The Cycle (1)

I admit it.

No matter how the process went.

Duergsini has quite a lofty goal.

To turn the cycle and guide the world in the right direction – that is his lofty goal.

If,

the process was right, would I have agreed with Duergsini’s opinion?

…Who knows.

The reason things came to this point is because the process itself was not right from the beginning.

It’s a meaningless hypothetical.

Duergsini’s role assigned in this world is to turn the cycle.

Then,

what is my role?

Is it to help Duergsini turn the cycle?

Or to ruin Duergsini’s grand scheme and permanently stop the cycle?

Unlike Duergsini,

I seem to be a rather selfish fox.

Dalgi was selfish like me.

Perhaps multi-tailed fox yokai are inherently selfish existences.

I’m not sure.

But what does the role really matter?

I am a free being with free will.

It has always been that way from the start.

I will simply,

act as I please.

I live,

humans live,

and yokai like Dapoh also live.

This is my selfish goal.

---

After tearing open space and escaping the goblin lair,

Yi Haneul urgently asked me:

“How did it go?”

“Negotiations failed.”

“…”

“He’ll be coming for us soon.”

To me,

no, to humans,

Duergsini has practically declared war.

To force me to manifest my ninth tail, Duergsini will more aggressively threaten humans than before.

I shared the current situation with Yi Haneul and Ho-jun in as much detail as possible, not hiding any facts.

If the cycle turns, humans survive.

If the cycle does not turn, everything returns to nothingness by Duergsini’s hand.

Yokai and goblins

are enemies of humans.

Yi Haneul and Ho-jun

are human.

Regardless of the reason,

from the perspective of humans,

I have practically betrayed humanity for the survival of yokai.

Even if Yi Haneul and Ho-jun come to hate me,

no, even if all humans come to hate me,

I have no intention of retracting my choice.

Who am I to decide the deaths of yokai living in the other world?

…But,

perhaps,

being hated by Yi Haneul and Ho-jun

might be a little sad.

I tightly closed my eyes for a moment, waiting for Yi Haneul and Ho-jun to curse me.

However,

no matter how long I waited, no curses came.

Instead,

pat pat.

Yi Haneul started patting my head.

“You did well.”

“…What?”

“I said you did well.”

“…”

Not just Yi Haneul, but Ho-jun also nodded his head.

Genuinely not understanding, I asked them:

“…But I just betrayed humanity.”

“No, you didn’t?”

“If I had obediently listened to Duergsini, humanity could have survived peacefully in a world without goblins and yokai?”

“I know. So what? How is that betrayal?”

“Well…”

“Miho, you may not know this, but it’s a basic principle not to negotiate with terrorists.”

Ho-jun, who had been quietly listening, continued:

“Let’s say there’s a psychopath who massacred millions of his own citizens.”

“If that psychopath takes power, it will usher in an era of peace without war.”

“Life quality would even greatly improve, he says.”

“Foxgirl.”

“If you were human, could you support this dictator?”

“…No.”

“Right. Unless one is insane, not a single person would support this dictator.”

“This is the so-called ‘karmic debt’.”

“Karmic debt”

“Must be repaid.”

…Right.

Even if turning the cycle ushers in a peaceful era for humans,

Duergsini’s karmic debt does not disappear.

How many humans has Duergsini massacred for his goals up until now?

Tens of millions?

Hundreds of millions?

…Who knows.

It seems like far more than that.

From the moment Duergsini instigated yokai to massacre humans,

there was no room left for negotiation.

Duergsini

must repay his karmic debt

with death.

“And Miho, to conclude your statement,”

“In the end, as long as you kill Duergsini, everything is okay, right?”

“Right?”

“…Right.”

“Then you have even less reason to look so gloomy.”

Eventually,

Yi Haneul pointed at me and said:

“Kill him directly with your own hands.”

“…”

Can I kill Duergsini with eight tails?

Or will I end up manifesting one more tail in the process of saving humans?

It’s a needless worry.

As Yi Haneul said, the conclusion of this story is simple.

If I take Duergsini’s head,

that’s the end of it.

---

Yi Haneul and Ho-jun immediately headed to the Yokai Extermination Office to prepare for Duergsini’s imminent offensive.

