After Duergsini’s Avatar (2)

Duergsini had become somewhat bolder.

The yokai and goblins that appeared previously were certainly formidable enough to easily overturn the world, yet insufficient to kill me.

There was only one possibility I could surmise – some kind of restriction existed on Duergsini.

And that restriction weakened as I grew stronger.

After gaining my seventh tail, yokai far beyond those from my six-tailed days emerged.

Even true goblins appeared.

Upon manifesting my eighth tail, the exceptionally troublesome incarnated yokai Nohng and the great yokai Black Tiger – on par with a Level 1 in terms of sheer yoki – emerged.

Finally culminating in the avatar yaksha.

…At this point, it was fair to consider it fact rather than mere conjecture:

The stronger I grew, the mightier yokai or goblins would appear.

Duergsini definitely seemed aware of my weakness.

If I stopped growing here, I wouldn’t be able to confront the greater threats looming ahead.

But if I continued growing, innocent people would die in droves at the hands of yokai and goblins.

In other words, he had taken my growth hostage.

If it were Lord Beast, she would have endlessly grown without a second thought for human lives, gleefully devouring livers.

But I was not the evil Lord Beast.

My viscera twisted every time innocents perished.

Ultimately, I had to make another choice:

To halt my growth here, or…

“So that’s why the light manifested after I awakened to freedom!”

“Which is exactly why I’m asking if that makes any sense.”

…continue growing while relying on those around me.

The answer already seemed decided.

Yi Haneul herself had told me it was alright to depend on them.

If I couldn’t protect people alone, then we would protect them together.

---

Click.

Clickclickclick.

Clickclickclickclickclick.

Soon after, the entire dedicated team handling the incident arrived, followed by reporters from various media outlets converging on the uninhabited island.

This place could no longer be called uninhabited.

A hundred people…?

No, it seemed over two hundred.

The whirring of over 20 helicopters overhead filled the air.

Reporters were a tenacious breed who would risk life itself for a scoop.

Under the forensics team’s supervision, they approached me as closely as possible.

Click.

Clickclickclick.

Clickclickclickclickclick.

They proceeded to snap photos of the three of us incessantly.

I undoubtedly drew the most attention.

It was only natural, having grown another tail and a correspondingly plumper physique compared to before.

“…”

Ahem.

This was a bit awkward.

Not the photographing itself, but the fact that those reporter fellows were giving me the cartoonish ‘heart eyes’.

Clear proof that I had yet to properly control the overwhelming presence exuded by my eight-tailed form.

I hadn’t even used any seduction abilities, yet they were already in this state.

Eight tails did indeed seem premature to reveal in the human world for now.

Ah, that’s right.

My tails were covered in sand too.

Swish swish.

I swayed my rear, vigorous shaking off the sand clinging to my tails for quite a while.

“Ooooooh…!”

From afar, the reporters’ gasps of admiration could be heard.

Consider it fan service, I supposed.

Reporters had to make a living too.

After a simple investigation, we were able to return to Jirisan Mountain.

One might wonder why such a major incident warranting changes in weather patterns only received a cursory investigation.

…It was likely due to Yi Haneul’s master, Nam-hun Baek, flexing his influence.

Power was convenient like that.

I too had been a subject of their investigation:

“Y, y, your n, name please… hurk.”

“My name?”

“Y, yes…!”

“Miho. Two years old this year. No identification, a fox ling. I defeated the goblin using the power of freedom.”

Thanks to my seduction ability’s effects, no proper investigation could be conducted.

This was the first time I had appeared before humans besides Yi Haneul in my eight-tailed form.

Yi Haneul’s prediction that ‘showing this form to others would cause an uproar’ had proven completely accurate.

In any case, we departed from the uninhabited island with weary bodies.

Well, Ho-jun and Yi Haneul were weary – I was still perfectly energetic since my spirit energy hadn’t fully depleted.

Upon landing ashore, reporters eagerly swarmed us again.

Which irritated me, just a bit.

I wouldn’t have been so irritated if they had only swarmed me.

But they also shoved microphones in the exhausted Yi Haneul and Ho-jun’s faces, so some annoyance was inevitable.

Crack!

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

So I broke them.

The microphones and cameras alike.

“Ah, ah ah…”

“Send the bill to the Yokai Extermination Department.”

This incident may have earned me some human resentment, but oh well.

One mustn’t cross certain lines, after all.

Despite my frosty attitude, instead of insulting me, they:

“Ooooooh…!”

“You’re so amazing, Ms. Miho!”

…seemed to adore me instead.

…This was serious.

I felt I needed to undergo seduction training immediately upon returning to Jirisan.

At this rate, a cult worshipping me might actually form.

Yi Haneul had even personally named it:

The Adorable Two-Tailed Miho Church.

