The Freed Slaves Are Obsessed-Chapter 99: The Gumiho and the Dark Fox (3)

Two foxes dance across the heavens and earth, twisting and turning in a graceful combat that only foxes could achieve, their flexible forms engaged in a physical battle. Between each clash, sorcery weaves through the gaps, attempting to catch the other off guard.

Together, they wield nine tails. Although one of them holds most of these tails, they total nine nonetheless.

The Gumiho, with her eight tails cloaked in golden flames, focuses entirely on offense, while Heukbi parries her attacks, steering the battle defensively.

Heukbi’s defensive stance isn’t due to weakness but derives from her unique ability.

Silver Eyes.

Eyes that reverse fate.

Simply by gazing upon her target, she can reverse a multitude of things:

A benevolent ruler into a tyrant.

A hero into a heretic.

A champion of justice into an agent of vengeance.

She can reverse more than just fate—position, weight, speed, emotions, relationships, even life and death. Her power to invert extends to countless things.

Her motif is the mirror.

By reversing the enemy’s attacks, she achieves a seamless unity of offense and defense, freeing her from the need to focus on attacking.

Heukbi’s combat style is the polar opposite of the Gumiho’s fiery, impulsive nature.

“As bothersome as ever.”

The Gumiho searches through the paths of fate for a meaningful move, but Heukbi’s Silver Eyes render each calculated attack futile.

Imminent misfortune transforms into fortune for Heukbi.

In the clash of masters, a single wasted move can result in irreparable damage.

But the Gumiho is no ordinary foe.

She’s battled Heukbi countless times and knows how to counter her.

The Gumiho peers into the threads of fate, mimicking an alternate version of herself at a crossroads.

Her claws sharpen, slashing vertically. The fiery claws, shaped like blades, surge toward Heukbi.

Heukbi’s silver eyes gleam.

Fate is reversed.

She raises her hand like a knife, slicing the fiery strike in two.

Slash!

The Gumiho’s attack is thwarted, reversing her own ill fate back onto her.

Tssk.

“Ugh?”

Yet, stray embers that failed to scatter descend upon Heukbi.

She narrows her eyes, frowning.

It wasn’t carelessness or a mistake. She hadn’t let her guard down.

It was a disaster beyond human comprehension—a twist of fate, like the dice of a god.

It wasn’t hard to realize the Gumiho had orchestrated this twist.

“So you wanted misfortune? You could’ve just said so~”

If Heukbi reverses fate, all the Gumiho needs to do is offer her good fortune. Without realizing, if Heukbi reverses it, she’ll cast misfortune upon herself.

The Gumiho mixes fortune and misfortune deftly between her attacks, leaving Heukbi to discern what’s real and what’s an illusion.

Failing to unravel the Gumiho’s tricks, Heukbi’s ability to use her Silver Eyes will inevitably be restricted.

“The idea is clever, but if you overuse your power, even you won’t escape its drawbacks, Gumiho.”

If Heukbi doesn’t react to the fortune tossed her way, she’ll inadvertently receive only good fortune, defeating the purpose of using her powers.

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll take on whatever risk it takes to defy heaven’s decree, won’t I?”

“As reckless as ever....”

Heukbi murmurs, a faint memory surfacing with a bitter expression.

Thus begins the full-fledged battle of wits between the cunning foxes.

The Gumiho strategically inserts fortune or misfortune into her attacks, while Heukbi counters them with calculated reversals. At times, misfortune clings to the Gumiho, while fortune lends its favor to Heukbi.

The Gumiho brazenly distorts fate, disregarding her own harm.

With the Gumiho’s Sun Eye and Heukbi’s Silver Eyes constantly at work, fate twists and turns, intertwining in a chaotic dance.

The thread of unbroken fate has long vanished.

“Doesn’t this remind you of the past? We used to fight every other day.”

“Not once did I ever wish to spar. From the start, Gumiho, you forced every duel upon me.”

“Oh, is that so? Well, you never did enjoy fighting. That’s why you could never beat me.”

Thousands of duels, each ending in the Gumiho’s victory.

That was true in the past, and it would be true now.

Whoosh!

The Gumiho splits in two.

One dashes toward Heukbi, while the other leaps backward, preparing a spell.

Foxfire rises above the Gumiho, swelling in size until it threatens to obliterate everything around it.

Heukbi’s silver pupils shift rapidly.

A clone. One of them is fake.

Neither vision nor aura can distinguish between them.

A gamble.

Which is real, and which is the decoy?

The decision takes only a moment.

Heukbi conjures a black dagger from foxfire, ignoring the Gumiho charging at her and hurling it at the one preparing the spell.

The Gumiho simply tilts her head, evading the dagger as it flies past her.

Flash!

Heukbi’s Silver Eyes gleam.

Positions reversed.

In an instant, Heukbi switches places with the dagger, landing directly behind the Gumiho.

If she couldn’t choose, she would simply capture both.

Heukbi brings her hands together as if in prayer, extending her palms outward.

