The Freed Slaves Are Obsessed

A Deep and Silent Night

In the faint moonlight filtered through thin clouds, a soft silver glow spreads across the earth. At the summit of a steep cliff, silver-white foxfire flickers around the dark shrine of Umwolsan.

Heukbi, blindfolded with black bandages, strolls gracefully around the fox shrine, hands neatly clasped. A black fox bead, imbued with the cold aura of the moon, conveys a message to her.

The Cheonho has ultimately turned away.

Not only that, but she’s allied herself with the Gumiho.

It was somewhat expected. The Twelve O-Wi Ghosts had returned from Bestia, sharing news that the Cheonho appeared to be siding with the Gumiho.

Her intentions remain unreadable. It’s as if she’s driven by sheer curiosity about others receiving heavenly punishment—a whim completely beyond understanding.

The time for mere observation has passed. The Gumiho must be dealt with before she brings ruin to the world.

Thankfully, it seems I won’t need to trouble myself by going to her.

“So, the Cheonho, and you as well—everyone seems to be living in fine places, leaving only me out.”

A visitor enters the shrine unannounced, her eight tails swaying in a confused dance. Their faint pink glow reflects the dim moonlight.

She is the Gumiho, come to Umwolsan to settle a longstanding grievance.

Her appearance differs from Lin’s. She hasn’t tied her hair up to charm her master, nor is she wearing the airy dress meant to please him.

Instead, she dons the traditional martial attire of the Hoyo tribe, marking a distinct line between herself and the one who remains asleep within her.

“You really live in a gloomy place, fitting for someone as dark as you.”

The Gumiho has come alone. Karami is absent, as he’d only be a hindrance.

Karami agreed, yet the look in his eyes was not that of reluctant consent. It held a shadow, as if hiding some scheme.

“Just what strange ideas could he be coming up with now?”

The Gumiho herself can’t quite grasp the man. But she doesn’t concern herself.

He’s but a mere mortal with no resources to reach Umwolsan, a shrine teeming with yokai. Nor does he even know of its existence.

Her purpose is clear: absorb the seal and fully evolve into a true Gumiho, break the chains shackling her soul, and be free.

First, she must eliminate the traitor.

“Have you been well? Did you enjoy offering me up?”

“How could that be? The heart of a girl who lost a friend has not known peace.”

“Oh really? Then would you mind returning the power you took from me?”

“I’m afraid that gift was bestowed upon me by the heavens, so returning it would be difficult.”

The Gumiho lets out a silent laugh at Heukbi’s playful words. Her smile is so cold it chills even the moonlight.

“To steal another’s power and call it a blessing... shameless doesn’t even begin to describe it. If that’s how it is, I’ll have to take it back by force.”

The Gumiho raises her fox bead. Having absorbed the Cheonho’s power, it shines with the strength of the sun, as if embodying the clear sky itself.

Heukbi does not retreat. Her tone remains calm and unwavering.

“I hold no ill will, but are you quite sure? You only have eight tails.”

“Consider it a handicap.”

The two yokai summon their foxfire and face each other.

The combat between yokai, particularly those skilled in sorcery, resembles that of wizards.

Whose sorcery reigns supreme?

Who has honed their skills more?

They exchange moves as in a card game, each countering the other, seizing any mistake to land meaningful blows.

When both are adept sorcerers, no gaps are given, and one must whittle down the opponent’s spells, slowly chipping away at their defenses.

The Gumiho makes the first move.

Whoosh!

A foxfire, fundamental to yokai, though refined to the extreme, becomes akin to a deadly blow.

The sorcery holds the essence of the yokai, twenty flames of orange foxfire blossoming around the Gumiho like petals in full bloom. Each flame is similar in size to the ones Lin used against Ongi long ago.

“Falling Fire.”

The foxfire, illuminating the dark shrine as if it were daylight, descends in silence, blazing through the air.

Heukbi gazes upon the flames raining down upon her with a sorrowful expression.

“You’ve grown weak indeed. My heart aches for you.”

As the bombardment nears its climax, a massive black fox appears from nowhere, biting through the foxfire.

Crunch!

The flames scatter as it bites down, shielding Heukbi. The black fox prowls before her, growling at the Gumiho, recognizing her as a foe.

It’s not a living creature; it’s a form of sorcery, conjured by Heukbi’s yokai energy.

