right? Prepare to leave."

The teenage boy, perhaps sixteen or seventeen, scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Actually... about that..."

He hesitated. "It seems the teleportation rune has stopped working."