?Phantom awoke the next morning with a mission in mind. Phantom crawled awkwardly out of the burrow, the task being more challenging in a humanoid form. The little fox yokai stirred, following cautiously unsure of where the Kitsune was going. Phantom turned around once out of the burrow.

  ?"We start today," Phantom communicated via the mind link, her voice firm. "You must learn to defend yourselves. Show me what you already know."

  ?The four foxes immediately demonstrated, gathering the dark element around them. Their small bodies gained a visible, metallic sheen, becoming incredibly tough and light. When the oldest fox crashed headfirst into a nearby rock, the rock split while the fox remained unharmed.

  ?Phantom conjured a pair of lethal dark arrows, holding them suspended in the air. "Can you do this?" The foxes shook their heads instantly.

  ?Phantom then infused herself, vanishing completely. "Can you do this?" Again, they shook their heads.

  ?Phantom materialized, a ripple in the air resolving into her sleek form. She felt a flash of frustration. "It should be the same method you use to reinforce your bodies. The energy is identical." She stepped forward, demonstrating the infusion process step-by-step, but the foxes could only gather the energy, never shift its function. She made them try for a while, focusing the energy outward rather than inward, but the foxes only grew tired and no closer to turning invisible. The disconnect was illogical, creating a cold mental itch she desperately wanted to scratch.

  ?Finally, she sent them back to the burrow to eat the remaining boar meat. Phantom focused on the entrance. The cramped opening felt awkward and restrictive in her semi-human form. She looked up at the towering branches. She needed a base of operations that matched her new stature.

  She used her claws to quickly clear a space in the thick upper canopy, creating a platform of interwoven branches and laid down a soft bed of leaves. As she settled in, she thought: Why did the energy turn my fox body invisible, but only reinforce theirs? For hours, she shifted from invisible to visible, growing no closer to solving the riddle. Eventually, fatigue claimed her.

  ?While Phantom slept, her mind slipped into a vivid dream. She stood in a massive, shimmering void. A huge Komodo Dragon appeared, its scales dark and radiating power. She remembered, that this was the form Agent X had once taken during their containment mission. The Komodo Dragon wasn't attacking; he was using the dark energy on sick beings, using the energy to cure them.

  Then, the scene shifted. Xander stood before her. "With dark and light energy, Phantom, it's about the intent when using it. The strongest desire behind the action dictates the outcome."

  She woke up in a cold sweat. The dream was gone, but the idea remained—a simple, powerful truth.

  She sat up, closing her eyes. Phantom focused on the dark energy, the warmth in her core. She didn't think about disappearing. Instead, she thought about her muscles expanding, her bones hardening, her entire body becoming sturdier than the ancient tree she took shelter in.

  Then she felt it. The dark energy surged, not cloaking her, but knitting itself into her physical form, reinforcing her body and boosting her raw physical capabilities. A big, proud smile spread across Phantom's face. She had discovered the missing link. She couldn't wait until the foxes were rested up to teach them what she had found out.

  ?Meanwhile, back at the human settlement, resentment was curdling into rage.

  A small, angry group of hunters gathered near the gate, attempting to rally the frightened villagers. Their leader, a broad-shouldered, furious man named Garrick, slammed a heavy leather glove onto the gate post.

  "We must put an end to this at once!" Garrick roared, gesturing wildly at the three husks still sprawled near the gate. "The demon Kitsune has already killed our King and his two Royal Knights! Who is with me?"

  The small crowd gathered started to murmur, looking nervously at the ground.

  One cautious voice spoke up: "Why don't we switch to a new commodity to sell? The forests are full of iron ore—"

  Garrick was instantly enraged. "Why should we change what we sell? Just because some beast says so?" He surveyed the crowd, his face tightening with disgust as they avoided his gaze. "If you all are too scared to do it, then stay out of our way!" He waved the three remaining hunters standing with him to follow as he headed aggressively toward the forest.

  ?Back at the ancient tree, four little foxes could be heard rustling and waking up. Phantom dropped silently from her perch and greeted the foxes via the mind link. They dipped their heads in respect, eager for the next lesson.

  Phantom immediately explained the Intent Principle she had discovered. "Focus the energy, but think about blending into the shadows, merging into your surroundings. Not hardness."

  After a few attempts, the foxes actually started succeeding in turning invisible, but only when they stayed perfectly still. Phantom clapped her hands, impressed at their progress.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  She then asked them a practical question. "How do you normally kill your prey?"

  One of the foxes explained, "When we reinforce our bodies, it includes our tail. It becomes a dense, club-like weapon for us."

  Phantom rubbed her chin, thinking of how awkward it felt just to imagine fighting with her own tail. The foxes grew tired after a while of training their new ability and went back into the burrow to rest.

  Phantom sat cross-legged on the ground outside of the burrow, focusing on her energy. What if I could combine the two techniques? Be stealthy and reinforced at the same time? She took a deep breath and began the attempt. Just as Phantom was building her energy—reinforcing her body while simultaneously pushing the intent for invisibility—the nearby bush began rustling violently.

