Two foxes dance between the sky and the ground. Utilizing their agile bodies like foxes, they engage in hand-to-hand combat. Sorcery flows back and forth as they seek to exploit each other’s weaknesses.
Together, they possess nine tails.
One of them wields most of the tails, but combined, they indeed total nine.
The Gumiho with eight tails focuses on the attack, enveloped in golden flames, while Hekbi counters defensively, the battle unfolding in this manner.
Hekbi’s defensive stance is not due to her weakness. It all originates from her ability.
The Eyes of Fate.
Eyes that can turn destiny upside down.
It can reverse various things simply by gazing at the target.
Turning a saint into a tyrant.
A hero into a traitor.
A champion of justice into the embodiment of vengeance.
It is not only destiny that can be reversed; position, weight, speed, emotion, relationships, and even life and death. Numerous other reversals are also possible.
The motif is a mirror.
By reversing the enemy’s attack, unifying offense and defense becomes possible, so there is no need to worry about counterattacks.
Hekbi’s fighting style is the complete opposite of Gumiho’s impulsive temperament.
“How annoying it is to see, as always.”
The Gumiho sifts through the trajectory of fate, trying to find a meaningful move. However, attacks deemed significant are rendered meaningless by Hekbi’s Eyes.
Misfortune that approaches Hekbi transforms into fortune.
In the back-and-forth of masters, a meaningless move can lead to irreversible fatal wounds.
But she is the Gumiho.
She has fought countless times against Hekbi and already knows how to respond.
The Gumiho peers into the trajectory of fate, mimicking another of her movements at the crossroads of destiny.
She sharpens her claws and slashes vertically.
A fiery strike shaped like her claws rushes toward Hekbi.
Hekbi’s Eyes gleam.
She reverses destiny.
Raising her palm like a blade, she intercepts the fiery strike.
Got it!
The Gumiho’s attack reverts back to nothing.
Having reversed fate, it’s now time for misfortune to befall the Gumiho.
Tick!
“Eh?”
However, the remnants of the sparks that hadn’t yet scattered pour onto Hekbi.
Hekbi squints her eyes.
Neither carelessness nor mistakes were made.
She was not inexperienced.
A natural disaster that transcends the human realm.
As if it were the whims of a divine die.
It was not difficult to notice that the Gumiho had induced this trick.
“Did you want misfortune? You should have said so earlier.”
If the Gumiho’s code reverses destiny, then simply throwing her good fortune would suffice.
If reversed without any knowledge, one ends up wearing misfortune.
The Gumiho’s clever intertwining of luck and misfortune between attacks.
What is real and what is false?
If one cannot decipher the fox’s trick, Hekbi would soon face limitations in using her Eyes.
“Your idea is quite novel, but if you overuse your ability, even Lady Gumiho won’t fully escape from harm.”
If Hekbi does not react to the good fortune tossed at her, it becomes a situation where only good things happen to her. It would be worse than not using her powers at all.
“I don’t care. To surpass fate, one must also bear the risks, right?”
“You’re still reckless….”
Hekbi murmured with a bittersweet expression, as if recalling some distant memory.
The foxes’ serious game of wits began in earnest.
Hekbi responds to the misfortune or fortune created by the Gumiho with keen awareness. Sometimes misfortune clings to the Gumiho, while at other times, the goddess of fortune raises Hekbi’s hand.
The Gumiho’s reckless manipulation of fate risks her own suffering too.
As the power of the Illusion Eye and the Eyes of Destiny manifest countless times, destiny twists and turns, becoming chaotically entangled.
The true trajectory of fate has long since been obscured.
“Doesn’t this remind you of the past? We used to fight day in and day out.”
“The girl has never wanted a duel. From the beginning until now, it was you, Lady Gumiho, who insisted on sparring.”
“Is that so? Well, you haven’t liked fighting since long ago. That’s why you’ve never beaten me.”
Thousands of duels.
Each one ended in victory for the Gumiho.
It was the same in the past.
It would be the same in the present.
Whoosh!
In an instant, the Gumiho splits into two.
One rushes toward Hekbi while the other jumps back, preparing to unleash sorcery.
Foxfire rises above the Gumiho’s head.
Instantly expanding, the size of the foxfire is massive enough to sweep away the surroundings.
Hekbi swiftly rolls her silver pupils.
‘Clones. One of them is fake.’
Distinguishing with the naked eye or energy is impossible.
A choice between the two.
What is real, and what is an illusion must be selected by intuition.
A wide-area attack using clones as bait?
Or perhaps reversing that psychology?
Her contemplation was not protracted.
Hekbi forms a black dagger from the foxfire.
Ignoring the Gumiho rushing towards her, she throws it at the Gumiho preparing her sorcery.
Gumiho gently tilts her head to dodge the dagger.
In the moment the dagger grazes her side.
Swish!
The Eyes of Destiny flash.
Position reversal.
The locations of Hekbi and the dagger switch.
In an instant, she captures the Gumiho from behind.
If one does not know whom to capture.
“Then just capture both.”
Hekbi joins her hands as if in prayer.
Her palms extend outward.
A black fox born from her hands pounces on the Gumiho. The Gumiho, falling to the ground and rushing toward Hekbi, is struck simultaneously.
Boom!
Dust erupts.
Hekbi stares at the dust with her eyes slightly closed.
Which was real, and which was false?
It doesn’t matter, yet it stirs curiosity.
