The Gumiho, reborn as a true Gumiho, confirmed its state.
It had not only regained its power but also the powers of the Heavenly Fox. Stronger than in the past. This was a new prime.
All that was left was to seize the wish that could not be fulfilled then. It felt assured that it could overcome any trial now.
But before that.
“Darling? Why on earth did you come all this way? I clearly told you not to come.”
What the Gumiho was curious about was Carami’s actions.
Why had Carami come here?
It was a question that could not be resolved no matter how many times it was considered.
Only by hearing the answer could it sort out this tumultuous emotion and thought.
“Is there a reason I shouldn’t come just because you said so?”
“Huh?”
“The master is me, and the slave is you. Where in the world is a master who obeys a slave’s command?”
It was an extremely fundamental claim.
The one who gives orders is the master.
The one who follows orders is the slave.
The master does not need to follow what the slave says.
“That is true,” the Gumiho conceded with a hollow laugh at the simple and clear logic. Gazing at the sky with a wistful look, it muttered.
“A slave and a master… huh…”
A bond so strong it could not be severed even by d*ath.
Why did its past self not have someone like that?
No, it seemed like there had been someone.
The Gumiho turned its gaze to Hekbi.
“Hekbi, why did you betray me?”
To the Gumiho, Hekbi was a comrade, a friend, and a younger sister.
A relationship filled with trust to the extent that it could have easily turned its back on the battlefield. It was because of her betrayal that the Gumiho found itself helpless.
Hekbi tilted her head in a way that seemed both brazen and incomprehensible.
“Betrayal? The one who betrayed was not me, but you, Master Gumiho.”
“…What?”
“You couldn’t hold back your greed, putting your fellow kin in danger, and you never listened to any kind advice. What was the result?”
The desire of the Gumiho to stand in the heavens.
To achieve that one goal, many of the Hoyo tribe could not live by their own will, and the fox clan that once dominated the world nearly faced extinction.
The surviving Hoyo tribe was scattered in the world, and even they, wary of their power, were punished by heaven and turned into yokai.
“You betrayed the trust of the foxes who followed you.”
“That…”
Hekbi earnestly appealed to the Gumiho, who could not refute her.
“If only you had listened to me just once… then we wouldn’t have had to come to this point…”
There had never been a time to look back even once.
It had tossed away dying kin.
Hekbi’s choice that day was the best decision to save the clan.
“Was it so hard to be satisfied with reality? To force the clan into hell?”
“I just wanted to be able to do what I wanted…”
“But in the end, you are left with no one.”
Every word from Hekbi stabbed like a cold dagger.
If it were someone else’s words, the Gumiho would have scoffed and dismissed them, but the speaker was Hekbi.
She had always been someone who did not openly display her feelings. With Hekbi now overflowing with emotion, no matter how the Gumiho felt, it could not ignore her.
The Gumiho was easily suppressed by Hekbi’s eloquence.
It dropped its head.
“Okay, okay, let’s not fight over past matters. If I was sealed for hundreds of years after being betrayed, even I would have paid the price.”
Hundreds of years was enough time for multiple statutes of limitations to pass.
“This is a matter that outsiders shouldn’t meddle in.”
“Maybe in the past, but not now. Big Lin is my slave now. Not an outsider.”
“Big Lin…?”
“That’s the name of the Gumiho. The other Gumiho inside is Lin. This one is Big Lin.”
Though it was now so large that it was difficult to distinguish between big and small, it had no other name to classify it by, so it called it as it came to mind.
Hekbi was greatly shocked.
The Gumiho gave it a name?
Hekbi looked at the Gumiho with wide eyes in surprise, but ironically, the Gumiho did not deny it. It merely twisted a strand of hair with its finger and avoided her gaze.
“Well, it’s not particularly unpleasant… it seems okay when I hear it…”
A second shock.
Just a moment ago, it had complained about not wanting to be called by a name and yet, it didn’t mind being called by a human’s name.
“You’ve become a female, Gumiho…?”
“Female?! What are you talking about?”
The fresh response was like that of a virgin.
Though optimized for enchanting men as a Gumiho, the opposite case was unfamiliar. In a moment of crisis, a hero appearing meant the female DNA could not hold back.
The face blushing was akin to declaring itself a female.
“This can’t be…”
Hekbi’s current feelings were just like this.
The idol she revered and admired had suddenly succumbed to some unknown man and announced her retirement. The sparkly idol that everyone adored was no more.
“Gumiho, you should just end your life instead.”
That would be better.
To d*e while preserving pride as a great queen rather than live as a female.
It would be far better to see her idol sullied. It was a response that emerged when a fan’s immersion had reached an extreme.
“I’m definitely not going to d*e!”
The Gumiho burst into laughter, incredulous at the response.
Taking a deep breath, it looked at Hekbi and spoke softly.
“I’m sorry.”
“……”
“If only I had looked back even once at your words. It’s too late to regret it now.”
Nothing is more foolish than regretting the past.
