episode_0095

“Wow, this is so delicious. Do kids these days eat this every day?”

“It’s a bit simple in the morning. It’s more colorful in the evening.”

“Oh… .”

Watching the two people conversing harmoniously, Seira blinked her eyes blankly again today.

It’s a familiar picture.

It seems like this happened every time Lin’s tail grew longer.

But now, the tail is still the same. What has changed is Rin herself. She doesn’t cling to Karami, and her aura is much more mature. And she speaks like someone from hundreds of years ago.

“What is this?”

Finally, I couldn’t hold it in any longer and asked.

“I’m a nine-tailed fox.”

“Rin was originally a gumiho, wasn’t she?”

“Not that gumiho, but the gumiho from the legendary book. The gumiho that was sealed for speaking against heaven.”

“… ?”

Seirara didn’t understand, so Karami had to flesh out her answer.

From the fact that the spirit of the nine-tailed fox entered Baekungok, to the fact that Rin secretly stole the energy and ran away, awakening the personality of the nine-tailed fox.

Seira experiences surprising things every day while working with Karami. I thought I was finally getting used to it, but this time I couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Gumiho… ?”

“Hello~ Did you say Seira? I’ll be counting on you from now on.”

“Then what about Ms. Lin?”

“I fell asleep crying inside of me. I don’t know if I’ll wake up or not. Well, I won’t give it back even if you ask me now. Isn’t it cheating to give it to someone and then take it away?”

Seira roughly understood what the gumiho meant. It meant that as long as the gumiho was around, Rin might not appear again.

Seira, who had grown very attached to Lin while spending time with her, couldn’t help but feel quite flustered.

Seira sent a signal to Karami with her eyes. Karami shrugged his shoulders with an indifferent expression. As if he didn’t really care.

What on earth is he planning this time? Seira, not knowing what it is, just sighed in frustration.

“Oh, I have one more thing to tell you.”

“Do as you please. You’re going to do whatever you want without consulting me anyway.”

Whether you die or not. Whether your body is taken over by a gumiho or not, do as you wish!

Seira gulped down cold water.

“Um, I was going to tell you that I was going to duel Princess Hilde.”

“Phew!”

Seira spurted water. While the nine-tailed fox evaded it with DEX, Karami, sitting across from her, had to turn it over and wear it down.

If it had been a slave’s, she would have licked it up and said, ‘This precious thing…!’, but it wasn’t Seira’s. She didn’t go anywhere and kneel, but she was a Karami with excessively high standards.

Dulkudung!

Seira jumped up, kicking the chair away, and continued to argue as if she had no intention of apologizing.

“Oh, a duel with the princess? What kind of nonsense is that?!”

Karami wiped her face with a handkerchief.

“I accepted because he threatened to kill Lin. If not, the military would have come and the house would have been a mess by now.”

“Um… .”

Surely this would be better than the military barging in…?

Seira was thinking that, but then she felt a cold gaze from in front of her. The nine-tailed fox and Karami were looking at her with cold eyes.

“Wow, you pretend to care about the world, but you’re relieved when I tell you that your house is safe? Isn’t that a bit much?”

“That’s how people are. They value their own self-interest more. In comparison, I led countless slaves to liberation… Aww, tsk.”

As the two people were talking excitedly, Seira couldn’t hold it in any longer and shouted.

“I don’t want to hear that from a nine-tailed fox and a slave trader!”

***

Things didn’t go as planned when Lin turned into a nine-tailed fox. The day of the duel between Yuhwa and the unknown Hilde had arrived.

Yuhwa was waiting in the sky of Cheonsangru. Judging from Hilde’s absence, it seemed that she had not yet arrived.

Yu-hwa’s momentum subsides after discovering the nine-tailed fox.

“You bastard… .”

“You call me Rin. You should call me Rin nicely.”

“Nonsense. Did you steal my body?”

