Chapter 110

Countless spectators have gathered in front of Vestia. What blocks their way is a black curtain.

Covered like a black bowl, Vestia was so enormous that it could be seen from another city dozens of kilometers away.

No one can enter. Even if struck with a hammer, it would bounce back, and it is impossible to look inside with magic.

Overnight, an entire nation was caught up in a mysterious phenomenon.

What on earth is this aberration? Not a single person could guess what was happening inside.

And on the deserted opposite side.

The witch Mirabel and Morgana, who had flown to Vestia in an instant with magic, placed their hands on the barrier to examine its structural components.

“It has a power similar yet distinct from magic.”

“It’s spirit power. It’s the force primarily used by the yokai that inhabit the east. They perform sorcery, not magic.”

“Sorcery, huh….”

Mirabel, with azure magic wrapped around her hand.

A barrier with indestructible durability, which seemed impossible to break, is easily penetrated. Mirabel’s hand slips inside.

She interprets the mystical ability felt in her hand.

“It’s similar to mental interference magic.”

The entire massive barrier serves as a device for mind control. It would be futile to break it with brute force; doing so would damage the minds of those inside.

Indeed, the safest and most reliable method is to have the caster dispel it directly.

“Morgana, I’m going in.”

“Yes~”

Mirabel and Morgana cast a magical barrier. A gentle glow of mana surrounds their bodies.

“That won’t be enough.”

Whoosh!

Confirming Morgana’s mana barrier, Mirabel overlays her own power. The barrier surrounding Morgana grows thicker.

“Wow.”

It may sound like a cliché, but Morgana was genuinely impressed.

Morgana is a great witch powerful enough to overpower the elders of the Magic Tower. Having poured hundreds of years and passion into her magic, she is confident that no one can surpass her in magic alone.

However, in front of Mirabel’s magic, all that confidence disappears. Her magical prowess is on a level that can turn even the most powerful archmage into a mere commoner.

Even in the minutiae of mana barrier operation, there is a stark difference in caliber. A sense of awe arises. It is delicious to obey.

Even if a meteor falls or a god tempts her, the physical and mental mana barrier created by the two won’t be compromised as they walked inside the barrier.

Inside the barrier, filled with a sublime seven-colored light, stands a stark contrast to the dark and gloomy exterior seen from outside. The majority of the citizens of Vestia, the Beastmen Kingdom, were beastmen.

Pausing their activities, the people standing in the street stared blankly into the light. Their pupils were unfocused, and their mouths gaped open.

They looked as if they were dreaming a happy dream.

Though it may not be of their own will.

Men, women, and people of all species wore the same expression, making it all the more bizarre.

Mirabel and Morgana continued walking. While they glanced around to enjoy the city, their steps were directed purposefully.

“Here it is.”

The place they stopped was the Celestial Pavilion, which exuded an Eastern charm. The orchestrator of this chaos is inside.

It seemed that the walls of the building couldn’t repel sorcery, as a tiger beastman stared vacantly at the sky.

Ascending to the second floor, Mirabel encountered the first people that looked normal since arriving in Vestia.

“It’s you…”

A white fox and a black fox.

Yu Hwa and Hekbi.

The celestial lion Yu Hwa had lost her powers by betraying her heavenly destiny, but Hekbi was different. Although the fox bead was absorbed by the gumiho, the fox bead was originally an item created using spirit power.

The loss of the fox bead didn’t mean the power it had possessed would vanish.

Hekbi had cast a small barrier in a brief moment when Lin was unrolling her sorcery, protecting Yu Hwa’s mind alongside her.

As a fellow yokai, and with her understanding of sorcery, Hekbi could withstand this much pressure. It was best to protect themselves rather than to break Lin’s sorcery.

“You…!”

Yu Hwa’s eyes widened in shock upon discovering Mirabel.

When Yu Hwa first met Carami, she had touched the chains extending from his soul and encountered Mirabel. Overwhelmed by her imposing presence, she had retreated in fear.

Though they were meeting for the first time, it felt like a familiar encounter.

It wasn’t only Mirabel who knew Yu Hwa. Morgana looked at the curled-up Yu Hwa with disdain and mocked her.

“Yu Hwa, you’ve gotten a lot uglier since I last saw you?”

“Morgana….”

The celestial lion Yu Hwa.

Another name for her is the witch who reads the flow of fate. Of course, with the loss of her power, she was no longer a witch.

“What are the witches doing in Vestia?”

“We came to escort our master.”

“Master…? Could it be that you are his slave as well?”

Hekbi couldn’t hide her surprise. After all, the aura that Mirabel exuded was unfathomably deep. It was indeed a presence that could be likened to the cosmos.

The idea that such an ethereal being was Carami’s slave was hard to believe. It would be enough to conquer the world at a moment’s notice.

“Morgana. I’ll be back shortly, so please protect these individuals.”

“Yes~”

Mirabel gripped her staff tightly and stared at a corner of the room. What appeared to be an ordinary office felt like a different space without needing any detection magic.

There was a sense of alienation beyond this point.

Her master is beyond here.

Mirabel traced the air with her staff.

***

“Master, you should try this.”

Lin, having prepared a tail pillow for Carami, popped a grape into his mouth. Carami accepted it eagerly, like a baby bird being fed.

