Chapter 106: Night Parade of a Hundred Demons
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 106: Night Parade of a Hundred Demons
The party returned to the city.
Her mission complete, Hilde headed back to the royal palace, cheerfully singing “fuck this, fuck that.”
Of course, she took the leash with her.
Rin, having watched Karami walk Hilde, eyed the leash like a coveted treasure. Fortunately for him, Karami remained oblivious.
The city was in chaos.
The beastkin were thrown into confusion by the suddenly darkened world.
Weaving through the pandemonium, they headed straight for the Celestial Pavilion.
“Celestial Fox.”
“Ah, you’ve returned.”
Yuhwa greeted the party nonchalantly, but though she didn’t show it, she had been worried sick.
Her investment in the two, which had cost her the power of the Celestial Fox, was one thing. But the affection that had grown between them was another matter entirely—it was too significant to ignore.
She had worried about what she would do if something went wrong, but it seemed her fears were unfounded. She could tell just by looking at the number of Rin’s tails.
She had left with eight and returned with nine.
She had finally become a Gumiho.
Moreover, the one standing before her wasn't the Gumiho the Celestial Fox knew, but Rin herself.
“It seems the Gumiho has departed.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
That the greedy Gumiho, on the cusp of achieving her lifelong wish to ascend to the heavens, would find peace and pass on… It was hard to believe even after hearing it.
She couldn't help but wonder what kind of psychological change had occurred, and how Karami had managed to bring it about.
Yuhwa's gaze met Heukbi's, who stood a few paces back. Heukbi bowed her head respectfully in a silent greeting.
“Heukbi of the Dark Fox greets the Celestial Fox.”
“It's been a long time. It's a shame we can't chat at a more leisurely pace.”
Yuhwa placed a hand on the windowsill and looked up at the sky.
The city felt like the night before a storm.
Just as animals cry out to sound the alarm before a natural disaster, the streets were a chaotic mess filled with the wails of the beastkin.
The darkness blanketing the sky above the city was no ordinary phenomenon. It wasn't an artificial storm cloud.
Like the Gumiho's eclipse, it was a heavenly veil meant to hide their vile deeds from the world.
Their intention was to fully exploit the nature of yokai, who grow stronger where there is no light.
‘Magnificent.’
Even in such a grave situation, Karami didn't forget to appreciate the view. Seeing in person what he had only witnessed on a small screen sent a shiver down his spine.
Unlike the others, he wasn't particularly worried. There was no way Rin could lose—not now that she had become a Gumiho and absorbed the powers of the Celestial Fox and the Dark Fox.
He could just sit back and watch as if he were at the movies.
‘We're finally here.’
It hadn't been easy this time either, but they had finally made it.
The end of Rin's liberation story.
The title: Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
*
Night Parade of a Hundred Demons (百鬼夜行).
One hundred demons march through the streets in the dead of night.
Yokai, acting on Heaven's will, eliminate the Gumiho and anyone associated with her.
The greatest misfortune and worst disaster brought by the Gumiho.
It was a tower defense event in the capital of Vestia, where the key was to minimize the damage to the city from the yokai.
A high damage rate was synonymous with failing to overcome the misfortune.
The clear condition for complete liberation was a defense rate of 80%.
If the damage exceeded that, it was a failure. There were no retries.
The things to consider were that, unlike in the game, there were no clear stats now. Also, even if they defended against 80% of the damage, the remaining 20% would still be devastating.
Therefore, there was something he desperately wanted to ask of Rin.
“Rin, please make sure there is zero damage. This is both a request and an order.”
Aim for 100%.
I won't allow even a sliver of damage.
This is a show. A show to make Rin a hero.
Even if this disaster was caused by Rin, if she stops it without any damage, people's perception of her is bound to change.
I will make the fox who brings misfortune become their fox of good fortune.
“You can do it, right?”
“As long as Master believes in me, Rin can do anything.”
“If you do well, I'll reward you by letting you legally consume my essence.”
“I'll go smash misfortune to pieces.”
*
Time passed, but the sun did not rise over Vestia.
Eternal darkness.
Sinister energy gathered endlessly.
It was truly the calm before the storm.
The citizens locked their doors and did not come out. Guards were stationed throughout the city in preparation for the worst. But mere mortals could not stop a cataclysm of this scale.
Fwoosh!
Flames suddenly erupted in the dark sky.
Tearing through the curtain of fire like a spear, the Twelve Zodiac Spirits appeared.
That was the beginning.
Rumble.
The earth trembled.
The air vibrated.
Shamans lying in wait throughout the city began to cast their spells.
Krrrrrumble….
Four Spirit Gates erupted from the ground in all directions. They were massive, easily ten meters tall.
The frames of the gates were studded with the taxidermied heads of screaming figures. The deep, reddish-brown doors were covered in all sorts of talismans, and massive chains were crossed and locked over them.
