Chapter 113
Chapter 113
Ch. 113 .｡.:✧ The Great Guardian (1) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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I wasn’t exactly an expert in psychology, but after 12 years of interacting with and loving the same people, you get to know almost everything about them.
Yulia, having lived for so long, was a bit more difficult to fully understand, but when it came to Jill and Yerina, I could confidently say I knew their inner thoughts better than they knew themselves.
Yerina’s greatest strength, and also her greatest weakness, was her innate talent: Mania.
Mania heightened Yerina’s five senses to their limits and amplified the flow of her magic power. Time seemed to slow down for her, and people appeared almost comical.
But this was merely a passive ability. Her active skill was something else entirely.
Beast Mode.
Her already heightened senses transcended human limitations. Her blood vessels bulged, threatening to burst, only to be reinforced by her magic power.
In this state, Yerina lost control, driven solely by her suppressed primal instincts. And of course, the primal instincts of a superhuman, whose senses were thousands of times more acute than an ordinary person’s, were anything but tame.
‘I’ve experienced it a few times myself.’
Occasionally, very rarely, when Yerina was consumed by rage, she would unleash Beast Mode in front of me.
In that state, she was a true, uncontrollable beast, unleashing raw power and magic in all directions.
I had nearly been frozen to death on more than one occasion. She seemed to retain a sliver of reason, though, as she always tried her best not to kill me.
Regardless, due to this unique trait, Beast Mode, her talent was called “Mania.”
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the same as going berserk, but that’s how it appeared on the surface.
However, the term “Mania” was fitting in another sense. It was a curse brought on by senses heightened to the extreme, paranoia.
Fundamentally, Yerina was a superhuman, living in a different world from ordinary people.
She could see everything – the slightest shift of their eyes, the most minute twitch of their facial muscles. She could see right through their lies. And Yerina trusted her senses and intuition above all else.
Even if a mountain of evidence pointed to the contrary, if something felt like a lie to her, she would never believe it, not even in death.
That’s why, even after 12 loops, I had never been able to truly conquer her. No matter how perfect my lies, no matter how convincing the fabricated evidence, I would always remain suspect in her eyes.
She viewed the entire world as her enemy, unable to accept any act of kindness at face value. She would smile brightly, all the while nurturing hatred and suspicion within.
That was Yerina’s curse, a terrible curse that prevented her from forming normal human relationships. Simply put, it was paranoia.
That’s why Yerina must have always been lonely.
The only person she could truly call a friend was Alicia. And now, she believed even Alicia had betrayed her. The blow must have been devastating.
On top of that, I, the one person whose affection she craved and whom she depended on, was now avoiding her after regressing. She had lost everything she held dear, trust and love.
At this rate, no matter what Yerina achieved, she would always meet the same end.
She would never be able to form a meaningful connection with anyone unless she treated them as a possession, an object to control. And even then, she would only find emptiness.
‘I have to neutralize her Mania.’
There was only one way to break this curse, eliminate Yerina’s Mania.
Only then could she connect with others, experience genuine love, and overcome the paranoia that had been consuming her and those around her for so long. And only then could she finally let go of her obsession with me.
I had reached this conclusion, and I was finally putting it into action. It was late, perhaps too late, but it was something I had to do.
“I’ll be back.”
[Please be safe, Master.]
Leaving Linda, who bowed respectfully, we left the mansion.
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Cheongna, the pleasure city of the North.
Click-clack, click-clack.
Impatient footsteps echoed through the staff area behind the Hundred Flowers Riot, the city’s largest gambling den.
“Sigh… This is driving me crazy. These kids these days have no perseverance… no perseverance…”
A flamboyantly dressed, middle-aged woman ruffled her hair in frustration.
An emergency had erupted during peak hours at the gambling den. Several part-timers, overwhelmed by difficult customers, had quit in tears.
She had hastily put out a recruitment notice, but she doubted any of the applicants would be suitable.
The room ahead was where the applicants were gathered.
She threw open the door.
“Are you the girls who applied for the night shift?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Twelve women stood in a line. Their stiff, nervous replies made her sigh inwardly.
There was no talent here. How could she possibly train them to handle unruly gamblers in just an hour?
She shook her head, her gaze sweeping over their pathetic faces one by one, when suddenly her eyes widened.
“Yevgenia…?”
“Uh… n-no…”
Shimmering silver hair. Large rabbit ears. A rabbit beastman, a rare sight in Cheongna.
“Of course not. You can’t be from the main Yevgenia family. An abandoned child, I suppose. But a rabbit beastman! This is exactly what I need!”
