Miho (Complete)

“…What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said, Miho.”

“…”

What is this person saying?

That he will let me leave this place.

Doesn’t he understand the full situation?

Hmm,

It seems despite becoming Duergsini’s other side, he does not fully grasp the circumstances.

I will gratefully accept his consideration for me,

sincerely.

I explained to him in as much detail as possible the reason I cannot go outside.

If I go outside,

the world cannot withstand my unrefined power.

…I know,

It sounds like a cringeworthy line a comic book protagonist would say,

Such a delusional middle-schooler statement.

But what can I do, it’s the truth.

Having awakened to my ninth tail,

I could keenly feel the magnitude of my power.

Without any training,

Without using my power,

I instinctively knew this power must not go outside.

Perhaps

if I used the power of my ninth tail, escaping this white space would not be too difficult.

Anytime, if I set my mind to it, I could tear through space and return to the human world.

It’s not that I cannot leave, but rather

that I must not leave – I clearly explained this to Gija.

Gija silently listened to my explanation, then nodded and opened his mouth:

“I know.”

“…You know?”

“Yes.”

“Do you perhaps have grievances with the world?”

“None at all. As I said, I no longer have any lingering attachments or regrets in the secular world.”

“Then why…”

Even though he knows what will happen if I leave this space,

Why is Gija trying to send me out?

“…”

After a moment of thought, Gija looked at me with an affectionate expression and continued:

“After I caused the dark night,”

“Duergsini immediately erased my existence from the world, but”

“My heart remained, as I explained to you, Miho.”

“Yes.”

“My heart remaining meant”

“I could think, and”

“Being able to think meant”

“I could make plans.”

“Fortunately,”

“I had a very… very long time of 500 years…”

“It was enough time”

“To make plans.”

“…Wait a minute.”

Having his heart remain means

he reverted from a goblin back to a human.

Then, this person,

don’t tell me,

after losing his physical body and

retaining his human self for

the long 500 years, alone…

“Do not look at me with such sad eyes.”

“…Ah.”

“It was time I could make plans for you,”

“So it was quite enjoyable,”

“Not too bad,”

“A precious time like that.”

“…”

Even if he says that,

I cannot even fathom how dreadful those 500 years he endured must have been…

I nearly lost my mind just being trapped in this space for an hour.

“For 500 years,”

“I”

“Agonized over and over”

“How to save Miho… no,”

“How to save you.”

“I considered every conceivable variable,”

“And even variables I could barely conceive with”

“The faint remaining authority of a demigod,”

“As far as my abilities could reach.”

Swish.

Gija reached into his bosom,

and took something out to hand to me.

“This is”

“The result.”

“This is…”

What Gija handed me was not a physical object, but closer to an formless energy.

A martial arts power…?

No,

It is too gentle to be called power.

Having received this ‘something’ from Gija without thinking, I asked:

“May I ask what this is?”

“My heart”

“For you.”

“…”

“Consume it.”

“And then,”

“Leave.”

“Go out,”

“And live happily.”

“If I consume this…”

“What will happen to you, Gija?”

“I will simply”

“Return to my rightful place,”

“As a nameless one”

“Who turned his back on the world,”

“Who took the life of his beloved with his own hands.”

What this was,

What would happen if I consumed it and went outside,

Its origin,

I did not ask Gija specifically.

For Gija’s words were bound to be the truth.

It is not that I used a fox yokai’s intuition or the power of my ninth tail to discern its validity.

I just

believed

Gija’s words were the truth, without discernment.

Nor did I presumptuously say, ‘I will save you too, Gija.’

I

cannot save him.

On the contrary,

in all the heavens and earth, only he can save me.

To reject his salvation

would be to insult him instead.

Gulp.

Delicious.

Warm.

I feel refreshed and my mind is clear.

“Not a shred of…”

“Not a shred of doubt, huh…”

“Yeah…”

“Well…”

“We may have just met today, but”

“Gija seems”

“Like someone I can trust.”

“Someone…”

“…”

“…Yes.”

“I am, I am human…”

Tremble tremble.

Gija’s shoulders began to tremble.

Gija gently grasped my hand.

“…In truth,”

“I have told you”

“A lie.”

