The Final Masterminds Are Obsessed with My Foot Jelly
Blanc's Clan Awakens — White Tiger Divine Beast Rank Confirmed
Deep underground prison, the floor was cold and damp, slick with condensation that seeped through even the thickest boots.
The beastwoman huddled against the wall, her breath fogging in the darkness. She ground her teeth together, the metallic taste of old blood thick on her tongue. What… what in the world did I do? The regret clawed at her like claws from a predator that had long since turned on its master.
She had listened to the whispers of a stranger whose face she would never know. Those whispers had led her clan straight into the jaws of defeat. Now she lay here, her left arm severed at the shoulder, the stump throbbing with phantom pain that never quite faded.
The princess had warned her. If the clan can fill its belly, there is no reason to lick even the soles of our enemy’s feet.
I broke my own clan…
Whooooosh—
The wind that should never have reached the depths of the prison sliced across her cheek, biting cold enough to freeze blood.
“……?”
The air itself seemed to dry and sharpen. Humidity vanished. The damp prison walls gleamed like polished ice.
Her eyes snapped open. She twisted, trying to rise, but her body refused to obey.
“This… this place…?”
Reality assaulted her senses. Beyond the bars of fate stood a world she had only ever seen in dreams: an endless sea of snow stretching beneath a sky so blue it hurt to look at. Snow-capped mountains rose like the spines of gods, untouched by time or man.
It was too perfect. Too alive.
She tried to move again, and that was when she felt it—the absence of chains. The heavy iron that had bound her wrists and ankles, the iron that had held her severed arm in place… all gone.
Her heart lurched. Chains… they’re gone? How did I—
She patted her body frantically, searching for the familiar weight. Nothing. Only the cold floor and the wind.
Where… where am I?
Divine Beast Recognition — White Tiger Clan Awakens
Her instincts screamed. This was no ordinary prison. This was something sacred. Something ancient. Something that would one day be remembered as the birthplace of a legend.
The ground trembled.
KU-GUGUGUGUNG—!!
The earth itself split. She was thrown backward. Her back slammed into the snow with bone-jarring force. Pain exploded through every nerve.
“Kyah—!”
She tried to scream, but only a wet gurgle came out. Blood sprayed from her lips. Her legs shattered beneath her. The world spun into white oblivion.
She forced her head up, teeth chattering, vision blurring. Through the haze she saw them.
Giants. Mountains of muscle and fur. Dozens of them. White tigers. Each one larger than the last, eyes burning with the same cold, bottomless hatred she had once inflicted upon her own people.
The one from the battlefield… no. This one is bigger. Stronger. Angrier.
The lead tiger stepped forward. Its roar shook the mountains. [How dare you… attempt to toy with my grandson?] The words cut through the wind like blades.
Behind it, row after row of identical eyes opened. Dozens. Hundreds. Every single one fixed on her like a target.
They’re here for me. The realization hit like a hammer. The clan she had betrayed had sent its finest to finish the job. The youngest, the one they had always called their hope. That’s why the princess hated me so much.
The front tiger slammed a paw into the snow. [You lower-world creatures think you know better? We cannot descend, but we do not choose not to. We simply wait.]
“H-… hah… kuh…”
They want to kill us all.
“Humans only learn they must die!”
“Let’s go down and tear apart every last one who dares stand in our way.”
“Those who don’t even know the mercy of letting the youngest die in peace.”
The horde answered with a chorus of furious growls. Ice cracked. Snow turned black under the weight of divine aura. The mountains themselves began to crumble.
“S-Save me… please…”
Her voice cracked. She had never begged in her life. Not even when the enemy had cut off her arm. But death was no longer an abstract fear. It was right here, breathing down her neck.
The leader’s paw raised high.
Then a voice sliced through the chaos like a blade of ice.
“Enough. Father, hold your rage.”
The snow stopped shaking. Every tiger froze mid-roar. A single figure walked between the ranks.
