Chapter 8 Commissioned by Southmonk

Gumiho actually had a physical identifier for their curse, being a baleful glowing red ring around their pupils that separated the more colorful part of the girl's eyes. And with my binding Akagi... She lost that Red Ring of Death. 'TM'

"Jake... Why do I feel that taking you on as my student is going to lead to much trouble for myself." Yuki said tiredly as she herself realized Akagi was no longer a typical 'Gumiho' in how she needed to eat to livers and hearts to survive.

My system even confirmed the situation as I scanned Akagi, who was staring at their own face closely and seeing how she no longer had that red ring in her own eyes. [Fox Wife, Akagi's curse of gluttony has been replaced by Blessing of Beelzebub, owner of the blessing may grow their, magical, physical, and soul strength by consuming the flesh of sentient beings.]

So she had basically got, a very half-assed version of Rimuru's devouring skill but hers only enhanced her base growth. Instead of letting her absorb the skills of the things she devoured.

"I am not a Gumiho anymore?" She whispered looking at herself and I shrugged as her information did list herself as a Gumiho but I wasn't going to say anything about her devouring ability until I got some time alone with her and figured out what kind of person she was.

Would be really bad if she went on a killing spree and I either had to kill her myself or stand aside to let someone else do it.

I patted her, on her shoulder making her jump but as her reddish amber eyes snapped to me I spoke softly. "If I am going to snag a wife... I at least need to make sure to remove the curses on them." I said trying to play it cool but both Akagi and Yuki looked at me like I was full of shit. Which I totally was.

So I sighed and said bluntly. "Fine, with the Gumiho's fox marble, I am capable of binding them to me, and with my own soul's strength removing the curse," I said as truthfully as I could without getting into gaming mechanics.

The two girls shared a look before Akagi looked back to me and she leaned forward to grab my pants leg as she spoke softly. "I Akagi Sakura, have given my Fox Marble to you and sworn my life to you, in servitude, in wifely duties, and even in battle I will stand beside you without hesitation." She vowed bowing her head to me and I couldn't help but scratch behind her fox ear making her whimper in joy while Yuki coughed in the background.

I held up a finger to say one second to Yuki who rolled her eyes but I looked back down to Akagi as I stated. "My name is Jake Barriss, we may not know each other. But I will treat you as fairly as I can." I finished before looking at Yuki.

"How many more?" Yuki asked bluntly before she continued with a sigh. "Hmm, more importantly. You do realize that you are neither a god nor an extremely powerful magician. So how do you plan on explaining how you cured their curse with your weak power?" She questioned and honestly, it was a good point.

For a moment I considered waving away her concern before I decided to throw Ariana under the bus for her weird yandere/knowledge-obsessed actions earlier. "Arianna has already got a portal ready for me to return here as I please," I said but in reality, due to my claim via my Gamer system over this now-abandoned village, I could teleport to and from this plot I claimed back to the underground subway's I had previously claimed once a day.

Yuki raised an eyebrow and I nervously chuckled before I tapped my chin and I said wryly. "So uhh. I even thought up a name as well in my 'Nine Tails' so I would snag nine Gumiho altogether probably." I answered as while the gods were paying attention along with the Yuki-Onna and others, I couldn't just snag a dozen Gumiho every day for this week-long culling mission.

Akagi slowly stood up and as she did, she hugged me tightly with her wide open top leaving some of her expansive cleavage open to my sight as she looked up to me with desperation in her eyes as she asked. "Then can you take my sister and other family members too!?" She begged and reflexively I looked at the corpses around us and her I could feel her grip on me tighten as she shook her head.

"No husband, they are not here. They live within one of the larger towns within the realm and my sister along with myself are traded around here and at home every few weeks so Mother and Aunty can keep a close eye on us so we don't get eaten by other Gumiho, while we are weak." She explained.

Even as she called me husband... And boy did that feel fucking weird coming from a woman who I met not even five minutes ago as I could literally feel the Fox Marble within my inventory had changed her core being into actually liking me so quickly. But before I could respond Yuki cut in dryly.

"And how would we reach the town and Jake convince your family members to accept giving him their Fox Marbles," Yuki asked being the voice of reason honestly. I heard family, being her mother, sister, and aunty, and yeah...

Akagi glanced at Yuki and I saw a hint of dissatisfaction in her eyes before she blinked and the emotion was wiped away as she bit her lip and spoke softly. "My little sister Kaga would give him, her Fox Marble knowing I gave him mine as well as him defeating her in battle... But for Momma Amagi, she... Will need to be encouraged more physically." She said evenly and I raised an eyebrow at how she said it physically and then she continued but her voice had become wry with if anything annoyance.