From her hands, a black fox materializes, attacking both Gumiho figures—the one plummeting to the ground and the one charging at Heukbi.

Boom!

Dust explodes into the air as Heukbi watches intently.

Which one was real, and which was an illusion?

It doesn’t matter, but the curiosity lingers.

When the dust settles, no one is there.

“Ahmo, you’re such a straightforward fox. Always have been.”

The Gumiho’s voice suddenly resounds, not from the ground but from the sky.

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Though its conjurer has vanished, the foxfire floats like the sun, aimed at Heukbi before suddenly shifting form mid-air.

Transformation?

Both Gumiho figures had been decoys.

The real one had transformed into the foxfire.

“That’s why I liked you, Ahmo. But you betrayed my trust.”

Whoosh!

The Gumiho unleashes her yokai energy, an orange haze wrapping her body. The aura is intense, leaving no room for reversal.

This is a direct countermeasure.

To break through a defense, the attacker must exert greater force.

Forcing through and reversing it would consume unimaginable yokai energy. Considering the opponent is the Gumiho, any attempt would require a Herculean effort.

“You...”

Heukbi narrows her gaze, watching the Gumiho attempt to steal her power.

The Gumiho had always been like this.

Never satisfied, always craving more. Her ambition, reaching to the heavens.

She cared little for the misfortune her greed brought others.

Selfish and domineering, the same as before.

Heukbi no longer expects anything from her.

“Playtime is over.”

Heukbi clasps her hands together, forming a seal.

Her Silver Eyes emit a glow.

Just before the Gumiho’s hand touches Heukbi—

Inverse Heaven's Domain.

Darkness spreads, enveloping the entire area.

The Gumiho’s hand meets only empty air as Heukbi vanishes like a mirage.

“...What?”

The Gumiho glances around.

Above, below, left, and right—only mirrors surround her.

Countless mirrors fill the space, each surface reflecting the Gumiho infinitely.

A world of mirrors.

An illusion?

No.

Casting illusions against a master is far from easy. Especially since the Gumiho herself is well-versed in illusions, such a deception would be nearly impossible.

Moreover, the feeling is too real. Touching a mirror’s surface sends a chilling shiver down her spine.

“Surprised? Of course you would be. This is the first time you’ve seen this.”

Heukbi’s calm voice echoes from somewhere, though her figure is nowhere to be seen.

Clink!

The Gumiho smashes a mirror in front of her, but it instantly repairs itself, the broken shards reversing to their original form.

Only now does the Gumiho realize what she’s up against.

An inverted realm, akin to the Cheonho’s celestial space.

An isolated domain that can reverse even heavenly decrees.

Here, Heukbi reigns supreme. Not even the Gumiho can rampage here.

“Ahmo, you've improved, haven’t you? You can pull off tricks like this now?”

“A lot of time has passed. While you were asleep, I grew. I’m no longer the same as I was. And please, stop calling me Ahmo. I am Heukbi.”

“Pathetic. I’ve told you countless times—names are nothing but a curse, a binding imposed on us. Have you decided to become one of heaven’s dogs, like the Cheonho?”

“If it ensures my safety, then yes.”

The Gumiho clicks her tongue.

She inspects the mirrors, searching for a way out, but finds none.

This is Heukbi’s home turf. Within her domain, others cannot wield their full power.

Breaking free by force is futile, as all attacks will reverse endlessly until exhaustion.

The only viable option is to break the domain from outside or counter it with a similar extradimensional space. Of course, the Gumiho knows how, but...

“You’d be wise to abandon any such thoughts. In your current state, you’ll never breach my domain.”

Half of her power—the Moon Eye—is with Ahmo.

The Sun Eye and Moon Eye are a pair; without one, the other cannot achieve its full strength.

Who would have thought Ahmo had grown powerful enough to wield a domain? A painful oversight by the Gumiho, who had forgotten the passage of time.

“Rest in peace. I hope you’ll be born again to live out a more ordinary fate.”

“You...”

Light spills from the mirrors, reflecting endlessly until the space fills with radiant brilliance.

As the light cascades down upon her, the Gumiho’s consciousness fades into darkness.

...

Heukbi gazes down upon the fallen Gumiho, lying motionless on the mirror-world floor.

Unleashing her domain demands immense power. She had bided her time, fearing the cunning Gumiho would sense her plan.

The Gumiho in Heukbi’s memory would have shattered this boundary with ease, but now, weakened and only half-complete, she could not.

She may have triumphed in the past, but no longer. She will never overcome Heukbi again.

“It’s time to put an end to this...”

She cannot kill her.

Heaven’s decree demands she atone.

First, she will strip her power and seal her tightly so she can never awaken again.

Heukbi intends to work within the domain to ensure the Gumiho cannot reawaken, yet—

“Excuse me~ is anyone here?”

A male voice calls from outside the domain, loud and frivolous.

Glancing outside, Heukbi sees an ordinary human ambling through the ash-covered shrine.

“I’ve come for a reading~”

He’s a madman seeking fortune in a ruined shrine.