[Vol. 6] Chapter 261: The Strategist, the Chess Player, and the Assistant
Breaking through layers of obstacles, Miss White Fox completed her leap and arrived in a unique silver space.
The Divine Realm of Fox God Konghen, the [Nine-Tailed Fox].
The Divine Realm was vast and impossible to enter at will, but since she followed Xiao Kong’s guidance, she naturally appeared near the fierce battle unfolding before her. There, she saw a bizarre entity tangled with the radiant Nine-Tailed Divine Fox.
It was a towering figure, over a hundred meters tall, resembling a withered humanoid tree.
Violet didn’t know exactly how the battle between Xiao Kong and this entity had unfolded before her arrival. However, since the Divine Realm itself had descended, it was clear that Xiao Kong was taking this fight seriously, using her full strength.
At the same time, Violet had a good guess about the Nine-Tailed Fox’s intentions.
Earlier, when she played [Bloodstained Horizon, Reversal of Yin and Yang], her divine sense had witnessed strange trees rapidly spreading outward from [Mirror Valley], bringing indiscriminate devastation to the creatures of the Ancient Spirit Realm.
This wasn’t the work of demonic forces. It was something different from ‘Destruction’. A force of another kind.
And its source was right in front of her.
A battle between gods was a disaster in itself. Its mere aftershocks could bring calamity to ordinary beings. As the guardian deity of this world, Xiao Kong was naturally doing everything possible to minimize harm to the innocent.
If this had happened in the past, Violet might have been curious about the enemy’s identity and origins. But now, having inherited most of the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden’s past memories and powers, she could immediately see the entity’s true nature.
It was a concept granted by the [Apocalypse], an envoy of death for the world. Not a god, yet wielding divine power. Just like the beast that embodied Destruction. However, its exact nature was still unclear.
Dawn had never seen such a being before. It was likely something that had fused with certain native creatures of the Ancient Spirit Realm, evolving into a new form.
The black and white light representing [Reincarnation] flickered slightly as the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden’s eyes pierced through the eerie and terrifying exterior, revealing the distorted essence hidden within.
"The [Apothecary]... It's actually him?"
Violet was a little surprised.
To be honest, this man, one of the [Seven Heavenly Demon Lords], known as the [The Immortal Apothecary Saint], was indeed strange, but the priestess had never taken him too seriously.
If she had ever wanted to deal with him, she could have done so long ago. From Hen’s words, she had learned the reason he could never truly die. His ability to assimilate others through his medicine and bloodline, endlessly replicating himself. With this knowledge, Violet could have simply tracked down one of his bodies and erased him directly.
This kind of thing might be an unsolvable problem for ordinary people, but to a god who could manipulate causality, it was still traceable. In fact, the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden’s power was practically a perfect counter to his existence. If Violet truly intended to, she could completely annihilate the [Apothecary].
But she never expected him to be the one who rushed into the core of the [Seal of Heaven and Earth], becoming the new vessel for this external force of fate…
Wait… hold on…
To withstand divine causality all on his own, wasn't this situation a perfect match for that plan?
Was Hen orchestrating things behind the scenes again…?
The amplification a Divine Realm provided to its god was overwhelming. With Fox God's true Main God status, this battle was practically a one-sided beating. Nine-Tailed Fox crushed her opponent with absolute force.
Yet, even within the all-powerful domain of the Divine Realm, Xiao Kong still couldn't completely destroy the monstrous, withered tree that [Apothecary] had become.
Violet could see it clearly, forget ordinary injuries, even when Fox God unleashed supreme divine power, utterly shredding the enemy into nothing but dust, the massive, hundred-meter-tall withered tree would instantly regenerate and retaliate in the very next moment.
In the mere moments since the White Fox entered, the two had already exchanged over a hundred rounds at speeds beyond mortal comprehension. The withered tree had been shattered, annihilated, and yet, each time it was reborn, like an eternal nightmare that simply would not end.
