From withered death comes new life.

A quivering mass of red lay prone within a bed of dried grass and broken twigs. It goes without saying, but that ball of fluff was the newly born baby fox.

The fox was small, maybe around half the size of a Yorkshire Terrier. It had vermillion colored fur that covered almost its entire body. The only exceptions to this were the two golden streaks that ran down its back and the white highlights that colored the ends of its tails. In addition, it had a pastel white underbelly and dark brown highlights on the tips of its paws and on its triangular ears.

Just from a glance, one could immediately see the beauty contained within its fragile form.

As he looked closer, he noticed something strange. The number of tails that it possessed, unlike the mother’s original seven, this child had a total of nine tails.

The sight of it all reminded Ellis of a somewhat famous legend that existed back on Earth. The legend of a kitsune, a nine-tailed fox with the ability to transform into a beautiful maiden. It was a monster concept popularized by eastern countries such as China and Japan, but it later spread to the rest of the world through media exposure.

Was this fox a kitsune? Did they even have those things here on Lull? A legendary creature possessing great power and magic… was this little creature really something so amazing? Can it transform into a beautiful maiden? Or maybe… it was all just some genetic mutation, similar to how some children can be born with extra limbs.

Ellis did not know the truth, but he felt that the answer wasn’t quite so simple.

A transparent, mucus-like substance coated the majority of its body. It gave the fox’s coat a glistening sheen, but then again, the mucus looked as if it did more harm than good. For one, the fox was still shivering like a man stranded in the middle of a blizzard.

Ellis hesitated for a moment, before he bent down to pick it up.

“..!”

Just as he was about to grab the fox, an overbearing sensation suddenly engulfed him. Ellis immediately felt short of breath. His vision blurred while a freezing chill ran down the back of his spine.

This terrifying feeling, for some reason, there was a strange familiarity to it. The sensation, the aura, it was a bit hard to describe, but… it felt like death. It was an aura that he could only liken to death.

Such a feeling filled the entire room. It almost suffocated him and just as quickly as it had come, it abruptly disappeared in a blink of an eye.

All that was left within the stale cavern was a newborn fox and a still shell-shocked homunculus.

“…”

Ellis stayed silent for a long time, before he let out a weary smile.

That feeling, I have no clue what the hell that was or what the hell it all means, but… this child, it looks healthy.

He picked the fox up off the ground and cradled it in his arms. Some of the mucus got on his skin, but he didn’t care. The fox instinctively lifted its head. Its eyes were still closed, but Ellis felt as if the child had just smiled at him.

As he stared at it, he noticed that there were two white dots right where its eyebrows would have gone. It gave the little thing a distinctive look.

A soft cry leaked out from its jaws. He hesitated for a moment, before he wiped away the mucus covering its face.

The fox slowly opened its eyes. Its pupils were black. A beautiful black that resembled glistening obsidian. As if in response, the little thing licked his outstretched hand.

Ellis subconsciously laughed.

“Then, since you’ve just been born, let me have the honor of naming you.” He did not know whether it understood him or not, but nevertheless, it responded with a “kyu, kyu!”

“First of all, are you a boy or a girl?” He lifted it up and checked. He did not actually know what it was he should have been looking for, but after a while, Ellis eventually concluded that the fox was, in fact, a girl.

“Then, a girl name would probably be appropriate, right? But what sort of name would be good?” He muttered to himself. As if in response, the fox tilted its head and let out another cry.

“You have nine tails, so something relating to the number would probably be good, right? Should I just call you Nine, then?”

The fox shook its head.

“No? I guess that’s no good.” Ellis furrowed his brow. On second thought, if the mother fox knew that he had given its child such a ridiculous name, then he’d probably get cursed or something. The last thing he needed was a grudge from the afterlife.

