Chapter 16

"Let's see how you will fare, young ones."

Tifanny grinned, cracking her neck in preparation. She flexes her arms, channeling her power to form a long whip made of light. The whip glowed in a faint pink glaze, and the nine Anihumans' eyes are immediately drawn to her. Jeongyeon hissed, brows furrowed in aggression.

"Girls, you have to go," Tiffany said softly to her members.

"You sure?" Yuri crossed her arms while leaning on the throne's headrest. "We could help, you know."

"Ah, don't worry," the brown haired Pegasus waved her hand. "I've been doing this alone since the last era. You girls go to the back room. Your presence would only make them even more uncontrollable."

"If you need our help, just yell, okay?" Sunny touches Tiffany's arm. "Good luck. They seem strong."

With that, the six other rulers left the room. Seohyun closed the door quietly when she went past it, careful to not agitate the nine younger Anihumans. Tiffany bit her lips in anticipation once her friends are gone. She flicked her wrist, moving her whip slightly.

"Heya, girls," Tiffany spoke with a voice unlike her own, deep and commanding to the nine girls who are literally on fire. The answer she got is a collective growl and an occasional hiss. "So let us start the next examination."

Momo snarled, colors swirling in her eyes. The girl was on all four with her fingers forming dents on the marble floor.

"As usual, before we start, I'm going to tell you the rules of this exam. This is where we'll start the true exam. You'll have ten minutes. The goal?" Tiffany grinned and she lashed her whip harshly. "You girls have to catch me."

The sudden movement of her whip triggered the younger Anihumans' reaction. Sana jumped from her crouching position, arms outstretched to try and catch the blazing pink whip. Nayeon tailed right behind her. Tiffany chuckled, moving her whip with grace and easily hit Sana's left side with her weapon. The lizard has no time to catch it because the impact of the hit pushed her back, crashing onto the unaware Nayeon.

Both girls fell to the floor. Jeongyeon dodged her friends' bodies and leaped to Tiffany. The Pegasus simply sidesteps to avoid the dog's attack. But Jeongyeon quickly turned her body so that her elongated nails could harm the ruler. Tiffany's free hand flew, catching Jeongyeon's wrist and twists her arm backward, making the younger Anihuman cried in pain.

Jeongyeon's pained cry called two of her friends. Mina runs from behind Tiffany, trying to catch her by surprise while Chaeyoung moved quickly to Tiffany's side. The ruler smiled and she pulled Jeongyeon's arm, along with the dog's whole body and threw her to the house cat. Chaeyoung yelped as she was hit by Jeongyeon's bigger frame.

Tiffany wasted no time to move her whip, flailing it in such a way that it coiled around Mina's ankle and pull her flying upside down. Tiffany lashed her whip, sending the penguin to the direction of the approaching bat.

Jihyo easily caught Mina before the latter hit the floor. Dahyun dashed past her then, orange fire burning hot as she forms six small aura balls around her body. The hamster runs in a zig zag, shooting her aura one by one to Tiffany. The ruler giggled, moving her wrist to block Dahyun's attacks with her whip.

Tiffany was just about to lash her whip to catch Dahyun when another body slammed onto hers. She instinctively let go of her whip to grab her attacker's shoulders. Tiffany smiled when she met Momo's angry eyes. She rolled her body, bringing Momo turning with her and swipes her leg to Momo's defective one.

The ruler uses the momentum of Momo's attack to swing her sideways. Tiffany loosens her grip on Momo's shoulder, knowing full well that her subtle touch to the girl's faulty knee had made her lost all her balance. The raccoon's body nearly flung to the throne only for Tiffany to tighten her grip again and threw Momo to the approaching Dahyun.

Both Anihumans flew to the other side of the room, crashing to Jihyo who was still holding Mina in her arms, knocking the bat down and effectively made all four of them into a mess of tangled limbs. Tiffany picked up her whip, lashing it to Nayeon who was trying to hurl her own aura ball. The ball exploded on contact. The effect was quite strong to the point that Nayeon was sent flying backward.

Tiffany grinned in satisfaction, but she quickly jumped back when a ball of aura exploded near her former position. She lifts her head, whistling when she saw Tzuyu flying with her magenta fire as makeshift wings. The crow snarled, diving to where Tiffany's standing with her arm outstretched.

The ruler grinned, and her right hand blazed in a neon pink fire. She raised her hand to meet Tzuyu's, grabbing the crow's finger to keep her in place. Tzuyu shrieked when Tiffany's aura burn her own magenta one, trying and failing to free herself from Tiffany's grasp.

Tiffany chuckled. "It's hasn't been 10 minutes yet but I think you girls are ready."

