Thunderous Snowfluff

On the other side of the lake.

Pink hair spread across the water like silk.

Aemeath rested in a shallow cove naturally enclosed by lakeside rocks. The water reached just above her shoulders, leaving the delicate lines of her collarbones exposed.

Her eyes were half-closed, crystal droplets clinging to her long lashes. In the sunlight, her golden eyes appeared an almost translucent amber.

As the most gifted member in the history of the snowfluff seal clan.

This was her first day after taking human form.

The process had gone far more smoothly than she had imagined.

She had chosen a night with a full moon to complete the transformation ritual in this sacred lake, which her family had protected for over a hundred years.

She opened her eyes and looked down at the face reflected in the water.

Long pink hair, golden eyes, and features so exquisite that even she was a little surprised.

So this was what she looked like after taking human form.

She smiled at her reflection, and it smiled back. She was pretty, all right, but she felt as though something was missing.

Hmm, maybe my hair just isn't smooth enough yet.

She raised her arms and ran her slender fingers through her hair, gathering the long pink strands to one side and washing them carefully.

She had practiced this motion for a long time.

A little snow leopard's paws couldn't wash hair, but human fingers could, and the sensation of running all five fingers through her hair felt wonderfully novel to her.

She hummed an off-key tune as she washed.

Then she heard the wail.

"Awoo-"

Her fingers froze.

That was her third uncle's voice.

She couldn't have mistaken it.

But the howl just now had been sharp and short.

It was a scream that members of her family only let out when they were in danger.

Then came a second, a third, a fourth-wails rose and fell from the far side of the lake. Every one of them was crying out, and every cry carved a knife into her heart.

They were her family.

Her father, mother, third uncle, second aunt, and all her younger cousins who had yet to take human form.

She had told them to stand guard by the lake for her, because she had no fighting ability during the first three days after taking human form, when she was at her weakest.

And now they were being slaughtered.

Her face went deathly pale in an instant, and overwhelming fury and fear surged in her golden eyes.

"My family."

She bit her lower lip, forcing the words out almost through clenched teeth.

She wanted to rush out, but her limbs were still weak.

Taking human form had drained too much of her strength. As she was now, she was weaker than a kitten.

And that person-the one who had brought down her entire family in mere moments-had to be very powerful.

Just then, she heard footsteps.

Hurried and undisguised, they thudded against the grass as they drew closer and closer to her hiding place.

Her heart leaped into her throat.

He's here.

The murderer who had slaughtered her whole family was coming toward the lake.

What does he want? To search for survivors? Or worse-has he sensed my presence?

Aemeath had no time to think. She gripped the rocks behind her and tucked herself into the most concealed corner of the cove.

The water rose just above her chin. She reached out and pulled down a broad lotus leaf from beside her, holding it over her head to hide most of her face in its shadow. Only her golden eyes remained above the water, fixed on the shore.

Her heart was racing so fast that she could hear her pulse pounding in her ears.

A young man emerged from behind the bushes.

He looked from side to side as he walked, sweeping his gaze over the surrounding scenery before it settled on the lake.

His eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

"Nice scenery here."

Kexi did think the scenery here was nice.

The lake was clear to the bottom, sunlight scattering across its surface like a lakeful of gold. Mountains encircled it in the distance, reeds swayed nearby, and a faint fragrance filled the air.

He didn't know what flowers it came from, but it smelled nice.

If his bladder hadn't been about to burst, he would have liked to sit down and enjoy the view for a while.

Aemeath hid beneath the lotus leaf, her fingers white around its stem.

He's here.

This is the one.

White fluff from her family still clung to his clothes. It was ironclad proof.

He had done it on purpose, just as she thought. He had come specifically for her family.

She stared intently at the man on the shore. Through a gap in the lotus leaves, she saw him standing by the lake and looking down at the water, an expression she couldn't read on his face.

Then the man undid his belt.

Aemeath's pupils dilated sharply.

What's he doing? Is he getting into the water? Has he found me?

Why is he undoing his belt? What is he going to do?

Countless terrifying possibilities flashed through her mind in an instant, each more chilling than the last.

This murderer who killed my whole family-could he also be trying to-

Then a yellow stream shot down from the shore, arcing through the air and landing squarely on the surface of the water less than two feet in front of her.

Aemeath froze.

An utter humiliation.

An absolute, utter humiliation.

He was peeing.

He had killed her entire family, and now he was standing in front of her, peeing at her.

This man had killed her whole family, then brazenly walked to the shore above her hiding place, opened his pants, and peed at her.

Damn it!!!

He must have found me.

He killed my family and then deliberately stood here peeing just to humiliate me.

He knows I'm hiding right below him, knows I don't dare come out, knows I have no way to fight back, so he's using this method,

this most primitive, most vulgar, most unforgivable method,

to proclaim his victory and trample her last shred of dignity.

A warrior may be killed, but not humiliated.

Kexi stood by the lake, immersed in the immense bliss of emptying his bladder.

He squinted at the shimmering water and sighed inwardly.

Then the water in front of him suddenly exploded.

A pink figure shot up from beneath the lotus leaf. The splash sounded like a cannonball hitting the lake, and water poured over his head and face.

Before he could react, he saw a naked, pink-haired girl leap out of the spray, her face as ferocious as a vengeful ghost crawling out of hell, both hands reaching straight for his throat.

"I'll kill you-!!"

Kexi was scared out of his wits.

Before he could even fasten his pants, the pink-haired girl swooped down on him. He lost his balance and fell backward onto the grass, knocking the back of his head and seeing stars.

His pants were still hanging around his knees.

The girl straddled him, both hands clamped tightly around his throat.

Her long, wet hair clung to her body.

Fury and killing intent blazed in her golden eyes, nearly spilling out of them, and one word was written all over her exquisite face-revenge.

"I'll kill you! Kill you! Kill you!" Her voice was shrill and hoarse, her fingers tightening as her nails dug into the skin of his neck.

Kexi felt his windpipe being squeezed bit by bit. Breathing grew harder and harder, and the scene before his eyes began to blur.

He was going to die.