As the tail hovers over the team, Mira and Lisa take aim. Suddenly, electrical currents crackle around it, sending shocks that paralyze everyone except Lisa, though the surge redirects her attack. The tail drops to the ground, then flops away, attempting to flee. Meanwhile, the fox charges toward them. Knowing it’ll go after the tail first, Wyn urgently tells Lisa to pursue it.

  The paralyzing effect lasts only a few seconds, just enough time for Wyn to quickly erect a tall wall, anticipating the fox’s leap. As expected, the fox leaps over it, and Wyn shoots a cyclone from the ground, shattering the wall and pelting the fox's underside with debris. In a controlled maneuver, Wyn curves the cyclone, slamming it into the ground with the fox caught inside, halting its advance. Unlike previously, the fox is slow to get up this time.

  “You’re gonna keep fighting with one arm?” Yu asks, concerned.

  “I can’t let it get away biting my arm off like that!”

  “That’s hardcore, dude,” James remarks.

  Meanwhile, Mira joins Lisa in pursuing the tail. Despite being just a flopping appendage, it deftly dodges their attacks by adjusting the height of its movements. Learning from the boys, Mira sets up a fire maze, using flame pillars to limit the tail’s path. To her credit, it works, allowing Lisa to land a direct hit with laser beams from her gun. However, the moment the tail hits the ground, it springs back to life.

  “Why won’t it just die?” Mira exclaims.

  “Let's stop its movement completely, sis. Wrap your whip around it,” Lisa suggests.

  “How do we even get close?”

  “Can you fly? I’ve seen fire souls fly with jet flames before.”

  “I can, but not from the ground. I’ll need a lift first…,” Mira replies, glancing back at the boys.

  Wyn is back in the air while Yu and James work together to keep the fox from reaching the girls. Wyn constructs a wall around the ice maze, allowing Yu and James to stand on top and monitor the fox below. Yu directs streams of water, weaving them through the maze. As the fox struggles to gain traction on an ice pillar, the water strikes it, knocking it back down to the flooded ground. It’s then that Wyn spots an opportunity to strike as the hydra heads struggle to stay above the water. With a decisive dash strike, Wyn drives a chakram blade deep into the top of the red hydra's neck, forcing the head down into the water while the others flail in disarray.

  “It works! Without the tail, our attacks become much more effective!” Wyn shouts.

  Wyn fortifies his severed arm with rock, leaving the other chakram blade jutting out, and swiftly jabs it into the red hydra's neck. With both blades embedded, he spins them, attempting to sever the head. Meanwhile, James freezes Yu's water, immobilizing the fox. The red hydra thrashes wildly, breaking the ice as it tries to shake Wyn off. However, the struggle ends unexpectedly when another head intervenes – attempting to swallow Wyn whole, it misses as he propels himself away and bites down on the red hydra's neck instead, severing it.

  In an unexpected turn, the gray head inhales deeply while the remaining heads defrost the ice around the fox. As the gray head exhales, the fox leaps, clearing Yu and James, and charges straight for the sisters, who have been struggling to get close to the tail.

  “Fox is coming your way!” Yu warns.

  Wyn readies himself to dash to Mira and Lisa's aid, but a sudden flame attack knocks him down. Confused, he glances toward the source and spots the severed red hydra head, now rooted to the ground like a stationary turret.

  “Tough bastard!” he exclaims, propelling himself forward.

  Meanwhile, the gray hydra head lifts, allowing the fox to land directly in front of the tail. In a swift motion, it snatches the tail back into its mouth. As it does, the rooted head disintegrates, leaving no essence behind, while the severed head regenerates, returning as the red hydra head once more.

  While the fox is momentarily distracted by the hydra heads welcoming back their brethren, the team seizes this golden opportunity to huddle together and discuss their next move.

  “We’re sorry, Mister Wyn. The tail just won’t die!” Lisa says.

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  “You’ve hit it multiple times right?” Wyn asks.

  “Yes! It springs back to life when it touches ground.”

  “Ground? Maybe, there’s something to do with the ground?” Yu asks.

  “Could be. The severed head rooted into the ground too before respawning…”

  “Or do we have to cut off all the heads when the fox doesn’t have the tail?” James suggests.

  “It’s not that easy. Maybe…it’s the fox that we have to kill?”

  “Ohhh! Listen to this! How about, just think of it, just really think of it…,” Yu says.

  “Tell us already!” Mira presses.

  “We feed the tail to the hydra heads!”