“…”

Gija firmly grasped my hand,

gripping it so tightly

that my hand went numb.

“It seems”

“I still have”

“Lingering attachments to the world.”

“It seems”

“I still have”

“Lingering attachments”

“To you.”

“Humans are…”

“Fundamentally selfish beings…”

“After thousands of years,”

“It is only today”

“That I have truly become human.”

“Parting with you is”

“Dreadfully unbearable…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

The hand that had grasped mine

gradually became translucent.

“…However,”

“As there is a meeting,”

“There must also be”

“A parting.”

Gija’s body…

No,

he had lost his physical body long ago.

Gija’s heart

began to fade away.

Before he vanished completely, I hurriedly opened my mouth towards him:

“Gi, Gija, I, um, that is, uh…”

What words should I say?

I

have never experienced bidding farewell in my life.

Though we just met today,

it was a time when I could perceive how sincerely this person felt for ‘Miho’,

so for having just met,

I feel

quite

sad.

My mouth would not open.

Words would not come out.

As I struggled to speak,

Gija

smiled and said:

“Do not say anything,”

“Miho.”

“Even without words,”

“Your heart has already”

“Reached me…”

It became difficult to visually confirm Gija’s form, yet

nevertheless,

I could clearly feel his gaze,

as he

looked into my eyes.

I too looked into his eyes,

and could tell just from his gaze how much he had loved and cherished ‘Miho’.

Gija did not open his mouth again,

as if trying to etch my appearance into his eyes as much as possible in the remaining time.

I did not avert my gaze from him.

We

simply

gazed at each other in silence,

just that.

Parting

was not as beautiful

as I had imagined, but

empty and

merely sad.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Gija

departed.

Words cannot adequately express how sorrowful I felt for him,

yet

his final expression

was one of relief and

happiness.

Yes,

he had fulfilled his lifelong wish.

…How ironic.

Duergsini left this world unable to fulfill his lifelong wish, while

Duergsini ultimately fulfilled his lifelong wish and found peaceful rest.

Now,

it is time to ensure Duergsini’s lifelong wish is not in vain,

for his final wish was

for me to live happily.

I should live happily, shouldn’t I?

Also,

it is time to make Duergsini’s death a complete dog’s death.

I

trusted Gija, and

without a shred of doubt, exerted my power to

tear through space.

Stepping through the torn space, I briefly looked back.

What I saw was

a massive waterwheel.

“…”

Order is not inherently good, and

chaos is not inherently good either.

The most ideal

is neither the positive nor negative direction, but

perfect neutrality,

in other words,

freedom.

The freedom to choose for oneself

whether it will be order

or chaos.

For humans,

and

for yokai too.

Turning my gaze from the ‘cycle’,

I then

went outside.

---

“Huaaaaaaaah, Mihoooooooo!”

“Don’t die, don’t dieeee!”

“…Haah.”

Ho-jun let out a sigh.

“Why did you leave this sister alone?! Aaaaaah!”

“Click.”

Dapoh looked at Yi Haneul pitifully and clicked his tongue in disapproval.

To Dapoh and Ho-jun’s reactions, Yi Haneul wailed loudly:

“You, you, you heartless and cruel squirrel yokai! Miho died… Miho dieddddd!”

“Albino.”

“In other words, click.”

“Really, really, really you guys are really…!”

“Really what?”

A familiar and

welcome voice

reached Yi Haneul’s ears.

“…Huh?”

With a ‘No way’ expression, Yi Haneul turned his head.

“Wha…”

“Whaaaa…”

“Whaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Kkkkkkkkkk…”

A sound that could no longer be called a woman’s cry emerged from Yi Haneul’s mouth.

Though Yi Haneul’s condition was dire, from somewhere he found the strength to

approach Miho and envelop her in a tight embrace.

“I thought you were deadeeeeeee!”

“…Does anyone understand what he’s saying right now?”

“No idea.”

“Nope. Click.”

Miho

patted Yi Haneul’s back and opened her mouth:

“…Well,”

“I’m back.”

Swish.

Swishswishswish.

Swishswishswishswish.

Her tails were

one,

two,

three,

eight,

and even nine,

and even

ten

tails.