The Legend of the Fox Yokai of Jirisan

The Martial Artist’s pursuit of the fox yokai progressed less smoothly than expected.
Kwang!
The earth cratered and trees were uprooted, shattering into pieces from her bakryeok-imbued punches.
She was directly destroying the beautiful and majestic nature of Jirisan with her own hands, but Ha-neul paid no heed.
For if she let this fox yokai slip away here,
It would not end with just some damage to nature.

She envisioned the worst-case scenario.
If this fox yokai descended from Jirisan and entered a residential area…
It would truly become a living disaster.
She had to put an end to it with her own hands before countless lives were lost.

However, the white-furred fox yokai was swifter than she had imagined.
As if using some kind of trick,
The moment she thought she had caught it and swung her fist, blue flames flickered from the fox’s tails before it vanished from her sight.
Ha-neul thought this must be the wicked sorcery known as ‘fox magic’ from the legends.

During her continuous pursuit of the fox yokai, Ha-neul sensed something amiss.
‘…There is no killing intent.’

Most yokai,
No, every yokai she had encountered so far harbored killing intent towards humans.
Even that pitiful jukteagwi had tried to tear off the monk’s flesh and kill him, hadn’t it?
Killing intent was something that could not be concealed no matter how hard one tried. Even if yokai were fleeing from humans, their killing intent would inevitably show.
Especially for Martial Artists whose senses had been sharpened through rigorous training, it was impossible to miss a yokai’s killing intent.

Yet this fox yokai fleeing from her
Not only showed no killing intent, but seemed single-mindedly focused on escaping from here, avoiding her.

At this point, Ha-neul grew suspicious.
Could it be
That she had misjudged?
Was this fox yokai actually an ordinary stray spirit unrelated to the series of incidents in Jirisan?

‘…No, that can’t be.’
To begin with, a ‘fox yokai’ was an exceedingly rare existence.
So rare that perhaps only one appeared per era.
For two fox yokai to consecutively appear in the same era, same time, same place?
It defied all common sense.

For that reason, Ha-neul concluded:
‘That wicked fox yokai is somehow trying to deceive me.’

To be able to conceal even its killing intent.
Indeed, just as the legends described, the fox yokai was exceptionally cunning.

If there was a silver lining, it was that the white fox yokai’s speed had noticeably decreased, likely from exhaustion after the prolonged pursuit.
‘I’ll finish it with this bakryeok strike.’

If she dragged this out further, there was no telling what other unexpected variables might arise.
Her mind made up, Ha-neul gathered every ounce of power she had into her right hand.

And then,
She kicked off the ground with both feet wrapped in ryeok, leaping to crush the fox yokai’s skull, but at that very moment,
“Ti, Time!”
Bang!
With that sound, a puff of smoke erupted, and
The fox yokai before her eyes had instantly transformed into a trembling young girl around ten years old.

Taken aback by the filthy fox yokai’s new trick, Ha-neul hesitated.
For a Martial Artist, hesitation led directly to death.
With her concentration disrupted, the bakryeok she had gathered in her hand dissipated into the air.

Ah.
‘I’m going to die.’

An attack without bakryeok was meaningless.
Sensing her own impending death, Ha-neul
Swung her bare fist down onto the ten-year-old girl’s forehead.

Tonk.

The girl crumpled to the ground.
Naturally, without bakryeok, her skull did not shatter.

Gulp.
Ha-neul closed her eyes and humbly accepted her death.

However,
No pain came, even as time passed.
“Nngh, ughhhh…”
Instead, only the girl’s agonized screams could be heard.

“You damn biiiiitch… I said Time, you crazy woman…!”
“…?”
“It freaking hurts! Am, am I bleeding from my head?”

Just what
Was going on here?
Ha-neul could not comprehend it, but a voice seemed to echo in her mind:

[Do yokai have minds?]
[If it can see, hear, feel, and know, how can you say it lacks a mind?]

Could it be?
This young girl before her eyes… No, this fox yokai,
Could it possibly be the yokai with a mind that she had so desperately sought?

“Instead of staring blankly, help me up, will you!”
“Ah? Uh, uh…”

Ha-neul’s train of thought was cut off by the girl’s scolding.
Flustered, she helped the girl up, then briefly regarded her with caution.
She then asked the girl:
“What exactly are you?”

