Ch.7Fox (3)

There are memories that cannot be forgotten.

Scenes that retain their fresh scent even after a long time has passed.

“Always remember this, Irene.”

A warm hand gently stroking my head.

My master was smiling quietly.

Back then, I turned my head away, saying I disliked the nagging, but now even that has become a cherished memory.

“Someday in life, you’ll face moments when you want to give up.”

A voice gently coloring the air.

Beyond the aged resonance lies a fox’s childhood.

“Irene.”

“The world is like a dawn swept by storms.”

“No matter how desperately you try to run away, misfortune will eventually find you.”

Affection gathers in the wrinkled corners of her eyes.

The elderly woman lying on her sickbed struggles to sit up as she continues speaking.

“It will hurt. You’ll feel scared, sad, lonely… perhaps you’ll want to collapse.”

“You might end up kneeling before the raging storm.”

“That’s what life is.”

“But, Irene.”

“This master wishes that you would never surrender.”

Be someone who doesn’t bow.

Be someone who can hold their head high against the raging storm and wield their sword.

“It’s fine if unreasonable forces block your path.”

“It’s okay even if everything about you is denied, leaving only pitiful trembling.”

Just don’t bend what you believe is right.

Rather than being a reed that bends in the wind, be a pine tree that fiercely stands against it.

This is the sword I taught you.

“Swing your sword toward the storm.”

“Turn your back on cowardly comfort and be the first tree to break.”

This is your master’s final lesson.

The most important things are invisible. You must always see with your heart.

Life continues even in the stormy dawn.

“Just as ancient sailors found their way by looking at stars, life needs a direction to move toward.”

“So, Irene.”

That’s what my master said.

Her voice still remains intact in a corner of my memory.

It became a signpost on my wandering path, supporting my weak self.

“Find your own star.”

It was always like that.

I wanted to be like you.

***

Silence.

‘……’

Nothing can be heard.

In a world where only deathly stillness has settled, the fox stands alone in darkness.

A body that is literally in tatters.

Irene staggers.

Her legs had already lost their strength, but she was barely maintaining her balance.

Only exhaustion remained at her fingertips.

She desperately clings to her consciousness that keeps fading away.

“Haa, haa……”

Breathing that chases up to her chin.

As she roughly gasps for breath, soon a voice breaks the silence.

“You look like you’re struggling.”

What appears in her blurry vision is the enemy.

An overwhelming enemy of force, as if containing all the unreasonableness of the world.

Malicious mockery whispers in her ear.

“Just a moment ago, you said you wanted to see this through to the end… but what will you do when even holding your sword is too much for you?”

The shadow twists the corner of its mouth.

It was an obvious sneer, but Irene showed no particular reaction.

She didn’t feel the need to.

It was a strange sentiment.

Irene’s heart was utterly peaceful.

Even at provocations that would normally have infuriated her, only gentle ripples fell.

The girl simply breathes.

“……”

Is this the detachment that comes when facing death?

An inexplicable coziness lingers.

The sound of her pounding heart. A heartbeat that resonates particularly clearly.

Crack-

She readjusts her grip on the sword she had been using as a cane.

The palm wrapping around the hilt. A tingling sensation spreads through her entire arm, if only for a moment.

‘What a strange feeling.’

Something seems almost within grasp, yet not quite.

Irene pushed aside her drifting thoughts and raised her weakened head.

There, fate was waiting for her.

‘Death.’

The girl’s shoulders tremble for a moment.

Indeed, she was afraid. But even so, there was a sufficient reason for her steps that refused to retreat.

-This master wishes that you would never surrender.

The nagging that remained in her ear.

Irene smiled faintly.

How ironic that these were the words she remembered at such a moment.

‘Of all things.’

Words she hadn’t understood and had dismissed at the time, but now she seemed to understand a little.

The important things are invisible.

One must always see with the heart.

It’s okay to be blocked by unreasonable storms. It’s okay even if all your footprints are denied.

-Just don’t bend what you believe is right.

-Turn your back on cowardly comfort and be the first tree to break.

Life continues even at dawn.

If the star you’ve set in your heart doesn’t waver, the world won’t crumble.

It’s about moving forward with just a handful of will.

“I.”

A shabby courage.

Though it might appear as worthless junk in others’ eyes, for the girl, this was the only compass of her life.

The only light sparkles.

“I’m still alive.”

The moment of realization.

Crack-!

Sparks fly from her fingertips.

Following the tingling sensation that colors her, a faint radiance engulfs the sword.

The light gradually becomes more distinct.

“Oho.”

The snake watching lets out an exclamation.

A scene blooming brilliantly.

By now, the radiance covers the rusted sword, brightly illuminating the surrounding darkness.

Fragments of pure white flutter.

What could this unfamiliar power be?

A sense of omnipotence felt for the first time. It felt as if she could cut through anything right now.

Awakening comes suddenly.

Whoosh-!

Amidst the rushing noise, the fox raised her sword.

Focusing solely on the sword.

She explodes all the energy within her body at full power.

She intended to pour all her remaining strength into this final attack.

-Find your own star.

This was the star the girl had chosen.

Irene, determined for her final moment, spoke to the stranger standing before her.

“Welcome to my star.”

A brief utterance echoes.

The girl, quietly assuming her stance, immediately swings her sword. Right after, the entire passage brightens.

