You

Shin’s scream filled the forest around them. Both Yukimura and Rentarou were used to the sight of blood, but not like this. Not for someone who meant so much to them. As Shin continued screaming, Yukimura pressed her palms together to pray for the elder in front of her. On the other hand, Rentarou’s fists clenched so tightly his nails broke the skin.

They were so focused on Grandma Yasura’s corpse that they didn’t notice Shin beginning to transform. The floorboards trembled as his screeches sounded less human with every passing second. The horn on Shin’s head began to grow to full length as his skin reddened. His teeth and nails grew as sharp as swords before he stopped screaming. The creature didn’t scream or lash out; it only stayed by the grandmother’s side, as if it too understood loss.

When Yukimura stopped praying, she froze. Even though it wasn’t being hostile, she still knew how much of a threat the entity was. Without hesitation, she used a talisman in her pocket to transform the talisman and her clothes into a sword and her Onmyoji clothing.

“Rentarou…” Yukimura tried to get his attention, but it was to no avail; he didn’t even notice the Kishin in front of him. All he could think about was the death of Granny. Why did she have to die? No, that’s what I should be thinking about. I need to figure out her killer. Once I find them, I swear I’ll—

“Rentarou!”

Yukimura’s words snapped Rentarou out of his thoughts. He didn’t realize how heavy he was breathing; he didn’t even realize the pain coursing through his hand; he didn’t have time to. There was a Kishin in front of him, a threat that had to be dealt with immediately. Rentarou cocked his arm back, about to punch the yokai in front of him. However, before he could, a voice, aside from Yukimura’s, said, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Yukimura’s eyes darted around the room to figure out the speaker of those words, and it took only a second to find the dark-furred, three-tailed fox sitting by the windowsill. As soon as she saw it, she was going to tell Rentarou, but he already rushed to punch the animal. He was only so quick to use violence because of the familiarity of the voice.

The fox leaped into the air, avoiding Rentarou’s punch. Before it landed, the fox was a fox no longer, as it shifted to a more humanoid form. The only thing that remained fox-like about the individual was its black ears, tail, and golden eyes.

The fox-like man was about to speak as it landed on the wooden floor, but Yukimura didn’t give it time to breathe. As soon as one of its toes touched the floor, Yukimura swiftly swung at it. However, despite being slashed, no blood was drawn from it; the fox-like man only dissolved into the air.

It was an illusion.

His body rematerialized in front of the doorway with a shimmer of gold. “Swift to act, are we? You guys didn’t even hear my spiel yet.”

Where is this voice coming from? Yukimura closed her eyes, trying to concentrate not on the illusion in the doorway, but on where the Kitsune’s mana was actually located. However, her concentration was broken by Rentarou’s booming voice.

“We’re not dancing at your whim, Kuro-Koji!”

“Oh? You know my name already?” “How could I forget?” Rentarou began to laugh as his appendages and body expanded. “It’s you… the one yokai I can never forget… You’re the one who killed my family!”