  ?The sudden rustling of the nearby bush immediately drew Phantom's attention. She froze, maintaining the precarious balance of simultaneous Dark Infusion and Physical Reinforcement. Her body remained invisible, the shadows clinging to her like a second skin, while her muscles coiled with potential energy.

  Four human hunters pushed through the foliage, led by the furious Garrick. They moved toward the ancient tree, their torches casting bobbing, sickly yellow light across the forest floor. They were searching for any sign of the fox spirits or the Kitsune, but their eyes passed right through Phantom. The combination of her high-level dark infusion and the fact that they were expecting a shadow to move, not an invisible humanoid figure, rendered her perfectly concealed.

  The hunters spread out, their footfalls loud and clumsy. They were dangerously close to the burrow entrance. Garrick was leading the search, his eyes scanning the base of the massive trunk.

  When the first hunter stepped within arm's reach, Phantom acted. Her reinforced hand shot out, grabbing his ankle. The bone in his lower leg instantly surrendered to the crushing grip of her Kitsune strength. A loud sickening crunch can be heard followed by a sharp, high-pitched scream tore through the forest.

  The other three hunters snapped their heads toward their fallen comrade, confusion and terror freezing them in place. "What was that? Where is it?" they yelled. They began to rush over to help the first hunter, their attention completely diverted.

  In a blur of dark red fur, the four fox yokai exploded from the burrow. Moving with astonishing speed, they flipped into the air. The small, reinforced bodies of the foxes were instantly lethal. With practiced ferocity, they slammed their dense, club-like tails onto the heads of the three rushing hunters. The impact was sickeningly efficient, crushing each skull flat onto the neck.

  The three corpses dropped heavily to the ground.

  "Thank you," Phantom communicated via the mind link, releasing her grip on the first hunter. "But I would have handled it."

  The oldest fox spirit replied instantly, his tone urgent: "We figured we would take care of them so you can handle the last one. They possess the light. A true weakness."

  ?Confused, Phantom looked over at the man whose ankle she had crushed. She whirled around, stomping down hard onto the man's chest, killing him instantly and silencing his agony.

  Phantom let the shadow infusion drop, allowing herself to become visible again. She looked back at the fox, curiosity warring with concern. "This is what you were worried about?"

  The fox shook its head violently. "Does the light user evade your senses?"

  Phantom snapped her head toward the thicket, her instincts now screaming with alarm. Just shortly back from the group of foxes, completely invisible to her sight, stood the light user. He had been close enough to see the whole thing, but she could barely sense his energy.

  Garrick, the Light User, was an expert. Thinking he still held the element of surprise, he launched his attack while remaining cloaked. He swung his sword, and a devastating wave of pure golden energy shot out toward the Kitsune.

  Phantom barely sensed the incoming force in time. She threw her body into a wild whirl, the golden energy slicing through the space where she had just been. As she spun, narrowly avoiding the attack, she launched her own counter toward the source of the golden attack. She focused her intent to pierce, sending a tight beam of dark energy that managed to hit Garrick's left arm.

  Garrick became instantly visible due to the searing pain, losing his concentration. He was a veteran hunter, his face a mask of hate and shock. He quickly covered his left arm, focusing the same golden energy that had attacked her. The light energy instantly flowed through the wound, sealing it up and neutralizing the dark consumption. This active healing was a clear sign that her passive draining ability failed against this element. Garrick rushed toward the Kitsune, his golden energy covering his sword. He sliced up at Kitsune. She narrowly dodged the attack. She reinforced her fist and arm as she punched him in the stomach. Garrick slid back several feet. He floated some energy to his stomach, before charging back in.

  Phantom gritted her teeth, a cold realization sinking in: This hunter might be a problem.

  She fixed her stance, stretching out her left arm toward Garrick. She closed her fist, the Bow Glove on her hand instantly responding, and began gathering immense dark energy. Garrick recognized the charge-up sequence and dashed in without hesitation, not letting her finish her attack.

  Phantom, seeing Garrick rush in before she could fully draw the shot, felt a sudden, sharp instinct take over—flick all of the fingers out, ignore the draw. She had learned to listen to these feelings, plus she was curious to what would happen.

  Phantom did as her instincts instructed. She flicked all five fingers out on her left hand as Garrick closed the distance. As she did, instead of a single arrow, the energy exploded into several smaller, needle-like spikes. The scatter shot hit Garrick in multiple spots at once. This time, the dark energy spread slowly from several different spots at once. He was unable to focus his healing light before the dark energy took hold, slowly withering his life away. The lifeless husk of Garrick dropped to the ground.

  Phantom slowly relaxed her arms, a wave of relief washing over her that she had stopped him so quickly. She looked at the foxes, who were perfectly fine.

  The oldest fox spoke via the mind link. "Is the threat over, Phantom?"

  Phantom considered the question. "I fear the settlement might still be hostile toward you. We must check before I can leave you. I need to be sure that you will be safe after i leave."

  The fox nodded, accepting her decision. "Inari has truly blessed us with a kind and powerful hero." The fox replied via the mindlink while they followed Phantom. She smiled and was grateful that she was the hero she wanted to be to someone after all. They all moved with haste as she began moving toward the human settlement. When they arrived and saw the scene, Phantom's jaw dropped.