Job 384

10-12 minutes 12.08.2023

The collapsed fox deity shakily stood up.

“Those damn bastards…….”

To counter me, the fox deity also summoned red chains. However, its momentum was significantly weaker compared to before.

It was just as the two of them had said.

Now was the last chance to defeat the fox deity!

I immediately used the red chains to attack. The fox deity hurriedly moved its own chains to block my attack.

-Swish! Swish!

Just like when I was in danger of being overwhelmed earlier, the weakened fox deity was forced back more and more as it desperately tried to defend. I didn’t let my guard down and relentlessly pursued my opponent.

The fox deity twisted and turned its body to resist until the very end, but ultimately, it couldn’t turn the tide.

-Thud!

My red chains wrapped around the fox deity’s body in an instant. A pained groan escaped from the subdued fox deity’s mouth.

“Urk?!”

I dragged the captured fox deity in front of me and forced it to kneel. It looked up at me with a pale, strained face.

“It’s impossible. I… I lost…….”

“You deceived many people under the name of the guardian deity. Not only did you bring misfortune to Speranza’s parents, but you also tried to harm Speranza. You must pay for the heavy sins you committed, right?”

I snapped my fingers at the fox deity. As my fingers moved, the chains constricting it began to apply stronger pressure.

“Uwaaaaaak!”

The fox deity let out a heart-wrenching scream, its face contorted in pain. I didn’t feel any satisfaction or pleasure in seeing it suffer.

I simply thought it was my duty to watch the fox deity’s demise calmly. I hardened my heart more than ever and applied more force to the red chains.

At first, the fox deity struggled with all its might to break free from the chains. But once it realized there was no way to escape, it desperately spoke to me.

“W-wait!”

I responded with a cold gaze instead of an answer. It seemed like it was trying to pull some trick, so I applied even more force to the chains.

“Uwaaaak! Wait! If you get rid of me now, the divine priestess will be in danger!”

“What?”

“Mirna! That woman is in danger!”

I briefly loosened the chains that were tightly constricting the fox deity.

“Stop lying.”

“I-It’s true! She’s used up her power recklessly, and her life is in danger. If you don’t do something right now, she’ll die soon.”

I couldn’t help but hesitate for a moment. Before entering the consciousness world, I remembered Mirna coughing up blood and pushing herself too hard.

Now free from pain, the fox deity spoke with a more relaxed demeanor.

“I can restore her power.”

“……”

“If you get rid of me now, you won’t be able to save the divine priestess’s life. Haha. Are you just going to let that girl’s grandmother die?”

I fell into deep thought, looking at the sly expression on the fox deity’s face. If what it said was true, Mirna’s life could be in danger depending on my decision.

However, my hesitation didn’t last long.

“If you release me, I can help the divine priestess get back on her feet… Uwaaaaak!!”

The chains that had momentarily loosened now tightened around the fox deity with even greater force.

“Ugh! Didn’t you hear me? If you get rid of me, the divine priestess will die too!”

‘I’m sorry, Mirna. I can’t just let it go like this, as it could be a danger to Speranza. Protecting Speranza is my top priority. I apologize to you, Mirna.’

I steeled myself with an apology to her in my heart. To protect Speranza, I was prepared to bear any amount of guilt.

“Disappear, Fox deity.”

“Aaaaah!!”

Just as I was about to finish it off.

Whoosh!

“No, Papa!”

Speranza stopped me by hugging my leg tightly. I looked down at Speranza with a bewildered expression.

“Speranza?”

…….

Speranza shook her head, looking up at me with teary eyes.

“Step back, Speranza. We need to get rid of this villain.”

“……”

“Is it because of Grandma?”

Nod nod.

I felt suffocated in the difficult situation.

“If we let the Fox deity go like this, Speranza will be in danger. We might never see each other again.”

Speranza hesitated for a moment, then answered me with a determined face.

“It’s okay. I can overcome it.”

“……”

“I’m not scared at all if Papa is with me.”

And then Speranza gave me a brave smile. I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at her unwavering confidence. It made my resolve from before feel futile.

I could have ignored Speranza’s words and finished off the Fox deity, but I didn’t want to. It wasn’t just a naive child trying to stop me.

Just as I respected Speranza’s wishes when she wanted to meet her grandmother, I wanted to respect her thoughts this time as well.

“Are you really going to be okay?”

“Un, it’s okay. Mom and Dad will protect me too.”

Thinking of the couple from the Erul Tribe who entrusted their daughter to me, I smiled faintly.

“Alright, Speranza. Just wait a moment.”

“Un.”