She let Tzuyu's hand go then punched her chest hard. The crow hurled far from the impact, again caught by Jihyo easily. Tiffany quirks her eyebrow at this but simply ignored it. She whistled once, long and loud it made the younger Anihumans' stopped at their track.

The ruler smiled, waving her whip left and right to create a rippling motion. The nine younger Anihumans' are all hypnotized, watching the brown haired woman moving gracefully with rapt attention. They didn't realize the small bubbling of soft pink aura at the floor around them.

After a few seconds, Tiffany stops. "Now, let see who you really are."

She clicked her tongue and whipped her weapon once until it let out a cracking sound. The loud sound snapped the Anihumans out of their stupor and they roared in anger. But when they tried to launch themselves to the smiling ruler, chains suddenly shot up from the bubbles of pink aura and bind them to the floor.

Restrained, the nine Anihumans thrashed angrily. They tried to bite or to scratch to no avail. Tiffany clicked her tongue again, and the chains glowed with a blue-pink light that slowly extinguishes their hostages' fire, changing the color of their respective auras with Tiffany's soft pink one.

The ruler sat down at the topmost platform. She played with the tip of her whip, absentmindedly watching her younger companions writhing at the floor.

A high-pitched, helpless cry caught her attention. She smiled when she saw Nayeon's body curled, her restrained hand trying hard to clutch at her own upper arm. The girl's aura is flickering. The dull brown color sharpened into a bright hazel one.

"So you'll be the first. How fitting of the oldest," Tiffany muses. "Tell me who you are, Im Nayeon?"

Nayeon screamed, tears flowing out when her bright hazel aura engulfed her body. Her human body is slowly morphing. Her arms and legs are bent, her neck elongated and a sharp shape jutted out of her scalp. The chains holding her are broken as she stood tall in her newly developed form.

Tiffany was awed when the hazel light surrounding her oldest dongsaeng dissipates. There, replacing Nayeon's body is a soft-brown-pelted deer. Despite her gender as a female, the deer is sporting a pair of sharp antlers colored in a darker brown shade.

"Congratulations, Im Nayeon! Such a beautiful creature!" Tiffany cheered. The deer looks at her. Her kind garnet eyes are shining with gratitude before exhaustion took over and her legs buckled. The deer fell unto the floor, breathing heavily as she followed Tiffany's line of sight.

The ruler's attention is now focused on the living tofu. Dahyun is, surprisingly, silent. In contrast to Nayeon's brightening aura, Dahyun's soft orange one is darkening. The girl grunted when her aura reached a certain shade of orange. She gripped her hair, and Tiffany noticed that the red and orange streaks on the ex-hamster's hair are disappearing, changing her hair into dark brown locks.

The chains restraining Dahyun breaks as her body's morphing into a tall creature, but a small explosion at the other side of the room caught Tiffany's attention. She gripped her whip, ready for anything when she saw that Sana's transformation has completed.

"Omo, you surprised me."

Yes, Sana's transformation is sudden. Her pink aura –similar in color with Tiffany's– was repressed by the chains containing her. The effect is immediate. Her power struggled to be free and it results in the small explosion that changed her body. In her place is a massive snake with a beautiful green-brown pattern on her skin.

A reticulated phyton.

Tiffany squealed. "Sana-ah! Look at your scales! Oh my God, that's probably the prettiest I've ever seen in a snake! Congratulations!"

The ruler turned again at Dahyun, just in time for her to experience Dahyun's transformation. The girl's body moved upward, a strong tail sprouted from her behind. Her feet morph into something long and in a few moments, the dark orange aura vanished to show a red kangaroo.

Dahyun wobbled on her feet, falling to her front but managed to catch herself with her arms. She lifts her head when Tiffany clapped. The thumb up Tiffany gave her made the brown eyed kangaroo smiled.

Tzuyu followed her unnies soon after. The ex-crow thrashed, magenta aura flaring wildly at her back when she struggled to break the chains surrounding her. Once she succeeded, Tzuyu instinctively jumped upwards. Her aura wings folded to embrace her, and she turned into a flash of light blinding everyone when she's still floating in the air.

Tiffany opened her eyes to find a grey-feathered eagle looking straight at her. The eagle's pitch black eyes were tired. She flapped her wings once, twice, and she fell at the third one. Tiffany quickly summoned a bedding with her aura to catch the exhausted eagle.

"A harpy eagle! Seohyun would be thrilled to have an avian partner to fly with!" Tiffany exclaimed happily, noticing the way the eagle's eyes shined brightly.

The ruler turned her attention again, this time to the two Anihumans crouching side by side. Jeongyeon had her face planted on the sleek marble surface while Chaeyoung is having slight tremor inside her own chain cage. The cat's drenched in sweat and tears, fighting a terrible pain in her body as her aura is wildly changing in color.

Tiffany lifts her eyebrow. "Ah.. finally a Special. Thought none of you would grow into one."

