“…Kuheook!”
Theo fell to his knees, drained. It had only been ten seconds, but he had spent eighty percent of his magic power. He had anticipated the expenditure but he hadn’t expected the strain on his Circles. It may have been dangerous if Theo hadn’t stressed his Circles once before.
Was it a blessing in disguise? Either way, we’ve reached this far.
Theo exhaled slowly as he examined the aftermath.
The earth had been razed. There were no other words more appropriate for the sight before him. Advent of the Lightning God had scorched the ground without mercy. It had been cracked open like a tortoise shell, and more than one hundred meters of soil had disappeared. Unless they had seen it for themselves, no one would believe this phenomenon had been caused by two fists.
Tiger King walked up to Theo. “Hah, this is great. I can’t even see the bottom!”
Theo turned. “Tiger King.”
They watched dust slowly settle into the new crater. When Eight-Tails had gathered all its tails back to endure the thunder giant’s onslaught, it had also dispersed the clones the two spirits had been battling.
The Tiger King returned to her humanoid form and asked, “That flashy guy just before, was it someone you called?”
Theo nodded. “Yes, it isn’t a living thing.”
“Is that so? You are really amazing, human!”
Strangely, her shining eyes were like those of a beast in front of their prey. Theo felt like he had seen eyes like that before. It had been during his time at the Pirate Archipelago. More specifically, it had been when he had been invited by the water elemental to meet Aquilo, who had been living in the cave. Theo felt a sense of crisis and was going to take a step back when…
“Not yet.” White Bear walked up to them, staring at the crater. “There is still life in the pit. It is weaker than before, but it has definitely survived this attack.”
“There is no need to be alert now,” Theo said.
White Bear frowned. “… What does that mean?”
The two spirits looked at him in confusion, causing Theo to laugh. If Seimei had been right, the creature in the crater wasn’t evil. The mantra, Breaking Evil and Manifesting Good, would have made sure of that.
The great onmyōji master had performed an exorcism on Eight-Tails. If its soul had been tainted by evil, then its body would be destroyed. However, the fact that it was still breathing meant there was some good remaining.
Theo shrugged and headed into the crater. “Well, let’s go down and see. I can’t be certain yet.”
They couldn’t just walk down a hundred meter hole, so Theo used a spell on himself and the two spirits. At first, the White Bear and the Tiger King wriggled at the uncomfortable feeling, but they soon got used to it and descended to the bottom of the crater slowly.
As they descended, light began to grow dimmer. By the time their feet touched the ground completely, there was no light left.
Pong.?
Theo used Light to create a few spheres of light. The two spirits looked around cautiously.
Tiger King looked apprehensive. “Umm, this, won’t it crumble?”
Bear King rumbled quietly, “The ground is fairly solid, so it should be okay…”
The beasts who lived above ground seemed quite uncomfortable with this crater. They were both perfectly capable of escaping if the walls collapsed, so this sight of the bear and tiger acting like this was cute. Theo watched the two spirits for a moment before remembering his purpose.
Detect Life.
His magic power spread out in concentric circles as it sought to find any form of life. It could be easily befuddled, but Theo guessed that Eight-Tails had fainted or was incredibly weakened.
Unsurprisingly, the spell returned a reaction from the deepest part of the crater.
“This way.”
“Ah, wait a minute!”
“Don’t move so suddenly!”
Theo arrived first, with the two spirits close behind him. The three of them saw the same thing.
“Hrmm…”
“It isn’t evil?”
“… There are three tails.”
A sleeping fox was curled up at the bottom of the crater. Three small tails wriggled contentedly as its golden fur shone in the sparse light. Perhaps it could be called a three-tailed fox? However, it was said that a fox needed three hundred years to grow three tails, and this was clearly a fox kit. It seemed to have been affected by the loss of the Receptacle of Solitude’s influence.
Seimei.
[Hmm?]
Theo’s expression had gone stiff.
Didn’t you say that this Receptacle of Solitude was made of humans? All the evil power scattered, but why is it a three-tailed fox instead of a human?
[It is because it was already too late.]
Too late?
Seimei cleared his throat.
[Well, it isn’t your fault. Once a person has turned into an evil spirit, they can’t return to being human again. Since it was caught up in the Receptacle of Solitude, it probably doesn’t have any memories of its life left. The only thing that remains here is the set of genes of someone who was born again as a fox.]
Then the survivors…
[There weren’t any from the start. Unfortunately, their lives were over the moment they were trapped here.]
The shaman declared calmly that this place had already been a graveyard before Theo even arrived. So, this wasn’t a matter for Theo to worry about. Yet, Theo couldn’t feel any danger coming from the fox, as the two spirits peered over his shoulder.
Tiger King seemed doubtful. “This kid was that monster from before? No matter how I look, it doesn’t match.”
“It is the same for me. This is just an ordinary spirit.” White Bear said, carefully stroking the fox’s golden fur. “All the evil energy is gone. We don’t have to kill this fox cub.”
Tiger King nodded. “I agree. There is no ominous feeling no matter how I look at it.”
Bear King looked up. “We must be unanimous about this matter.”
