Seeing as the game was over, Yang let out a yawn and looked towards Inuchiyo and Goemon, who seemed to be going through a variety of emotions after witnessing Yin’s transformation for the first time. 

After Yin had finished crushing Tsukiko’s head, she wiped her paw on the ground to clean the blood. 

The sun was rising, so even if Tsukiko somehow miraculously was still alive, she would be burned by it. 

Yin then turned towards Inuchiyo and Goemon. She used her head to gesture for them to follow. 

She was going to lead the way back to camp as she knew that Inuchiyo and Goemon probably didn’t know the way back. 

Yang, on the other hand, could see that Inuchiyo and Goemon were a bit scared of them despite having transformed into beasts themselves. 

He found it amusing and decided to use the chance to boss them around. 

He didn’t want to walk himself all the way back to camp, so he jumped onto Inuchiyo’s head to rest. 

Inuchiyo was a bit startled by this but didn’t do anything and just let things be. 

She had an urge to touch Yang’s fur but was a bit scared to do so. 

Yin noticed Yang’s actions but held her anger inside. 

From what she could tell, she did most of the work while Yang just lazily tagged along. 

Ginryu was going to hear about this from her, and she would be rewarded, which kept her from taking it out on Yang. 

Time seemed to pass quickly as the girls chased after Yin; soon they arrived close to the camp. 

The smell of roasted meat and spices soon assaulted their senses, another scent strongly mingled with it, but Inuchiyo and Goemon couldn’t tell what it was. 

It seemed that a variety of wild animals were attracted by the scent of food but kept away because Tora was there. 

He had marked the area as his territory when he was left to watch the camp by himself. 

“Ah, morning, all. It’s great to see that you all returned safely,” Ginryu greeted as he saw them approaching the camp. 

The girls were a bit stunned at what they saw. There was a large neat pile of what seemed to be animal corpses. 

Their meat and all edible parts had been stripped out, leaving only the inedible parts. 

“Ginryu-sama, what happened?” Goemon asked. 

“Don’t worry about it, come eat,” Ginryu replied. He had made separate portions for each of them. 

Tora had already eaten his share, so he lazily chewed on some bone while laying next to Ginryu. 

“I don’t think we can eat this much,” Inuchiyo said upon seeing their portions. 

“Trust me, this might not even be enough,” Ginryu replied. Inuchiyo and Goemon were a bit confused as they didn’t understand what he meant. 

Both their bellies simultaneously made a grumbling sound suddenly. 

They were a bit embarrassed by this, so they quickly began stuffing their faces with food. 

‘I wonder when they will cancel their transformation, or do they not know how,’ Ginryu wondered as he watched them eat. 

“Hmm,” Ginryu felt a tugging sensation at his feet. Looking down, he saw Yin trying to get his attention. 

“What is it, my beautiful furry princess?” Ginryu asked as he picked her up from the ground. 

Yin had transformed earlier to her bigger form and finished her meal in a flash. 

She then began giving an account of what happened in the fight and she didn’t forget to strongly include Yang’s laziness. 

“So they were able to keep control of their first transformation for that long. That’s a pretty ok outcome. It would have been great if they ate the demon, that way I could tell if they could get stronger by consuming  demons,” Ginryu muttered to himself. 

Yin didn’t seem pleased that he was thinking of something else instead of rewarding her, so she began throwing a tantrum to get his attention. 

“Sorry about that, so what do you want as your reward?” Ginryu asked, his attention now entirely on Yin. 

“Huh, you want to ride on my shoulders till we arrive home, and you don’t want me to carry Yang and Tora even once till then?” Ginryu asked in confirmation of Yin’s request. Yin bobbed her head in reply. 

“Well, I don’t mind, but are you sure that’s all you want?” Ginryu asked, but Yin’s answer remained the same. 

It was an odd request, but Ginryu didn’t mind. The only inconvenience was that he couldn’t wear his straw hat. 

