Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Enchanting the Gumiho
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Yoo Jin-seo stared quietly at the message that had popped up out of nowhere.
In this 'Fox Den', no other fox besides her should have been able to acquire a 'Black Star'.
'Who could it be?'
The Fox Den scenario was a perfectly interlocking set of gears from start to finish.
At its center was always her.
In fact, she was essentially the 'protagonist'.
The other holy sword users—the foxes—were nothing more than 'supporting characters'.
The protagonist, her, would claim every 'Black Star', confront the demon Aureum, and suffer a narrow defeat. That was the entirety of the Fox Den scenario.
'Who dares interfere with my scenario?'
The Black Star was an extraordinarily special reward.
It was also the key material needed to become the new master of this orphaned creation Abyss.
Which meant she absolutely could not allow it to be taken from her.
And yet, it had been.
Taken by someone.
Some fox had claimed the 'first Black Star'.
...Even if the acquisition conditions weren't all that difficult.
'The one who enchants the most people the fastest.'
All she had to do was enchant every challenger in the temple and lead them.
But unleashing powerful enchantment right from the start risked unwanted side effects, so even she—a gumiho—refrained from using it unless absolutely necessary.
If whoever it was had forced an enchantment just to snag that 'Black Star'...
And if it turned out they'd truly disrupted the scenario...
'...I won't forgive them.'
Their end would be a chorus of screams begging for death.
She'd use every trick at her disposal to trap them in a limbo where they could neither live nor die.
"Um... Jin-seo nim. Can we really all escape together?"
A man standing beside her suddenly spoke up.
Yoo Jin-seo offered him a faint smile.
"Of course. As long as we don't lose hope."
"A-ah..."
Those who saw her smile felt as though their breath had caught in their throats.
Her face transcended mere beauty, radiating an almost holy aura.
There was some inexplicable power in that radiant smile that drew people to her side.
'A saint.'
'A goddess.'
'Our hope.'
Fear? Terror?
Those had long since been erased.
Gazing at that smile chased away any trace of worry.
"I'll stand with you!"
"Count me in—I'll do my part!"
"Let's fight together!"
Young and old, men and women—everyone leaped to their feet as one.
At the center of them all stood her.
The queen of foxes.
The protagonist of this scenario.
Gumiho Yoo Jin-seo.
"Thank you for your trust. I'll stake my life to protect you all."
Yoo Jin-seo never lost her smile.
But inwardly, she was the complete opposite of what she showed.
Someone had gotten under her skin.
The bastard who'd rushed ahead to the 'first ordeal' even faster than her.
'I'll know soon enough.'
Yoo Jin-seo tamped down her anger.
She'd find out before long.
She could make her judgment then—it wouldn't be too late.
First ordeal: the Swamp of Grudges.
As they reached the sticky mire, even more people began converging from every direction.
Ten temples.
Over a thousand souls gathered in one place, including the ten holy sword users.
The rules were simple.
Just don't look back.
...No matter what happened.
"Whoa, there are so many people."
"Gotta be over a thousand, right?"
"With numbers like this, we might actually pull it off!"
The mood was upbeat and lively.
The more humans banded together, the stronger they became.
Yoo Jin-seo, positioned at the very front, addressed the crowd.
"We holy sword users will take the lead. Everyone, stick close and follow us. No matter what tricks or distractions come your way, do not look back."
"Got it!"
"We'll follow your lead!"
Oblivious to the fact that Yoo Jin-seo and the other holy sword users were foxes, the people responded with fervent enthusiasm.
Yoo Jin-seo, her smile unwavering, shifted her gaze.
'Is that the one?'
The man at the edge of her vision.
Standing there blankly with the group from Temple 10.
'A fox I've never laid eyes on.'
It was baffling.
A fox she didn't recognize had no business being in this 'Fox Den'.
Some kind of error must have occurred.
But she couldn't make a scene.
Not with all those eyes still watching her.
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, he turned his head and met her gaze.
And then...
'...He's smiling?'
Is he out of his mind?
A verification was definitely in order.
Yoo Jin-seo pressed onward into the fog-shrouded swamp.
"Follow me. I'll lead the way."
Because in this place, she had to be the protagonist.
-Groooaaar!
-Darling, look over here!
-I'm right behind you!
-It hurts! So much!
The swamp terrain.
Countless grudge souls whispered temptations to the humans.
Those who couldn't resist their curiosity and turned around...
"S-save me!"
Were dragged down to the swamp floor by a multitude of hands bursting from the muck.
Screams echoed everywhere.
They'd thought it would be a quick jaunt when they entered.
But now, an indefinable dread rapidly took root.
"Wh-where's Yoo Jin-seo nim?"
"She said she'd be right up front..."
