"What are you talking about, Yoru?" Aya asked.
Her voice was steady, but the edge in it betrayed her tension.
Yoru didn’t look at her right away.
Her gaze remained on Damon, like Aya was sothing speaking in the background of a conversation she wasn’t part of.
"I’m talking about him," Yoru said simply.
Raiden’s expression hardened. "Explain yourself."
A faint sigh left Yoru’s lips, almost bored.
"I ca because I was curious," she said. "That’s all."
"Curious?" Aya repeated. "You crossed into our territory alone for curiosity?"
At that, Yoru finally looked at her.
Not hostile.
Not interested.
Just acknowledging sothing that had already spoken too many tis.
"Yes," Yoru said. "And because I was told sothing interesting."
Her eyes shifted back to Damon.
"The human who killed a Divine Beast."
The air tightened at those words.
Raiden’s hand moved closer to his weapon without thinking.
Aya’s aura sharpened, mana beginning to spill into the air around her.
Damon didn’t move.
He remained completely calm.
Yoru noticed.
Of course she did.
A faint curve ford on her lips.
"I expected exaggeration," she continued. "Rumors tend to get emotional when they pass between weak things."
Her head tilted slightly.
"But then I felt it."
A brief pause—not dramatic, just satisfied.
"One of the Divine Beasts is dead."
Silence followed.
Even Raiden stopped speaking.
Yoru took one step forward.
No rush. No caution. Like distance itself was irrelevant.
"So I ca to confirm it," she said. "And now I have."
Her gaze settled fully on Damon again.
"And I was right."
Aya’s voice dropped. "Confirm what?"
Yoru didn’t answer imdiately.
Instead, she studied Damon as if deciding how to phrase sothing obvious.
"His growth..." she said slowly. "It isn’t normal, is it?"
She continued walking toward them.
Raiden shifted uncomfortably. "You’re not here to fight us?"
"Fight?" Yoru repeated, as if the word itself was mildly amusing. "No. Of course not."
A small pause.
"That would be inefficient."
She stopped a short distance away, still closing in on Damon’s presence alone, ignoring the others entirely.
"Too many variables. Too little interest."
Her eyes stayed on Damon.
"Besides..." she added, voice lowering slightly. "That’s not what I ca for."
Damon shifted.
In an instant, his glove transford—blackened tal reshaping into a blade that appeared at Yoru’s throat, stopping an inch away.
"That’s close enough," he said flatly.
For the first ti, Yoru’s expression changed.
Not fear.
Interest.
A spark of genuine delight.
Her smile widened.
"So it’s like that."
Her eyes lit slightly, as if sothing long anticipated had finally arrived.
"Confident... and strong."
She leaned forward just a fraction, completely unbothered by the blade at her throat.
"This is going to be more fun than I thought."
Aya stepped forward sharply. "You think you can just—"
Yoru’s gaze flicked to her.
Instantly, Aya stopped.
Not restrained.
Not forced.
Just overridden, like her next words had lost relevance before they were spoken.
Yoru didn’t even linger on her.
Her attention returned to Damon as if nothing had happened.
"You’re coming with ," she said.
It wasn’t a request or a demand. It was a statent, as if he already belonged to her.
"And why the hell would I do that?" Damon asked, matching her gaze without hesitation.
"I can help you achieve your goal. Kill other divine beasts and complete the quest."
Damon frowned. "You’re one of the Divine Beasts I need to kill."
Yoru let out a soft exhale, shaking her head as if this was the most basic thing anyone should know.
"Only one Divine Beast has to be left standing," she began to explain. "Death is only one way of achieving that. Losing a divine title is another."
’Losing a title?’ Damon lingered on the idea for a while, his gaze turned to Aya, who suddenly beca lost in thought, as if searching for what exactly Yoru ant.
Of course, Yoru was quick to notice their expressions, understanding that they had no idea what she was talking about.
"Title of a Divine Beast is achieved, not given. In the sa way it could’ve been reached, it can be lost. If one loses enough of their strength."
A slow realisation dawned on Damon.
Initially, he thought the objective of the War of Six Divine Beasts was to kill the others, but that wasn’t it. It was to ensure that only one Divine Beast was left standing, so if one could break the others, leave them in a state that the system would consider not enough for a divine title that would do the job.
But Yoru’s proposal brought another question.
"So who’s going to lose their title?" Damon asked, realising that an alliance between them ant that either Yoru or Aya would lose their title, and he already had a suspicion of what she ant.
"Isn’t it obvious?" Yoru asked. "We’re going to break every single one of Aya’s tails until she is reduced to nothing but an ordinary beast, unworthy of the system’s attention."
Silence settled between them.
Damon’s frown deepened, Raiden’s fists clenched as if he was re monts from attacking, while Aya shifted uncomfortably.
The way she spoke as if the matter wasn’t up for discussion. As if breaking Aya’s tails and leaving her in a reduced state of what she once was ant nothing to her.
"We don’t have to do it right away," Yoru looked away for a mont, her gaze trailing across the horizon. "We can handle the other beasts first and leave the matter for later. But either way... You will be coming with ."
This ti, Damon didn’t imdiately reject her.
He began calculating the situation.
Going with her offered the possibility of slaying other Divine Beasts, which would bring them closer to the goal.
But more than that, it would give him an opportunity to get stronger, perhaps strong enough to even oppose her.
The risk... was predictable.
But the opportunity wasn’t.
"I’ll go," he finally said.
The reply caught both Raiden and Aya off guard, but Damon didn’t pay attention to their reactions, he was already calculating ahead.
Yoru’s amusent sharpened at the reply, clearly pleased with it.
"But on one condition," he added.
"Oh?" Yoru raised a brow, her amusent only growing stronger. "And what might that be?"
"You and your clan offer protection for the Kitsune Clan while I’m away."
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