"At least it wasn't ten years this time," Dean said sarcastically, his arms crossed, though the weight in his tone made it clear he wasn't joking as much as he wished he was.
"That's not true for me," I muttered, leaning back in my chair. "Being from Earth, it was ten years for me. And I never had the chance to kill the bastard. That's most likely why I went straight into wrath instead of just berserk last night." My voice dipped lower on that last part, bitter heat burning in my throat at the memory.
Dean's eyes darkened. "That is a big problem, though. If people find out about you holding it, they will either try to kill you or try to control you." He spoke with a heavy expression, like he had already seen this play out in his mind a dozen different ways.
"Kitsuna," Granny suddenly asked, her tone firm and eyes sharp, "if you have the power to take over the world… would you do that?"
I stared at her for a second, then snorted so hard I almost choked on my own laugh. "PFFFT—are you crazy? Why the hell would I do that? Taking over the world equals taking responsibility. No thanks." I waved my hands as if batting away the thought itself. "I might've set my goal to become a god, sure, but I'm not going to go power-crazy and try to destroy the world. That's way too troublesome." I gave her a look like she'd just grown a second head.
Narrowing her eyes, she leaned forward slightly, not letting me brush it off so easily. "Why should I believe you?"
My mouth opened in outrage. "Hey, don't use my words against me!"
"Mom, you don't need to worry about her becoming power-hungry like the last wrath holder." Stacy's calm voice cut through the tension. She rested her hand on the table and spoke with quiet certainty. "She hates responsibilities over other people, but she loves having her own life under control. In other words, if you leave her alone, she'll leave you alone."
Granny let out a breath through her nose and leaned back, shrugging. "If you say so."
"Geez, Granny," I groaned, rubbing my temples. "Not every sin holder is all about power. Well… I might have said all that, but I am going to destroy the Federation." I added awkwardly, as if slipping that into casual conversation would make it less explosive.
"Not surprised," everyone said in perfect unison, their expressions unchanged.
I blinked at them, completely thrown off. "Really? No reaction?"
"Why would we react?" Mom said dryly. "We already know what you think about the Federation."
I leaned back in my chair and sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll be going, then. I'm going to do some laps around the mansion and then sleep."
"Why? It's only five in the afternoon," Amari said, tilting her head. "Dinner will be ready in two hours."
"Yeah, and we haven't even talked about your curse yet," Mom added, narrowing her eyes at me.
My spine stiffened. "Don't tell them about my curses, please. With the change, it's most likely not the same anyways." My gaze snapped to Mom, pleading but sharp.
"Why not?" she asked, genuinely confused.
"Just… don't." I stood up abruptly, brushing past the question. "Before I go, when will your fiancée be here tomorrow?" I looked straight at Amari, but the answer came from Dean.
"Seven in the morning. Why?"
"Because I'm taking a day off from training. I want to sleep in for once." I started melting the ice on the walls I'd made earlier, the water dripping quietly in the tense silence that followed.
Amari frowned. "If you're taking a day off training, why are you running now?"
"Because that has something to do with my fitness. Training's one thing; keeping my body sharp is another. Also—" I turned at the doorway, flashing a grin. "Don't wet your pants when you see a fox outside. I need to test some… things."
Before they could say anything else, I walked out. My thoughts churned the moment the hall swallowed me. 'Sigh, why am I getting so irritated by everything all of a sudden? Hopefully running will help me calm down. If not… I'll have to figure something else out.'
Back in the dining hall, Stacy watched me leave, her sigh heavy. She turned back to see the others all staring at her like wolves circling prey. "What?" she snapped, annoyed.
"She left," Mother said smoothly, folding her arms. "Now tell us about her curses."
"Not happening," Stacy said flatly. "She told me not to say, so I'm not telling."
"Is she your boss now?" Mother teased sarcastically, raising a brow.
"No." Stacy's voice sharpened, her jaw tight. "She's my daughter. I will not push her too much. If it weren't for me, she would have never told you about what happened to her at all." The anger in her tone silenced the table.
Amari shifted uncomfortably. "Mom… I just want to know about her year after she killed her father. What did she do the entire year before she came to my school? She never went into much detail."
Stacy's expression softened slightly. "She went sightseeing. And if someone attacked her… she would torture them. Things like that."
Amari's face paled. "Torture them?"
"Yeah. She found it as an outlet for all her frustrations." Stacy's gaze was steady, her voice gentle but unwavering. "Before you think too much, she only ever did it to bad people. Never the innocent."