The woman’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Alicia, the rabbit beastman, tilted her head, puzzled. She had applied for the job as instructed by Yoo-jin, but she still didn’t know what the job entailed.
“I’ve been looking for a bunny girl, and a real bunny walks in! How about working here permanently, instead of just for tonight?”
“W-What?! A bunny girl?!”
“What? You didn’t know?”
“…!”
It dawned on her then. She had applied to be a bunny girl in a gambling den.
…
Cheongna, the pleasure city. One of the largest cities in the North, it was a hub for all sorts of entertainment, packed with hotels, casinos, and brothels.
A city dedicated solely to pleasure.
In the game, Cheongna was designed as a rest stop world. This meant there were no major story episodes or opportunities to be found there. The only quests available were sub-quests.
Aside from a small amount of Luck stat points and a few achievements, there was nothing to gain in Cheongna. At least, not through normal gameplay.
But as the story writer, I knew about the hidden lore of the Hundred Flowers Riot, Cheongna’s casino.
Today, I planned to meet someone normally inaccessible.
I had to wait for Alicia, who had infiltrated the Hundred Flowers Riot, to finish her preparations.
Since idly waiting was boring, I exchanged a large sum of money for casino chips and started playing.
“Check.”
“…Raise.”
“Call.”
“Call.”
“Damn it. Fold.”
I was on a losing streak, of course. I’d exchanged a small amount of chips, lost them all, exchanged more, lost them all again… I’d repeated this three times before finally getting tired of running back and forth to the exchange counter.
I ended up exchanging a whole stack of Cornelia’s checks for a box full of chips.
“What kind of hand is this…”
But even then, I couldn’t win a single hand. I kept getting dealt terrible cards, and whenever I finally got a good hand and went all in, I would lose against all odds.
I wondered if I’d been neglecting my Luck stat too much.
“Check.”
“…All in.”
“Hey! Why are you going all-in?! Stop trying to bankrupt me!”
“…Bad… at this.”
“Says the one who’s winning on pure luck. Fold.”
“…Luck… is also skill.”
If there was one good thing about this, it was that all my money was being funneled to Undecided.
Her chips were piled up like a mountain, so high that a staff member had to be assigned to manage them. She’d already won twice the amount I’d exchanged.
I wondered if she was just lucky, or actually good at gambling.
Maybe both.
“H-Here’s your… c-cocktail… sir…”
A timid voice came from beside me. I turned and saw a familiar face, though her attire was anything but.
“Wow. Now that’s a real bunny girl.”
“…”
A blue leotard and black stockings. The bunny girl uniform. And on Alicia, a rabbit beastman, it was quite a sight.
The bunny ears and tail, the quintessential elements of a bunny girl, were real, making it all the more… striking.
Perhaps because we were in public, Alicia didn’t retort to my teasing, just glared at me with a look of pure hatred.
“You seem to have been properly trained.”
“…”
Despite her seemingly timid demeanor, Alicia walked over with a confident stride, gracefully turned, and placed the cocktail glass on the table.
It seemed she had successfully completed her bunny girl training. She was free to roam the establishment now.
It was time to begin.
“Undecided, I’m leaving this to you.”
“…Leave it… to me.”
Undecided gave me a thumbs-up.
I pushed all my chips towards her and stood up. She’d been raking in the chips since we sat down. The little girl was crushing every opponent, creating quite a buzz.
The table was surrounded by spectators and staff, there to manage the crowd and ensure no one was cheating.
This was enough to draw attention. No one would notice if a single bunny girl slacked off.
“Waitress. Where’s the bathroom? Could you show me?”
“Y-You’re looking for the… b-bathroom? This way, please.”
“You flinched. Your body reacted. Don’t tell me you got turned on just by hearing the word ‘bathroom’?”
“Ugh! It’s… n-none of… your business! What d-does it matter… w-what words t-turn me on?!”
As we moved away from the crowd, Alicia dropped the bunny girl act and snapped at me.
She couldn’t deny that she was turned on by the word ‘bathroom,’ though. She just glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.
They really are in heat all the time…
“It’s good that you stopped using the lust inhibitor, but… don’t you get turned on too often? You seem particularly susceptible, even for a rabbit beastman…”
“N-No, I’m not! I can usually control myself just fine! Don’t look at me like I’m some lust-crazed maniac!”
“Then why are you acting like this now?”
“I-It’s… Ugh… B-Because I’m with a… p-pervert like you…”
Alicia lowered her head, rubbing her thighs together.
Well, I supposed it was cruel to expect her not to get turned on, considering I had put her in such a revealing outfit. I decided to give up.
Go ahead and get as horny as you want. I understand.
“But while you’re dressed as a bunny girl, could you do that thing? The bunny hop.”
