Chapter 27: Special Lesson Part 3

She charged straight at Yoho, thrusting her shovel toward the fox’s abdomen.

But just before the blade could connect, Yoho twisted her body, and the attack only grazed her, slicing off a thin layer of skin.

Spinning in place, Yoho used the momentum to drive her front paw into me.

I crossed my arms to block, but the force of the blow sent me sliding backward.

“Ruthless, aren’t you? I thought your relationship with your host wasn’t all that bad.”

“If I pull my punches just to be considerate, I’ll end up dead.”

Even though I blocked it, the dull ache in my forearms was proof enough.

The body might be Azuki’s, but the power within it far surpassed that of a human.

Yoho was once a divine beast—a celestial fox that served the gods.

But she had fallen and become a yokai.

Even in her weakened state, having lost most of her former power, she was still a great demon capable of turning the world upside down.

“I commend your lack of complacency. It shows wisdom.”

“Didn’t you just accuse me of arrogance a moment ago?”

“I was simply being honest. Deciding to face me alone may not have been the wisest move. No matter how skilled you are, you won’t be able to bring me down.”

“That’s not something you can know for sure!”

Like an arrow shot from a bow, I dashed at her and swung my shovel.

The blade grazed her neck, leaving a faint line that quickly began to bleed.

But her head didn’t fall.

The wound closed instantly, healing without even a scar.

Yoho flashed a sly grin and opened her palm toward my face.

My survival instincts screamed, and I reflexively bent my back and threw my head backward.

From her hand, blue flames erupted, engulfing the wooden building behind me in fire.

Foxfire.

An unquenchable ghost flame—so hot that even without touching me, it singed the ends of my bangs.

Letting it touch my skin would be fatal.

“Whoops!”

Using the momentum from leaning back, I flipped through the air and widened the distance.

I already knew—brute strength alone wouldn’t be enough to win this fight.

“Is that all you’ve got already?”

“Not even close. Ending a date this fast would be rude.”

“You certainly talk a big game.”

I kept throwing myself at her, but suppressing Yoho was easier said than done.

After absorbing the demonic energy of the sealed ogre general, even with only 30% of her power restored, Yoho could unleash countless youjutsu.

Her high-speed regeneration—which healed the wound on her neck—was just one of those techniques.

Physically killing her was impossible.

The real issue was that subduing her wasn’t easy either.

Unlike magic, youjutsu could still be used even if your hands, feet, and mouth were bound.

Even if I tied her up with rope or disabled her joints, she’d just burn through it all with foxfire.

‘The others better not be late…’

Thankfully, there was one way to weaken and subdue her.

Deep within this cave was a single Sangpyeong Tongbo coin.

It looked like an old relic of a currency, but it was actually a royal talisman capable of suppressing and controlling spiritual power.

Not only could it seal Yoho, but it could also allow Azuki to wield her powers freely.

Using the ogre general’s energy to awaken Yoho had been a kind of catalyst.

“So, you’re just waiting for those kids to show up?”

***

“Staying silent won’t help you. These eyes can see right through your plans.”

“Sigh… I really tried everything to provoke you just to keep it hidden. So much for that…”

Taking down Yoho wasn’t straightforward.

I had sent Erin and Lucia down the right path, where a certain mechanism awaited them.

To enter the heart of the cave, they had to activate that mechanism.

But the moment they did, this secret chamber—where I was now—would be temporarily sealed off.

Until they reached the final chamber, I’d be trapped in a locked room.

‘Then why not just bring the Sangpyeong Tongbo here in advance?’

Well, once someone sets foot into the final chamber, the cave begins to collapse.

In the original story, while the awakened Yoho was being held off by her comrades, Luke ventured alone to the final chamber.

He used his wits to reach the end, sealed Yoho, and the group barely escaped the crumbling cave.

So, bringing the coin and awakening Azuki ahead of time simply wasn’t an option.

‘For a location in a novel, this place sure has complicated mechanics…’

More importantly, it took time for spiritual energy to take root deeply in Azuki’s body.

If we sealed Yoho too soon after awakening her, it would be a meaningless transformation.

In the end, someone had to stall Yoho long enough for Azuki to fully awaken.

And the problem was—Yoho had seen all of that through my memories.

The blessing of the transmigrator had become a curse.

“I’ve already sent my most trusted servant to greet them. Those kids will never reach the final chamber.”

“You think so?”

“Still so confident. Do you actually have something up your sleeve?”

“My students grow stronger when faced with trials. You could call it destiny. Either way, they’ll defeat whoever you sent and come back even stronger.”

Honestly, I’d brought them here to give them real combat experience, and now that they had a powerful opponent, I almost felt grateful.

‘I’d have to hold out longer, but what teacher wouldn’t be proud to see their students grow?’

I couldn’t help but smile.

“Then I suppose I’ll just have to kill you before they arrive.”

“Go ahead and try.”

“I’ve gathered all the spiritual energy you gave me and made it entirely mine. What you’ll witness now is on a whole new level.”

“So we’ve entered Phase Two, huh?”

Yoho spread her nine golden tails wide.

Dozens of foxfires flared up around her, flickering menacingly.

I cast a flame resistance spell over my shovel to keep it from melting, Then covered it with another layer of reinforcement magic to protect it completely.

“Bring it.”

As I beckoned her with a flick of my fingers, the foxfires swirling around Yoho surged forward all at once.

I struck down the first one with a diagonal slash.

More came after, and I intercepted them one by one with quick, clean strikes.