I decided to place my complete trust in them.

I leave the goblins and miscellaneous yokai to them.

I will immediately aim for the enemy commander’s head.

No one knows how many yokai Duergsini has under his command.

The number could be in the tens,

or it could reach into the hundreds.

Moreover, not only yokai will emerge,

but goblins will also sporadically appear.

One fortunate thing is:

In the past,

thanks to the existence of ‘Eoduksini’, the dark side of the demigod Duergsini,

most of the powerful yokai qualified for ascension perished outright.

If Eoduksini did not exist…

This battle would have been lost before it even began.

Did Duergsini predict Eoduksini’s existence?

If he did, why could he not stop Eoduksini?

Just what kind of existence is Eoduksini?

Was he the other side of the demigod Duergsini, a being of chaos rather than order?

There are so many unknowns, but

one thing is certain – thanks to Eoduksini’s existence, this battle transformed from a hopeless one to at least having a chance.

Even though most yokai died due to Eoduksini,

such great forces cannot be stopped by human power alone.

After all,

most goblins including Mi, Mang, and Ryang still remain.

The power of Lord Beast,

the power of yokai, is needed now.

I met with Lord Beast and shared the full situation, then asked him:

“Did I act unnecessarily?”

“Should I not have conversed with Duergsini from the start?”

[No.]

[Since you]

[Have decided to walk the path of a benevolent fox, not an evil fox,]

[This was an inevitable event.]

[In other words,]

[It was inevitable.]

“…It puts my mind at ease to hear you say that.”

“There is another thing I want to ask.”

“Lord Beast, what do you think?”

“Do you think”

“I can take Duergsini’s head?”

[I do not know.]

“…”

[I do not know,]

[You do not know,]

[And even]

[If Duergsini is a demigod,]

[He likely does not know either.]

“I guess I’ll just have to try my best.”

I have practically taken on a legendary burden.

Hm.

Strange.

When shouldering such a heavy burden, one should normally feel suffocating pressure.

Yet strangely, I am brimming with confidence right now.

Originally, the reason I looked so gloomy after conversing with Duergsini was not because I feared him, but because I wondered if humans would come to hate me after I killed Duergsini.

That was why I looked gloomy.

I stood silently for a moment, then Lord Beast asked me:

[Do you have any other questions?]

“…It’s unexpected that you’re the one probing me to ask all the questions.”

“Should you not be worried I might be defying Heaven or have some illness?”

[Now that Duergsini has set his mind on moving the Wheel,]

[All rules have collapsed.]

Lord Beast raised his head.

Lord Beast rose from his place.

Lord Beast’s body as massive as a mountain arose from the earth.

[I am]

[No longer]

[A passive observer.]

Lord Beast began demonstrating his spiritual power.

Lord Beast’s spiritual power was

overwhelmingly great, beyond what I could fathom.

With Lord Beast’s current power,

he could easily tear apart any ascension-qualified yokai with one hand.

Right.

He did tell me to ask questions.

“Alright.”

“Let me make a confession.”

“The truth is, I’m not trying to kill Duergsini for some lofty purpose.”

“Simply,”

“For my personal grudge,”

“For my personal desire,”

“I want to kill Duergsini.”

“You mentioned it before, Lord Beast.”

“That a spiritual being must practice benevolence and righteousness.”

“Only then can one ascend.”

“Well, I threw benevolence and righteousness to the dogs.”

I want to kill Duergsini.

There is no reason.

I simply want to kill him.

It’s a personal grudge.

I want to save the yokai.

Again, there is no reason.

I simply want to save them.

It’s a personal desire.

It’s a choice far removed

from benevolence and righteousness.

“I don’t really want to ascend or anything like that.”

“So does this mean”

“I’ll lose my spiritual power?”

As I spoke,

Lord Beast

laughed and replied:

[You say you threw benevolence and righteousness to the dogs.]

[But when you think about it,]

[Were you ever a dog to begin with?]

[It seems]

[You need not worry so much.]

“…Huh?”

“Were you just joking now?”

[I stated a fact, not a joke.]

The day has come when Lord Beast cracks jokes at me.

…I’ll live to see the world, it seems.

And I’m apparently not a dog,

but a fox.