Immortality…
If this tree was truly eternal and unkillable, then even Fox God couldn’t maintain her Divine Realm forever. She would have no choice but to either retreat or seal it away, just like she had done to the beast within the [Great Secret Realm of Chaos].
But clearly, neither option was easy to achieve. Otherwise, this battle wouldn't have dragged on for so long without a conclusion.
Even though Violet understood this, she didn’t feel frustrated. Instead, a chill ran down her spine.
Everything was unfolding step by step, so precise, so well-planned. Hen… If she weren’t another side of Fox God, if they hadn’t once been close friends, Violet might have already started to fear her seemingly all-knowing intelligence.
Even this battlefield, the stage for the final showdown, had been carefully set up by her.
[…Huh?!]
Noticing the white fox girl breaking through space to come to her aid, Xiao Kong’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. Without hesitation, she immediately stopped fighting and retreated, her massive beast form rapidly shrinking as she flew back. In moments, she had transformed into a half-human form, still floating in midair, her nine tails swaying behind her, and her silver ears. longer than before, twitching slightly.
Her face, identical to Hen’s, bore shining silver pupils, trembling slightly from the intense divine power she had just used. But now, she was staring directly at the priestess, completely ignoring the powerful enemy still looming in the distance.
She hesitated, wanting to reach out and touch Violet’s mask but seemed unsure.
“You… did you succeed? Did you remember…?”
Before she could finish, Violet playfully tilted her mask aside, letting it rest on the side of her head, revealing her unchanged face beneath. Then, with a teasing smile, she said,
“If I said no, would you faint from sheer disappointment?”
Xiao Kong froze for a moment. Then suddenly covered her mouth with her hand, and bright, clear tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.
“It’s you… It’s really you! Dawn! You remember me, don’t you?!”
“Wha—?!”
Without warning, she threw herself at Violet, hugging her tightly. All nine of her soft, fluffy tails wrapped around her at once, squeezing her in a warm yet overwhelming embrace.
The plush softness pressing against Violet’s chest made it hard for her to breathe, and the sheer force of the hug cracked her bones with loud popping sounds, followed by Violet’s muffled, startled yelp.
After all… with the power of a Divine Realm enhancing her, a god’s full-force tackle could probably turn even the hardest metal in the world into soft clay.
As Violet felt her HP bar plummet at an alarming rate, she couldn’t help but sigh. Yet, alongside her thoughts, a strange realization crept into her mind.
Since coming to this world, this might be the first time I’ve lost so much health.
Even so, the white fox girl didn’t resist at all. She simply endured it until Xiao Kong finally let go, pulling back with an awkward twitch of her ears and an almost inaudible murmur of apology.
Only then did Violet smile warmly, reaching out to gently pat the nine-tailed fox on the head.
"I should be the one apologizing… I promised I wouldn’t just leave like that again. Being alone… must’ve been really painful, huh?"
At that moment, Violet finally understood the reason behind Xiao Kong’s strange resentment.
It wasn’t because she had been left to clean up a huge mess…
It wasn’t because she had nearly died fighting the beast…
And it wasn’t even because a certain unreliable fake fox had tricked her into wearing that ridiculous, yet undeniably cute, cat cosplay outfit before leaving…
It was simply loneliness.
Maybe that’s why she had Miaomiao, the white cat, as a pet. But clearly, that had never been enough to fill the void left behind by someone truly important.
Gods do not fear death.
They do not hold grudges over embarrassment.
For beings who live forever, the one thing they fear above all else is loneliness.
…Just like the first time Dawn left.
The nine-tailed fox girl instinctively closed her eyes, enjoying the long-lost warmth of Violet’s touch. But soon, she snapped back to reality, puffing up her cheeks in a pout.
"D-Don’t think you can just pat my head and get away with this! I’m still mad at you!"
"Yes, yes~"
Violet chuckled, gently comforting the sulking fox, whose adorable personality was on full display.
It was funny, despite once being the same person, their personalities had become so different over time.
But before she could reflect on it further, Violet shifted her gaze forward and smirked.
"Still… it looks like someone else is even angrier than you right now~"