Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 253 – Demon (3)

Just a moment ago…

-Swooosh!

A sharp sword strike that unified demonic energy and swordsmanship.

The nine-tailed golden fox, pushed back by it, was forced up to a height of nearly a hundred jang.

The sword energy itself was much sharper than before, but with her own demonic energy directly added to it, its power was so strong that she had to use four tails simultaneously to counter it.

-Swish!

Pushed back into the air like that, she stopped midway.

As if she had wings, she floated and clicked her tongue in disbelief.

‘Using my demonic energy to target me?’

This brat is truly troublesome.

In her thousands of years of life, it wasn’t as if there had never been those who threatened her.

But almost all of them were beings called sages or wicked beasts close to divine beasts like herself.

The nine-tailed golden fox’s eyes narrowed.

‘Is it the influence of that being trapped within his mind?’

It didn’t matter what it was.

This brat was close to being a human who embodied the very essence of a demon, which she had been searching for all this time.

-Sting!

At that moment, the nine-tailed golden fox frowned.

After all, even though she thought she had blocked it properly, the tip of her tail had been nearly severed and was dangling loosely.

“Ha!”

In an instant, her eyes turned murderous.

Not anywhere else, but he had sliced off a part, albeit a small one, of her tail, which was a concentration of her demonic energy?

Her tail was a body part that angered her even if it was just scratched, but now that it had been cut, the nine-tailed golden fox’s rage surged.

‘Should I kill him?’

For a moment, even murderous intent arose within her.

However, she quickly suppressed it.

‘Endure it. If I kill him here, I won’t know if he will become the existence that Kang Sang spoke of.’

She licked the dangling, severed part of her tail with her tongue.

The blood from the wound quickly stopped.

The nine-tailed golden fox completely tore off the severed portion of her tail.

Then, her lips twitched.

‘Come to think of it, for a young human who hasn’t even lived for twenty years to already possess this much power, the possibility is indeed the highest.’

This fellow would grow stronger at a rapid pace.

Then, her desire might be fulfilled before long.

‘Keeping him by my side and continuously watching over……’

As she was thinking that, something flashed through her mind.

It was because of something she had seen in Mok Gyeong-un’s memories.

Moreover, upon further thought, this fellow not only had exceptional innate talent but was also rapidly growing stronger due to his thirst for revenge.

That meant there was a chance he might not become the form she desired even if she kept him by her side.

Besides, he was already immensely evil from the beginning, even without being corrupted.

Finally reaching a conclusion, the nine-tailed golden fox licked her lips.

“Aah. What a pity.”

She wanted to keep him by her side and enjoy him, but it seemed she would have to put that on hold.

***

“For a moment, I thought about just killing you, but let’s stop here.”

‘!?’

Mok Gyeong-un, who had raised his guard to the extreme, looked at the nine-tailed golden fox with incomprehensible eyes.

Cheong-ryeong was the same.

The nine-tailed golden fox, the Hundred Face King, was a great spiritual beast close to a divine beast.

If she desired, it was not only possible for her, who was called a moving calamity, to kill them but also turn this entire imperial capital into a sea of blood.

To her, all of this was merely a form of amusement.

That’s how absolute the nine-tailed golden fox’s power was, so when she suddenly suggested stopping as if on a whim, they couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

At that moment, the nine-tailed golden fox shrugged her shoulders and spoke.

“I was thinking of making you my plaything right away, but it seems unwise to pluck an unripe fruit.”

“…… What do you mean?”

“It’s exactly as I said. I’m saying I’ll leave you alone for the time being.”

“Leave me alone?”

“Yes.”

The nine-tailed golden fox glanced at the severed part of her tail and said.

“You’re quite sharp to be able to cut my tail, but that’s still far from enough.”

“……. You mean to kill you?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, the nine-tailed golden fox burst into laughter, holding her stomach.

“Hahahahaha. Kill me? Even using my demonic energy, you barely managed to slice off the tip of my tail, so isn’t that too greedy of you?”

“…….”