As Tiffany finished her sentence, Chaeyoung screamed. Her aura stopped changing in a paler shade of green than her previous aura and her body morphed accordingly. She slammed her arms on the floor, followed by the bending of her legs. Her petite body changed into something big and muscled, with a hunched back and a short tail. Two very long and very thick fangs grew from her muzzle. Her buff figure is fully covered in orange-ish fur.

Once her transformation is complete, Chaeyoung roared.

Her loud voice shook the other Anihumans. She opened her eyes, revealing two green orbs shining with ferocity. One of her front paws stepped forward to balance her body. She turned to look at Tiffany who is wearing a proud smile. Chaeyoung grinned, showing her twin massive fangs and rows of her smaller ones.

"Welcome home, Sabertooth Tiger," Tiffany greeted her with a playful wink.

Chaeyoung opened her jaw wide, smiling happily. She was about to approach Tiffany but the flare beside her made her stop. Jeongyeon was also nearly complete, growing into an animal similar in size and stature with Chaeyoung's sabertooth tiger. But instead of orange, she has dark chocolate colored fur similar to Tiffany's hair.

Jeongyeon finished her transformation by standing to her full height, towering far over Chaeyoung and answered her previous roar. The sabertooth tiger jumped, welcoming the bear who has just managed to open her brilliant red eyes. Jeongyeon smiled, falling to all four and accepted Chaeyoung's excited snuggle easily.

"A Kodiak bear, and a strong one even," Tiffany smiled. "Guess that you're that kind of Anihuman ranked somewhere in between the Rares and the Specials. Congratulations, Yoo Jeongyeon. And you, too, Son Chaeyoung."

Tiffany turned her attention to the last three Anihumans.

"Myoui Mina, Hirai Momo and Park Jihyo," she rubbed her chin in anticipation. "Wonders what yours will be."

Among the three, Mina's the first to succumb into the change. She whimpered, clawing the marble floor hard with her elongated nails. Her transformation followed a similar pattern to Chaeyoung's transformation minus the aura changing part. She bent her body, jaw morphing into a long muzzle and a fluffy tail grew from her behind.

Mina opened her eyes, striking ice blue and her aura disappeared. In her previous position stood a majestic white wolf, head held high even with the apparent exhaustion. Tongue lolling out of , Mina panted and took a look at Tiffany.

"Hello, little wolf," the Pegasus winked.

Mina yipped once and took a step–

", wait, Myoui!"

–too late. Mina's forelegs buckled, unused to the way it's supposed to move and she fell.

The problem was not that she fell. The problem lays on who she fell upon.

When Mina's canine body fell on top of her, Momo who was whimpering, wounds healing itself painfully in the process of growing into an adult Anihuman, snapped her eyes open. Her weakening white aura immediately blasted, increasing tenfold in intensity it made her chain breaks prematurely.

Momo howled, eyes wildly searching while both confusion and anger etched on her face. She found Mina in front of her, the wolf laying on her belly, scared to death as she sees the blazing Anihuman towering over her. Momo scoffed, and she ignored Mina because she found a more interesting person.

Jihyo's kneeling, chains also broke because of her overwhelming power triggered by Momo's action. Everyone may think that she's hiding her face behind her arm, but Momo could see the unblinking eye of the ex-bat looking straight at her.

Momo roared.

Jihyo stood tall and roared back.

A challenge.

"!! MYOUI RUN!!!"

Mina did not need Tiffany to scream at her because the wolf has scurried away from the two angry Anihumans. The moment Mina left, Momo jumped to Jihyo, a movement copied by her challenger quickly. Both clashed in the air in a dance of white and red fire. Being the taller one, Momo succeeded in planting her nails across Jihyo's face, drawing blood from the deep wound on the younger's face. Despite her injury, Jihyo managed to grasp Momo's shoulder and both fell to the floor with Jihyo on top.

The smaller Anihuman was quick to send her fists to the older Anihuman trapped between her legs. Momo received at least five punches before she ripped Jihyo's calf with her claws, making her yelped in pain. Jihyo's halted movement gave Momo an opportunity to flip their position.

Momo pinned Jihyo's wrists over her head. She snarled and dived to the younger's neck, planning to bite the exposed skin. Jihyo didn't relent. She pushed her body forward with her shoulders, meeting Momo's face halfway and headbutted her until her grip loosened. Momo's still dizzy when Jihyo pushed her chest backward and the ex-raccoon tumbled away from Jihyo.

"HYOYEON! SOOYOUNG! SEOHYUN!!! WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY!!!!"

Blood trickled down her face, Jihyo panted and stood still in the middle of the room. She's a bit hunched because her calves are also bleeding. Momo paced around on all four, making a wide circle with her movement. The brown haired Anihuman observed her enemy while occasionally snarled.