"Aunty Shinano however will be easy... She loves normal human food, so losing her curse would be enough. Along with allowing her to keep sleeping as she loves to, and uhm I guess she is kinda perverted so yeah." She finished awkwardly.

"But how would we get into the town, and speak with them." I continued Yuki's question and Akagi blinked before shrugging.

"Just because there are enemies doesn't mean we Gumiho will automatically attack new people we see... You are already considered possible food, so unless you draw a lot of attention like directly attacking the town or something we should be fine, especially if I am leading us into the town." She said and I honestly couldn't really argue her words.

So I looked to Yuki who deadpanned as she flatly said. "Hell no. I like living, and this sounds like a fool's errand..." Her silver eyes softened as she tried to soften her words. "Look Jake you got a fox woman, I applaud your achievement in doing so and saving her life honestly, but is it really worth possibly dying for some more fox women?"

I paused at her words. As they were all too true in her own perspective but with my new job tokens from accepting Akagi as a Fox Wife I had unlocked the Unarmed Master Job which had already boosted my base physical strength a good bit at level one before I even started practicing a martial art.

Though I still had that Wing Manifestation martial art that I got from that Harpy, back when I was escorting that young spawn of Athena.

Either way. If I did get more Fox Wifes, who perfectly fit within my system's boundaries for what it wanted, I would get stronger. I shook my head with Yuki groaning and stomping her foot on the ground as I softly said. "Sorry Yuki, but I do actually get stronger with taking on a Fox Wife, and in this world, I need all the strength I can get," I said and Yuki clearly wasn't happy, but in the end... She agreed to come with me to watch my back.

[Phantasmal Wings Rank 1 learnable.] - [Learned!]

[Allows the manifestation of wings made out of mana with each rank up of skill to evolve wings into stronger variants. Rank 1 is equal to a flightless bird's wings allowing users short bursts of flight and increased speed.]

Akagi was capable of gliding over the ground using Shinto seals and with Yuki having her own gliding technique along with myself now having wings even if they couldn't provide actual flight, we were able to make fly/glide the three-hour journey towards the center of the Gumiho's realm where it was much more populated.

"How many Gumiho are there, here in the realm?" I asked wryly as I was reminded of how damned big this fucking realm was. And how Kanna the priestess said this was a quarter the size of Japan, which for someone not flying via high-speed planes or something. That was still a good distance.

Akagi hummed before she answered with a shrug. "I am honestly not too sure... The curse of the Gumiho does lessen our fertility issues like most monster races so we don't have any issues breeding should we desire and with our long lives..." Akagi smiled wryly and continued. "The Gumiho Queen, the original first Gumiho, is more than fifteen hundred years old... And gave birth to more than a thousand children with her pregnancies always giving birth to nine kits with each pregnancy only last three months." Akagi said and I couldn't help but shudder at that thought.

They mentioned the legend of a woman's cooch being overused to the point of it being like you were throwing your hotdog down a hallway... But hers had to be like a fucking parachute that she could use to glide with.

When she walked, it crinkled like a Walmart bag being moved around... And was just as difficult to get it open to begin with, and of course felt nasty to touch when it was wet.

Anyway, eww.

"So I cannot really answer about how many there are, as a census is never done, as a single Gumiho can easily give birth to at least ten Gumiho in a year if she tried. But the population is also constantly brought down by the other Gumiho that will perform cannibalism in order to help grow their tails rather than eating the humans or other supernatural beings the powerful Gumiho go raid the Earth for." She explained and that was another loaded statement.

After a bit more time passed as we traveled, Akagi told us we were close to the major town that her family was living within and I was thankful for the distance between here and the hunter's camp as none of the cleaners would have made their way here within the next day at the very least as there were more settlements we skirted around that would get cleansed before they got to this major town. If they even went this way, to begin with.

Thus with ourselves a good bit away from the town and Akagi being a single-tailed fox woman, she was clearly exhausted from our journey so we were taking a break. Yuki took me aside to train and obviously just to talk.

"You are wasting too much mana for your arrows in how much you are enhancing them." She said softly as she stood beside me to watch, how I controlled my bow and the arrow. "Most supernaturals are hardly more durable than a typical human... You don't need your arrow exploding with against them with the force of a powerful bomb, just the force of a decent firework going off within their body will rupture and destroy organs. Plus being an archer is typically a backline fighting style unless you are a master." She advised me carefully as I adjusted the flow of mana from my martial intent and giant blade technique to reduce the power of the bow and the arrow itself.