It was a beautifully flashing strike.

Kwaaaa-!

A golden line cuts through the pitch darkness.

A flash of light racing at high speed.

The snake seemed to try to dodge the attack in surprise, but the fox was a bit faster.

It finally reaches the boy.

‘It hit.’

Such a thought crosses her mind.

Just as she was about to cut down her opponent without a moment’s hesitation…

“That’s enough.”

The snake moves his lips.

As if he had never been surprised, he gazes at the fox with a relaxed expression.

For a very brief moment, his narrowed eyes open.

“You pass.”

Eyes bleached white.

As the boy’s and girl’s gazes cross, a large crack appears in the previously intact space.

Crack, crack-!

Like a mirror breaking.

The background surrounding the two shatters into pieces. An utterly unbelievable scene.

Towards the girl who couldn’t hide her astonishment, the boy whispers.

“It’s time to wake up from the dream.”

Thwack-!

The inverted world returns.

***

Thwack-!

When her blacked-out consciousness returned, Irene was standing in the passage.

Her vision flickering on and off.

The girl blankly raises a question mark.

“……Huh?”

She doesn’t seem to grasp the situation.

Watching the fox’s reaction, filled with confusion, I smiled faintly.

‘It’s understandable to be confused.’

Until just now, Irene had been trapped in a fictitiously manipulated world.

She had been engaged in a fierce life-or-death battle in an illusory magic that I had arbitrarily created to seem like reality.

In short, she had been deceived by a “lie.”

I had never moved from the beginning.

More precisely, from the moment Irene shouted at the young foxes to run away and rushed at me.

The girl had been trapped in a mental world.

“Did you enjoy your brief dream?”

I offer a refreshing good morning greeting.

In fact, almost no time had passed in reality, so it was still dawn.

“What is this……”

The fox mutters, frozen in place.

It didn’t take long for her to recognize the current situation and turn pale.

Black eyes stare in my direction.

“……Illusion magic?”

“Correct.”

“That’s impossible… I didn’t feel any sense of dissonance at all.”

“Haha, I’m a bit special, you see.”

After all, I’m someone who could potentially cause world destruction single-handedly. Though that’s based on the original work.

I examined the girl with a leisurely gaze.

Pupils with strangely unfocused eyes.

It seemed the effects of hypnosis still lingered.

While waiting for Irene to gather her wits, I recalled the scene from just before.

-Welcome to my star.

The girl unleashing her sword strike after that simple line.

Watching the rapidly surging light, a thrilling sensation colors my entire body.

I couldn’t hold back my smile.

“I was impressed.”

I had witnessed a precious scene beyond what I had expected.

To think I could glimpse fragments of awakening already.

It was a bit disappointing that it wasn’t reality but a mental world… still, it was a moment that made my heart swell with grandeur.

-Ding!

[The subject’s emotions fluctuate dramatically.]

(Despair -> Will)

[Due to the dramatic emotional change, the lie has been massively restored.]

[Current remaining output: 100.0%]

Thanks to that, my output hit maximum.

It’s been quite a while since I filled this up completely. It feels nostalgic.

That means it was an intense emotion.

As I stood still, enjoying the lingering feeling, a sharp scream soon hits my ear.

“Kids, kids?! Wake up…!”

It seems she had discovered the young foxes behind me.

The children were sprawled on the floor, each having lost consciousness.

Irene momentarily wavers. Then, eyes soaked in anger fly and pierce in my direction.

“Damn it! What the hell did you do to these kids?!”

“My, please calm down.”

“You even went after such young ones…!”

“They’re merely asleep.”

“……”

The girl hurriedly checked the condition of the foxes.

Only after confirming that all ten children were safe did she remove the murderous intent from her eyes.

Of course, wariness remained.

“……What do you want?”

Irene asks with a trembling voice.

From the fact that I hadn’t harmed the defenseless children, she seemed to have judged that I didn’t intend to kill them.

She had even removed her killing intent now.

I spoke with the kindest smile in the world.

“First, please put down your sword.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“Hmm~ If a fight breaks out here, the little ones might get involved, don’t you think?”

“……Damn it.”

Clang-!

Irene seemed to hesitate, but eventually disarmed herself.

“Good. It seems we’re ready for dialogue.”

“……”

“You don’t need to be so tense. I actually harbor goodwill towards you.”

“Goodwill…?”

“Yes, I promise not to hurt you.”

I showed both my hands.

It was a gesture suggesting peace, albeit timidly.

In truth, if I had intended to kill the foxes, I had the power to massacre them all with just a single gesture.

Irene had no choice.

“……What kind of conversation do you want to have?”

“That’s a good question.”

I stared at the fox with sinister eyes.

In my flickering vision, the image of her showing fragments of awakening remained vivid.

The girl hadn’t lost her nobility even at the edge of a cliff.

‘How cool.’

A swordsman with an unbending heart.

A cliché and childish story.

These kinds of stories… I love them to the point of obsession.

-Welcome to my star.

A star, what a beautiful word.

It was even more so because the subject uttering that line was the girl.

Because she was literally a person who sparkled like a star.

Humans naturally desire to possess a light they don’t have when they see it.

I was no different.

“I want to buy your star.”

I decided to possess the girl.

“Won’t you let me tame you?”

A vague question. I extend my hand politely.

Like the little prince who first tamed a fox, I wore a pure smile.