“Bunny hop? What’s that?”
“You know, make bunny ears with your hands and act cute.”
“Hey?! No way…!”
Alicia’s face flushed bright red as she vehemently refused. But at that very moment, a sinister aura emanated from her, and she clutched her head in pain.
“Aaah!”
The penalty of the Demonic Blood Oath had activated. The contract stated that she had to obey all my orders.
As long as the curse remained, she couldn’t disobey me.
“Y-You… pervert!”
“Wow, their service is amazing. I should give them a tip.”
“No need! I’ll feel even more pathetic if you do that!”
With tears in her eyes and curses on her lips, Alicia formed bunny ears with her hands, placed them on her head, and pushed her hips back.
Her real bunny ears twitched with every movement of her hands. It was quite a sight, too precious to simply be a memory.
I took out the camera I’d bought in Clockwork City and snapped a few pictures.
“Ah… These are some precious photos. I should keep them as heirlooms.”
“Ugh… Why are we looking for the bathroom, anyway? Are you in a hurry?”
“Unlike you, I don’t constantly need to pee. I’m meeting the Bug here.”
“But are you serious? The Great Guardian… is here… in this gambling den…?”
Alicia asked, still incredulous, as we walked.
The Great Guardian.
The ruler of the northern continent. If the South had the Divine, the North had the Great Guardian.
Of course, the Great Guardian wasn’t considered a deity in these parts, more like a sacred beast, so their status was quite different from the Divine. But they were still an incredible being.
In the original game, they weren’t supposed to appear until much later, but as the story writer, I knew the hidden lore.
The Great Guardian, before making their official appearance, had been hiding out in the Hundred Flowers Riot.
“I’m sure of it. They’re here.”
We arrived at the bathroom. After confirming that no one else was inside, I opened the manhole cover and clapped twice, sending a signal. A giant centipede emerged from within.
It opened its mouth and spat out a rolled-up piece of paper.
“I completed the map!”
“Good work.”
“So… can I come out now…?”
“Just wait inside.”
I patted her head a few times and closed the manhole cover.
I unrolled the paper the centipede… creature… had given me. It was a blueprint of the Hundred Flowers Riot, with each floor meticulously drawn using curses as she explored the sewers.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary blueprint, but upon closer inspection, something strange caught my eye.
“Ah! Here! And here too!”
Alicia pointed to several spots on the blueprint. Spaces that should have been rooms, but when you actually walked around the Hundred Flowers Riot, you realized those were just blank walls, leading nowhere.
“This is it.”
A secret room, created by modifying the building. The perfect hiding place for a powerful being like the Great Guardian to stay hidden for over a year.
Alicia and I exchanged glances and nodded.
The next step was to find the entrance to the secret room. Taking advantage of her status as a temporary employee, Alicia freely roamed the staff area, scanning the walls for subtle fluctuations in magic power. And if she found any anomalies in the flow of magic power?
That would be the entrance to the secret room, traces of a concealed door.
“Here! The magic power flow cuts off abruptly here, and then resumes in a strange location!”
I rushed to the spot where Alicia called out.
The wall was smooth; I couldn’t feel anything. It was a sophisticated concealment technique, barely detectable even by Alicia’s precise senses.
It would completely block ordinary sight and hearing. But it didn’t matter if you knew it was there.
“5th Circle Magic. Telekinesis.”
I reached out, activated Telekinesis, and grasped the doorknob that must be there.
Click.
I heard the sound of the doorknob turning, and the concealment spell shattered.
A door appeared on the wall and swung open, revealing an endless staircase leading downwards.
“It was only a three-story building… How is this so big?”
“A being like the Great Guardian can probably manipulate space. I’ll be back.”
“B-Be careful…”
Leaving behind Alicia, her eyes filled with concern, I closed the door and descended the stairs.
It had seemed like an endless staircase when I looked down from above, but after about ten minutes of continuous descent, I saw an old wooden door. It seemed I had finally been granted entry.
The door creaked open, revealing a space that seemed even larger than the Hundred Flowers Riot building. And in the center of that space… was a massive ball of white fur.
[Who dares to disturb my slumber…?]
The fur on the massive creature bristled, and nine tails unfurled. A long snout, covered in fur, lifted its head and looked at me.
[Who are you? What are you?! Why is your human essence so… twisted?! It’s an essence only attainable by someone who has relived their life countless times!]
A giant fox glared at me, its brow furrowed. It was the ruler of the northern continent.
This was my first encounter with the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, the Great Guardian.
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[aint no way were getting a nine tailed fox heroine lmaoo i bet yall 50$ he tries to pet her tails or ears]
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