There was a reason the Supernatural had pulled back from bullying humanity in the late eighteen hundreds almost entirely. Sure entire towns and stuff disappeared every once and a while. But whole cities being emptied, slaughtered, or whatnot didn't happen anymore. As the gods and monsters were well aware of how spiteful and terrible humanity was.

I had no doubt that should the president have a way to Olympus he would send a couple of nukes into there regardless of how that could blow over NYC.

That and in Devil's terms, all supernatural even the more spiritual ones under High Class were just as allergic to a high-power bullet moving at speeds of faster than sound as humans were.

So her advice in pulling back my total amount of power was definitely sound.

But after a minute of adjustment, as I mentally lowered the amount of power I used in sending out arrows, she asked quietly so Akagi who was across the clearing couldn't hear even with her fox ears. "So... How does it feel?" She asked flushing slightly and I realized as her eyes flitted to Akagi, what she was feeling.

Jealousy? Not exactly at me all but enslaving Akagi, but just how easily I took her on and was showing affection to her perhaps. And forming a foundation for a future relationship I guessed.

"Its... A bit of a weight, looking at her and realizing we are tied for the rest of our lives. But." I shrugged as I continued. "Relationships start off with an event, and just as joining the military can give you brethren and people you can trust with your life. Well I literally own her soul, she isn't going to betray me, nor is she capable of it apparently." I finished in a 'what can you do manner.'

I got a waifu who literally was incapable of deliberately betraying me. Was I supposed to be unhappy about that?

Because I certainly wasn't.

Yuki's face twitched at my answer with her exhaling with a wry smile as she spat cutely. "How could I expect any different of an answer." She said exasperated and I just shrugged with a shameless smile.

I put away my bow and my recalled arrows and popped my fingers to get rid of the sting of shooting all those arrows out of the powerful bow and I said with a joking smile. "If you want, we can snag you a fox wife?"

Yuki just rolled her eyes and then she slapped my shoulder playfully as she strode away toward Akagi. And I held in a smile at how I realized that with my Unarmed Master Job, her playful slap and physical touch didn't freeze, or cause me to bruise with the impact as my body had become stronger and especially more durable with the Job.

"Are we ready to go and meet my family now?" Akagi asked demurely, and I looked at Yuki before saying anything and with her nodding with a sigh. I also nodded with Akagi smiling as she gently floated off the ground with her seals beneath her carrying her weight and thus we crossed the couple miles that separated us from the Gumiho town.

My Phantasmal Wings though were interesting... I could actually kinda design and heavily control the wings with my mana, with my other spells and techniques being capable of being used through the wings which was why I needed to have the Unarmed Master Job. I actually found an ironic joy in making pure black wings that matched Ariana's.

I wonder how she would react should I have pure white angelic wings, and I roleplay being tied up and begging not to be corrupted into a fallen... Either with extreme violence or with extreme sexual intent. It was honestly a coin toss.

After closing the distance I was finally able to take in the Gumiho town and see how they lived their lives in a somewhat more modern setting.

And with it not being you know on fire and all the occupants screaming as they were butchered. I was able to actually properly take in their architecture and saw how it took after Japanese building styles for the most part in terms of larger buildings, but for more residential buildings they had more solidly built homes that used Chinese-style architecture to avoid using paper walls probably.

And Akagi was right... Sure people were suspicious of us, almost entirely their focus was devoted to Yuki though, but we weren't attacked or questioned beyond the front gate of the town with Akagi claiming us as her lovers which was obviously accepted with how we had flown up to the gate with my arm wrapped around her waist.

But not long after we got into the town, we arrived at Akagi's family estate. A sprawling property that was on more than ten acres of land with a decent-sized wall surrounding the property for privacy. Though that didn't amount to much when likely all the Gumiho had some way or another for flight or gliding at the very least.

Akagi led us into the estate and as we came into the house, past the paper, stick figure familiar servants who took care of the estate and as we came to the house, the large stone door slid to the side on well-oiled hinges as another fox woman looked at Akagi in surprise. And as she spoke I was easily able to guess, that this was supposed to be her sister Kaga.

"Sister, you made your way here all the way on foot!? It's really dangerous right now and-" She froze as she seemingly just noticed us and with the way her eyes snapped to Yuki... I realized this larger town, had in fact gotten news of the culling, coming their way.

I bowed my head slightly and spoke softly and most importantly calmly. "Hello, we have come to speak with you and the rest of Akagi's family about something very important. Before... Others arrive here in a few hours."

Even as Kaga staggered in place and muttered something about the town supposed to be having a couple more weeks before we were supposed to have arrived... And boy was that loaded news, but I was taking in Kaga's form and how she very much differed from her older sister Akagi.