Shortened to just the A2T Church.

…

…

…

The Principal was waiting nearby for us.

Exasperated by his appearance, I remarked:

“Principal, have you finally emerged from the warm womb? A fox yokai might snatch your liver again at this rate.”

“It seems all three of you are unharmed, hahahahaha.”

“That’s no laughing matter…”

The Principal was an ordinary human – no Martial Force arts or ritual capabilities, just a bit of physical training.

Yet this person had risked his life to come here.

…Alright, I’ll admit it.

I was honestly a bit moved, yeah.

…

…

…

As we rode the Principal’s car back to Jirisan Mountain, a thought occurred to me.

Leaning forward, I asked Ho-jun in the front seat:

“Ho-jun, how about me?”

“Don’t shove your knockers in my face. It’s distracting.”

“I mean, how do you see me?”

“What kind of dog nonsense is this now?”

“Woof woof, ruff ruff, yip yip.”

“…No, I misspoke. Cancel that – what kind of lunacy is this?”

“I’m asking what sort of feelings I evoke in you.”

“Piggish. Lewd. Vulgar. Dog-like. Should I continue?”

“Hmm, so no different from usual, I see. Anyway, you don’t feel any sudden urges to pounce on me or anything, right?”

“No. But why are you asking about such things all of a sudden?”

“Because of the seduction ability. You saw it earlier too, didn’t you?”

“Ah, so that was your intent in asking. I see. Your mind hasn’t completely deteriorated then – the protective ritual arts are functioning properly.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem my seduction abilities were potent enough to penetrate Ho-jun’s mental defenses.

With some training, I could probably handle it somehow.

Training I would need to maintain my eight-tailed form constantly.

Until now, the pressure of having to solely protect people prevented me from manifesting eight tails.

But with the Martial Force artists and ritualists having completed their training, and my resolve to properly rely on them, the time had come to train while sustaining my eight-tailed state.

Without training, it would be impossible to appear in the human world in eight-tailed form – the seduction effects were too potent.

Just look at Yi Haneul beside me.

She was a woman.

A heterosexual woman, not a man.

Moreover, Yi Haneul had remarkably firm preferences, adoring all things cute.

While in two-tailed form, she had fawned over me.

Even at six tails, she would blush and act flustered.

Yet this very woman was now:

Poke.

Poke poke.

Poke poke poke poke.

Playfully poking and prodding my plump body with her fingers.

“Heh… heheh… uheheheheh…”

Judging by her flushed face, it seemed more than mere curiosity.

“…Lord Yi Haneul.”

“Yes?”

“Please stop that…”

“But why? You said you wouldn’t care about others’ perceptions anymore.”

This had nothing to do with others’ perceptions.

The problem wasn’t their perceptions, it was that it hurt.

And felt strange…

Sigh

What was the point of saying anything?

Only when I trained to fully suppress my seduction abilities would Yi Haneul return to normal.

I would just have to endure until then.

“Wow, I wonder how deep my fingers can go in this.”

“Nngh…”

…Endure, endure.

Whew.

---

“Daepo, I have something to ask you.”

“Teek teek, feels good…”

“…I said I have something to ask.”

Squirming on my chest, Daepo gave me a halfhearted response.

“Yeah, go ahead. I’m listening.”

Even yokai coveted the spirit energy I was overflowing with – quite an inconvenience.

Along with seduction, I would have to train to handle this excess spirit energy.

In any case, I asked Daepo:

“Have you felt your yoki growing stronger recently?”

“No. Teek teek.”

“Ah, I probably shouldn’t say ‘yoki’. Umm… have you awakened to any new powers by chance?”

“Not at all. Teek teek.”

“Stop squirming your tail, it tickles.”

“Teek teek teek.”

“Then… have you ever felt a sense of freedom since meeting me?”

“Umm…”

Daepo pondered my question for a moment before answering:

“I’m not sure! I’ve always been free, you know. Teek teek.”

“…Well, I suppose there are no yokai freer than a rat scurrying about as you please.”

“Was that a compliment? Teek teek.”

“It was an insult. Woof woof.”

Daepo was the yokai who had spent the most time with me, yet didn’t seem to awaken any ‘power of freedom’ simply from being around me.

Accompanied by Daepo, who had greeted me upon entering the other world, I went to have an audience with Lord of the Mountain.

While I didn’t need to report every single goblin defeated one by one, this time was different since I had directly received Lord of the Mountain’s command to ‘capture the yaksha’.

On the way to meet Lord of the Mountain, I tapped my forehead.

Ah.

Damn it.

I didn’t want to encounter them again.

“Foul and unsightly! Abominations that should not exist in this world!”

[Ooooh, a goddess of beauty descended upon this world!]

You lot again?

Enough already, seriously.