The Freed Slaves Are Obsessed

Title: Mirabel and Lin Lesbian Kiss.jpg

Author: Yuki King Karami

(A scene of a showdown between the Grim Reaper and the Gumiho)

"Sorry. I had to bait you to show this. Can you believe the level of fighting between Mirabel and Lin? This is truly a clash of the strongest characters in the world. Is that really the same timid Mirabel? This is heart-thumping stuff."

Just writing this on the Tao Soul Gallery would bring in a flood of upvotes, with comments and shares piling up. Right before Karami’s eyes, a battle that would only be seen on the big screen was taking place.

An epic clash of monsters on a grand scale.

The gigantic Gumiho lunged at the Grim Reaper, who swung its scythe downward. The Reaper was so massive, it seemed like it could slice the world in two.

The Gumiho moved with an agility that defied its massive frame, dodging the scythe, twisting its body, and whipping its tail around.

Boom!

The force was immense, like a skyscraper swinging through the air.

The Reaper was flung far back. Without giving it a moment’s rest, the Gumiho charged forward, head snapping down to bite.

The Reaper, with levitation as its innate trait, slid backward without needing to rise and lifted its scythe.

Shlick!

The scythe rose. The Gumiho was split from chest to crown, crashing backward from the shock.

But it quickly regained its stance. With a shake of its head, the wound closed up instantly, returning it to its original form.

"Wow~"

Karami couldn't help but let out a gasp of awe.

No blockbuster could compare to the battle unfolding before his eyes. The earth-shaking sound and vibrations couldn’t be captured on a mere screen, carving the scene directly into his mind.

'Popcorn! Where’s the popcorn?'

How could he watch something like this without popcorn?

Sadly, there was no popcorn to be found. Settling for grapes as a substitute, Karami grabbed a handful and popped them in his mouth.

Why was this fight even happening? He was so captivated that he’d forgotten why he was even here.

All around, monsters clashed in a fierce battle. Meanwhile, the two in question remained unmoved, standing in place and staring at each other.

"So, it was you? You sent the Reaper after Lin to try and kill her."

"That’s right. I was certain she’d be a threat to Master."

"Though thanks to that, I got closer to him~"

"...I really should have dealt with you back then."

Regretting her lack of decisiveness, Mirabel bit her lower lip softly.

"You’re one to talk. For someone who makes grand speeches about ‘freedom,’ you went and canceled the contracts of other slaves."

"I do feel sorry about that."

Setting those slaves free without Karami’s blessing was an unkind act. They didn’t get to savor the joy of liberation.

Surely, they held her in resentment.

"But I had no other choice. At that time, I couldn’t afford to consider anyone else."

Since Karami’s departure, Mirabel hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep. She used to sleep with her body entwined with his, feeling his warmth, his scent, his comforting presence.

Unable to sleep without him, she had to rely on magic to forcibly awaken her mind and reduce fatigue.

For months.

Her weary, heavy-lidded gaze was proof enough.

But without Karami, she learned to recreate the shackles of servitude with just his magic alone. She broke the cat people’s contracts to gather power, binding them once more with new shackles.

That finally allowed her to get a little sleep. Regret was regret, but she had no second thoughts about her choice.

"It doesn’t really matter. If need be, I’ll just reestablish the contracts myself."

Though Karami didn’t hear her due to the distance and the ongoing battle, if he had, he’d have stormed over in outrage.

However, the sensitive beastfolk’s hearing didn’t miss it. Lin’s ears perked up.

"Re-bind the shackles?"

"Yes. I know how to do it. I even re-bound my own. Why? Do you want them back?"

"Yes."

Lin’s immediate response.

She would do anything to wear the shackles again, to live as Karami’s slave. She’d even return to her role as the ‘First Fox’ if that’s what it took.

"Do it for Lin, too."

"Nope."

"What?"

"Why should I? This is a privilege only for me; everyone else only gets it once."

Mirabel’s face showed clear pride.

Karami’s slave—anyone who had tasted freedom yearned for that honored position. However, even Karami couldn’t reestablish a contract once someone was freed.

Mirabel alone was the exception. She was the only one capable of offering former slaves the ecstasy of servitude once more.

A fitting title for the Reaper’s representative.

"So you won’t do it... fine, I’ll make you."

"If you can."

Lin’s mouth stretched into a sly smile at Mirabel’s taunt.

Round two.

Not a proxy fight through monsters, but a direct confrontation between them.

They each knew the danger of the other all too well.

Not an ounce of complacency would be allowed.

Lin clasped her hands together, forming a seal.

"Eclipse."

A sovereign realm, untouchable even by the gods.

The sun and moon, each casting their light, merged into one. Twilight fell, and endless darkness spread through the Dream Garden.

