Chapter 80: Ghost Bear Subjugation (2)
The decisive first strike, designed based on Karami’s advice, dealt effective damage to the Ghost Bear.
Even standing up was a struggle for the Ghost Bear’s massive body. Yet Rin didn’t cease her onslaught.
Rin joined her hands, raising her index and middle fingers. At her command, blue fox fires soared skyward.
One by one, the spectral flames descended, slicing through the air. Blue spheres wreathed in fire rained down, racing across the sky.
Fiery tails trailed behind each falling fox fire, mimicking the arc of shooting stars plummeting to earth. A meteor shower of destruction rained upon the Ghost Bear.
BOOM!
Flames burst out in all directions like a blue tidal wave.
Though Rin could control only seven fox fires at once, she replenished them as quickly as they vanished, creating an endless barrage. The fox fire barrage continued relentlessly.
Black smoke rising from the Ghost Bear under concentrated fire filled the sky, and its screams were swallowed by the explosions echoing through the valley.
Just as it seemed the very landscape might be reshaped, Rin ceased her assault.
Rin watched the explosive fumes intently. As the haze cleared, the Ghost Bear lay motionless on the ground. Rin kept her distance, observing keenly.
Soon, a transformation began within the fallen creature. The Guardian Deity of White Cloud Valley received blessings from the mountains and earth themselves.
Their energy flowed into the Ghost Bear. Its blackened fur regained its original color, and its charred wounds began to heal.
This too was part of the strategy Karami had shared.
It was what he called, Phase 2.
Having recovered instantly, the Ghost Bear rose to its full height. Steam-like breath flowed from its mouth.
The Ghost Bear’s Phase 2 berserk mode.
Its aggression and agility spiked dramatically, attack patterns shifting.
The Ghost Bear clenched its massive fist, swinging as if to tear the world asunder. The ground split open, earth and rock erupting skyward. The airborne debris formed a makeshift roof, threatening to entomb everything below.
The cascade of earth and stone rushed towards Rin, drawn by an unnatural gravity.
This was the Ghost Bear’s Rock Tomb, which sealed the actions of four characters for three turns. The strategy to break it was to place Rin in the back row of a 1-4 formation and keep the front four alive until the end.
Since the rock seal prioritized the front row, Rin could break the attack by using sacrificial pawns.
But Rin stood alone.
She had to bear the full brunt of the attack herself.
This was where Karami and Rin’s planned strategy came into play.
Rin unleashed her magic.
Her five tails swayed.
Suddenly, clones identical to Rin materialized.
If there are no sacrificial pawns, we just have to make our own. As they say, bears are dumb as rocks. Do you think it can tell the difference between the real body and clones?
His prediction was spot on.
Rin conjured four clones, positioning them at the forefront. As anticipated, the rocks engulfed the innocent fakes, trapping them, and then fell to the ground.
This was the telegraphed attack Karami had warned must be overcome. After this, only minor attacks remained. So from now on, the plan was:
Beat the ever-living shit out of it.
It was to fuck it up.
Whoosh.
Rin enveloped both her fists in fox-shaped flames. The fiery foxes yawned lazily, their mischievous grins mirroring Rin’s own. The real game was about to begin.
It was time to dance.
***What followed wasn’t particularly special.
Rin unleashed a merciless 64-hit combo on the Ghost Bear, disguised as a massage. Much like how old men in hot springs often sigh with satisfaction, the bear had a similar reaction.
The fire-enchanted pummeling must have felt incredibly refreshing, as it let out a “Grooooar” before collapsing flat on its back, making no attempt to rise.
Just like that, it perished.
Even as the guardian of the earth, it hadn’t established a separate reservoir of spiritual energy, leaving it without an endless supply of essence.
In the end, the Ghost Bear couldn’t recover as before and became fertilizer for the earth. No, it was destined not even to become that much.
“Phew...”
Standing atop the Ghost Bear’s chest, Rin steadied herself with a shallow breath. The Ghost Bear wasn’t an easy opponent, but Rin had been training diligently with the Celestial Fox Yuhwa.
With spiritual power to spare and Karami’s perfect strategy, defeat had never been an option. A mere regional guardian was no match for her.
Now it was time to exercise the victor’s rights. In yokai battles, the winner claimed all. Rin placed her hand on the Ghost Bear’s chest and began to absorb its energy.
This guardian deity, protector of White Cloud Valley since time immemorial, possessed extraordinary essence due to its deep connection with the earth. Its quality and quantity far surpassed any yokai she’d absorbed before.
It’s incredibly... delicious?
More than anything, it was delectable.
Exquisitely so.
Almost to the point of salivating.
Should I go around hunting yokai?
If she could track and slay named yokai, absorbing their energy, she could convert it all into spiritual power. The path to becoming a gumiho would accelerate.