The two spirits looked at Theo. Theo had played the principal role in the battle, so they couldn’t ignore him if he wanted to eliminate this fox. At this moment, the sleeping three-tailed fox opened its eyes.
Yiiip…Yiippp….?
It let out small cries as it saw the two spirits. It was terrified, shivering in place, as its eyes darted from side to side, looking for a chance to escape. Then, it caught sight of Theo, and its eyes widened. It bolted over to Theo’s feet and started rubbing its head against him.
“U-Uh?”
If Seimei was telling the truth, then this fox was just like a newly born animal. Why was it acting so intimate with Theo? It was acting like a cub with its parents as it entwined its precious tails around Theo’s legs without hesitation.
[Hoh, it seems that it has recognized you as a parent.]
Huh? Parent?
[Since you expelled all the evil energy from this child’s body, somehow, during the process, it imprinted on you as its parent.]
Imprinting!
Theo stiffened as he understood the situation. Just like how newborn birds perceived the first being they saw as their mother, the three-tailed fox had felt Theo’s power from inside the darkness and considered him its parent.
Moreover, it wasn’t easy for a spirit to change its perception about magic power, which was more intense than visual information.
“Hah, it can’t be helped.” Theo was convinced and reached down to pick up the fox.
The fox felt warmth for the first time and snuggled joyously into his arms. It knew the human called Theo, but it couldn’t help sniffing nervously at the spirits. But it didn’t take more than a few moments for the exhausted three-tailed fox to fall asleep. It was still tired from battling the three of them and being reborn.
At that moment…
Jjejejeok.
The three of them heard a loud crack. As they looked up in surprise, spider web-like cracks were spreading across the sky. The space, the Receptacle of Solitude, was collapsing. Theo was the quickest to understand why.
The Eight-Tails’ power has been lost, so the nucleus of this space is gone!
Usually, the nucleus of a separate space was a natural object or artifact, not a creature. However, a powerful creature might be the right nucleus for the Receptacle of Solitude. In order to break this space, Eight-Tails needed to be destroyed, which was far more difficult than breaking it from the outside. Even Theo would’ve been in danger if it wasn’t for the help of the two spirits. In any case, he was fine with the space collapsing, so they all exited the crater.
Kaaang!
As they climbed out, the darkened walls of this space shattered. Theo suddenly looked at the two spirits urgently. They had destroyed quite a few monsters, but there were still a few offerings that hadn’t been eaten by Eight-Tails. It would be bad if they escaped.
“Wait a minute, there are still monsters inside!”
However, the two spirits smiled and reassured him.
“Don’t worry, we have our own plan.”
“Tiger King’s right. You just need to rest.”
Had they talked when he hadn’t been present? The Tiger King and the White Bear exchanged a look before roaring as loudly as possible toward the hazy mountains.
Kuheeeeeong!
Kueeeeeong!
It wasn’t an act of intimidation, but rather, invitation. They were both leaders of their respective groups and could direct spirits. The Baekun Mountains weren’t just home to bears and tigers. There were also birds that nested in thousand year old pines and moles that dug huge burrows under the ground. Normally, they didn’t leave their habitats, but the two elder spirits could demand the help of all spirits if there was an emergency.
… Like right now.
Kkieeeek!
A kite’s screech echoed in reply as a flock of kites flew upward in response. They could normally fly hundreds of kilometers in an hour, so how fast were they when they were reborn as spirits? The kites dove down on the monsters in a matter of moments, leaving behind ribbons of blood of flesh in the air. Indeed, they were the majestic predators of the sky. .𝙘𝙤𝙢
Awoooooo!
The wolves were hot on the heels of the kites. They were weak compared to Tiger King and White Bear, but they made up for it in quantity, ripping apart monsters as a pack. Deer, gazelles, and leopards also showed up, tearing into the monsters from the flanks. Animals that would never cooperate in normal ecosystems emerged from the mountains to shred the monsters.
“… Indeed, this is a splendid sight.” Theo looked down at the sight with admiration. The monsters trapped in the Receptacle of Solitude would all be killed if this many spirits showed up.
It would only be a matter of time to finish the battle.
Now, that settles things. The only thing left is fixing the dragon vein, and I still don’t know the purpose of that damn shaman… but I can’t afford to stay longer on the East Continent. I’ve already spent too long as it is.?
Theo gently stroked the three-tailed fox as he looked at the horizon with distant eyes. It had been over a hundred days since he had arrived at the East Continent.
He knew Aquilo knew of his survival, but he didn’t know what had happened to the uneasy armistice in the West Continent. A war could break out at any time.
“I have to hurry a bit more.”
After saying goodbye to the two spirits and leaving the Baekun Mountains, he would make his way to Western Xia and find a ship going north. He could manage the currents with Aquilo’s blessing, so time was the key issue.
“Let’s go back.”
Theo wished to go home as soon as possible. He had grown enough that he wouldn’t be pushed around if Zest came after him again. No, he would put an end to the nonsense this time. His tasks in the Baekun Mountains were done.
Theo’s blue eyes looked purple as he gazed up at the twilight sky.