"Damn it! I can't see a thing!"
Even the holy sword users had vanished from sight.
The fog was suffocatingly thick.
So dense that not even the person right beside you was visible.
As the people shivered in fear...
All the 'holy sword users' who'd been ahead of them gathered together.
The foxes.
Their eyes quickly locked onto a single man.
"Who the hell are you?"
"You one of the Fox Den's foxes?"
"Did you snag the 'Black Star' from Temple 10?"
The charade was over.
Not that the humans could hear or see any of it.
Park Chan-woo, standing at the center, stared solely at Yoo Jin-seo.
This marked the true beginning of the 'real ordeal' laid upon him.
'Still the same as ever, Yoo Jin-seo.'
Exactly as he'd seen her in the future.
Their meeting had been far off back then, but her appearance seemed unchanged between now and then.
Except...
'You're dropping the mask way too early. Proof you're still green.'
Her performance was a touch lacking compared to her future self.
If it had been the Yoo Jin-seo from the future, she'd still be deep in her act even now.
She would've shaken off the other foxes and confronted him alone.
Or gotten them to force his hand into revealing himself.
Clear evidence she was far clumsier than her future counterpart.
"You're a new face to me."
"......"
Even as Yoo Jin-seo addressed him, Park Chan-woo offered only silence.
Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on hers.
Did she find that amusing?
"Staring straight into my eyes without a shred of fear. Your courage is commendable, but..."
She let out a smirk.
At that instant, Yoo Jin-seo's pupils flushed a vivid crimson.
Gumiho Yoo Jin-seo, locking eyes with Park Chan-woo, unleashed a devastating 'enchantment' upon him.
On a level incomparable to what she'd used on the humans.
But...
Species traits had no effect on Park Chan-woo.
No matter if the caster was a gumiho.
"Looking into my eyes means you wish to become my slave. From this moment, you will answer every question of mine with the truth."
Unlike the doppelgangers, it seemed the foxes—including Gumiho Yoo Jin-seo—had no idea Park Chan-woo hadn't fallen to the 'enchantment'.
Park Chan-woo let his eyes go slack.
He gawked vacantly at Yoo Jin-seo, mouth agape.
He was intimately familiar with how someone looked when genuinely enchanted by a fox.
A moment later, he slowly spoke.
"...Yes. I will answer every question with the truth."
Yoo Jin-seo regained her poise.
Convinced the enchantment had taken hold.
"Where did you come from, fox?"
This was where the real duel began.
Acting alone wouldn't cut it.
He needed a convincing lie to fool the foxes.
'She at least thinks I'm a fox.'
Well, he did wield a holy sword, so it was natural.
Park Chan-woo's mind whirred at full speed.
Soon, he hit upon the perfect ploy to deceive Yoo Jin-seo.
"I am... the final fragment left behind by the 'Creator of the Burning Boundary'."
Creator of the Burning Boundary!
The very architect of this 'Fox Den'.
Her expression stiffened at the name.
"...A final fragment? You're saying something like that was left behind? But the 'Fox Den' has no master now. The 'Creator of the Burning Boundary' lost all ownership and control here."
"That's right. I was born from a 'Hidden Piece'."
"Hidden Piece...!"
Yoo Jin-seo shuddered faintly.
A Hidden Piece was a prank planted by the creator.
An 'achievement no challenger could ever hope to accomplish'.
The rewards for pulling it off were insane—but it was designed to be impossible, hence the joke.
Yet something felt off.
Yoo Jin-seo cocked her head.
"But you don't seem like some kind of reward. Why did you show up? What triggered your birth?"
"I was programmed to emerge when the Fox Den's fate reached its end— the instant the creator's influence could no longer reach."
Spot on.
Not a word of it was false.
The world hosting the creation Abyss had collapsed, ejecting the 'Fox Den' into limbo.
With the Creator of the Burning Boundary unable to intervene, the condition had been forcibly met.
Park Chan-woo elaborated.
"However, the Hidden Pieces haven't been fully cleared yet. I am the fragment left behind to complete the final one."
Her face hardened the instant he finished speaking.
Not just her.
Every fox wore the same grim expression.
"...This final Hidden Piece—what is it?"
"I can't say it here."
"What?"
"I can only reveal it to you alone, the gumiho."
Too many ears around.
And hearing it would spell trouble for Yoo Jin-seo herself.
She glanced around.
The other foxes promptly backed away, giving them space.
"There. They're all gone. Now speak. What's this final 'Hidden Piece'?"
Her face lit up with intrigue.
Curiosity burned openly in her eyes.
Park Chan-woo smiled to himself and replied.
"Me becoming the protagonist... and completing the scenario."
"...And what do I stand to gain from that?"
"Ten-Tailed Fox."
"...!!!"