"Talking about torture," Mother said suddenly, cutting into the tension. "Kitsuna wants to do that with the guards from yesterday."
"I was planning on that," Stacy admitted. "I want her to teach our interrogation teams some… fun ways to get information out of people."
"Yeah, with her knowledge of the human body, it'll help a lot," Dean added, already thinking like a soldier.
"Before I forget—Dean," Stacy said as she stood, her tone brisk again, "go tell everyone we have a giant fox pet called Nova."
"Huh?" Dean blinked, looking completely lost.
"Dean, just go and tell them. You'll understand later." Rebecca rose with a small smile and started toward the door. "Also, don't prepare a room for her yet. I don't think she'll be sleeping inside." She directed the last part to the maids busy cleaning up the table.
Dean shook his head, bewildered but obedient. "I guess I need to do some work, then. See you guys at dinner." He got up, muttering to himself as he went to warn his troops.
Meanwhile, I had already been running for hours. 'What the fuck is this!? I've been running for five hours, and I still don't feel any fatigue!' My chest heaved more from frustration than exhaustion. 'No matter how long or how fast I go, it doesn't feel like anything's happening. The only thing going up is my irritation.'
I skidded to a stop and sighed, hands on my hips, scanning the area. Night had already fallen, yet I could see perfectly. 'So night vision activates automatically. Great.' I turned slowly, searching for a spot to cool down when I felt it—something tugging at me, like an invisible thread. My gaze snapped toward the source.
A tree. Not just any tree, but a monstrous one—over twenty meters tall and thirty meters thick. The trunk looked older than time itself. 'If I didn't know better, I'd think I was crazy for feeling like this thing is calling me.'
I walked toward it, my footsteps quieter now, and sat down beneath its massive roots. The air around it felt heavy, alive.
"I guess I'll try out my new skills and figure out what happened to my body." I muttered, erecting ice walls around myself for privacy. Stripping down, I shifted into fox form. To my shock, instead of my smaller morning size, my body expanded, fur stretching, and bones lengthening until I stood eight meters tall and twenty-five meters long. The ice walls shattered under the force of my transformation.
I stared at my massive paws. "Is this… my true size?" I whispered.
I paced beneath the colossal tree, agitation in my chest fading with each step. Then it clicked. "It's because I wasn't in my true form earlier… that's why I was so irritated." Relief flooded me, though it came with another realization. "But that means… I won't be able to sleep in a bed anymore." My ears drooped. The thought stung more than I expected. Still, the relief of understanding outweighed the disappointment.
'I'll just have to get used to living outside. How hard can it be?' I thought stubbornly, padding in circles. My mind wandered to my new skills. Self-analysis had replaced evaluation. Curious, I looked at the tree and thought the command. A glowing screen appeared.
Guru Tree.
I blinked. 'That's it? Just Guru Tree? Whatever.' I dismissed the window and finally curled into a circle on the ground. My body pressed against the warm dirt. 'Too warm.' With a grunt, I covered the ground in a wide circle of frost, the coolness soothing instantly.
As I settled, exhaustion finally tugged at my eyelids. My mind drifted. Why did I walk in circles before lying down? Ugh. I hope no one saw that. That's way too embarrassing.' Those were my last thoughts before I slipped into sleep.
Unfortunately for me, two people had seen it.
"Hehe, that was too cute," Lily whispered, watching from the shadows with Rebecca beside her. "She was like a dog, turning circles to find the perfect spot."
Rebecca chuckled softly, her smile warm. "That's true. And… about this afternoon, I'm sorry for staring at Kitsuna."
"It's fine," Lily admitted, her voice sheepish. "If I hadn't walked away, I would've been in the same state as you."
Rebecca raised a brow but nodded. "It doesn't surprise me. She's so lean, built like a beast… And don't get me started on her six-pack. Any woman would fall for her."
"That's true. Wasn't she walking through the entire mansion like that?" Lily asked, still smiling faintly.
"Yes. Yes, she was." Rebecca's voice was almost fond as she looked at the massive fox sleeping peacefully under the tree.
"I wonder how loud the maids' sleeping quarters will be tonight," Lily mused.
"Haha, that's nothing," Rebecca replied, laughing quietly. "I heard some of the Black Ops say she was also walking around like that during their sparring. Just imagine the barracks tonight."
"Poor guys," Lily said with mock pity. "They'll hear it, but they won't get anything out of it."
"Who cares about them?" Rebecca scoffed, her disdain sharp. "It's their fault they got split up. Tsk, trying to pick up girls while still stuck at private rank. How pathetic."