The events leading up to it were much as Fubuki Yukime had described.
Moxi had given her word, so she accompanied Yukime to the Land of Snow.
At first, everything went smoothly.
That Fubuki Dotō fellow was utterly powerless against Moxi; she disposed of him with barely a gesture.
After that, with the help of loyal old servants, Yukime began to take back control of the country.
But what no one knew was this: while Fubuki Dotō was the ruler in name, the nation was actually being controlled from the shadows by a Cursed Spirit known to the people here as the Snow Demon.
Long ago, in order to save his own skin, Fubuki Dotō had sworn allegiance to the Snow Demon.
He provided it with regular offerings of living people — food and blood.
Because only a handful knew the truth, the people were kept completely in the dark, living under a web of lies.
Dotō had publicly blamed every misdeed and disaster on the Snow Demon, then used the excuse of "exterminating the monster" to stage grand spectacles and conscript soldiers.
In reality, he was sending those recruits to their deaths — feeding them directly to the Snow Demon.
The Snow Demon never cared about fame or reputation; it only cared about food.
And as more and more people grew terrified of it, the negative emotions it absorbed multiplied, causing its power to surge rapidly.
For a long time, the Snow Demon and Fubuki Dotō had a comfortable, mutually beneficial arrangement.
But then Dotō was killed, and Yukime took power.
The Snow Demon suddenly found its easy, plentiful supply of offerings gone forever.
So it decided to do what it had always done — it marched straight to the royal palace to kill the new ruler and take back control.
However, even though the Snow Demon was a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, the gap in power between different Special Grades could be as vast as the sky and earth!
With Moxi standing guard, the Snow Demon had run head‑first into an unbreakable wall. It nearly lost its life right there.
Only by using the Land of Snow's unique environment to its advantage, hiding deep within the blizzards, did it manage to escape by the skin of its teeth.
At the time, Moxi couldn't be bothered to chase it down. She let it go, failing to finish the job — and thus leaving behind a great disaster.
Logically speaking, even if the Snow Demon sought revenge later, it should never have been a match for Moxi, especially not so soon after defeat.
But that was exactly when things took a terrible turn!
Mr. Gentleman Enemy arrived with his companions, seeking to recruit the Snow Demon into his faction.
Even at full strength, the Snow Demon was no match for Mr. Enemy and the other Special Grade Cursed Spirits with him — let alone now, when it was still recovering from severe injuries.
But it simply couldn't swallow the humiliation of its defeat.
So it proposed a deal: it had a mortal enemy who had wounded it not long ago. If they helped it take revenge, it would join them.
Mr. Enemy thought this was wonderful — Buy one ally, get one powerful enemy eliminated!
He agreed immediately, even planning to recruit that enemy into his group as well once they dealt with the situation.
But to his surprise, the "mortal enemy" the Snow Demon spoke of was none other than Moxi — the very same one he had let escape before!
Mr. Enemy instantly remembered Hanami, who had died covering their retreat. His expression turned ice‑cold.
This time, he made no attempt to recruit Moxi. He intended to destroy her completely.
If she cannot serve me… then she shall cease to exist.
With that resolve, Mr. Enemy and his group of Special Grade Cursed Spirits surrounded and attacked her all at once.
Even in a one‑on‑one fight, Moxi was no match for Mr. Enemy. Now, surrounded by multiple powerful allies of his, she had no chance.
She couldn't run away.
So she chose to fight to the death.
The battle was brutal and desperate.
Fighting with absolutely no regard for her own safety, Moxi nearly managed to take the Snow Demon down with her in a final, suicidal exchange.
But in the end, she failed.
Worse still, she was struck by one of Mr. Enemy's Cursed Techniques — a curse that continuously unraveled and destroyed her very life force.
Even using her ultimate survival technique — transforming into an egg — she couldn't stop her essence from draining away.
Clearly, after their previous encounters, Mr. Enemy had already seen through her tricks and weaknesses.
Everything that happened after that was already known.
---
Shinji's face was grave as he finished listening. He never expected that in such a short time, that man had already built up such a terrifyingly powerful force.
"How many members do they have now? And what kind of Cursed Techniques do they possess?"
Moxi thought for a moment. "Last time there were four. Now there are five… though one of them disappeared; I think he died in the Land of Lightning. As for their techniques… I can only describe what I saw with my own eyes."
Shinji listened intently, gaining a much clearer understanding of Mr. Enemy and his allies.
"Alright. Let's go back out together. But once we're out… behave yourself and don't say anything unnecessary."
"Alright, alright — I got it."
The flow of time in his mental space was different from the outside.
Even though Shinji and Moxi had talked for a long while, barely any time had passed in reality. To everyone else, it just looked as if Shinji had paused for a moment.
Then they watched as a small, delicate figure separated from Shinji's body and stepped out.
"Moxi!"
Fubuki Yukime's eyes instantly turned red and teary.
"What are you crying for? I'm fine, aren't I? Sheesh… calm down, calm down."
Oddly enough, even though Yukime looked far more mature and sisterly, it was Moxi comforting her.
Come to think of it, Yukime had saved Moxi's life twice now.
Both times when Moxi had turned into an egg, it was Yukime who found her, brought her home, and gave her a chance to recover.
The bond between them was forged in life‑and‑death struggles.
Tamamo Hotaru watched them, and for some reason felt a faint twinge of envy.
But she had chosen her own path, and she had no regrets.
---
Meanwhile, Tobi narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
So Akagi Shinji really has mastered the secret of fusing with Cursed Spirits…
But how do I get my hands on that knowledge?
If Shinji could have heard Tobi's thoughts, he would have told him plainly: "Just get yourself a System, and you won't need all these complicated schemes."
...
Three days later.
Despite the reluctance to part ways, the time came to say goodbye.
Fubuki Yukime needed to rebuild her country, and she hadn't given up her dream of becoming an actress.
As for Moxi… she wanted to stay, but she couldn't.
She was physically unable to move too far away from Shinji. Wherever he went, she had to go too.
Yukime was disappointed when she learned this, but there was nothing she could do.
They promised that if fate allowed, they would one day finish filming The Heroines Who Dominate the Ninja World together.
(Tamamo Hotaru: "Excuse me?! Does no one ever ask for my opinion? Hello?! I am the leading actress here, you know!")
---
When they finally left, Shinji looked absolutely exhausted. His face was even paler and more sickly‑looking than usual.
Before, his poor complexion was mostly because he was always bleeding himself for his techniques. But now? It was purely because Moxi was draining him dry!
To put it simply: He was a tiny gas station… and she was an armored vehicle with a massive fuel tank.
It wasn't possible to fully refill her Cursed Energy reserves in just a day or two.
Yet he had to keep her fully topped up — because if trouble arose, she needed to be ready to fight at full strength.
So this was the result. Shinji frantically generated Cursed Energy, while Moxi happily absorbed it from within him like a greedy little succubus.
Shinji felt his lower back ache intensely, as if his very essence was being squeezed out of him.
The way the others looked at him became… very strange.
They couldn't help but wonder what exactly they were doing behind closed doors every night to leave him in such a state.
If only they had proof… otherwise, the authorities would have arrested this suspicious old man long ago!
____________________
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