Yuzu.
Like everyone else, she was born with a single tail, but during her growth, she gained eight more, becoming a fox beast-kin with an unprecedented nine tails in history.
After a very long period of wandering, as she stood on the cusp of returning to her homeland, she found herself in deep contemplation.
"Is it really a good idea to go back?"
Her only friend, Kasim, even shed tears of emotion, declaring that the day had finally come.
It wasn't that she didn't understand his feelings.
He was the leader who guided all the beast-kin, and as such, he harbored a deep sense of belonging.
The world, which revolved around humans, must have changed a great deal, but since beast-kin had long lifespans, she might still meet some of her old comrades whom she hadn't seen in ages.
However, her personality was the complete opposite of Kasim's.
Though she had led the beast-kin alongside Kasim, it was merely to fulfill a friend's request.
She didn't possess such a deep sense of belonging, nor was there anyone she particularly wished to see.
While her original world would be comfortable, and there would certainly be more things she could do there than in this ruined place...
"Hmm... for some reason, I'm already bored."
Why was this feeling of boredom already washing over her, even before she'd set foot on her homeland?
Was it because, unintentionally, she had grown fond of this place where she'd stayed for quite a long time?
But she'd mostly been asleep recently, so that couldn't be it.
This feeling had arisen because of the final journey to awaken the God.
‘It was short, but incredibly intense.’
As it was an almost impossible feat, it was not just intense, but fierce and explosive.
The sense of accomplishment from the process itself was immense, but what brought her even greater excitement was the human man who had accompanied her on the journey.
He possessed a strength greater than both Kasim's and her own, built up through centuries of training.
And a resolve even firmer than that immense power, along with extraordinary abilities.
A human so audacious that he would hurl curses directly at an enraged Chief God.
‘He truly was incredible.’
He brought to reality what she had only ever conceived in her mind.
He awakened the God, helped it regain its senses, and ultimately opened the path for its return himself.
He was a type of human she had never encountered in her original world.
Perhaps that was why.
‘I'm curious.’
About that man.
And about the world that man so desperately wished to return to.
Imagining herself following in his footsteps, her boredom melted away like snow, leaving only excitement.
Amidst the intensely spreading excitement, she realized.
A crucial crossroads, one that would determine the rest of her life, had appeared before her.
Would she live an ordinary life in her original world?
Or would she embark on an adventure amidst a world and humans she had never experienced before?
Though it was a momentous decision that would shape her life, her deliberation was not long.
"Kasim."
"Hmm?"
"I'm not going back to our homeland."
At her sudden declaration, Kasim smiled wryly.
"So it is as I thought."
"You expected it?"
"I did consider that it might happen."
She was always an unpredictable person... no, beast-kin.
That's why he could predict it.
That she would go in a direction he could never have imagined.
And that direction would be where the human man was headed.
The reason was simple.
"Your eyes were sparkling brightly as you looked at that man."
"Oh, were they?"
"Yes. It was like seeing the old you."
When she was young, her eyes always sparkled brightly.
She was completely absorbed in enjoying the process of discovering a world full of unknowns.
But at some point, her eyes stopped shining.
Because the world was too small to fill her exceptional talent and long life with adventure.
"Then this will be the last time I see you."
"Yes, probably."
Kasim, setting aside the unique pride of a tiger beast-kin who bowed to no one, respectfully bowed his head to her.
"Thank you, and I'm sorry for everything."
Due to his lack of ability, he had to rely on her help.
He always felt sorry for burdening her, whose nature is the complete opposite of his, with his responsibilities.
"I vowed to repay you someday, but now it seems I won't be able to."
As he smiled wryly, Yuzu chuckled softly and shook her head.
"No, it's enough. I was always curious, you see."
"About what?"
"What the crown of a tiger beast-kin's head looked like."
Yuzu replied with an impish grin.
Kasim wished her good fortune.
"Farewell, and be happy."
"You too."
The two, who had been together for centuries, exchanged a short, simple farewell.
Fearing her resolve might waver, Yuzu immediately made her wish to the God.
"Please send me to the world he lives in too."
The God was dumbfounded.
"If you leave this time, you won't be able to return, ever."
"That's fine with me."
"Is it because of that man?"
"It's both."
"I see."
The God turned his head, looking at the spot where he had departed moments ago, and spoke.
"The gate is still open, so you just need to pass through there."
"Thank you."