“He just gave me his seat because he didn’t want to be there. If I had left him alone, he would have gone berserk. Because the owner treated him so rudely.”

Yuhwa shoots a sharp gaze at Karami. She thought he would be able to solve the problem by coaxing and appeasing her.

So I trusted her and left her in charge, but Lin must have been so hurt that she’s curled up inside. She doesn’t show any signs of coming out.

If the gumiho continues to take over your body for a long time and gains strength, you won’t be able to wake up even if you want to.

Karami had a calm expression on her face, whether she knew it or not.

Yuhwa was considering forcibly taking her down, since she was still unable to summon up her full strength, but it was meaningless. She was too weak to fight her, so even if she did, she couldn’t guarantee victory.

I have no choice but to vaguely believe that Karami has some kind of plan and leave it to him.

Woof woof.

At that moment, Yuhwa’s fox beads sparkle.

It looks like Hilde has arrived.

***

It’s a moonlit night on the lake.

The ground feels soft underfoot, and the scent of the forest and the earth tickles my nostrils. When a cool breeze blows, the tree branches rustle and leaves fall.

A leaf that has fallen into the lake creates gentle ripples.

Hilde, who was walking there, stops at one moment.

Seonhilde, who was standing in the forest, faced the members looking at her. When her eyes met with Yuhwa, Karami, and the Gumiho, the corners of her mouth curled up fiercely.

“Wow… Look at this bitch? She really has seven tails?”

Since she took over Rin’s body, the nine-tailed fox naturally has seven tails. And having many tails or having them pink doesn’t mean anything to her.

All the way to Cheon Sang-ru, it proudly showed off its tail, so everyone in the neighborhood knew that the Seven-Tailed Fox had appeared.

Karami didn’t bother to stop them either. There wasn’t much of Rin’s story left anyway. He was confident that he could win even if they attacked.

But from Hilde’s perspective, it seemed like nothing more than a mockery.

“You’ve been hiding your tail all this time? Wow, me. Have you ever seen such a disgusting motherfucker?”

“… What the fuck?”

“Why, even the great nine-tailed fox’s ears tingle when he hears curses? Should I do more?”

“Ha.”

The nine-tailed fox let out a snicker as if it were nothing, then ran her hand over her bangs. A light appeared in her odd eyes for a moment.

“Even the little beasts that couldn’t tell right from wrong are now talking, and even the most insignificant kids are picking on them.”

The old days were better after all.

If I regain my strength now, it might not be a bad idea to turn the world back to the old days.

The nine-tailed fox rolls her wrist.

Fox beads pop out of thin air.

The two of them were able to communicate with each other without having to say a word, so Hilde, who was about to engage in battle, also began to loosen up her body.

Hilde’s body heats up as she waits for the moment of battle. Tension and excitement spiral into a double helix.

The anticipation of meeting a healthy opponent who has taken over your emotions, the pleasure you feel in battle, and the ecstasy of overcoming that opponent.

If you defeat the evil spirit, peel off its shell, and hang it in the square, you will have a chance to be praised as the greatest hero in the history of Vestia.

A smile spread across Hilde’s lips. The corners of her lips trembled uncontrollably. Her muscles twitched and her blood yearned for battle.

The moment the cool forest breeze blew.

“Sigh!”

Kwaaang!

The eyes of a battle-mad maniac flash, awakening violent instincts.

He has seven tails, but his opponent is a nine-tailed fox. He is not foolish enough to use his strength against a nine-tailed fox.

Give it your all from the beginning.

With a single shout, Hilde’s black magic explodes. Leaves scatter like dust. Hilde places her hands on the ground and assumes the stance of a beast.

The nine-tailed fox lets out a nasal sound with a graceful smile.

“Huh, you’re in good spirits.”

“Keuheuk, how long will you be able to be free?”

Hilde’s magical power, which had been spreading explosively, suddenly took the shape of a giant lion. The lion’s golden eyes flashed from within its black mane.

