Chapter 105

The Gumiho, reborn as a true nine-tailed fox, assessed her state.

It wasn't just about regaining her power; she now held the strength of the Sky Fox and Amho as well. She was stronger than ever, entering a new peak.

All that remained was to achieve the unfulfilled aspiration from back then. She was confident she could face any trial now.

But before that—

"Sweetheart? Why did you come all the way here? I’m pretty sure I told you not to."

What puzzled the Gumiho was Karami’s actions.

Why had Karami come here? No matter how she thought about it, the question wouldn’t leave her.

Hearing his answer seemed the only way to resolve these swirling feelings and thoughts.

"Just because you told me not to, is there any reason I shouldn’t come?"

"Huh?"

"I’m the master, and you’re the servant. Since when does a master follow the commands of a servant?"

It was a profoundly fundamental argument.

The master gives commands. The servant follows them.

A master has no need to obey a servant's words.

"Fair enough."

The Gumiho chuckled dryly, acknowledging the straightforward logic. She looked up at the sky with a soft gaze, muttering.

"A master and a servant…huh…"

A bond so strong that even death couldn’t sever it.

Why hadn’t she had someone like that in her past? Or…had she?

The Gumiho turned her gaze to Heukbi.

"Amho, why did you betray me?"

To the Gumiho, Amho had been a comrade, a friend, and a sibling.

Their bond was strong enough to trust each other with their backs on the battlefield. Because of that, the Gumiho had been utterly unprepared when she was betrayed.

Amho tilted her head, as if genuinely puzzled.

"Betrayal? It was you, Gumiho, who betrayed us."

"…What?"

"You let your greed get the better of you, endangering our kind, and never listened despite my warnings. And what happened as a result?"

The Gumiho’s ambition to reach the heavens.

To achieve that one desire, countless fox spirits had been denied their right to live. Once a dominant race, the fox clan had been driven to the brink of extinction.

The surviving foxes scattered across the world, only to fall prey to heavenly punishment, turning them into yokai feared by all.

"You betrayed the trust of the foxes who followed you."

"That’s…."

Heukbi’s plea pierced the Gumiho deeply.

"If only, even once, you had listened to me… things wouldn’t have come to this…."

Not once did she look back. She abandoned her kind as they perished.

That day, Heukbi’s choice had been the only way to save her clan.

"Was it so hard to be content with reality? That you drove our kin into hell?"

"I just wanted the freedom to do as I pleased…."

"And now no one is left."

Every word Heukbi spoke cut like a cold blade.

If anyone else had said it, the Gumiho would have scoffed and dismissed it, but it was Heukbi who spoke.

Heukbi had always been reserved, rarely showing her emotions. Her impassioned plea was impossible for even a Gumiho to ignore.

The Gumiho, utterly disarmed by mere words, lowered her head.

"Now, now, let’s not fight over what’s already past. She’s paid for her sins, hasn’t she, sealed for centuries?"

Centuries—the kind of time span that would make any statute of limitations expire multiple times over.

"It’s not something for an outsider to meddle in."

"Maybe in the past, but not anymore. She’s my servant now, not an outsider."

"Big Lin…?"

"It’s her name. The other Gumiho inside is Lin. She’s Big Lin."

Lin had grown so much that calling her ‘big’ was almost irrelevant now, but she couldn’t think of another way to distinguish them, so she just went with what came to mind.

Heukbi was taken aback.

She had named the Gumiho?

Heukbi looked at the Gumiho in shock, but the Gumiho didn’t deny it. She simply twirled her hair with her finger, avoiding Heukbi’s gaze.

"I-it’s not like I hate it… The more I hear it, the better it sounds…."

Shock, once more.

Until just now, she’d been spouting rules about being addressed as the servant or bound by pacts, yet now she didn’t mind being called by a name given by a human.

"Did… the Gumiho become… a female?"

"What do you mean by female?! What nonsense are you spouting?"

Her reaction was akin to that of a bashful maiden.

She was optimized to enchant men, but the reverse was foreign to her. In a moment of vulnerability, her ‘female’ DNA had kicked in at the hero’s arrival.

Her blushing face was practically an admission of femininity.

"This… this can’t be…."

Right now, Heukbi felt like—

Her idol, whom she admired and respected, had fallen for an unknown man and was now retiring. The idol that once sparkled like a star was no longer there.

"Gumiho, perhaps it’s better if you end your life."

That would be better. To die preserving her pride as an empress rather than living as a mere female.

This was the reaction of a fan in the extreme depths of her devotion.

"Not a chance."

The Gumiho let out a scoffing laugh, took a deep breath, and looked at Heukbi, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I’m sorry."

"…!"