I began explaining the situation to the woman who introduced herself as a Martial Artist as logically as I could.
If she failed to be convinced by my words, it would undoubtedly lead to my death.

I knew my place.
If I were in top condition,
That is, if I had been the yolyeok-replete self from two years ago, I might have been able to put up a good fight against this Martial Artist before me.
But all I had left was enough yolyeok for about three months.
Fleeing from her was impossible, and fighting her would be akin to waiting for death.

…Moreover,
I had used up about a month’s worth of yolyeok during that earlier pursuit.
Using transformation to speak with her was my last resort, a gamble.

Fortunately, she was someone who could understand words.
I exerted all my effort to persuade her:
Who I was,
Why I was here,
Who the culprit behind the Jirisan incident was,
And why I was pursuing that fox yokai.
It should have been a fairly convincing alibi.

…Yes.
Even so, it was merely an alibi.
Fundamentally, I was a yokai, and she was a Martial Artist whose duty was to exterminate yokai.

“How can I believe what you’re saying?”
It was only natural for her to question my words.
“Prove it.”

“…”
After speaking, she clenched her fist and began channeling an ominous energy I had never seen before.

Ah.
That must be
The mysterious power called ‘bakryeok’.

“Prove to me here why I shouldn’t kill you.”
“…”

Shit.
How do I prove that?
Should I show her my kill record?
Fox magic, info share!
Or maybe offer up one of my precious tails as collateral for her to believe me?
No.
It’s all pointless.

From the very start,
A yokai trying to persuade a human with words is an absurdity.
The fact that she had listened to me so far was already a near miracle.

I briefly calculated the yolyeok I had left.
Two months’ worth.
If I were to manifest six tails in this state, I could probably easily knock her down or escape without a scratch.
But there would be no future.
Perhaps a day or two, a week at most, before I wasted away and died.
Manifesting six tails would be an immense burden for me.

However, I had no other choice left.
Words seemed futile, and I had no evidence to prove my claims.
I made up my mind.
To struggle and fight for even a bit more life.

How laughable.
Who could have known that I, who had given up on life not long ago, would so shamelessly thrash about like this the moment a glimmer of hope appeared?

Just as I had resolved myself and was about to manifest six tails all at once,
Pak-jeuk.
Pak-jeuk.
Pak-jjeuk-jjeuk-jjeuk.
Pak-jjeuk-jjeuk-jjeuk-jjeuk-jjeuk-jjeuk.

“…!”
“Th, this is…!”

From somewhere,
At the very peak of Jirisan, an overwhelming yogi (yokai energy) beyond description began to emanate.
As a yokai, I could naturally sense it, and even she, a human incapable of sensing yogi, shuddered from the sheer oppressive force.

Damn.
Was it such an immensely powerful being…?
Depo had said someone like me could easily subdue it.
Surely Depo hadn’t set a trap to kill me?

…Hell.
It had grown stronger in real-time by devouring human livers.
And to a degree incomparable to before.
It seemed the growth rate of a ‘fox yokai’ far exceeded my imagination.
I can somewhat understand now why even the Lord of the Mountain so dreaded fox yokai.

In any case,
This was rather fortunate.
For her, it was a crisis,
But for me, an opportunity.

“…That’s the proof.”
“…”
“It wasn’t me who brought Jirisan to this state. It’s the fox yokai up there.”
“…”
“The longer we delay, the stronger it will become, and if you waste time with me here…”

Paah!
She did not respond to my words.
Whether instinctively realizing what was the priority, what was the greater evil, she began dashing towards the peak of Jirisan like a lightning bolt.

“Haah…”
Plop.
With a sense of relief at having survived, I plopped down on the ground.

These Martial Artists,
They were far more dangerous people than I had imagined.
Depo had warned me for a reason.
If I were in top condition, I might not lose, but…

No, no.
Whether my condition was this or that,
In the end, it’s all just excuses.
Survival of the fittest.
It’s not the strongest who survives, but the survivor who is strong.

“…”
Ah.
Th, that’s right!
The Martial Artist can’t kill that fox yokai!
I have things to ask it.

Dragging my weary body, I headed in the direction she went, towards the overwhelming yogi.

However,
I wonder,
Will that Martial Artist truly be able to kill the fox yokai possessing such immense yogi?
Or rather…