"In just the past few days, dozens of villagers have been attacked by demonic beasts. Some of them… were never seen again."
The cold tone matched the cruelty of the truth.
Seated in the main hall, the head priest of the Yae shrine gazed down at his daughter with chilling indifference.
"While your timely intervention saved many who went to fetch water, this cannot go on. There's only one shrine maiden—but the monsters seem endless."
"Yes… Sakura understands her failure. I'll work even harder to eliminate the beasts!"
As if realizing something, the cherry-haired shrine maiden quickly bowed her head low, her voice full of guilt and desperation.
"I'm not blaming you, Sakura."
The priest's expression remained solemn, though he clearly noticed the girl's trembling. Still, his voice stayed as icy as ever.
"Forget the beasts for a moment. The water source is too far. And worse still, it hasn't rained at all this year. Most of our crops are dying from the drought."
He raised his voice suddenly.
"There's no doubt—this is divine wrath."
The pale-faced man rose from his seat, walked up to Sakura, and looked down at her.
"Sakura, you're an excellent shrine maiden. So I'm sure you already know what must be done."
"I-I… didn't know that…"
Her once soft and clear voice now trembled with terror.
Curling into herself, the young shrine maiden shrank back, her body quivering.
"Very well. Then I'll tell you what needs to be done."
His cold gaze sliced through the trembling girl like a blade. In his hollow eyes flickered a strange, fervent light—fanatical, even.
"A sacrifice!"
"No—! Please, not that again!"
Sakura stared up at him, frozen.
The trauma of the past came rushing back in a flood, drowning her in agony.
She dropped to the floor and pressed her smooth forehead against the cold wooden planks, her voice trembling even more.
"I'll try harder—I'll fight the monsters, I'll help draw water, I'll—"
"Sakura!"
The cruel voice cut her off without mercy. The priest's expression hadn't changed from beginning to end.
"Don't let Rin's sacrifice be in vain."
"Rin…"
A storm of memories flashed through her mind—
A downpour beneath the pitch-black sky.
Villagers dancing and cheering in the rain.
But in her eyes, the raindrops were stained with blood. A body that had gone from warm to cold. Rin's radiant smile—frozen in death.
No. No… I don't want to remember. I don't want to relive it!
Her shoulders curled involuntarily, arms hugging herself tightly, her entire body shaking uncontrollably with fear.
She tried to scream—to cry out—but no sound escaped.
"You already know who the sacrifice is this time, don't you, Sakura?"
In ancient times, when human sacrifices were offered to appease the gods, the victims were often young girls—symbols of purity and hope for the future.
And with Nagami having such androgynous beauty in his soul's manifested form—and considering he was currently walking through Kallen's script, it wouldn't be hard at all for Higokumaru to set his character as female.
The priest reached out and gently patted the girl, who looked seconds away from collapsing.
His eyes remained cold as ever.
Seeing the way Sakura sat motionless, her expression vacant as if her soul had slipped away, the priest hesitated for a moment.
In the end, he merely frowned slightly and walked out of the room.
Leaving behind a girl swallowed by darkness.
A sharp bolt of lightning split the heavens, roaring thunder rumbling deep within heavy storm clouds, casting an oppressive gloom across the sky.
It was hard to say how much time had passed—but warmth returned.
A soft, familiar warmth pulled Sakura back from what felt like an eternal glacier.
Her eyelids fluttered open with difficulty.
Her dazed gaze landed on Nagami's face—exquisite, almost otherworldly, filled with worry.
"Sakura—Sakura? Are you okay?"
His voice was gentle and calm, like an ocean that could embrace everything.
"You don't look well. Did something bad happen?"
Slowly, a bit of light began to return to her hollow eyes.
That's when Sakura realized—she was holding onto Nagami, clinging to him tightly.
"Don't worry. I'll always stay by your side, Sakura."
Nagami held the trembling girl in a warm embrace, as if she were a drowning soul clinging to the only lifeline left.
He gently nuzzled her pale cheek, his hand softly stroking her silky, cherry-colored hair.
"You're not alone. No matter what happens, I'll face it all with you."