“How’s that? Is it good?”

“Oh wow, it’s incredibly delicious. I’ve never tasted grapes this good before.”

“Right? They’re actually just ordinary grapes, but I cast a spell saying they’re delicious. They’re love grapes filled with Lin’s affection.”

To lure a man, capture his taste first. Lin was putting into practice a method she had heard about somewhere to captivate men.

A fantasy flavor that could not be manifested in real grapes. When infused with Lin’s affection, it becomes all the more delicious!

…is utter nonsense; the truth is that it was just sorcery deceiving the sense of taste.

What has changed with sorcery is not just the sense of taste.

Twilight skies that blur the boundary between day and night.

Stars that scatter like silver sand.

Soft white clouds cover the ground, and a clear lake lies beneath, with koi swimming freely within it.

In stark contrast to the dreary outside world, it was a place so dreamlike that one’s spirit could seep into the space. This belonged to Lin’s Dream Garden, crafted with her sorcery.

A terrestrial paradise that makes one forget the passage of time. This is Lin’s tactic to ensure that Carami doesn’t want to leave her side.

“How is it, Master? Don’t you want to leave now?”

“I don’t want to leave, but I have to go.”

But Carami’s answer remained unchanged.

Lin’s elegant expression twisted in discontent.

“…You care more about a slave you don’t even know than me?”

“I know who it is. I haven’t seen him yet, but.”

It’s a sincere truth without a hint of deception, yet to Lin, it sounded like trivial wordplay. Carami was clearly using an excuse to leave her side.

It seems she hasn’t fully absorbed the paradise yet. However, Lin had a secret plan left.

“Master, do you want to do something very enjoyable with me?”

Lin is a gumiho.

A trickster born with an exceptional talent for enchanting people, especially men.

The fragrance Lin emanated, every little gesture she made was optimized to drive men wild. If she entices him into physical intimacy, no matter how much Carami resists, he won’t be able to escape.

Lin’s tails gently wrapped around Carami’s limbs. Her long, slender fingers danced atop his belly, climbing up to his neck and then teasing his face.

“Hehe.”

With thoughts of doing something delightful with her master, Lin’s laughter escaped involuntarily.

Rip!

It was at that moment a tearing sound echoed.

A diagonal crack appeared in the air, and an uninvited guest intruded.

“You’re coming!”

Perhaps because the crack was created high in the air.

Mirabel grabbed the hem of her skirt and jumped in with a bounce.

“Eh?”

Carami’s eyes widened in shock at Mirabel’s sudden appearance. Mirabel’s face bloomed with a bright expression, one she hadn’t worn even once since parting with Carami.

“Master!”

“M-Mirabel? How did you get here…?”

“I came to escort you!”

With adorable little hops, Mirabel dashed towards Carami. In that moment, a spear of flame rushed in at supersonic speed.

Bam!

The spear, sharp on target with Mirabel, erupted into a burst of flames.

“Lin?”

Lin had her arms outstretched towards Mirabel. On her face was a look of profound seriousness as she squinted her eyes, watching the emerging smoke.

Whoosh!

As the wind whipped around, the smoke cleared. A barrier had formed around Mirabel, who had her staff held out in front. Not a single scratch had appeared.

Since this was the expected outcome, Lin wasn’t particularly shocked. She twisted her mouth in a smirk.

“Could you not approach the Master without permission?”

“It’s you. The monster fox that was beside the Master.”

“Monster fox? Oh, Lin is a pretty name given to me by my master!”

As Lin said this, she dramatically hugged Carami.

“It’s the same for me too. Master gave me the name Mirabel to signify that I would create miracles, the most beautiful and cute name in the world.”

‘No, that’s your original name.’

Besides, it was the name given to her by her deceased father.

What a burning filial daughter!

As Carami silently challenged her internally, the two continued their fierce standoff without even blinking.

“You are no longer the Master’s slave. Thus, I consider the title of Master to be false.”

“Once a slave, forever a slave. Even death cannot separate us.”

‘No, neither of you are my slaves anymore.’

After going through such struggles to free them, why do they keep claiming to be slaves?

Ah, of course, unlike Lin, who self-designates as a slave, Mirabel was truly Carami’s slave. Though she had shackled herself.

“I will take the Master with me. Release him.”

“I don’t want to. The Master will live here with Lin for eternity.”

“Master will bring joy of liberation to many more slaves. There is no time for him to linger here.”

“That joy, I won’t hand it over to anyone. It belongs only to Lin.”

An unyielding clash of opinions.

Mirabel glared at Lin, and Lin raised a slight smile with cold eyes, both of them fixing their gazes upon each other.

“It seems further conversation is unnecessary. To dare imprison the Master, you must be judged.”

Swoosh…

A small indigo dot floated in the air.

As the dot rippled, a gust of strong wind spread forth, and a giant figure of the Death God holding a scythe appeared.

Lin also did not back down. Ensuring Carami was not caught in the crossfire, she stood her ground.

Boom! As the ground was stomped, pink spirit power erupted from around her feet, forming the shape of a massive gumiho.

Kyaaaaaaa!

The Dream Garden trembled in response to the gumiho’s roar.

Lin grinned broadly.

“Judgment? If you dare, give it a try. But you should worry about your fate first.”