Seven-Tailed Fox (3)

A ‘multi-tailed fox yokai’ is the sole truly free existence in this world.

In other words…

“Are you saying all beings other than multi-tailed fox yokai are not free…?”

“Is that your third question?”

“…No.”

“You have already breached two taboos. Your final question must be prudent.”

Whether it was Sангун or Dalki, those who transcended certain levels seemed to have a habit of speaking ambiguously.

From the listener’s perspective, it was utterly vexing.

Still, I could roughly guess what Dalki was trying to say.

When I first met Sангун, he told me I had to choose whether to become an ‘evil fox’ or a ‘virtuous fox’.

He could not discern if I was a being of chaos or order.

Dalki had chosen the path of an ‘evil fox’.

And I had chosen the path of a ‘virtuous fox’.

According to Dalki, this too was an exercise of my free will.

Fundamentally, as ‘yokai’ who acquire yokki, we inevitably harm humans in that process.

Thanks to Sангун creating the Underworld to govern yokai, the yokai there no longer harmed humans.

But no one could deny the fundamental ‘evil’ nature of yokai as beings.

In my case, however, there were originally two paths for acquiring yokki:

The ‘virtuous’ path of draining human male essences, and the ‘evil’ path of devouring human livers.

…It was simply that I disliked draining essences.

I was a yokai who could acquire yokki without inherently harming humans.

Of course, I wasn’t sure if draining essences truly qualified as the ‘virtuous’ path, but nonetheless, I became a spirit creature without doing so.

As Dalki said, my free will to protect humans may have unconsciously influenced my awakening as a spirit creature.

I now understood why I had suddenly awakened as a spirit creature.

“You seem deep in thought.”

“…”

Dalki urged me to ask my final question.

In truth, there were so many things I wanted to ask her:

How she had attained such immense power to rule all under heaven, yet eventually met her downfall.

Dalki had said she bridged the past and present herself… so at least in this present time, she had not fallen yet.

How to unleash another tail.

It was pointless asking Dalki, as she was a fox yokai who chose the ‘evil’ path unlike me, so the method would differ.

Still, there was no harm in gathering information.

Why she wanted to meet me.

While this was my first encounter with Dalki and I had not fully grasped her character, I could be certain she wielded immense power. Yet from the start, she had been quite amicable towards me.

Was it because I was Dalki’s reincarnation? A fox yokai inheriting her vessel? I didn’t know.

After briefly pondering what to ask Dalki, I became certain:

If I didn’t ask this, I might regret this moment for the rest of my life.

“Goblins.”

“Oho…”

“What exactly are goblins?”

“An unexpected question, indeed.”

Dalki pondered my question for a moment, then glanced at the fissured space and abruptly uttered a resounding incantation:

[I shall defy the Heavenly Mandate.]

As Dalki spoke, this white-painted world began to tremble.

Rumble rumble, BANG BANG!!!

Ah.

Those lightning bolts, I had witnessed them before.

When Sангун informed me about ‘fake ascension’, the same lightning had struck him directly.

The only difference was:

For Sангун, the lightning struck his broad back, forming the characters meaning ‘Defying Heaven’.

For Dalki, she could deflect the lightning with a mere flick of her finger.

Astonished, I asked Dalki:

“You avoided ‘Defying Heaven’…?”

“Ohoho, so you already know? Fortunately, you are not a complete dimwit.”

“How did you…”

“I refused because I wished to refuse. This too is my freedom.”

“…”

Come to think of it, the goblin from Namsan had said something similar:

That only the true rulers of heaven and earth could ‘Defy Heaven’.

Since Sангун had ‘Defied Heaven’, the Namsan goblin’s words were undoubtedly true.

…But still.

Even Sангун, a being I could not dare look up to, could not refuse the repercussions of ‘Defying Heaven’.

Yet Dalki deflected them with a mere finger.

Just how immensely powerful was Dalki at this point?

