[Part 3/5]
'Oh my? What's happened all of a sudden? Is your stomach upset? My, my, my, how troubleso! Hasn't big sister scolded you about manners and your eating habits?'
The fox approached Shiro, partly concerned and partly teasing. However, she noticed sothing when she saw Shiro's bewildered expression and furrowed her eyebrows.
'Hmmm? Excuse . Well, I think I might have an idea...'
"Higgh...!?"
Shiro gasped as the golden fox grabbed her hair and forcefully lifted her face. With her hair being pulled, she winced in pain, but the fox paid no attention to her reaction and kept staring into her white fox eyes, seemingly seeing through her soul.
'Oh, I see. So that's what happened.'
After a mont of peering into Shiro's eyes, the golden fox finally understood what had befallen Shiro. And she couldn't help but feel exasperated.
'My, my. I never imagined soone like you would get into such a silly situation. Kurorei big sister in the underworld must be lanting. To think that she had taken a liking to you, the little sister... Oh, it's truly pitiful.'
The golden fox, who had previously been casual and familiar, suddenly changed her deanor. She now taunted and jeered, full of contempt and jealousy. Her words carried resentnt and bitterness, as if she was venting her grievances.
"Guh...!?"
Shiro's hair was pulled, and she was forced to bend her neck backward, leaving her delicate throat exposed.
'Hehehe. Lick.'
"Hi!?"
Shiro's body trembled in fear as the golden fox's tongue trailed against her neck. The touch of her canine teeth on the soft skin made her aware of the pulsing blood vessels beneath. It felt as if her life was in the fox's hands.
'Hehehehe. How unexpected. Shiraki-chan, you also cry so adorably as a child, didn't you? Quite a contrast to when we last t, isn't it?'
The golden fox whispered with a nostalgic tone, reminiscing about her long association with Shiro's big sister, Kurorei. It was a common occurrence for her sister to disappear and return with souvenirs even before the Great War. The eting with Korishiraki, a half-youkai like her, was also a similar encounter. The only difference was perhaps her exceptional talent.
The rank of a youkai fox was determined by the number of tails it possessed. It took a long ti to gain an additional tail. And it was a rare achievent to acquire one in a hundred years. So might even need as many as a thousand years. And the benefits were imnse; with each added tail, their spiritual power grew exponentially.
'You were just three-tailed when we first t, right? I was surprised. You gained seven or eight tails in just a little over four centuries? I thought it was a joke.'
The golden fox whispered sweetly in Shiro's ear. However, Shiro couldn't help but shiver at the undercurrent of resentnt in her words.
'And then, in no ti, you reached seven or eight tails. Kurorei big sister adored you so much; I was so envious. Acting all high and mighty as a newcor...!!'
"What, what are you...!?"
The force pulling her hair increased, and Shiro trembled under the piercing gaze of the golden fox. She couldn't comprehend the words and emotions directed at her. As ti passed, Shiro noticed the eight beautiful golden fox tails behind the golden fox.
'Even though you were by her side, our sister still died, well, that's fine. Such things happen... Sniff, sniff, but, is this really necessary?'
The golden fox sniffed at Shiro's chest, armpits, neck, and face, directing a contemptuous expression towards her.
'It's filled with the foul sll of those monkeys. And what's this strong odor of the male monkeys? Isn't it inappropriate to be so friendly with them?'
She realized that Shiro had not made any effort to regain her lost powers. Instead, the sll of monkeys clung to her, indicating that she had been spending ti with them.
'Are you still naïve enough to think that you've completed your purification as an innocent child? It's impossible, isn't it?'
The golden fox pointed out Shiro's past sins, reminding her that no matter what she did, her past actions and guilt could never be erased.
"Ah..."
The realization hit Shiro, and she was astonished. The guilt she had been trying to avoid facing was now thrown back at her. She felt despair, and her body grew weak, losing all resistance.
'Hehehe. Have you finally faced reality? Well, fine. It's a virtue to acknowledge one's mistakes honestly. I'll personally give you a thorough re-education, slowly and thoroughly... Oh? Unfortunately, a troubleso one is approaching.'