“Hah~…”
The Gumiho stretched out.
Its expression looked somewhat relieved.
“Shall we go then?”
“That’s what I’m thinking. Let’s not waste any more time, and you should return your body to your master.”
It had discovered what had been poking at its nerves and learned the past background. It felt guilty about settling everything with just an apology to Hekbi.
“Are you not going to stand in the heavens anymore?”
“This is not something I achieved. It doesn’t suit my temperament to take the essence of what others have accomplished. The right to stand in the heavens lies with you, not me.”
Light began to shine from the Gumiho’s body.
Transcendence.
With no particular regrets, it planned to leave.
‘If anything…’
There was just one thing left.
Both regret and curiosity, about one single question.
“What if you had been there for me in the past?”
Like the Lin now.
What if there was a master leading from the front, not from the side or behind? Perhaps something would have greatly changed.
To the Gumiho, asking such residual thoughts, Carami smiled plainly.
“If we had met in the past, I would have died. Would you have cared for me?”
“Hmm…”
“Trying to apply the enlightened present self to the past is a cruel act towards your past self.”
In other words, no matter how much Carami might have frolicked in front of the Gumiho, it would have treated her like a passing insect and stepped on her lightly. The reason they could converse comfortably now was that they met in the present.
“That makes sense,” the Gumiho agreed.
Arguing over hypothetical scenarios that would never come to fruition was futile.
The past could not be twisted into fate.
“Hey, it’s the last time… can I just pet your head once?”
Whenever Carami petted her head, Lin’s feeling of happiness poured in like a tide. It wondered what sort of feeling that was, to have such feelings pouring out.
“It’s not hard.”
With a light tap, Carami placed her hand on Lin’s head.
Gently moving her hand to pet her.
It felt unfamiliar yet comfortable.
The corners of the Gumiho’s lips drew a faint crescent.
“Ah, this feeling… it’s not bad.”
After a while of being petted, Carami finally withdrew her hand.
The Gumiho was thoroughly satisfied.
“I’ll be going now.”
Light filled the Gumiho’s body and its spirit smoothly began to fade out. Carami caught Lin’s tilting body.
– I almost forgot to mention. It was Lin who saved you. I could preserve your essence just as it was. And it was me who tempted you to consume that essence, so please don’t hate me too much.
“I know.”
– As long as you know that’s enough.
The two would resolve their own matters best.
There was no longer a need to worry about it.
After exchanging one last glance with Hekbi, the Gumiho lightly raised the corners of its mouth.
– It seems I ended up apologizing and running away.
“……”
– Hekbi, was it? That’s a pretty name.
It was a calm farewell.
The Gumiho’s spirit, with no remaining regrets, dispersed and vanished.
Hekbi stared at the empty space where she had just disappeared for a while.
“Hm…”
Lin, nestled in Carami’s arms, breathed out soft, sleepy sounds.
As the Gumiho disappeared, Lin’s persona naturally emerged. Having observed all matters from the inside, it was not difficult to regain its senses.
With its pupils glancing sideways, Lin awkwardly avoided Carami’s gaze as it greeted her.
“Ah, hello, Master.”
“It’s been a while.”
Lin’s lips quivered.
It had thought carefully about what to say while being on the inside.
“……I’m sorry. I put you in danger…”
“It’s alright. Thanks to that, did I not survive?”
While it wouldn’t have died from consuming essence, it had lived because it consumed that essence.
It had to factor in the Gumiho’s temptation as well. Even as its tail grew and its body matured, Lin remained mentally immature. It was just a kid with a big head.
Just as a parent is responsible for a child’s mistakes and educates them, the master is responsible for their slave’s mistakes. It could simply train Lin so that it wouldn’t happen again in the future.
As Carami raised a hand, Lin’s ears instantly reacted, splitting left and right. It was to make it easy for her to pet. Even after a long time, its body still remembered.
Carami smiled wryly as she petted Lin’s head once more.
With her eyes closed, Lin savored the touch of Carami’s hand. Before it knew it, it had wrapped its nine tails around Carami tightly.
“While it is a reunion of emotion, I apologize, but it seems this is not the time for leisurely encounters.”
Straightening its neck, Hekbi looked up at the sky.
Darkness began to cover the heavens.
Something ominous was gathering into a point.
In the direction where Vestia was.
“What is that?”
“It is the divine punishment.”
While some call it divine punishment, it was closer to a calamity.
It was the calamity of the heavens brought forth by the Gumiho.
The aim was to restore the twisted destinies.
To put it simply, it intended to tidy up those entwined with the Gumiho along with the Gumiho.
It was somewhat similar to Ragnarok.
“Let’s go back immediately.”
“Farewell, then.”
Seeing Hekbi bowing gracefully, Carami tilted her head.
“What do you mean? Hekbi, you should come with us.”
“Why should I go with you?”
“Having lost all your power, what are you planning to do here alone? And as a Hoyo tribe member, you should witness the final moments.”
This was not at all about gathering the trio of yokai.
Absolutely not.