I stroked Speranza’s head once and then turned my body back towards the Fox deity. In that moment, my smile disappeared, and my face was filled with coldness.

“Gasp… Gasp…”

The Fox deity, who had narrowly escaped death, was breathing heavily.

“I didn’t want to resort to this method because it’s repulsive, but…”

Chrrrrrrrr…

“What, what is it? What are you trying to do?”

One by one, the red chains penetrated the Fox deity’s body. The Fox deity realized something was wrong and resisted the intrusion of the chains with all its might.

“Ugh!!”

“Since I can’t just let you go, you’ll have to stay bound in chains and be with me.”

“-?!”

I recalled the scene I had seen in Lia’s consciousness world before, where she was bound by red chains and dominated by madness, and tried to control the fox deity with the red chains as well.

It would be an uncomfortable situation for the fox deity to be constantly connected to me like this, but it was much safer than just letting it go and putting Speranza in danger.

The fox deity seemed to realize this and struggled to resist in any way it could. However, its resistance was futile. I recalled the sensation of controlling and slowly invaded its consciousness.

Eventually…

“No, don’t!”

The fox deity and I were completely connected by the red chains. Of course, the control was on my side, the owner of the chains. Ignoring the despairing fox deity, I approached Speranza and spoke.

“Papa will go out first and wait.”

“Un, got it.”

As I hugged Speranza tightly, the world of consciousness was filled with a bright white light.

⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩

“Ugh…”

A groan escaped my lips as I regained consciousness. My body felt extremely heavy, probably from being in the world of consciousness for too long.

As I struggled to get up, I immediately checked Speranza’s condition. She was sleeping peacefully on the altar. I sighed with relief when I saw her. But then…

“Ugh…”

“Ah! Mirna!”

Hearing the groaning from behind, I remembered Mirna belatedly. I rushed to her side to check on her condition.

“Mirna, wake up.”

She was still breathing but unconscious, and her breathing seemed labored. I wiped the dried blood from her lips and looked for the fox deity.

“Hey, fox deity!”

-……

“I know you’re there. Answer quickly!”

-……

“You want to see me suffer, huh?”

I focused my consciousness and tracked down the presence of the fox deity.

It didn’t take long to locate the presence of the fox deity connected by the red chains. I immediately used the chains to put pressure on the fox deity.

– Cough!

A scream echoed in my head.

As the pressure from the chains intensified, I heard the fox deity’s annoyed voice.

– Ugh! Okay, stop it!

“Hey, tell me quickly. How can I help Mirna?”

– To think I have to follow the orders of such a lowly creature…

The fox deity grumbled in a self-mocking tone but obediently answered my question.

– Bring the Erul child on the altar next to the priestess.

“And then?”

– Have the two of them hold hands.

“Is that it?”

– Put your hand on theirs too. I’ll take care of the rest.

I was suspicious of the overly simple instructions and asked again.

“Really? If you’re lying, I won’t let it slide later!”

– Why are you making a fuss even after I told you? With these cursed chains, any lie would be easily exposed!

“Oh, is that so?”

– Ugh, how did I end up with such a foolish…

“Enough. Let’s get started.”

Ignoring the fox deity’s lament in my head, I grabbed Speranza and Mirna’s hands at the same time.

Ooooooh…

A mysterious energy emanated from Speranza’s body and slowly flowed into Mirna’s arm.

As she absorbed the energy, the color returned to her pale face, and her erratic breathing gradually became regular.

After a while, when all the mysterious energy that had burst out of Speranza had flowed into Mirna, she twitched her eyelids and showed a reaction as if regaining consciousness.

“Uh… um… …”

“Mirna, are you coming to your senses?”

“Wh-where am I…?”

With my help, she sat up slightly and slowly looked around. She then discovered Speranza lying next to her and exclaimed in surprise.

“Speranza!”

“It’s okay. She’s just asleep.”

“Ah…”

Even after hearing that Speranza was fine, Mirna couldn’t easily calm her emotions and continued to look at her.

“Ugh…”

Not long after Mirna got up, Speranza slowly opened her eyes. Mirna, whose body had not fully recovered yet, moved closer to Speranza.

“Speranza, are you okay?”

“Grandma?”

“Yes, it’s Grandma. Can you recognize me?”

“Un. Hehe.”

Speranza cutely smiled and snuggled into Mirna’s embrace. Finally, Mirna let out a sigh of relief and her eyes welled up with tears.

“I’m so glad. I’m truly grateful…”

And so, the grandmother and granddaughter hugged each other tightly, unable to let go for quite some time.

I watched the two of them with a warm smile on my face.