She’d have to mention this to Karami when she returned.
How much time had passed? It took quite a while to absorb all the essence. She licked the plate clean, so to speak.
Nothing remained of the once massive Ghost Bear but skin and bones, as though it had been squeezed completely dry. As it disappeared, the mist slowly dissipated as well.
Rin licked her lips with satisfaction.
Soon...
Her intuition told her that her sixth tail, which had shown no signs of emerging, would soon grow. Karami would be pleased to hear this.
Sniff, sniff. Rin reflexively smelled herself. Due to her intense movements, much of Karami’s scent had faded.
I need to get back quickly.
Rin returned to the fox den with light yet quick steps. The atmosphere in the fox den upon her arrival was somewhat strange.
Like a thief caught in the act, a fox with a bundle on its back, about to leave the village, was startled upon encountering Rin.
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“Oh, y-you’re back? So early? Did you really defeat the Ghost Bear?”
“Where are you going?”
“Ah, well, since the mist cleared... I thought I’d leave the village.”
These were the same people who were too scared to even gather herbs without Rin acting as bait, and now one was leaving the village of their own accord.
As soon as the Ghost Bear fell and the mist cleared, they seized the opportunity to flee. How cunning, truly befitting of foxes.
Rin didn’t particularly care. It didn’t matter to her where they went. Ignoring the fox fleeing past her, she entered the village, looking around.
The fox den was deserted. It seemed everyone had quickly left, like the fox person from earlier. That didn’t matter either, but her master, who should have been there to welcome her, was nowhere to be seen.
He might play a lot of pranks, be immature, and sometimes unreliable, but he never joked about things like this.
“...”
Rin spun around.
“I need to regroup with the others quickly...!”
The fox person fleeing with their back to Rin and the fox den kept glancing back. They had dawdled for just a moment, and everyone had left without waiting.
They should have left before the gumiho returned, but to run into her of all things. Such rotten luck.
They had to quickly regroup with the others before the gumiho noticed and gave chase...!
Whoosh!
A wind blew through the valley. An even sharper, knife-like wind followed. Just as the fox person felt something off and turned around—
SLAM!
Rin’s form flashed like lightning. She grabbed the fox’s neck and slammed them mercilessly into the ground.
“Kyaang!”
The impact was so violent that the fox’s body bounced off the ground. Rin gripped their neck like she was about to crush it.
“Where did you take Master?”
“W-What are you talking about...?”
Squeeze.
“Tell me the truth. Where did you take him?”
“T-The Elder took him. I don’t know where. There’s no trace left...”
It wasn’t a lie.
If they had moved as a group, there should have been some trace, but Rin couldn’t sense anything.
It must be the effect of magic.
“S-Since I told you, could you let go of this?”
The fox smiled slyly, tapping Rin’s arm. Rin looked down with a cold gaze and applied more pressure. With a crack, the fox’s neck snapped effortlessly.
“Gak.”
Having easily ended the fox’s life, Rin didn’t spare it another glance. She didn’t even absorb its essence. The thought of their essence mixing with hers was repulsive.
Her eyes turned to a place not far from here. Family might be hard to find when separated, but their master-slave relationship transcended such things.
No matter how far apart they were, she would know.
Rin flew to where her eyes were guiding her.
***“Hmph.”
With my wrists bound by plant stems, I was being led through treacherous mountain paths. Fox people were guarding me closely from front and back.
I had been excitedly watching Rin fight when the fox people suddenly pounced on me. I thought these foxes might be after my liver, but instead, they dragged me outside the village.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Anywhere. We intend to take you far away from the gumiho.”
“Why? Now that the Ghost Bear has fallen, can’t the gumiho live as she pleases without worrying about anything?”
“We don’t know what you intend to do with the gumiho, but whatever it is, it can’t be good for us. The consequences will fall on us fox people.”
In other words, since they couldn’t stop Rin, they were trying to remove me instead. They figured that since I was actively raising her to be a gumiho, getting rid of me would at least provide some meager preparation.
The reason they didn’t kill me was probably as insurance in case Rin came after them.
As we trudged on, they kept sticking talismans with incomprehensible symbols on trees. I couldn’t understand them, of course, but I guessed they were meant to interfere with tracking.
They even set up a mobile barrier to block sound and traces, showing they knew very well what would happen if Rin caught them.
Well, they’re certainly fucking thorough.
At this rate, even Rin might not be able to find me. What happens then?
“Huh? Is that...?”
No sooner had that thought crossed my mind did one of the fox people pointed at the sky. There, silhouetted against the moon in the now-clear sky, was a pink fox with five tails spread like wings.
Her eyes, gazing down upon us, were devoid of emotion.
I might not know much else, but I knew one thing for certain.
You’re all fucked.