The black fox charges. Though her attack is thwarted, the Gumiho remains unfazed, seamlessly transitioning into her next spell. A radiant sun materializes above her head.

Scorching Heat.

An inescapable spell that scorches everything, living or non-living, within its range.

In an instant, the shrine erupts, burning and scattering into ash simultaneously.

The ground curves into a shallow depression, yet only the area beneath Heukbi’s feet remains untouched. She stands, unchanged, though the black fox surrounding her has shrunk from the flames’ intensity.

“To damage my home... if that’s how you wish to proceed, I have no choice but to respond in kind.”

Heukbi places her hand on the black fox’s head. The yokai energy flows back into the fox, restoring it instantly, as if it had never suffered harm.

Rejuvenated, the fox lunges at the Gumiho.

“So, you’ve been raising pets in your spare time?”

The Gumiho smirks, cloaking her hand in flames, poised to smash her opponent.

Just then, a presence emerges right behind her.

Crunch!

In an instant, she twists her body, but the black fox bites down on her left arm. Another fox grabs her right arm. Both foxes, identical, mirror each other as if reflected.

Seeing the foxes clamped down on her arms, the Gumiho sneers.

“So that’s your plan? Quite the clever trick.”

With a swift motion, she shakes off the foxes, crushing the head of the one in front of her, while tearing apart the jaws of the one behind her.

She stomps on the head of the fallen fox, scattering the yokai energy that composed it like snuffed embers.

Flames envelop the Gumiho’s arms.

Taking this as her cue, she strengthens her body with yokai energy and surges forward, closing the distance to Heukbi in an instant.

The Gumiho strikes with a fist imbued with fiery red energy. Heukbi meets it with her palm, her hand coated in dark yokai energy.

The Gumiho unleashes a relentless flurry of attacks, propelling herself off the ground, as Heukbi steps back, retreating gracefully with light, airy footwork.

Gaze of Fate.

The Gumiho’s sunlit eye glows, revealing Heukbi’s destiny.

In her vision, fragments of countless fates arise—an endless web, each shard indistinct.

None of these shards extends beyond a single second.

It signifies a formidable opponent, difficult to distort fate against.

Yet, within this web, the Gumiho perceives a faint possibility. She peers into the shards, searching.

She seeks the course of action that could yield the most favorable outcome, one where she lands a meaningful blow.

She finds it.

With a resounding stomp, the Gumiho shifts her weight, advancing diagonally. Heukbi, quick to react, steps back, only to feel the edge of a rock against her heel.

“Ugh?”

Heukbi falters.

Of all places to step, it had to be there, backward, onto a protruding rock.

An unfortunate twist of fate, yet it is one the Gumiho herself distorted.

Witnessing Heukbi’s stumble in fate, she strikes her fist into Heukbi’s abdomen with an uppercut.

Thud!

Heukbi crosses her arms to block, yet the force sends her soaring. To maintain her advantage, the Gumiho leaps after her.

The strike reorders Heukbi’s destiny, spawning a cascade of fresh fate fragments.

“Your reaction’s slow. Did you forget how to counter a fox?”

“...”

Watching the surging Gumiho, Heukbi muses:

“Without a doubt, the Gumiho...”

An oddity.

Surely, her spirit was erased when she was sealed within Baegungok.

But here she is, the same Gumiho as in Heukbi’s distant memory.

With eight tails, yet stronger than anticipated—even after factoring in the Cheonho’s power, the calculations don’t match.

Some unknown factor is bolstering her strength, but Heukbi can’t determine what.

Unsettled by this irregularity, Heukbi decides it’s best to subdue the Gumiho before further variables emerge.

Softly, she unwinds the black bandage from her eyes, her lashes casting a drowsy impression.

Opening her closed eyes, they shine silver, like a mirror.

Silver Eyes.

Eyes that reverse fate. The image of the Gumiho reflects in her silver gaze.

Just before the Gumiho’s attack connects with Heukbi—

Shush!

Like magic, their positions switch.

In an instant, the situation reverses, and Heukbi launches a palm strike charged with yokai energy.

“Kuh!” 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The Gumiho’s body is knocked back, and Heukbi’s eyes narrow slightly.

“Your reaction is slow, Gumiho. Have you forgotten my abilities after all this time?”

Though Heukbi is often seen as reserved and gentle by her kin,

one must not forget: she, too, is the most cunning fox of all.

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