She was human. Silver hair tied in an elegant updo, crimson eyes sharp enough to draw blood. A slender yet powerful frame moved with the grace of a warrior who had long since mastered death itself.
The princess.
She stopped directly in front of the beastwoman. Close enough that the smell of blood and fear reached her. The air around the princess was colder than the wind itself.
With one gentle yet unbreakable motion, she seized the leader’s fiery red hair and lifted her head high.
“Kyah—!”
The pain was blinding. The leader’s scream was cut short the moment their eyes met.
The princess’s smile was beautiful. It did not reach her eyes.
“With your help… we were able to see our son’s true, magnificent form in all its glory. I thank you for that.”
Her hand slid down the leader’s cheek. The touch was almost tender. Then the fingers tightened like a vice.
CRACK—!
“Kuh—!”
The leader’s jaw shattered. Blood poured from her mouth. Her eyes rolled white.
The princess leaned in until their noses nearly touched.
“However.”
Her eyes flashed with something ancient and terrible.
“The arrogant sin of trying to put filthy scales on my child’s body will never be forgiven lightly.”
The leader’s mind finally snapped. She screamed again, but it came out broken and wet.
Her bloodline surged. The severed arm that had haunted her for days healed in a flash of silver light. The chains that had once held her were gone forever. The snow beneath her feet turned to crystal as her aura stabilized.
The horde of tigers, sensing their leader’s shift in power, gradually backed away. One by one they faded into the blizzard, leaving only the princess and the broken beastwoman.
“You are no longer worthy of the name ‘leader.’ Go and die quietly.”
The princess released her. The leader collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. She crawled away on all fours, sobbing, leaving a trail of blood in the snow.
“I… what did I even fight for?” The thought echoed in her shattered mind as the mountains swallowed her cries.
The next moment the world turned soft and warm.
A fluffy, perfectly rounded mass of white fur and muscle vibrated gently beneath her cheek. A deep, contented rumble filled her ears.
“Urrrrmm~”
She blinked. The beastwoman who had just been condemned to death now lay curled against a living, breathing kitten the size of a large dog. Silver-white hair spilled over her shoulder. Tiger ears twitched happily. A fluffy tail thumped against her leg in perfect rhythm.
Its belly rose and fell with every breath, warm and plush. The kitten’s paw pads—small, jelly-soft, and perfectly round—rested gently against her cheek.
……This is the fluffiest thing I’ve ever felt.
The kitten yawned, showing rows of tiny needle teeth, then settled deeper into the crook of her neck, purring like a broken engine.
“Mrrrow~”
“…………”
The princess stared at the ridiculous creature in her arms. Her crimson eyes narrowed, but the corner of her mouth twitched upward.
……How could something this cute be the grandson of the Heavenly White Tiger Mother?
The kitten’s tail flicked. It reached up with one paw and batted lazily at the air, as if trying to catch a fly.
“Mrr?”
“You’re… actually real,” the princess whispered, voice hoarse from screaming. She stroked the kitten’s back with trembling fingers. The fur was impossibly soft, like fresh snow.
The creature opened its eyes—bright blue, sparkling with mischief—and looked straight into her soul.
“Mrrrow~”
It seemed to say, Good morning.
Paw Pad Sensitivity Awakened — Jelly Bean Effect Fully Unlocked
The kitten’s tail curled around her wrist like a living bracelet. Its purring deepened, vibrating straight through her bones. For the first time in years, the princess felt something other than hatred in her chest. It was warm. It was safe. It was… fluffy.
“Mrrrow~”
The kitten nuzzled closer, pressing its entire belly against her skin. Its tiny claws kneaded gently, as if testing the softness of her clothes.
……You’re going to ruin me.
She closed her eyes and let herself be held. The snow outside the prison melted into nothing. The wind carried away the last traces of blood. All that remained was the soft, steady heartbeat beneath her ear and the contented little creature purring its morning song.
“Mrr… mrrrow~”
The White Tiger Clan’s youngest was finally home. And somewhere far above them, the Heavenly White Tiger Mother herself smiled in her dream.