Yang, on the other hand, was rushing through his food. He had sensed that Tora had been eyeing his meal for a while. 

He still hadn’t decided how to get back at Tora for what happened earlier in the morning. 

Both him and Tora remained unaware that Yin had gotten her revenge on both of them at the same time. 

She just watched them smugly from atop Ginryu’s shoulder. 

Tensions were rising between Yang and Tora, who had been slowly crawling towards Yang’s meal. 

It seemed like a fight was about to break out between them but their attention was soon drawn to Yin.

“Meow,” Yin called out to them, pulling their attention towards her. 

Upon seeing Yin perched on Ginryu’s shoulders, Yang and Tora immediately left what they were doing and dashed for Ginryu’s lap, but to their shock, Ginryu blocked them. 

“Sorry, this is Yin’s reward,” Ginryu said. Yin just made a sly grin showing her teeth to them. 

They both complained about their reward, but Ginryu repeated the accounts of what Yin had said. 

It didn’t take them long to realize that they had both been played by Yin. 

While Yang just stood there dejected, Tora sneaked away to enjoy the meal that Yang had left behind. 

He wasn’t as dejected as Yang; he knew he didn’t really do anything and he also got to monopolize Ginryu for a while. There was no loss for him, only rewards.

Soon, everyone had finished eating, and it was time to resume their journey.

"By the way, aren't you girls going to revert back, or do you intend to show the world your new form?" Ginryu finally asked, as it had been bothering him for a while.

"Uhm…" Goemon wanted to say something but it seemed like she had forgotten, so she just covered her face in embarrassment.

"Ahem, our clothes are torn. Plus, we don't know how," Inuchiyo replied, helping Ginryu understand their situation.

Their transformed state covered their bodies in fur, acting as a form of clothing. Reverting would expose their bodies underneath.

"Odd," Ginryu muttered, as he was sure that the transformation and reversion process should be instinctual.

He then proceeded to closely inspect their bodies to see the extent of the changes they had undergone. 

He noticed that Goemon’s transformation had easily broken the light chain vest that she wore underneath for protection, despite her small body.

Goemon’s transformation also seemed to be a specialized type, focusing on speed, agility, and increased reflexes.

Inuchiyo’s transformation, on the other hand, was bulkier and seemed to be more of an all-rounder type.

'They should have the partial transformation and full beast transformation, but that can be explored another time.'

"Here are some spare clothes, hopefully they fit," Ginryu offered after thoroughly inspecting them. 

He had some clothes he had bought for Hikari and Hikaru on hand, and Inuchiyo and Goemon were luckily around that size.

He then gave a brief explanation on how to revert. Soon, the girls were dressed and began dismantling the camp.

………………………………………………………………………………….

Sniff! Sniff!

'Is this what the afterlife smells like?' Yasuhiro pondered as the smell of meat and spices assaulted his senses.

In his dream, he could see Tsukiko roasting his family over a fire while taunting him by devouring their cooked flesh.

As soon as she spotted him, she began chasing him, but no matter how far he ran, she would always catch up until she finally caught him.

"Gah!" Yasuhiro jolted awake from his nightmare.

Frantically, he tried looking around his surroundings but discovered that he couldn’t move his body well. 

Memories of what happened during the night flooded his mind, sinking him into utter despair.

Tears welled up within him until he could no longer hold them back, and he began to cry. 

Regret, anger, shame, and an array of other emotions surged forth from the depths of his being. 

The world had dealt him a bad hand, but his choices had only exacerbated the situation, or so he believed. 

In this moment, the very act of being alive felt more like an embarrassment than an achievement. 

The weight of his existence bore down on him, drowning him in a sea of despair and self-loathing. 

Every breath was a struggle, every heartbeat a painful reminder of his perceived failure to protect that which he held dear. 

The darkness within him threatened to consume him whole, as he grappled with the overwhelming sense of hopelessness that enveloped his soul.