Reincarnated as a random race, of course I got goblin.

Chapter 98 - Troop of Satori

~Content Warning: Body Horror~

I grit my teeth as we fly away from the village. Stupid! How much trouble have I landed Her in now? The King's first cousin, dead at the hands of one of my Servants! Even if it was to keep him from sowing chaos, I should have kept a better reign on her!

"M-Master... I apologize." 

Seeming to sense my anger, the Yuki-Onna quietly reaches a hand towards my shoulder. Thanks to the barrier surrounding us, the wind is neither felt or heard, letting us converse freely. 

"You should. Couldn't you have just- I don't know, froze off the hand the ring was on or something? Instead of freezing him entirely? Your kind is supposed to be masters of manipulating cold magic, rivalling even the Elder Dragon of Cold themself." My scathing tone causes her to flinch back, retracting her hand as if it hurts to touch us. 

I ignore her reaction, a brief dizzy spell hitting me suddenly. Shit- our SP-

"Master- You're weakened... Please, let this one offer herself so that you might regain some strength. Consider it a small penance for the trouble I've brought the Master." Our bond tells me that she is genuine in her offer. Whatever, now that we've cleared the snow you're not needed anymore.

I target her with Vitaephagy and Manaphagy, leeching both her HP and MP to recover my own SP. Eating her body would be impossible, as it would just scatter into Mourning Air once her HP runs out, leaving the Hitodama behind to be reclaimed by the Soul Core.

"A-a-ah" A whimper of pain escapes her as I empty out her MP. A few moments later, her body brightly flashes before dissipating into a murky purple mist, in the midst of which is the Hitodama that acted as the Yuki-Onnas' Soul.

Both the mist and the Hitodama are sucked into the Origin Soul Core, leaving nothing behind to suggest there ever was a Yuki-Onna sitting on my back. I shudder slightly, my other half stirring from her slumber ever so slightly.

Seems I disturbed her with that. Let's try to not be as ruthless going forward. She needs all the peace of mind she can get. I'm just worried as to how this experience has changed her... My newfound emotions... 

I sigh. I am Shadow, the repressed part of Millibelle. I am the parts of her personality that she deems inappropriate to display to the world. If the experience with Esmer and the Hitodama has caused her to fear expressing her feelings... 

Or worse- She begins fearing the repercussions of letting someone that dislikes her go free... I feel that she would have wanted to kill Almus- to keep him from becoming like Esmer.

*Destination reached: Tropical biosphere*

World Knowledge's announcement rips me out of my introspection. I stop and hover over a vast stretch of rainforest. A wide, slow flowing river snakes through it, making it look almost like an aerial shot of the Amazon river. 

The presence of neon-colored fruits and the colossal snake-head rising out of the river sure makes it clear that this isn't Her old World. 

I land on the river's bank, the giant snake flicks their tongue in my direction before submerging and vanishing into the river. I'm not even able to pick it up with Awareness. Oh well, it wasn't edible to humanoids anyway. 

Double-checking my MP reserves, I should have enough. Once this is done, I'll be resting until we need to get back to the villages with the food, so it should work out. 

I focus, breathing deep as I bring out ten Hitodama. 

*Suggestion: The Eastern Spirit, Satori, is an adept forager that is also able to bring down prey on its own.*