Those words, so kind and unwavering, seemed to awaken something deep within Sakura.
A memory surfaced—of a figure in black nun's robes, appearing in her mind not as a fleeting moment, but a lasting presence.
"Nagami-kun…? Kallen…?"
The unexpected name from the shrine maiden's lips caught Nagami by surprise.
Then—he smiled, as if a heavy burden had just lifted from his chest.
Nagami gently pulled away from Yae Sakura's embrace, placing both hands on her shoulders. He looked her straight in the eye—into those soft, pale violet irises.
"No matter what happens, someone will always be there for you!"
Sure, wearing Kallen's identity gave him free license to get close to a beautiful girl like this—and yes, it made winning Sakura's affection incredibly easy.
But that wasn't what Nagami wanted.
This setup didn't feel like a blessing. It felt like a burden—like chains tightening around him.
Relying on someone else's affections to do whatever you pleased?
Tacky.
Shameless.
That's not the path of a true anti-hero!
"Nagami-kun…"
Flecks of crimson flickered in Sakura's clear eyes.
A surge of rage, despair, and revulsion rose from deep within her heart.
If the sacrifice… is Kallen…
If the sacrifice is Nagami-kun…
Without even realizing it, her pale hand had already wrapped around the hilt of her spirit blade at her waist.
Scarlet lines spread along its cherry-colored surface.
A pair of fox ears flickered faintly atop her head.
Kill…
Kill?
KILL.
Seeing the state she was in, even Nagami's expression turned grim.
Higokumaru hadn't made a move—but this wasn't its doing.
This was Sakura willingly drawing upon its power.
She must've known Nagami would never hurt her.
So Higokumaru ignored everything else—focusing entirely on manipulating Sakura's mental state.
Sure, it was a Herrscher from the Previous Era.
But the amount of time it had actually been active outside the stigmata space?
Far less than 50,000 years. Not even 500.
Whether you called her Higokumaru or the Erosion Herrscher "Rin," her psychological age was nowhere near as terrifying as the years she'd technically existed.
Still, being so intimately familiar with the ugliest parts of the human heart, she was no stranger to emotional manipulation.
And this time—faced with a fully awakened Herrscher of Reason—she'd clearly pushed herself to her very limits.
Kill?
Well then…
Let her choose.
"Sakura, no matter what choice you make, I'll stay by your side. Just follow your heart."
That radiant smile—like spring sunshine after a long winter—washed over her.
The blood-red glow in Sakura's eyes slowly began to fade.
She stared at the boy smiling at her with such warmth. That smile… where had she seen it before?
Rin…
The memory of her younger sister's final, brilliant smile resurfaced—softly smothering the treacherous thoughts that had begun to fester in her mind.
Rin…
Kallen… Nagami-kun…
"It's okay, Sister."
'We must've angered the gods. That's why disaster struck so suddenly—because we went too long without offering a proper sacrifice.'
"We promised we'd go see the cherry blossoms together, remember~?"
'Protecting the village is a shrine maiden's duty. As a servant of the divine, there's no room for selfishness.'
"I'm honored that the fox god chose me. Please don't grieve for me, Sister."
'As long as we offer a sacrifice like we used to, no more misfortune will come.'
"Sister, you must become a splendid shrine maiden!"
Conflicting voices—those of a gentle angel and a ruthless demon—echoed endlessly in her ears.
They pounded against her mind like war drums, each phrase louder than the last.
No room to think.
No time to breathe.
The opposing ideas clashed violently in her head, shattering her thoughts and tearing at her will.
"AaaaaaAAHHH!"
Sakura clutched her head in agony, staggering backward.
Her arms trembled, and the hand gripping her blade hung limp and powerless.
She tried her best to hold back a scream, but what came out was no louder than a hoarse whisper—only Nagami, standing right beside her, could hear it.
Staring at the shrine maiden now on the verge of madness, Nagami exhaled slowly—deeply.
His expression turned unusually serious.
He had a very good idea of what had just happened.
Higokumaru…
You little monster.
This isn't something you can make up for with just one fireball spell.
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