Mok Gyeong-un remained silent at her words.

There was indeed a huge gap between the nine-tailed golden fox’s power and his own.

To her, he was probably nothing more than an insect at best.

Since he was no match for her anyway, if she showed mercy, even if it was on a whim, he should gratefully accept it.

However, the words the nine-tailed golden fox had said lingered in his mind.

‘I’ll leave you alone for the time being……’

It sounded like she would let him go for now but would continue to target him.

No, somehow, it seemed like she would.

‘Why?’

He couldn’t understand why she was coveting him.

[You might be the very human embodiment of a demon that I’ve been searching for.]

Although she had said those words, he couldn’t fully comprehend their meaning either.

Meanwhile, the nine-tailed golden fox lightly gestured, and the clothing that had been pushed into the corner of Prince Gyeongjin’s residence flew over and put itself on her.

-Swish!

With just a single gesture, her hair and pupils turned black again.

With this, she had once again become Consort Ho, who boasted a radiant beauty.

Mok Gyeong-un picked up the severed part of her tail that had fallen to the floor and held it out to her.

“Take it with you.”

At those words, Consort Ho smiled and said.

“I’m giving that to you.”

“Giving it to me?”

“Yes. Keep that well.”

“……. I don’t have a preference for carrying around such things.”

“It would be good to carry it around. It will serve as proof that I’ve taken a liking to you. Ah. Is it because it’s bothersome to carry it like that? Then…”

-Swish!

Consort Ho lightly waved her hand.

The severed part of her tail transformed into a round medallion with golden fur attached to it.

“Isn’t it convenient to carry it like this?”

“If it’s proof that you’ve taken a liking to me, it’s even more uncomfortable to carry around.”

“You’re quite honest. But there’s no harm in carrying that around. From what I’ve seen, you seem to get entangled with quite a few wicked beasts.”

“…….”

It was difficult to deny those words.

At some point, vengeful spirits and wicked beasts had started to get involved with him frequently.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it had been since his eyes had opened.

“So keep it with you. Even if it’s just a part of my tail, carrying it will prevent you from getting entangled with bothersome things.”

Even if it was a severed part of her body, traces and remnants of her demonic energy remained.

If he possessed a part of her, known as the Hundred-Faced King, ordinary wicked beasts wouldn’t be able to approach him, and even those with a certain level of power would naturally stay away from him.

‘And if you have that, I can find you wherever you go.’

The nine-tailed golden fox inwardly smirked.

Even if she didn’t keep him by her side, with this method, she could meet him whenever she wanted.

No matter how high-ranking a great spiritual beast was, if they deliberately hid in this vast Central Plains continent, it would be difficult to find them.

“…….”

Silently holding the medallion made from her tail, Mok Gyeong-un eventually put it inside his clothes.

It wasn’t because he accepted it out of genuine gratitude, but also because there was no benefit in provoking the nine-tailed golden fox at the moment.

And if worse came to worst, he could just leave the imperial palace later.

As if reading Mok Gyeong-un’s true intentions, the nine-tailed golden fox smiled and said.

“If you get caught trying to discard it, be prepared to face the consequences. Understood?”

At her words, Mok Gyeong-un showed an annoyed expression.

Regardless, the nine-tailed golden fox turned around without any lingering attachment, as if her business was done, and tried to leave Prince Gyeongjin’s residence.

‘Is she really just leaving?’

Seeing this, Cheong-ryeong inwardly tried to feel relieved.

But then, the nine-tailed golden fox stopped for a moment and spoke as if she had forgotten something.

“Ah, right. I put the Embroidered Uniform Guards and the capital’s guards outside to sleep. But can you handle the matters inside here on your own?”

At that question, Mok Gyeong-un glanced at the unconscious Prince Gyeongjin and the beheaded corpse of the Western Depot’s Chief Eunuch, Eunuch Ho.

If Eunuch Ho had escalated the situation, it would have been different, but now that he was dead, they could handle it according to the original plan.

However, just in case, he asked.