Instead of Akagi's almost red amber eyes and black hair. Kaga had snow-white hair with bright blue eyes that contrasted heavily with the ring of red from her Gumiho curse now that I could see it up closer and with such great contrast in her blue eyes. Kaga was also a single-tailed fox woman like her sister but she physically differed in being slightly bustier than her sister and also being slightly shorter as well.

Within moments Kaga had regathered her mental facilities which made me inwardly smile at her mental fortitude as she visibly took a breath and spoke cooly towards me and Yuki. "In that case, you may enter... But should you make a mistake, your life is forfeit!" She said fiercely trying to put us on the back foot.

But with her only having a single tail... Her threat was just cute honestly.

I most certainly didn't taunt her with the fact that in the last twenty-four hours, I had acquired thirty tails from Gumiho and so her threat was worthless... Despite my impulsive thought to drop the tails in my inventory in front of her face, I knew that would be a terrible introduction.

Coming into the estate's main house with Yuki walking slightly behind me and Akagi so we didn't get flanked we soon walked into a large living room with Kaga calling out. "Momma, Aunty, Akagi is here with... Guests." She said as she opened up the door to the living room, and sitting with their legs tucked into the short table were two more mature Gumiho.

Amagi, the girl's mother was a vision of motherly beauty, with her having soft brown hair with purple eyes, and the standard red stripe in her eyes that all Gumiho had. As for her body... She was a definition of the term milf with her motherly demure appearance and bearing with her clad in a conservative kimono that didn't expose her assets even if it hugged her voluptuous frame.

More importantly, she took us in and stiffened. I could clearly see her three tails raising behind her defensively as she stiffened at the sight of us and more importantly Yuki as it seemed well-known that a Yuki-Onna tribe was the main vanguard in this culling even if we were apparently insanely early.

Sitting beside Amagi, was their supposed Aunty Shinano... And honestly, I think Akagi was drunk when she called Kaga her sister as Shinano was almost a match for Kaga with the same blue eyes, white hair and larger assets that she was certainly not shy in exposing as her kimono was all but just hanging off her tits via how damned perky they were. And likewise matching her sister Amagi, with how she also had three tails.

But instead of feeling clearly threatened like Amagi was, she lazily laid her chin on her soft palm as she eyed us while the room was filled with the tension at what our arrival obviously meant.

And I got to the heart of that fear. "Yes, whatever spies you had were wrong, fed you wrong information, or just lied altogether," I said bluntly and both Amagi and Shinano flinched at my blunt start and I took a breath.

"Look... This whole culling thing is terrible. I get why it's being done with Gumiho-eating people." As Kaga became angry and the older Gumiho's eyes became cold at my words I spoke loudly to cut off Kaga who was obviously going to rebuttal. "But that doesn't change its necessity in the human and Supernatural point of view with how you prey upon the weak." I continued before softening my voice as I took Akagi's hand into my own which made her flush as I looked back to her mother who was clearly... Inches away from attacking me.

"I was able to cure Akagi of her curse, look into her eyes as I have taken her as my own fox wife and she will assuredly survive this culling," I said bluntly and her mother flinched with even the almost bored-looking Shinano's face falling off her hand as her eyes tightened into a glare before the fact that I removed the curse seemed to register into her mind.

Whereas Akagi's parents were very clearly unsettled at my announcement Kaga was just straight pissed. "You mean you forced Akagi to give you her Fox Marble right!?" She demanded and I gazed at her fiery blue orbs as I considered her words.

Even Yuki froze as she wondered what I was going say with Akagi still being the blushing maiden in her own little world at us holding hands like deviants in front of her family. Finally though... After a moment of tense silence, I answered truthfully, bluntly, and without mercy despite the pain in my voice. "Yes, it was either she gave me her Fox Marble to remove her curse or I would have killed her or allowed my companion to kill her," I answered and then Yuki slashed in front of me as she blocked a white tail of magically hardened fur that almost pierced my throat but I didn't even blink as I trusted my teacher and with it being Kaga, the sight of her sister attacking me, got Akagi out of her daydreams as she grabbed her shorter sister and began smothering her in her some terrible version of a headlock that used her own breasts as a weapon.

No instead of Kaga, I was focused on Amagi who was cooly staring at me without blinking until finally, I broke the tension as I asked. "The rest of the Shinto's butchers arrived last afternoon and cleared out the surrounding small towns and villages... My companion and I cleared out a village and found your daughter and when I took her as my Fox Wife, and swore to treat her as my own wife, with love and respect due to her Fox Marble obviously making her a loyal wife of mine..." I leaned forward as I spoke with a small smile at the memory. "When I was clear about how I was willing to save more Gumiho from the culling and in doing so remove their curse. Akagi's first response was to beg for your lives..." I smiled wryly as I added on.