"Fany what's–HOLY !"

Momo howled and leaped to Jihyo, but she was slammed sideways by two older Anihumans. The girl roared in anger, thrashing wildly to free herself from Sooyoung's and Hyoyeon's death grip. Jihyo seemed surprised by the two rulers and nearly jumped out of her skin when Seohyun restrained her arms.

But unlike Momo who is fighting tooth and nail, the red-haired girl visibly calmed down in Seohyun's presence.

"Girl, enough," Seohyun whispered in Jihyo's ear.

Jihyo growled but not aggressively. Her red flame gradually getting smaller. A few seconds later, Jihyo closed her eyes. Her aura is slowly getting warmer and warmer, to the point that Seohyun can't withstand it and the ruler let the girl go. Jihyo crouched down, hands gripping the center of her chest tightly.

She sighed, and her warm aura grows bigger. It consumed her body, but continued to grow even when she's not visible anymore. The red flame was moving on its own, forming a shape of a bird made entirely of fire. It steadily changes, shaping three pairs of talons at the end of two long legs. It also shaped the elongated neck, the flurry of feather-like flames and a sharp beak.

Near the beak are two black slits.

It opened at the same time to show the world the most beautiful pair of golden eyes.

Tiffany's jaw dropped.

"Phoenix."

Jihyo –Phoenix Jihyo– turned her massive head when she heard Tiffany's soft call. She made a sound, more of a crow's caw than a bird's chirp, carefully approaching Tiffany with only her face. The ruler smiled and touched the mythical animal's beak, earning a contented rumble deep from Jihyo's throat.

"You're the first challenger in eleven eras to grow into a Legend. Park Jihyo, you really are a one in a million."

Jihyo's eyes wrinkled as if she's smiling.

Unfortunately, the tender moment comes to a halt with Momo's high pitched yowl. She's restrained by both Sooyoung and Hyoyeon, but even with the both of them, it's clear that they are struggling. The younger Anihuman had cried, the steam coming out from her body was still going strong.

"Fany-ah! How much longer do we have to keep her like this?!" Sooyoung yelled. Her arms are starting to feel numb with the sheer force of binding Momo down.

"Can I request a massage after this?" Hyoyeon's complaining also.

Tiffany sighed. "She's still healing. Give her time, she'll come to eventually."

"Eventually?!" Hyoyeon exclaimed in shock. "Okay, I get that she's healing her body. But how come is she this difficult to contain?"

The Pegasus was given no chance to reply because Momo suddenly went limp. Her body had stopped steaming, but in turn, her white aura condensed into a multicolored ball encapsulating her. Hyoyeon and Sooyoung released her and stepped away, waiting for the last transformation to occur.

"The last member. What is she going to be, hmm?" Tiffany grinned, can't help but feel excited at her dongsaeng's new form. The eight 'newborn' adult Anihumans are also curious, watching the ball of swirling color with interest.

They didn't expect the ball of light to explode.

The multicolored explosion bathed the castle's walls with rainbow light.

Tiffany braved the piercing light, squinting her eyes to see the last member's evolution in real time. Momo's crouched body grow big, gigantic even, towering over Jihyo who she thought is going to be the biggest adult Anihuman in the group. Her arms and legs formed limbs similar to Mina's wolf ones.

Her difference with the canine girl was her size, and the fact that there are nine tails swaying lazily from the end of Momo's furred hip.

"I can't believe this," Tiffany mumbled. Her awed expression was similar to her other ruler companion. "Two Legends and one Special in a group? Unheard of!"

As if responding to Tiffany's cry, Momo lifts her head and let out a long howl. Along with her howl, the rainbow light disappeared, finally showing her full feature to the spectators. She was a fox. A gigantic, nine tailed fox. Her fur is mostly white with black paws and tail tip. But when the sunlight touches her fur in a particular angle, everyone could see that it reflected a lot of colors.

Like a rainbow.

Tiffany chuckled, exhaling tiredly when her eyes met Momo's deep purple ones.

"So, how are you feeling?" the ruler smiled. "To finally grow into an adult, the 'Perfect Anihuman'. How does it feel?"

Jihyo cooed. The Phoenix nudged Tiffany's shoulder with her beak. The Pegasus smiled and she caressed the Phoenix's face.

"There are a lot of things I have to explain, but all of us are tired. We've prepared rooms at the castle for your temporary resting place. Sunny will lead you there, and do use the remaining time we have in this day to sleep to your heart content," Tiffany giggled as she pushed Jihyo's face away.

"I'll excuse myself for now. Have a good rest, and... oh, before I forget..."

The brown-haired ruler's eyes are glistening with tears.

"Please know... that I really am proud of the nine of you, young ones."

To be continued...