When the dust finally settles, no one remains.
“Cipher, you’ve always been too honest for a fox.”
Suddenly, the Gumiho’s voice echoes from above.
The direction is not the ground, but the sky.
The foxfire that had been floating like the sun, even after the sorcerer disappears, instead aims at Hekbi before momentarily twisting in mid-air to transform.
‘Transformation?’
Both Gumiho are merely clones.
The real one had transformed into foxfire.
“That’s why I held a special fondness for you… You betrayed my trust.”
Whoosh!
The Gumiho emits her spirit power in a burst, covering her body. The orange haze undulates fiercely, as if refusing to allow any reversals like before.
This is a sincere response.
To pierce through defenses, the attacking side must exert greater force.
To forcibly breach and reverse, one must expend spirit power beyond that. Especially considering the opponent is the Gumiho. Even if successful, the amount of spirit power consumed would be astronomical.
‘You….’
Hekbi squinted at the Gumiho, trying to steal her power.
She had always been like this.
Unsatisfied with reality, she was greedy.
That greed eventually reached the heavens.
Ignorant of the misfortunes caused by her own selfishness.
Selfish and self-righteous.
Just like in the past.
She no longer expects anything from her.
“Let’s end the game here.”
Hekbi joins her hands.
She forms the seal.
The Eyes of Destiny shine brightly.
Just before the Gumiho’s hand reaches Hekbi.
“Counter-Destiny.”
Darkness spreads, enveloping the area.
The Gumiho’s hand brushes through thin air.
Everything vanished like a mirage as Hekbi’s new form disappeared.
“…What?”
The Gumiho begins to glance around.
Above, below, left, and right; all she sees are mirrors.
A space densely packed with countless mirrors.
The surface of the mirrors reflects only the Gumiho endlessly.
It truly could be called a mirror world.
‘Illusion?’
That is not the case.
Casting illusions against a competent opponent is no easy feat. Moreover, since the Gumiho is also a yokai skilled in illusions, considering it impossible is more accurate.
Additionally, there is an overly abundant sense of reality. When she touches the mirror’s surface, she can feel a chilling sensation, like goosebumps.
“Were you surprised? You certainly must be. Lady Gumiho is seeing this for the first time, after all.”
A calm voice from somewhere echoes.
But her figure is nowhere to be seen.
Crash!
The Gumiho destroys one of the mirrors in front of her, but it quickly restores itself. The shattered glass reverses, returning to its original state.
Only then does the Gumiho realize what this is.
An otherworldly space resembling the celestial realm of the Sky Fox.
A world where even the mandate of heaven can be reversed.
A unique domain of Hekbi, severed from the outside world.
In this place, she can be called a goddess.
Even the Gumiho cannot leap around in this realm.
“Cipher, your skills have improved, huh? You can perform such tricks now.”
“It has been a long time. While you were asleep, I too have evolved. I am not the same girl from the past. Above all, please do not call me Cipher. I have a proper name, Hekbi.”
“Such foolishness. Names are nothing but curses and seals that seek to bind us, an idea I’ve emphasized time and time again. Are you also pretending to be a celestial dog of the heavens?”
“If that’s how I can assure my safety.”
The Gumiho clicks her tongue.
She checks the mirrors, seeking an escape route, but it is not easy.
This place is Hekbi’s home ground. Within her domain, anyone except Hekbi cannot exert their powers.
Even if one tries to force their way through, attacks will be infinitely reversed, causing exhaustion from their own efforts.
The most certain way is to break the domain outside or to unfold a similar otherworldly space to shatter Hekbi’s hidden barrier. Of course, the Gumiho knows how to do this as well…
“Don’t get any foolish ideas. With the current Lady Gumiho, you cannot break through this girl’s space.”
Half her power.
The Illusion Eye resides with Hekbi.
As the two Eyes are a pair, if one is missing, the other also cannot exert its full strength.
To think that Cipher has grown enough to spread her domain. This was a painful oversight by the Gumiho, who had forgotten about time.
“Rest comfortably. If there is an afterlife, I shall pray for you to live a regular life receiving normal mandates.”
“You….”
Light begins to leak from the mirrors.
The light infinitely reflects light, filling the space with brilliance.
As that radiance pours onto the Gumiho, her consciousness inverts and abruptly cuts off.
***
Hekbi stared at the Gumiho, who lay collapsed on the floor of the mirror world, with submerged eyes.
Expanding a domain requires immense power. It must be used in certain situations, which is why Hekbi waited, concerned that the keen Gumiho might notice.
Had this been the Gumiho of Hekbi’s memories, she would have easily shattered a barrier of this level, but she was weakened and only half a Gumiho.
In the past, she might have always won, but not anymore. She would never break Hekbi again. Absolutely not.
“Shall we start the cleanup….”
She must not be killed.
The mandate states that she should pay for her sins.
After absorbing her power, she must be sealed firmly so that she can never be released.
To prevent her from waking up again, it would be necessary to manage her separately.
Since there was still a possibility of her awakening, Hekbi was working while maintaining the barrier.
“Excuse me~ Is anyone here?”
A male voice echoes from outside the barrier.
It is infinitely cheeky and frivolous.
Upon checking outside, the human wandering the ruined shrine is not a yokai, but rather an ordinary man.
“I’m here for fortune-telling~”
It was an absurd man asserting that he would fortune-tell in the destroyed shrine.
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