As if to say, Never open what's inside.
But it's human nature to want to open what is forbidden. The shamans were no different. As they chanted their incantations, the talismans fell away and the chains snapped.
Clang.
Thud.
The massive chains fell to the ground.
Screeeech. With a repulsive, eardrum-scraping groan, the heavy doors began to swing open.
An eerie fog seeped out.
From within the fog, black shadows emerged in a line.
Thump.
At their head was a muscular giant. Its body was as solid as lead and black as charcoal.
Two horns sprouted from its forehead, and it carried a dark red club on its shoulder, as if painted with blood. The king of the dokkaebi.
“Khuhuhuhuhu. The time has finally come!”
Dueoksini laughed heartily.
The thought of a showdown with the infamous Gumiho sent a thrill of excitement coursing through his entire body.
Giant dokkaebi wearing iron masks followed behind Dueoksini.
“Hoh, so this is the city of humans. Quite different from the underworld. How interesting.”
From another gate, Baekgak-shinsa, the centipede yokai, appeared with his centipede followers.
In addition, yokai like the four-faced Samyeon-gwi poured out endlessly from the Spirit Gates, while those capable of flight arrived through the sky.
A gathering of yokai, any one of which could annihilate an entire city, was nothing short of a catastrophe.
All these yokai had come for one purpose: the Gumiho. By absorbing her power, one could be reborn as a great yokai that no one could challenge.
It was time for a new yokai king to be born.
“Now, my children. It's feeding time!”
Dueoksini roared, raising his club to the sky. To yokai, living humans were not mere animals, but a delicacy.
The yokai let out bizarre cries and attempted to invade the homes of the citizens.
“Gack?”
The moment they tried to smash their way into the houses, the lesser yokai collapsed, clutching their hearts as if a chronic illness had suddenly flared up.
“Hm? What's wrong with you all!”
Yokai collapsed one after another.
In the moment of Dueoksini's confusion…
Fwump!
A spear of fire flew from somewhere and pierced both sides of Dueoksini's chest. An intense pain, as if his organs were being incinerated, washed over him.
“Kuaaargh! Dammit, what is this flame! My body… it's burning up!”
It wouldn't come out no matter how much he strained. His body, harder than steel, and his spiritual power were helplessly burning away, being purified as if he were a demon receiving a god's blessing.
When the Twelve Zodiac Spirits whipped their heads around, they saw the Gumiho floating in the sky.
Rin observed the world from a place closest to the heavens.
The terrified residents.
The sound of crying children echoing from all corners.
The soldiers, tense and on edge.
To be honest, Rin still didn't like people. With the exception of her Master, Seira, and Yuhwa.
People still hated her and pointed fingers at the Master who had taken her in.
Her Master had said that if she saved the city, people would treat her like a hero, but Rin didn't think so.
People were cunning.
Even if they welcomed her after this, they were the type to turn on her in an instant if another problem arose.
Just like the Fox Clan of White Cloud Valley.
Once this moment passed, they would be sure to hold her accountable, like ghosts demanding their due.
The only one she believed in was Karami.
Her absolute ally, no matter the situation.
The one who didn't care about the impending misfortune.
So this wasn't for them. It was for Karami.
Rin created a Fox Orb.
The small, fist-sized orb was now larger than her head. The pink orb, which had once contained only spiritual power, now shimmered with a multitude of colors.
The yokai swarmed on the ground like insects, running rampant as if it were their own home, trusting in the darkness.
In that case, she just had to erase the darkness.
Rin's mismatched eyes took on the light of the sun and the moon.
She brought her palms together.
An eclipse, cast by perfectly matching the ratio of the sun's and moon's power. But by increasing the ratio of the sun, another power would manifest.
“Dawn.”
High in the sky, higher still.
An artificial sun cast its light upon the city shrouded in darkness. The light of early dawn, heralding hope, rose from Rin, driving away the darkness.
“Kieeeeeeek!”
The yokai, weak to sunlight, stretched out their arms to block it, but one cannot cover the sky with the palm of one's hand. Unable to offer even a shred of resistance, their outstretched hands were the first to burn away.
The leader-class yokai managed to minimize the damage by shrouding themselves in spiritual power, but that was the extent of it. Pushed back by the sunlight, they couldn't advance a single step.
“You wretch!”
The moment the Twelve Zodiac Spirits tried to charge, Rin twisted her joined palms. The sun tilted, and the moon rose.
In the instant where the last light of day and the first shadow of night intersected.
“Twilight.”
A bizarre world where the boundary between day and night had collapsed was created. As the violet light of twilight colored the world, the lines between life and death, reality and illusion, began to blur.
A playful fox's magical phantasmagoria.
No one who existed beneath the sky could escape it. In this world where all was ambiguous, the senses of the living within the domain dulled as if lost in a fantasy.
All that remained was to play with toys on the verge of breaking.