Chapter 93

Carami stretched her neck and looked up at the sky.

The arrival of a god, using calamities as an effect, meant that the confidence of the youkai was high enough to appear in broad daylight among humans.

Such a talkative being was the Twelve Demon Beasts.

Similar to the PaGyeSeung, it was summoned by Lin’s misfortunes and tasked with suppressing Lin, following the mandate of heaven. After PaGyeSeung failed in his mission, this task was transferred to it, and thus it had arrived here.

As its name suggests, it was a youkai derived from the twelve zodiac animals, specifically the horse, represented by “O” (午).

She, like the Beast Kingdom theme of Vestia, was a well-suited youkai.

Which animal appears is random. The hardest opponent is the Dragon of Jin (辰). The rest are similar, so the Twelve Demon Beasts were a manageable option.

“But this sudden appearance is unexpected.”

While she was in the middle of facing off against Hilde, the Twelve Demon Beast appeared out of nowhere. The arrival of a youkai matching that of a calamity made the common folk cower and tremble.

The ease in Hilde’s expression also disappeared as she sensed the danger.

“Tsks. This ain’t simple bad luck anymore.”

Carami completely agreed.

If this were categorized as bad fortune, then getting hit by bird droppings from the sky wouldn’t even make the bad luck scale.

“Isn’t that right? No matter how much Hongho tries, why would she summon a monster like this? It’s not Lin’s fault.”

“It would be different if it were Gumiho instead of Hongho.”

“That’s true.”

The atmosphere hinted strongly at Lin being the nine-tailed fox, and Carami didn’t deny it further. Even if she did, they wouldn’t believe her. Thankfully, Hilde was too preoccupied to focus solely on Lin.

Hilde’s head was pounding.

With this epidemic, Hilde was sure that Hongho was not Hongho. She was a Gumiho. When the old vixen, Yu Hwa, spoke ambiguously, it seemed as if she intentionally concealed the fact they were both youkais.

Before things got worse, she had come to hunt the Gumiho only to encounter the Twelve Demon Beasts. One opponent was already challenging, but having two great youkais was overwhelming.

Could the kingdom’s forces possibly handle it? Vestia was about to disappear into the annals of history. It was regressing back to the Age of Beasts.

While Hilde glared at the Twelve Demon Beast, the Demon Beast paid no attention to her. It remained focused solely on Lin.

“Gumiho, I don’t bear any ill will towards you, but please understand my position as one who cannot defy the mandate of heaven.”

“What are you saying?”

Lin sneered but prepared for battle as flames erupted around her.

A tripartite battle.

Tension filled the air, creating an atmosphere of instant combat readiness.

Hoo!

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through. Objects were violently scattered, and people shielded their faces with their arms. The dark clouds were pulled away and disappeared into the sky.

“Here we have a veritable den of youkais.”

Perched lightly atop a roof, like a feather, was a fox wearing a conical hat and veil. While ordinary citizens struggled to even perceive her, those who knew her recognized instantly. It was Yu Hwa.

“Yu Hwa…!”

Hilde glared at Yu Hwa with narrowed eyes. After a silent exchange of glances, Yu Hwa merely bowed her head slightly as a form of minimal courtesy.

“Great Fox, why do you defy the celestial decree?”

The Twelve Demon Beasts continued.

The suppression of the Gumiho had always been the role of the Celestial Fox. Yet, despite the Gumiho being right beside her, Yu Hwa only gave her a glance. It was a defiance of the heavens.

“Step aside. If you do not proceed, I shall do it in your stead.”

“I cannot let that happen. If you run rampant, innocent civilians will suffer. Protecting the mandate of the innocent falls to Celestial Foxes, does it not?”

“If you had subdued the Gumiho earlier, this would not have happened.”

“This is all part of destiny’s flow.”

“…”

The Twelve Demon Beast surveyed the grounds. Two youkai, along with soldiers from Vestia, stood present. Especially formidable was the killing intent radiating from Hilde.

It seemed appropriate to retreat for now. Still,

“I shall withdraw for now, but it’s wise for you to remember. Only I came this time, but next time, other youkais will accompany me. Matters will not be resolved with mere words then.”

“Hm.”

Enveloped by roaring flames, the Twelve Demon Beast vanished without a trace. The others, wary of any surprise attacks, remained alert.

Once the presence of the Twelve Demon Beast completely disappeared, Hilde glared back and forth between the two youkai. Her face flushed, grinding her teeth.