Yuzu was about to leave after a brief word of thanks.
"Just a moment."
But the God behind her called out, stopping her.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
"I have a favor to ask of you."
"What is it?"
"After careful calculation, it seems I didn't adequately reward that man."
He said that in the world he lives in, the battle of the Gods is still raging.
That bothered him.
His abilities are so outstanding that no human, even an Apostle, could stand against him.
‘But if it's a God, that's a different story.’
The God arbitrarily grabbed the fox orb floating around her and imbued it with power.
"You are to watch over him and deliver this power to him at the moment it's truly needed."
"How will I know when that moment is?"
"Wouldn't it be when he faces a moment of absolute crisis?"
For instance, if one of the fourteen Gods were to descend to the human realm through some trickery.
"It won't be a bad thing for you either."
"How so?"
"Whether it's a man or a woman, don't people tend to be drawn to the opposite sex who saves them in a desperate situation?"
At the God's reply, delivered with a wink, Yuzu laughed in disbelief, then licked her lips and curled her mouth into a smile.
"I like that."
Clutching her pounding heart, she threw herself through the gate leading to the world he lived in.
The distant place outside the domain blurred.
"Long time no see, human♥"
With a lively yet alluring voice, her figure appeared.
Pointed ears rose above her head.
Nine tails swayed behind her slender, gourd-like figure.
Everything was the same as before, but one thing was different.
"...A hanbok?"
Instead of the dress she had been wearing, she was clad in a hanbok, traditional Korean attire.
"How do I look? Doesn't it suit me well?"
"It does, but..."
Isn't that beside the point right now?
"Why are you here?"
"I missed you, so I followed you~♥"
Yuzu replied with a flirtatious tone.
Realizing the situation was not good, she wiped the smile from her face and continued.
"Well, we can talk about that later. For now, take this."
What she handed him was the fox orb.
Having touched it once before, it wasn't an unfamiliar object, but it was also slightly different from last time.
‘What is this?’
A power he had never seen before was swirling within the orb.
It felt similar to Divine Authority, yet at the same time, distinctly alien from any Divine Authority he had encountered until now.
"He told me to give it to you."
"That old geezer, to me?"
"Yeah. He said after careful calculation, the reward he gave you was too meager."
Kim Dojin smiled wryly.
‘Meager reward, my ass.’
He hadn't just sent them home.
The reward had already been amply invested in the eccentricities he planned to unleash after the war.
‘Looks like he was worried about me, after all.’
Or perhaps he foresaw this situation.
Either way, it was fortunate for him.
After all, if the Chief God personally provided it, it wouldn't be useless, whatever it was.
Kim Dojin immediately summoned Gluttony.
"Here, have some food."
Grrr...!
Gluttony let out a growl, as if telling him not to treat it like a dog, then immediately opened its maw.
The dazzling pure white light was sucked into its black, shimmering stomach.
The energy flowed directly through its long body and into Kim Dojin's.
"Ugh...!"
Kim Dojin's back bent into a 'ㄱ' shape [Korean letter 'giyok', resembling a right angle] from the alien energy he felt for the first time in his life.
Had sudden pain struck him?
He didn't know.
It felt like pain, yet also like an itch, and a suffocating tightness in his chest.
As he writhed in agony from the inexplicable sensation, Superbia turned her attention to Yuzu.
"Oh, a beast-kin. Did you come from another dimension?"
"Yes, that's right. The world I lived in was too boring, so I moved here."
"Not a bad choice. This place has plenty to enjoy, you see."
However.
"May I ask something?"
"Yes, please do!"
"What was it you gave that man?"
As Superbia asked in a low tone, Yuzu, still smiling brightly, shook her head.
"I don't know either!"
"...You don't know?"
"Hee-hee... No. I just received a request to deliver it without knowing what it was."
Superbia's brow furrowed slightly.
‘Annoying.’
The fox beast-kin's playful act before her.
And his state, as if undergoing some process behind her.
"Then I'll ask differently."
She asked again.
"Who was it that told you to deliver that item to the man?"
"Oh, I can tell you that!"
She replied, smiling once more as if delighted to finally be able to answer.
"It was the God!"
"......!"
As Superbia's face twisted into a grimace.
A new notification window appeared before Kim Dojin's eyes, who had been swimming through all sorts of bizarre sensations.
`[You have acquired the Trait 'World Guardian'.]`
It was the power he had so desperately desired.