​

Wow! Wow!

​

The roar of the lion, reminiscent of the trumpet of a battlefield, shook the lake. The moonlight on the surface of the water shimmered as if it would break, but it did not break.

Phew!

Hilde’s body was shot out like a cannonball. Hilde, who created a hazy afterimage. The ground was swept away as if a landslide had occurred due to the fierce footsteps.

“What are you doing, you’re moving so slowly! Are you frozen because you’re scared─!”

It was a blink of an eye.

Hilde appeared before the nine-tailed fox.

He clenched his fist and tore the corner of his mouth open. As if he was going to finish it off with one blow, Jeong-kwon struck with half of his magical power. The fatal blow aimed for the nine-tailed fox’s face and struck like a flash of lightning.

Phew!

Kwaaang!

A whirling gale. A vast black blast flashed across the straight stretch of the sky. A straight line of lightning stretched across the horizon, splitting the forest in half.

A lion’s strike that wipes out all material within range. Nothing remains where the light fades. Only a forest swept away by the regime and scorched to the ground.

Gumiho Station too.

Hilde’s eyes widened.

The nine-tailed fox had disappeared without a trace.

Did it really turn to dust and disappear?

A gumiho dies this easily?

There’s absolutely no way that’s possible.

“Where are you attacking? You look like you’ll just eat anything, so did you take out your own eyes too?”

As soon as she had that thought, she heard the disgusting, peculiar grumbling of a gumiho. Without even looking up, Hilde immediately flew towards the direction from which the sound had come.

Kwaaang!

This time, too, a black flash was drawn without fail. Although the output was reduced compared to before, it was still a powerful blow that could easily pierce through a mountain.

“Where exactly are you attacking? Are you sure you can touch the hair?”

But the gumiho’s voice could still be heard. Hilde scanned the surroundings, but the gumiho was nowhere to be found. Not only that, but Karami and Yuhwa were also nowhere to be found.

Even so, the nine-tailed fox did not even show the appearance of those who should have been there.

“Ha! You were so arrogant, but you’re just using your skills? Even the great nine-tailed fox is nothing special, right?”

“There’s no point in provoking him. It’s a fight that ended a long time ago.”

“Why, are you scared? Are you trying to run away now?”

“Shhh. Don’t raise your voice so much. It makes you look weak?”

The nine-tailed fox’s frivolous laughter echoed through the air. As if it were a sign of mercy from a superior toward the ignorant, the nine-tailed fox began to kindly explain.

“Most of the power of the Moonlight Eye has been taken away, but not all of it has disappeared. The essential powers are still available to me when the eye is in my hands.”

“What?”

“If the Ilyeongan is the sun that reveals the truth of all things, the Wolyeongan holds the mystery of the moon that can enchant anything.”

“What nonsense are you talking about! Stop hiding and come out now!”

The gumiho continues speaking silently, ignoring Hilde’s shouts.

The leaves are fluttering.

Ripples appear on the surface of the lake.

The moon reflected in the water sways.

A world where the senses are vague, like a dream or an illusion. In the midst of it all, only the voice of the nine-tailed fox can be heard clearly in one’s head.

The nine-tailed fox, who had been laughing for a while while watching Hilde like a clown, smiled and recited.

“When did you think we started dueling?”

That moment.

Exactly!

​

The brisk finger snapping sound echoes, drowning out all other sounds. The fluttering leaves stop in midair, and the ripples stop in their original circular form.

A world where time and space seem to have disappeared. The only thing that has changed is that the moon reflected on the lake has disappeared.

“Break, mirror flower water moon.”

As if responding to that voice, space itself begins to split apart. The night sky shatters into pieces and falls to the ground. The sky pours down.

When all space collapsed, what appeared was not a forest, but the sky of Cheonsangru.

and.

“It’s all just a flash of momentum, nothing special~”

It was Hilde who had fallen to the floor and the gumiho who was stepping on her head.