Mirabel glanced around, casting a spell to illuminate her surroundings, but nothing changed. Although her magic was consuming mana and the spell was active, no light was visible.

The darkness was so deep it devoured even the faintest glimmer.

A shadow realm that blocked out sunlight and moonlight alike—Eclipse.

Even in a pitch-black world where she couldn’t see her own chest, Lin’s Fox Eyes could illuminate the fate of those around her.

Just as a small light becomes more noticeable in the dark, so did one’s destiny.

'Let’s see what we have here~'

Since unlocking the power of Fox Eyes, Lin had developed a hobby of observing others’ fates, especially those whose fate fragments were dark. It was endlessly amusing.

Seeing those blissfully unaware of their impending ruin, or waiting to see if they could find a glimmer of hope in the darkness, was entertaining.

"....."

Yet when Lin looked at Mirabel’s fate, it was all blurry. No fragment held any distinct color.

Not even with the Fox Eyes in an Eclipse.

This could only mean one thing.

Mirabel’s power level was far beyond her own.

She was untouchable, her fate beyond even Lin’s influence.

This was impossible.

She was the Gumiho, the fox goddess.

"Snooping on others is unbecoming."

Mirabel’s calm voice echoed suddenly, like a teacher scolding a student.

Mirabel activated her Heavenly Oath.

She tapped the floor lightly with the tip of her staff.

Ding.

A clear, ringing sound resonated through the air.

A book materialized in her hand: 57 Golden Tips for Harvesting High Souls: Celestial Punishment Edition.

The first magical tome Karami ever gifted her, which awakened Mirabel as a witch.

Flipping pages rustled through the air.

These were snippets of knowledge.

Knowledge is never solitary. While not closely linked, everything has a connection.

Knowledge begets knowledge, each piece birthing another.

In the Mage Tower, also known as the Peak of Knowledge or the Tower of Truth, countless forms of knowledge converged. Forbidden tomes lined the shelves, some that would drive anyone mad with a mere touch.

Mirabel had studied them all. Not a single tome was left unread. Every piece of knowledge from the Mage Tower was stored within her mind. She was the Mage Tower itself.

Countless volumes floated around her, connected like a mind map, each a testament to her mastery. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"I won’t make the same mistake again."

Mirabel had once failed, disappointing Karami by not granting him the joy of freedom, and he abandoned her as a result.

The Mage Tower was her battleground to prove her worth, to make Karami desire her again.

She couldn’t lose. Not even to a god.

Ding~

Mirabel tapped her staff once more.

"Akashic Record."

A record of the beginning and end of the world, transcending fate—a manifestation of the knowledge she held in a transcendental library.

In the lightless realm of Eclipse, like stars across a limitless universe, the shelves of books glowed.

"This...can’t be...!"

The unthinkable happened.

Light shone even through the shadows.

As Lin drew on her power to push back, shadows seemed to devour the light, yet beams of light pierced through, breaking through in places.

Their powers were evenly matched. The only difference was that Mirabel was still Karami’s slave.

The blessing bestowed by a master to a slave—the power boost of the binding contract.

Mirabel received this blessing fully. For Lin, who claimed to be a slave but no longer bore the contract, it was unattainable.

Bam!

The balance tipped slightly in Mirabel’s favor.

Eclipse was swallowed up by the radiant light of knowledge.

As the shadows dispersed like a maid sweeping away dirt, the Dream Garden reappeared, with the two of them facing each other as before.

Except now, the giant Gumiho had been sliced in half by the Reaper’s scythe and lay on the ground.

Thud.

Lin, her legs trembling, finally fell to one knee, gasping for breath. Meanwhile, Mirabel, unfazed, remained composed.

Cleaning up a mess was the maid’s job.

The Reaper returned to its original size, standing guard over its master.

"As I said, I’ll be taking Master with me."

Mirabel aimed her staff at Karami. Midway through snacking on grapes, Karami’s body lifted gently, descending softly before her.

Karami looked down at her, and Mirabel looked up, smiling brightly.

Mirabel extended her arms toward Karami, her smile unwavering.

Karami knew exactly what that signal meant, even after so long. He wrapped his arms around her under her shoulders and lifted her up.

Like a koala, Mirabel clung to him, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Hehehe."

She laughed, pleased.

"I came to bring you home, Master! Have you been waiting long?"

"Ah, uh..."

Karami’s mood was less enthusiastic.

A drop of cold sweat trickled down.

Waiting? For what exactly?

To die? Was she here to settle the score for enslaving her?

Sending the Reaper hadn’t been enough? Mirabel had come back, the girl he once sent off to her mother.

First the Gumiho, now the witch.

The future looked grim.