The golden fox sensed the approaching danger and nonchalantly tossed Shiro aside. The next mont, a shadow lood over them, and the peach-colored hair swayed. The figure grabbed Shiro and then a fan swung.
'You guys, be my shield.'
The "sothing" that ca to protect the golden fox was instantly torn apart, turning into flesh and blood fragnts that scattered around. However, this allowed enough ti for the golden fox to escape.
'Well then, excuse . Shall we et again, Shiraki-chan?'
"Do you think I'll let you escape...?!"
As the fox spoke her parting words, the Onitsuki princess tried to pursue her but noticed a presence behind her. She quickly turned around and swung her fan towards the empty space. The sound of flesh being torn apart and bones being crushed reverberated as the earth turned dark red. The air was filled with the pungent sll of iron and sulfur mixed with blood.
Ignoring everything around, Onitsuki Aoi turned her attention back to the golden fox, but the illusionary fox was skilled at vanishing within the mist, and she couldn't sense her presence anymore. Aoi snorted in frustration.
“…”
She then looked down in silence, narrowing her eyes as if examining sothing closely.
“Kouka, big sister…”
The girl Aoi held in her hand, however, did not notice Aoi's gaze. She remained overwheld and devastated, her face drained of color.
* * *
The Earth Mother Goddess is, in a sense, the deity that governs life. She is a symbol of fertility, life, and prosperity.
Therefore, her essence fulfilled its role. Slowly and surely, it healed the dying body, regenerated it, and brought it back to life. In the process, it eroded and dyed the body in its own colors...
“Ah…?”
I awoke because I felt that tremor. More accurately, it might have been the mont when the charred nerve cells regenerated. That also ant the restoration of pain, and in the next mont, my previously muddled consciousness beca painfully clear.
In other words, I couldn't help but scream in pain.
“Ah, ah, ah, ah!! It hurts!? What the hell is going on!?”
The intense impact on my body was like being on a wild amusent park ride. The shaking, the jolting, the pain, combined with the grogginess of waking up, caused suspicion and anger to well up in . And so, I directed my consciousness to the sight before .
Against the backdrop of a crumbling city, bald n in black suits and sunglasses were sprinting with all their might, chasing after .
“……”
'Wow, this is amazing. You were in critical condition, but you've already regained consciousness. I definitely need a sample for further observation. I'll draw so blood later.'
A hummingbird perched nonchalantly above my head, as if nothing was happening, and said.
“Um, excuse , but can you tell what's going on in this situation?”
"Uh, um... we're in pursuit?"
Tamaki responded with a confused expression. At the sa ti, I realized that I was being carried by the bear youkai next to her. Well, Miss, I think your explanation is probably correct, but it's cutting it close.
'(＾ω＾) Are you familiar with money borrowing?'
"Who knows, you idiot. Anyway... Can I use this?"
Ignoring the idiotic spider's words that are likely to get us into serious trouble, I held up a talisman and asked the old man.
'Mmm, well... I suppose there's no other choice.'
"I'm grateful for your help...!!"
After a mont of hesitation, I reluctantly thanked the hummingbird, then unsealed the talisman.
'Gyuooooo!!?'
The cosmic-stained octopus-like creature (intended as a sample) that had awakened from hibernation charged toward the black-suited bald n, who were still pursuit us. Confused from just waking up, the creature collided head-on with the pursuers, emitting a mysterious beam in panic. It was an extra I had prepared, but... alright, this should buy us so ti!
'Genbu, on the left!!'
'Grrrrrrr!!'
Following the hummingbird's instructions, the bear youkai swiftly turned left at the crossroads with centrifugal force from its full-speed sprint and knocked down the entrance of the mansion with a corner hit.
In an instant, the world changed. Ahead lay a forest. The sky was cloudy, and the forest was dim and eerie. The bear ran straight through the forest.
(A Western horror vibe...!! Are they coming!?)
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