A foxfire tried to circle around and hit me from behind, but I summoned a stone wall to block it just in time.

Elbowing the wall lightly, it crumbled away.

I manipulated the gravel that had made up the barrier to shoot down every last foxfire.

“You’re responding better than I expected. Then how about this?”

Just before the gravel struck, blue flames condensed and exploded.

Even a tiny ember could be dangerous, so I gathered the moisture that had seeped into the coastal cave and pulled it in front of me.

As the flames hit the water, steam rose, clouding the surroundings.

The moment the steam swallowed everything—

A shadow of a fox appeared through the mist, and a punch flew at me.

Crack!!

I quickly blocked it with my shovel.

My arm trembled from the impact, and the handle bent from the force.

Another punch aimed straight at my abdomen.

I deflected it by striking the fox spirit’s wrist with the edge of my hand.

When she aimed her elbow at my chin, I grabbed it, then jumped to dodge her kick aimed at my shinbone.

At the same time, I kicked forward—but hit nothing but air.

“Magic’s seriously busted.”

I had been holding onto the fox spirit’s elbow, but my kick didn’t even touch her.

That’s because she had turned part of her body into vapor using magic.

Melted into the mist, I had no idea where she might strike from next.

“Tch!”

I cast a spell by absorbing the large amount of natural mana dispersed in the air, conjuring a gust of wind.

As the wind scattered the mist, I spotted her—she had attached herself to the ceiling and was already leaping toward me.

I threw myself forward and rolled across the floor.

The spot where I had just been standing was smashed by her punch, leaving a wide and deep crater.

Had I taken that blow unguarded, I’d have been turned into a bloody pulp.

“Can you feel the difference between us?”

“Yeah. It’s seriously unfair being human.”

A world where reptiles and foxes are monstrously strong by birth.

Just three years ago, I had been nothing more than an ordinary human.

Now, I felt like I was choking on the unfairness of it all.

The fox spirit smirked as she dusted off the gravel from her knuckles.

“Whew…”

I tossed the bent shovel to the ground.

If my goal was to kill her, I might’ve made use of it somehow.

But in a battle against time, it was just dead weight.

I concentrated mana to form a guard around my forearm.

All I could do was dodge and block her attacks to buy as much time as possible.

“I can see right through your plan. Let’s see how long you can hold out!”

The fox spirit closed in instantly, kicking off the ground.

With foxfire in her hand, she unleashed a flurry of punches.

As she pulled back her right fist, her left shot forward.

I raised my guarded forearm to block her rapid strikes.

The guard, made from dragon mana, wasn’t damaged by the foxfire—but the shockwaves still vibrated through my arm.

The impact was strong enough to feel like my shoulder might pop off.

Cold sweat ran down my temple.

I had endured pain countless times before—I could handle this.

The real problem was that her fists targeted different areas with each strike, demanding intense focus.

Shoulder, face, forehead, abdomen, back to shoulder, then ribs.

She constantly switched up her rhythm, and with foxfire in hand, I couldn’t afford to take a single hit.

Swatting away her fists, deflecting them with mine, we were locked in a chaotic melee.

“Huh?”

“Backed into a corner, are we?”

In my retreat, I had ended up with my back to the wall.

The fox spirit didn’t miss that moment—she drew her fist back behind her shoulder.

Blocking that blow would be too much.

I had to dodge no matter what.

I locked my gaze on her fist, even catching the subtle twitch of her muscles.

Once I read her intent, I twisted my neck to the side.

Her punch, aimed at my face, crashed into the wall.

The full-force strike obliterated the entire section of wall.

As the wall behind me collapsed, I tilted backward and kicked her in the stomach while rolling away.

I tumbled into a hidden chamber behind the wall, only to find everything around me glowing red.

***

“Wait… this place is…?”

It was the room I had mistakenly entered at the very beginning.

Even though it was my second time here, I still couldn’t get used to the dazzling, seductive red glow.

‘This blood-red light is killing my eyes.’

“Really? I kind of like it, though.”

My fingers brushed against a leather whip.

The distance between us was now just right.

And unlike the shovel, the whip wouldn’t bend or break easily.

There was something strange about the aura surrounding the whip, but this wasn’t the time to be picky.

I grabbed it with both hands, unfurled it, and began to spin it around.

The fox spirit laughed mockingly at the sight.

“You think that pathetic thing can put even a scratch on my flawless body?”

“You won’t know till you feel it yourself.”

“Go ahead and try. It won’t even tickle!”

“You asked for it, okay?”

“Yap yap yap. Just hit me alre—ugh?!”

Whack!

The whip traced a wide arc and struck the fox spirit’s cheek.

It was made of leather, not steel, so it didn’t tear her skin—but it did leave a red mark.

I hadn’t expected that little sting to matter to her.

But strangely, her reaction was extreme.

She grabbed both cheeks with her hands.

“Ahh…!”

And then, she let out a moan that was strangely… suggestive.

It was a voice that sounded like she welcomed the pain.

“What the hell’s with this whip? My—my crotch…! Nghh! It’s burning…!”

“…What?”

She crossed her legs like someone desperate to pee and pressed her hands over her lower abdomen.

A clear, sweat-like liquid trickled down her thighs.

As the atmosphere turned weirdly steamy, I couldn’t help but grimace.

‘Is there really something smeared on this whip?’

To be sure, I slapped myself with it.

It just stung.

Nothing else.

“I didn’t do anything to the whip!”

“Haaah…! Haaah…!”

“Wait. Her eyes are turning red!!”