“You damn fox brats, daring to mock me…!”

“It’s a misunderstanding, Princess.”

“Misunderstanding? A Gumiho walking around the kingdom like this?”

“Calm your anger, Princess. Please let us escort you to the Celestial Pavilion.”

Hilde’s shoulders heaved, her anger unable to subside. She then glared at Lin and Carami with intense eyes, as if about to set lasers out of them.

Marking them like a brand.

As if to emphasize there was no escape anywhere.

And then, stamping her feet on the ground, she stormed off towards the direction of the Celestial Pavilion. Yu Hwa sighed deeply, glanced once at Carami’s group, and disappeared.

The townsfolk, still unsure of the situation, maintained a chaotic atmosphere. Among the confusion, Carami quietly slipped away.

Walking some distance away from the commotion, Carami slowed down and immersed herself in thought.

First, Hilde.

‘Now that she knows Lin is the Gumiho, she’ll definitely come to kill her seriously.’

Though uncertain what conversation Yu Hwa would have with Hilde, Carami was confident they wouldn’t join forces to capture Lin.

As long as that didn’t happen, it was worth pursuing.

Then, the Twelve Demon Beasts.

It was fortunate it wasn’t the Dragon since it wouldn’t be wise to underestimate “Horse” just because it wasn’t the strongest. As one of the Twelve Divine Beasts, its strength equaled to a divine blaze of fire.

However, when fighting these creatures, there existed an element of assistance unique to each entity, which was available in her database.

Carami’s destination was Vestia’s cathedral.

Among the diverse races in Vestia’s cathedral, there was a particularly peculiar number: Priestess Iris.

Iris radiated divine light, possessing long, snow-white hair that shimmered in rainbow hues when it reflected the light.

Her most prominent feature was the long horn protruding from her forehead. She was a unicorn beastfolk.

If the Twelve Demon Beast represented Eastern fantasy, then Iris was the Western counterpart as a unicorn.

From Iris, a “blessing” or “buff” could be gained—enhancing additional damage dealt to monster horses.

However, because this was a significantly unfair effect, it couldn’t be obtained through ordinary means, even with great offerings. One had to be chosen by Iris to receive her brilliant blessings, and maintaining chastity was a basic requirement.

Unicorns were known for their difficult temperaments but were exceptionally kind to virgins. It was said that Iris would bestow blessings upon both the master and slave if they both remained chaste.

Regardless of the bonus damage against horse monsters, the basic enhancement effect was also significant, often used in tough dungeons and boss fights.

However, very few gamers could use it. Most couldn’t help indulging in carnal desires with their slaves.

‘But not me.’

Carami had never had any sexual relations with her slaves. Not even her succubus slaves ever got her attention to that extent.

Caring greatly for her slaves, Carami never touched them, so how could she act otherwise?

She was confident in that.

“Wook. Stench of non-consent, go away.”

Before Iris could furrow her brows in distaste, Carami was utterly confused by the priestess’s scathing insult.

“Now, wait a moment. What’s this nonsense? How many people as decent and clean as me exist in the world?”

“Your body smells of dried-up semen, really. Guards, chase out these dirty things.”

“No, wait a moment!”

There was no time to explain or clarify the situation. Carami was dragged out of the church by the guards.

Rolling along the floor, she lay sprawled on the ground, her expression numb as she replayed Iris’s words.

‘Non-consensual… rag smell?’

Me?

I haven’t even experienced a sliver of sex.

Carami declared to the heavens that she has indeed never done such a thing. But if Iris, who could identify purity, despised her, then this was undeniable evidence.

Which led to only one possible explanation.

‘Damn it, this body!’

This wasn’t self-deprecating.

She was criticizing the original owner of the body she possessed.

Her current body had already been sullied long ago—this was why she couldn’t be chosen by Iris.

How unjust could the world be?

It would’ve been less upsetting if she had at least enjoyed it.

A lost and confused Carami caught sight of Lin cautiously approaching.

“Sorry, Master. It’s because of Lin…”

Lin, looking dejected, blamed herself for the situation, apparently believing it was her misfortunes causing the problem. Ah, what a gentle-hearted girl she was.

Carami forced a smile and consoled her.

“It’s fine. This has nothing to do with Lin.”

How could it be your fault?

All this was because of the lecherous lifestyle of this body’s owner.

Still, because of this, she now carried responsibility without any pleasure.

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