"It would have been better if I’d looked back, even just once, like you said. It’s way too late to regret it now."

Nothing was more foolish than regretting the past.

"Hm~mph."

The Gumiho stretched her arms, looking somehow refreshed.

"Are you leaving?"

"That’s the plan. Can’t keep wasting time when I have to return to my master."

She had figured out what had been pricking her mind and learned about the past. Apologizing was hardly enough for Amho, but—

"You’re not going to reach the heavens?"

"This wasn’t something I achieved on my own. It doesn’t suit me to just reap the benefits. The heavens are for your kind, not me."

The Gumiho’s body began to glow.

A peaceful departure. She had no lingering regrets, so she was ready to leave.

‘If there’s one thing, though…’

Just one thing. One lingering curiosity, if it could be called that.

"What would it have been like if you’d been there for me in the past?"

Someone like Lin, now.

If she’d had a master guiding her from the front rather than someone behind her… Would things have been different?

To the Gumiho’s wistful question, Karami smiled faintly.

"If we’d met back then, I’d be dead. You wouldn’t have paid any attention to me."

"Hm…."

"Imposing the present on the past is an unfair judgment against one’s former self."

In other words, no matter how much he fawned over her, past her would’ve likely treated him as an insect and trampled him without a second thought. Being able to converse freely now was only possible because they met in the present.

"Fair enough."

Dwelling on impossible what-ifs was pointless.

The past couldn’t be twisted by fate.

"Hey, it’s my last request… Can you pet my head just once?"

Every time Karami petted her head, Lin’s overflowing feelings of happiness flooded into her. She wanted to know what kind of emotion caused such feelings.

"Not a problem."

With a gentle touch, Karami rested his hand on her head. Softly, he stroked her.

The sensation was both unfamiliar and comforting. A faint crescent moon smile appeared on the Gumiho’s lips.

"Ah, this feeling… Not bad."

After a while, he withdrew his hand. The Gumiho felt fully satisfied.

"I’ll be going now."

As light filled her body, her spirit slipped out, and Karami caught Lin’s swaying body.

—Almost forgot to mention it. You survived thanks to Lin. She kept your essence safe. And I’m the one who tempted her to feed on it, so don’t hold a grudge against her.

"I know."

—Good enough.

Whatever issues were between them, they’d work it out themselves. She no longer needed to intervene.

Exchanging a last glance with Heukbi, the Gumiho faintly lifted the corners of her mouth.

—Running away after apologizing, it seems.

"……."

—Is it Heukbi? It’s a lovely name.

A calm farewell. The Gumiho’s spirit, without any lingering regrets, dissipated.

Heukbi gazed into the empty air where the Gumiho had disappeared for a while.

"Mm…."

Lin let out a soft whimper as she nestled into Karami’s embrace. With the Gumiho gone, Lin’s personality emerged naturally. Since she had observed everything from within, regaining her composure wasn’t difficult.

Shifting her eyes aside, Lin awkwardly greeted Karami, avoiding his gaze.

"Hi, Master."

"It’s been a while."

Lin parted her lips slightly, ready to speak. She’d already thought of what she wanted to say while inside.

"…I’m sorry. I put you in danger…."

"It’s alright. Didn’t it save me?"

Although consuming his essence hadn’t killed him, it had kept him alive.

The Gumiho’s temptations aside, Lin was still mentally immature, even as her body grew with each added tail. She was just a big child.

Just as a parent takes responsibility for disciplining a child’s mistakes, it was the master’s duty to handle a servant’s mistakes. He’d simply need to teach her not to do it again.

When Karami lifted his hand, Lin’s ears perked up, parting to the sides for easy petting. Even after all this time, her body remembered.

With a faint smile, Karami patted her head again.@@novelbin@@

Lin closed her eyes, savoring the sensation, wrapping all nine tails around Karami in a tight embrace.

"Sorry to interrupt your heartfelt reunion, but it doesn’t seem like we have the luxury for it."

Heukbi lifted her head to the sky, her neck straight. Darkness gathered, covering the sky in an ominous aura that converged to a single point.

It was in the direction of Bestia.

"What’s that?"

"Retribution."

Some called it heavenly punishment, but it was more like a Heavenly Calamity.

A calamity stirred by the heavens against the Gumiho.

Its purpose was to restore twisted fates. Simply put, it aimed to clear out those tied to the Gumiho.

It was akin to Ragnarok.

"We need to return immediately."

"Go safely."

Seeing Heukbi bow her head politely, Karami tilted his head.

"What are you talking about? Amho, you’re coming with us."

"Why should I accompany you?"

"What are you going to do here alone without your powers? And as a fox spirit, you should witness the end."

He was definitely not trying to complete a yokai trio. Definitely not.