After Gender Swapping, I Became the Daughter of a Yandere Mother with Animal Ears—With the Help of My Yandere Mom and Powerful Sister, I'll Live as a Fox Girl - Chapter 9: Magatsuhi

But still, being called O-Inari-sama… Perhaps I’ve ended up in the body of an extraordinary girl.

I should even consider the possibility of divine retribution…

“Do you want to go down to the human settlement? We might receive some offerings!”

“I think I’ll pass for now…”

I am curious, but meeting people other than Kohaku feels scary. I want more time to prepare mentally.

“Okay. Then let’s play in the mountains today! I still have places I want to show you, Onee-chan!”

Kohaku said this and offered her hand again. I took it and slowly stood up. With Kohaku’s “Let’s go,” we started walking again.
☆★☆☆

“We’re here!”

Kohaku energetically pointed ahead to a small flower field. It was a single spotlit by sunlight amidst the densely forested area.

Brimming with a myriad of flowers, the place looked like a paradise.

“Amazing…”

I sighed in awe at this almost mystical sight. I’m not particularly interested in flowers, but I found the scene beautiful.

“This place… Onee-chan loved it,” Kohaku said, gazing at the flowers with nostalgia.

“We often came here together when we were little. Onee-chan loved these flowers, so we’d play here almost daily.”

“Is that so…”

Of course, I have no memory of this, but I could easily imagine Kohaku and Mashiro playing here together. It must have been a very happy time…

I squatted down carefully to avoid stepping on the flowers, completely captivated by the beauty. The delicate flowers swayed with the wind, looking almost alive.

“Okay, I’m going to take a little nap. Don’t leave me, okay?”

“Alright.”

Kohaku stretched out, lay on the ground with her hands on her stomach, and closed her eyes. I watched her for a moment, then returned to the flowers.

Suddenly, a strong wind started blowing, causing a flurry of petals. I quickly spread my hands to shield the flowers from being blown away.

The wind kept blowing, repeatedly tossing the petals into the air.

“Ah…”

I made a small sound at the sight, then instinctively reached out my hand. I failed to catch any petals, but my gaze followed them as they seemed drawn towards one point in the forest.

My feet began moving towards that spot without thinking. I shouldn’t have left Kohaku, but my body moved independently.

Soon, I reached where the petals were heading. It was a clearing in the forest, with a large tree in the center and a girl lying at its base.

The girl was covered in wounds, bleeding. She must have lost consciousness due to blood loss.

I have to help her!

I rushed over and cradled the girl in my arms.

“Are you okay!?”

I called out desperately, but there was no response. The girl’s complexion was poor, and her breathing was weak. I need to administer first aid quickly!

I tried to lift the girl onto my back…

She was heavy. When I was a man, I could have easily lifted her, but with my current frail strength, it was impossible.

No choice. I decided to give up carrying her and call Kohaku for help. I turned to go back the way I came, but then…

“Ah… What…?”

I was at a loss for words. Something indescribable was approaching from the direction I had come.

“What is that…?”

It was about three times my height. Its body was reddish-black, as if it had crawled out of a sea of blood with no limbs. Instead, numerous wriggling tentacles protruded from it. Its grotesque appearance was one thing, but more distinctive was its head.

A giant mouth was all there was, swallowing the floating flower petals. Like drool, the liquid dripping from its mouth evaporated into smoke as soon as it touched the ground.

“Uh… Ah…”

I couldn’t form coherent words due to the sheer horror. My instincts were screaming at the danger this monster posed.

Run… Get away from here now…!

But my legs shook uncontrollably, refusing to move. Finally, I collapsed, sitting down hard.

The monster slid closer.

“Damn it… Move! Why now of all times!” I tried to stand, but my body wouldn’t respond to my fear.

“Ah…”

The monster finally reached me. I could only let out a pathetic sound, unable to flee, just staring blankly.

“Don’t come… Please…”

Ignoring my words, the creature kept closing the distance… And then… it extended a long tentacle towards me…

“Ugh…”

The tentacle wrapped around my body, slowly dragging me towards its mouth…

“Damn it… let go!”

I struggled as much as I could, but it only tightened its grip.

“Gah…”

I could hear my bones creaking… It hurt… I was suffocating… Am I going to die? Again? I don’t want to die… Somebody…

“Ko…haku… help…”

I croaked out, asking for help.

And then, in an instant——————

“GYIIIIIAAA”

A piercing shriek rang out, and the grip on me loosened. I fell to the ground and rolled away.

“What… what happened…?”

Confused, I couldn’t comprehend the situation. What just happened…? I fearfully looked up.

What I saw was the monster’s tentacle engulfed in flames.

“Eh…?”

I couldn’t make sense of it. Why was the creature burning…?

The tentacle turned black, charred and eventually crumbled to ash.

“Don’t touch Onee-chan… Magatsuhi like you…”

(TL|N: In Shinto belief, Magatsuhi is a god of disaster. The name is derived from Japanese words meaning disaster (‘maga’), ‘of’ (‘tsu’), and divine spirit (‘hi’). Magatsuhi symbolizes injustice or perverseness in spirit or soul, and it is one of the gods who bring about sin, pollution, and disaster. This deity is associated with Yomi, the netherworld​.)