Waking up, James knew that today was the day the last rent fell. Apart from the numerous tails covering him, he was nervous. It was hard to say how the rent was going to respond. Three days of fighting had cleared the monster numbers around them, but they were generating so quickly, that the battles never ended. It was only thanks to his soul pushing against them that they could rest at night.

Climbing out of bed, James twisted his back, popping the vertebrae in preparation of the day. Zenaria was the first one to notice him, and she slipped away from Amber to join him.

"How did you sleep?" the kitsune asked.

"Fairly well."

Humming, Zenaria rested her head on his shoulder. "This is going to be one hell of a battle, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Touching his cheek, she frowned. "You're nervous."

Forcing a smile, he nodded. "I am. I know Luna has protected all of you, but I don't want to see any of you die. This battle is going to be the hardest yet."

"I understand." Kissing his cheek, she smiled. "That just means you'll have to kiss my wounds better after this."

"Oh? Are you enticing me into bed again?" he teased.

Glancing over her shoulder, she shook her head. "Do you think we can go on a date after this? Just you and me?"

"We can." Standing, he grabbed his clothes and started to get dressed. "I plan on taking you all on individual dates."

He meant it too. All of the girls needed their alone time with him, and he knew it was hard to always share the bed with one another. They hadn't complained, but it was clear all the same.

Luna was the next one to wake up, shaking Grace. "We have to get started, girls."

Grace groaned and rolled out of bed, hitting the ground hard. Yelping, she sat up and glowered at everyone. "Why was I on the very edge?"

Ignoring her, James left the room. Jamie and Linda were already in the living room area. Their eyes still glazed over as they started to wake. It wasn't long afterward that Bronson and his brothers joined them. Mender made it out before the girls did, making James chuckle.

"Is everyone ready?" he asked.

Mender cocked his brow. "Are you sure you can keep up with us?"

Scoffing, James started to leave, not taking the bait. Jamie laughed and hurried after him, linking arms with him as they stepped outside. They had set up their shelter outside the complex.

The towering building was more vine than stone. The sheer amount of power it contained suppressed the area, increasing gravity as the world trembled. It was only thanks to his soul that the shelter stayed together, and they weren't affected.

"I don't like this," Jamie murmured.

"I don't either." Waiting for everyone to join him, they gathered tightly together as they all regarded the mass of vines.

"Stay close together," Luna ordered. "James and I will weaken the vines so you can get through."

Once everyone acknowledged the orders, James started walking toward the building. The several feet thick vines blocking the door started breaking into strands as he approached. Regarding the whip-like protrusions, he simply waved his hand, turning them to dust as he pulled the energy from them.

It wasn't until he tried to do the same to the thick vine that he ran into trouble. The trickle of energy entering him wasn't enough to kill the vine. "I'm going to need you, Luna."

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His Fenrir wife stepped up to his side and started Siphoning the energy as well. When more vines snapped out at them, he was about to brace himself when Jamie and Amber cut them down. Claws and daggers shredded the plant matter as they took up guard by his side.

Seconds turned to minutes as the vine slowly gave way, crumbling under the assault. Keeping hold on the power, James urged everyone in before following. The moment they were all in the hall, the way out closed and vines squirmed around them.

"Keep moving!" James ordered. "Prepare to defend yourselves!"

Amber snarled as she racked her claws through tendrils, turning them to ash as Jamie helped. Zenaria wasn't as effective with her wires, and it wasn't until James handed over his sword to Grace that they started making progress.

The passage of vines took them back outside the building, turning the walls and floor into pure plant matter. Like a living, breathing organism, they were guided through what felt like veins. There were no stairs leading up or down, and no plant monsters greeted them as they continued toward the core.

Waving his hand, James carved his way through the tendrils, helping as much as he could. He didn't dare use all of his strength without testing it more. He knew he could break down the entire building if needed, but how would the energy of his people react? Would it take advantage of his attack and leech his energy? Would it explode in force, wiping out the area and his family along with it? It was too hard to determine.

Minutes into the twisting, winding tunnels, they reached the center. High above them, an orb of pure white energy radiated such extreme pressure that their bodies shook.

James was forced to spread out his soul to protect his people as he glared up at the energy. Luna raised her hands and glanced at him. Returning her gaze, they both nodded, and started to devour the energy.

***

Amber watched as streams of white energy flowed into James and Luna before connecting the two together. Their eyes were closed as they processed the power.

"It won't be long now," Zenaria muttered.

She was right. A few seconds after her comment, humanoid plant monsters barreled into the room. Towering ten feet tall, with massive clubs, swords, and spears, they hurled themselves at the family without pause.

Grace didn't use her poison, knowing it wouldn't work against such creatures. Instead, she stayed with the Elson brothers and hacked at the creatures with her sword.

Zenaria took a section to herself and used her wires to slow and kill the creatures before they could reach James and Luna. Mender and Jamie took another section with Linda's help. A field of flames washed over the entire room, healing everyone as the creatures burned. Mender stood in the center, his face set in a permanent grimace as he pushed every ounce of his power into the attack.

Amber knew the last section was for her. Morphing her legs into their feline form, she charged. With her soul at violet, she summoned her flaming cats and ordered them to spread out. Her creations had access to her shredding abilities that replicated slashes over a wide area. Flames quickly coated the plant monsters before Amber made contact.

Dragging her claws through a creature, she ripped it apart. Flames flowed over her claws, burning the monsters before spreading like a wildfire through her section.

Come on you bastards!

Glancing at James, she knew she couldn't slow. She needed to push herself harder than ever to kill the monsters as the room fell apart. The first few minutes would be the most critical as the strongest monsters would be thrown at them.

Vines thicker than her waist swept out from the walls, crushing her cats as she jumped into the air. Behind her, she heard Jamie scream out in pain as the room started to writhe. It was coming alive as the black and red vines tried to reach James.

Zenaria was the first to stop them. The entire room suddenly glistened with metal, the battle pausing and everyone turning toward. A violent scream escaped the kitsune before she pulled and shredded everything present. The vines that were nearing James and Luna fell apart and turned to ash, their energy spent.

Holy shit!

Amber didn't know what else to say to that display. The craziest part was that it didn't seem like the act drained Zenaria at all. She resumed tearing into her monsters as if the attack was just a blip in her fight.

Shaking her head, Amber returned to her fight. Dancing among the coming monsters, she shredded everything, but she still couldn't take her mind off Zenaria. The sheer amount of power that the kitsune had was startling.

How strong will she be if she reaches the immortal soul? Will she outpower James?

It was a baffling question to think about. Amber had accepted a long time ago that Zenaria was the strongest fighter. No matter how hard she pushed herself, the kitsune could sweep in and wipe everything out with one attack. Her Siphoning was stronger, and she had no curse or aura that was known.

Returning her focus to her own foes, Amber tried to count the minutes that they had been fighting. The vines weren't draining like last time. The orb of energy wasn't shrinking in the slightest. The grim expressions on James and Luna's faces didn't speak well for the situation.

Some screamed behind her, and Amber only had a second to process that Bronson was laying next to Mender, his chest ripped open and his head bleeding. Mender was already working on him, but Linda started to scream in rage.

If we are already falling, how long will we be able to last?

It wasn't a good question to ask. Amber knew what happened last time. They had barely won, and that was with only a fraction of the power this rent had. How many of them were going to die before James was done?

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