"Akagi, don't kill your sister, with your tits please." I finished with my wry smile turning dry as Akagi seemingly ignored me for a few seconds before she let go of her sister with a huff and when she spun around to face me there was no disguising the annoyed expression on her face as she pouted.

"But hubby!" She tried childishly and I closed my eyes in consideration as I could feel Amagi and Shinano's piercing gaze on me as Akagi continued pouting as she muttered. "I didn't even put Kaga to sleep like I normally do when she upsets me..."

If anything that was the kicker as Amagi finally spoke with her voice being a soft motherly voice that would have typically been my ASMR fetish if it wasn't for how she looked close to attempting to make an attempt on my life due to the stress of this meeting. "And... We should just give ourselves to you for what? A cure for a curse we both have come to live with after a couple of centuries of life?" Amagi asked almost conversationally as instead of watching Kaga hold onto her sister and attempt to catch her breath and keep conscious after the smothering session. I decided to go for broke as I stepped past the younger sisters and then directly sat down in front of Amagi with my feet going naturally under the short table and making all the women in the room tense at my ballsy action.

And I continued that bravery as I spoke bluntly. "Akagi, wants you to remain her family. She may have some personality ticks tuned up but she will remain who she is at her core even with me receiving her Fox Marble... As for you, Shinano, and her sister... You three, unless you can teleport or fly extremely fast to the edges of the realm and hide in a deep hole. Will be dead within the next six hours if the Yuki-Onna and angry shinto dragons burning down the countryside go slow."

My blunt words made Shinano and Amagi tense and I closed my eyes and sighed as I spoke. "Look, I want you I admit it, you three are beautiful. And I have powers that will need your help and assistance for them to flourish and reach their potential... In return for becoming my Fox Wife, beyond just survival, I will of course remove the curse, and help you grow stronger... There's no better deal or approach I can make than this honesty." I said weakly shrugging as I continued wryly. "It's not like I have the time to properly seduce the three of you after all."

Dear gods... I really wasn't this much a scum bag. But it's not like I had the time to properly wine and dine to seduce these ladies or hell in other fantasy worlds, I didn't even have the excuse of buying or saving these ladies from other slavers.

"Akagi, why don't you talk to your family for a bit while me and Yuki sit in the garden for a few," I spoke, and even as Akagi pouted and was clearly going to deny I felt Shinano flex her magical power making everyone focus on the totally focused white-haired gumiho who stared at me seriously as she spoke. "If you subdue me, I will give you my Fox Marble so long as you promise to treat me as your wife. If I defeat you... I am going to rip your liver out along with your still beating heart for being weak and tying my niece's soul to yours." She said coldly but bluntly with no possible deception within her words.

I was about to nod and agree... As I was fairly confident in dealing with a single three-tailed Gumiho, but Kaga cut me off as she declared. "No Aunty! Let me go first! He stole Akagi from us and if he cannot even beat me, then what good will his heart and liver be for you!" She said challengingly to me and Shinano merely snorted and eyed her overconfident niece before she exhaled and looked to her own sister who looked stonily towards me.

Amagi visibly took a breath before she spoke softly. "Don't hurt my daughter beyond what's needed to subdue her." She said evenly and Kaga froze, realizing little human me... Was obviously more dangerous than what she clearly was thinking I may have been.

"Very well." I said softly and my Martial Intent cut through Kaga's fury at what I had done to her sister as she could feel the weaponized form of my intent of doing her harm rolling off my form as I stood up from the table I only sat at for a couple of seconds so I could be eye level with Amagi and Shinano. "Will right here do? This will be quick." I said not with undue confidence but as a mere stated fact and with my eyes locked on Kaga, I realized something... She like her sister definitely had major subby tendencies if even more pronounced than her sister's more demure side. As I could tell she had a more aggressive confident persona... Until that persona folded like a castle of cards like it was now in the face of someone clearly stronger.

Amagi at my question just sighed and waved her hand before she wryly said. "Don't ruin my living room please." She said dully and I nodded and tilted my head to the side with a small side coming to my face as I said to Kaga.

"Well, count down from three Kaga, don't worry, I am going to only spank some disciple onto you," I said teasingly and Kaga squawked in outrage while Amagi...

She facepalmed and muttered something I couldn't make out as Kaga stammered and was barely able to countdown as her face flushed in outrage, humiliation and I honestly think a good half of what she felt was the horny with how Amagi had facepalmed.