“But it’s kind of surprising. You seem to be able to understand what I’m saying.” Ellis narrowed his eyes. “As expected, fantasy creatures are amazing. I wonder what sort of other things you can do…”

“Arf!” The fox suddenly let out an angry bark. Staring into her eyes, Ellis could see the displeasure. It was as if she was reprimanding him, telling him to ‘stay focused! You still have to job to do!’

“Fine, fine, I’ll worry about all that later. For now, let’s give you a proper name… how does Hazel sound?”

Immediately, the fox shook her head.

“No good? I thought it was cute.”

Again, she shook her head.

“Then, Bridgette?”

“Arf!” Another angry bark.

“I guess that’s no good either… Then, let’s go with… Ena.” Ellis spoke with a smile. “It’s something I thought about long and hard. I derived it from a foreign language on Earth. The original word means ‘nine.’ Clever, right?”

The original word that he had thought of was ennea, a Greek word for the number nine. He had cycled through a number of different possibilities, and things like nueve, nuen, and devyat did not sound very appealing. Of course, all of those meant the same thing, just in a different language. The only reason why he was able to remember so many of them was thanks to a beginner’s introduction into foreign language that he once took back in college.

In the end, he went with ennea and modified it into Ena. For someone like him, it was indeed pretty clever.

It was nice to see his hard-earned degree finally being put to good use, even if it was in another world.

The fox remained silent for a while. Ellis worriedly looked at her. Was Ena no good either? Was it actually a weird name by this world’s standards?

Fortunately, his worries were unfounded. The fox suddenly let out a satisfied chirp.

Ellis breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good, then from now on, your name will be Ena. Since it’s our first time meeting each other, a proper introduction is warranted. I’m Ellis. It’s nice to meet you.”

In response, the fox, Ena, let out a cry of her own. “Kyu!”

On this day, unbeknownst to the rest of the world, a union that would later shake Lull to its very core had just been established.

The Artificial Demon King and the Blood Moon Fox, their story starts with this one fateful encounter.

****

After Ena’s birth, Ellis took her outside and bathed her within the lagoon. At first, he expected some trouble. After all, most animals don’t really like getting wet, right? Luckily, Ena was very obedient for a child of her age. She listened to everything he had to say and followed his instructions down to the letter.

Again, he once more reaffirmed the fact that she could somehow understand him.

Considering the fact that he had been speaking English this whole time, Ellis did not think that Ena actually knew the language. It wasn’t that she could understand his words to be exact, but rather, the intentions behind those words. In simpler terms, the heart. She understood his heart.

Was it an ability similar to telepathy? Something like mind-reading? He did not think it was exactly that, but it was definitely something close.

After the bath, Ena suddenly jumped out of his arms and dashed towards the clearing next to the lagoon. Ellis unconsciously smiled upon seeing the scene. The little thing, she ran around in excitement, seemingly enjoying the fresh air that the forest had to offer. It was a stark contrast to the gloomy atmosphere and stale, rotting air within the cavern.

After a while, Ena abruptly darted towards the crater that contained the dragon’s corpse. Without hesitation, she immediately jumped into the pool of blood.

“H-hey! Damn it, I just gave you a bath!” Ellis hurriedly ran after her.

Ena was currently bathing in the blood pool. It was a rather stranger sight. Seeing such a tiny and innocent looking creature wading around within a mass of viscous red…it was definitely odd.

The blood soaked into her flesh. Occasionally, Ena would dip her entire head into the pool. Was she drinking it? Absorbing the blood? He did not know, but since it looked like nothing bad was going to happen, he eventually just allowed her to continue.

This persisted for a few more minutes before the fox walked out of the pool with a satisfied look on her face. Ena’s entire body was covered in scarlet red. Tiny pawprints followed behind her every move. From the looks of things, Ena had ‘absorbed’ to her very limit. A rosy glow colored her face while her belly slightly protruded.

Still, despite having her fill, there was plenty of blood left within the crater. In fact, it did not look as if she had even made a dent into the pool.

With a sigh, Ellis picked her up again and returned to the pool. For the second time today, he once again gave this troublesome child a bath.