It was incomprehensible.

“Tell me about goblins.”

Eventually, Dalki began her tale about goblins:

“If fox yokai like you and I are beings that have clearly transcended the shackles of the Wheel of Life,”

“Then goblins are beings bound by the shackles of the Wheel.”

“In other words, they are the embodiment of order.”

“…Wait, wait a moment.”

“What is it?”

“From what I know, goblins are clearly beings of chaos…”

Goblins as beings of order?

What did that even mean?

“Do not doubt my words.”

“I am you.”

“And you are me.”

“If you cannot even believe your own words, what in this world can you believe?”

“…”

“Do you know?”

“This world revolves in the reverse direction of the Wheel – a false world.”

“Goblins are beings that seek to turn the reverse Wheel in the proper direction.”

“…”

I had heard those words before, from the goblin at Namsan.

While I still did not understand their meaning:

“You need not ponder it too deeply.”

“The opposite of falsehood is truth.”

“And to pursue a world revolving in the proper direction of the Wheel, rather than the reverse, can be seen as an act of seeking order.”

“Hence, goblins are beings of order.”

“So… are goblins your enemies too?”

“I have no enemies. Who would dare to be my adversary?”

“…”

Dalki’s overwhelming arrogance seeped through.

“Goblins are mere playthings that amuse me, nothing more nor less. However.”

“I too do not wish for the proper world that goblins pursue.”

“This is also a reason why I decided to meet you.”

“The reason is…”

“It holds no amusement for me.”

“…”

“I prefer falsehood over truth.”

“The reverse over the proper.”

“Simply put.”

“The proper world will be far more dreadfully unamusing than you can imagine.”

…While uncertain, I agreed with Dalki’s opinion.

No matter how much goblins pursued order, their acts were undoubtedly evil – no, utter evil.

Not everything ‘orderly’ was good.

Not everything ‘true’ was good.

Sometimes, the twisted and false were preferable.

In conclusion, regarding goblins:

“We should just kill them all.”

As I spoke, Dalki suddenly burst into raucous laughter:

“Ahahahahahaha!”

It was not laughter mocking me, but one of sheer amusement.

“It seems my concerns were unnecessary.”

“While I am somewhat disappointed.”

“You are indeed a fitting vessel for me, no matter what anyone says!”

Craaaaaack.

With my third question concluded, the fissures began spreading from localized points to engulf the entire space.

It seemed my meeting with Dalki was ending soon.

“One last thing – give me some tips on dealing with goblins.”

“Tips?”

“…Advice.”

“Advice, advice…”

As the world shattered, Dalki’s face, form, and malicious aura began disintegrating too.

But her final words engraved themselves firmly in my mind:

[Goblins’ livers are quite unpalatable,]

[So do not bother devouring them – simply toss them aside like trash.]

---

I awoke from the dream.

No.

I returned to reality from that reality.

I looked around.

Again and again.

…Phew.

The world was unchanged.

The dense, inky fragrance unique to the Underworld remained.

My bed was the same.

And my seven tails were intact.

After conversing with Dalki, I had expected to awaken spiritually and perhaps unleash an eighth tail, but no such thing occurred.

No matter how much I exerted my rear, I only assumed an embarrassing posture – no new tail emerged.

Well, at least thanks to Dalki, my mind felt considerably lighter.

Although she was an evil yokai who devoured human livers whenever bored, she was a being of the past.

And she had imparted much helpful information to me, so I should accept it.

Through our conversation, I not only gained information, but learned the proper mindset I should adopt:

Above the heavens and below, I alone – the multi-tailed fox yokai – was the truly free and noble existence.

With the mindset of solipsism encompassing all heaven and earth, I would fear nothing henceforth.

Not goblins.

Not other yokai.

Not even human scrutiny!

Yes, if I wanted to brazenly wag my tails, so what?

From now on, I would unreservedly indulge my instincts without caring about others’ opinions.

For that too was my freedom.