  "You bastard, I love it!" James exclaims.

  “Let’s try it. Mira, will need you to wrap that fox’s mouth shut so it can’t pick the tail up ever again!” Wyn says.

  The team takes positions – Wyn hovers behind the fox, while Lisa stands guard in front, dodging the hydra heads’ attacks. Yu, Mira, and James keep their distance behind her, ensuring that when the fox lands, they’re facing it rather than the hydras. Obscured by rock and ice pillars, the fox lunges toward Lisa, the closest prey. To force the fox to leap, Lisa fires lasers at it midair, and as expected, the fox easily jumps over her efforts, aiming to land behind her. Just before it touches down, Yu unleashes a tidal wave for the first time, crashing into the front of the fox. On impact, James quickly freezes the wave to limit its movement.

  From his position, Wyn unleashes a cyclone aimed at the hydra heads, sending them crashing into the fox's head. Anticipating the fox's reaction, Yu propels Mira upward with a stream toward the fox’s mouth. In mid-air, she jumps off the stream and ignites jet flames to propel herself closer to the fox from the side. With both hands raised, she summons her burning whip, extends it, and wraps it around the fox’s mouth. An explosion follows, causing the fox to flinch and allowing her to safely propel herself back to the ground.

  James summons a slanted ice pillar to launch the tail to the side, where Lisa, elevated by Wyn’s pillar, catches it. She grips it tightly, even as the tail struggles to dislodge from her hold.

  “You need to bring me to the hydras, Mister Wyn!” she urges.

  “Huh? No way! NEVER! I can shoot it in a cyclone instead.”

  “What if you miss? All this will be for nothing. I can use this if I have to!”

  Wyn envelops most of his body in rock to protect himself from the tail’s paralysis. He edges closer to the hydra heads, keeping just out of reach of their long bodies. Sensing prey nearby, the gray head inhales deeply, preparing to suck both Wyn and Lisa in while the other heads focus on chomping them down.

  “Now!” Wyn commands.

  Lisa thrusts the tail forward, allowing its continuous electricity to zap the incoming hydra heads. The shocks paralyze all but one – the yellow head. Going according to plan, Wyn inches closer and turns to face the yellow head as it lunges. Its jaws open wide, but they can’t fully close when Lisa positions her gun vertically inside its mouth. Then, with a swift motion, she drops the tail into the head.

  “It’s in!” Wyn shouts.

  “That’s what she…,” James starts.

  “Oh, kindly shut your mouth, please!” Yu interjects.

  The fox, attempting to shake off the whip with its paws, suddenly halts all movement. Gradually, the hydra heads slump to the ground and disintegrate. The fox begins to shrink, slowly returning to its original size. From its rear, a tail starts to emerge, albeit at a glacial pace. As the whip loosens, it falls away, allowing the small fox to break free.

  Wyn quickly constructs a rock wall to cage the fox. Standing atop the wall, the team peers down to see the fox desperately scratching at the barrier, but it’s too weak to make any real impact.

  “It’s kinda cute,” Mira comments, a hint of sympathy in her voice.

  “Yeah, I’m starting to feel bad now,” Wyn sighs. “Let’s get it over with.”

  As a finishing blow, Wyn sends down a cyclone enveloping Mira’s whip. After a powerful explosion, all that remains is the essence left behind by the fox.

  “You guys did it. Unbelievable!” a demon’s voice calls from afar as the same group returns to the field.

  “What now?” Wyn asks, curious.

  “You get a sticker!”

  “A what now?”

  The demons present a sticker featuring a cartoony fox face with five hydra heads behind it. The stickers adhere to their shirts, remaining there even if they change clothes, until they defeat three champions.

  “Let me gooo!” one demon begs.

  “A few seconds more,” Mira replies, holding onto the demon's paw as it sticks the sticker on her chest.

  “What about your arm?” Yu asks, glancing at Wyn.

  “What arm?” Wyn waves his severed limb playfully.

  “Ayyy! I see what you did there!”

  “Give me a high-five!” Wyn offers, raising his severed arm.

  “Ayyy! I see what you did there too!”

  “These guys…,” James says.

  “Yu seems happier now. Nah, he’s just back to his normal playful self,” Mira remarks.

  “I’m happy we’re all weird together,” Lisa adds, hugging her sister.

  Yu demands that the others pat him on the head for his idea which ultimately led them to victory. The team happily obliges, scrubbing his head into oblivion before collecting the essence and catnips, then heading back to Cateto’s campsite for recovery.