“If I say I can’t handle it, will you help?”

“No.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“Just because. You’re not so stupid that you can’t even handle this much.”

“…….”

She had no intention of helping from the beginning.

Since he didn’t have much expectation, Mok Gyeong-un wasn’t too disappointed.

But then, the nine-tailed golden fox chuckled and said something unexpected as she left.

“That mark you were looking for. I think I’ve seen it somewhere.”

‘!?’

Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes widened in an instant.

It was a sudden remark, but since the nine-tailed golden fox had stolen a glimpse of his memories, he could immediately understand what those words meant.

Although he had shown a calm and cold demeanor towards other things, at the mention of the mark, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes fiercely transformed.

“……. What do you mean by that?”

“You understood, didn’t you?”

“Did you see it in my memories?”

“That’s right. I’m talking about the scar left on your dead grandfather’s body. I’ve seen that somewhere.”

As soon as those words ended…

-Swish!

Using the foot technique, Mok Gyeong-un instantly blocked the nine-tailed golden fox’s path and spoke in a cold tone.

“Where did you see it?”

She grinned and said.

“Why are you curious?”

“I’d be grateful if you could tell me.”

“Gratitude alone isn’t enough.”

As if slowly increasing the dosage, the nine-tailed golden fox put her hands behind her back and circled around Mok Gyeong-un.

Looking at her, Mok Gyeong-un finally spoke.

“What do you want?”

At that question, the nine-tailed golden fox licked her finger stickily and said.

“Do you want to finish what we couldn’t do earlier? If you satisfy me right here, I might tell you.”

“Is that what you want?”

“Yes.”

“Then right now…..”

Suddenly, Mok Gyeong-un couldn’t finish his sentence and unconsciously glanced behind him.

He saw Cheong-ryeong looking at him with a subtle gaze.

Seeing that gaze, Mok Gyeong-un couldn’t continue his words.

If it was related to the mark left on his dead grandfather’s body, he would stop at nothing to find clues.

‘……..’

He hesitated even though he could obtain information just by engaging in relations once.

Mok Gyeong-un questioned his own attitude.

Why was he being conscious of Cheong-ryeong?

He couldn’t understand it at all.

Then, Mok Gyeong-un finally opened his mouth.

“Let’s forget about it.”

“What?”

One of the nine-tailed golden fox’s beautiful eyebrows rose.

On the other hand, Cheong-ryeong’s pupils, who had been looking at Mok Gyeong-un with a somewhat anxious gaze, flickered with surprise.

‘Why?’

She could understand it because it was a matter involving an important clue, but for some reason, she had been feeling bitter.

But at Mok Gyeong-un’s unexpected refusal, her mood became strange.

“Tsk.”

The nine-tailed golden fox clicked her tongue with an incredulous expression and said.

“This hurts my pride.”

“What?”

“In all my life, I’ve been rejected because of a mere vengeful spirit.”

“…… What are you talking about?”

“Nevermind. I’ve lost all desire to do it anyway. Hmph!”

With those words, the nine-tailed golden fox stomped her feet angrily and left Prince Gyeongjin’s residence.

Mok Gyeong-un momentarily thought about stopping her but eventually lowered his slightly raised hand.

Since he had already given up himself, what good would it do to stop her?

He didn’t dwell on things that had already ended, so Mok Gyeong-un also turned around to go to where Cheong-ryeong was.

But then, a voice was heard.

“Among the Embroidered Uniform Guards in the Inner Court, there is someone with that mark.”

It was the nine-tailed golden fox’s voice.

‘!?’

Mok Gyeong-un looked at the door she had left through with puzzled eyes.

Then, through the half-closed door, she poked her head out and said.

“I was about to leave, but just this once, I’m making a special concession. The medallion I gave you made from my tail… never take it off your body.”

“…….. I won’t.”

That wasn’t difficult at all.

At Mok Gyeong-un’s answer, the nine-tailed golden fox snorted and closed the door with these words.

“Hmph. See you again. Heavenly Demon.”