Chapter 157: Higokumaru: Are You the Herrscher, or Am I the Herrscher?
Yae Shrine.
The pink-haired miko knelt in the shrine's main hall, her white stockings revealing a tender pink hue beneath, making one subtly question.
Why would a miko in the Warring States period be wearing stockings?
But the miko clearly wasn't pondering such questions; instead, she listened intently to her father's teachings from the main seat.
Unlike most miko, the miko of Yae Shrine were not primarily focused on ritual techniques or Kagura dances. Their utmost focus was actually on combat skills.
"In the past three days, seven people have been attacked by demons, and three have unfortunately perished by their fangs. Although the villagers who went out for water survived thanks to your care, the demons are becoming increasingly active. This cannot continue."
The village had been short on water for some time, and villagers had to fetch water daily. During their journeys, they were attacked by demons, necessitating the miko's escort and intervention to hunt and slay the monsters.
"Aside from the troublesome demons, the river outside the village is somewhat distant, and it hasn't rained for several months. I believe you can also see the signs of drought; many crops are withering on a large scale due to lack of water."
Fetching water was, in fact, only a minor inconvenience. The truly troubling matter was the ominous precursor of this drought.
"It's not just the crops that need water; everyone's lives depend on it, and you cannot exterminate all the demons."
"With the coming of drought and demons, many people will die.
"Sakura, I think you should be ready, shouldn't you?"
Enumerating the various crises and implications, the Yae Shrine Master looked coldly at Yae Sakura.
"—A ritual!"
For a long time, the difficulties faced by Yae Village had always been resolved by the deity enshrined in the shrine.
Simply offering a pure girl as a sacrifice would cause the deity to bestow blessings, ensuring bountiful harvests and good fortune.
The villagers contentedly enjoyed the favorable weather conditions obtained at the cost of human lives.
"But, Father, wasn't a ritual already performed recently?"
Hearing this, Yae Sakura subconsciously clenched her fists, a shadow gradually creeping across her pretty face, and she spoke urgently, pressing her hands to her head.
Not much time had passed since the last ritual concluded.
"The last offering was defiled."
After the ritual, the village remained in a prolonged drought. The villagers instinctively concluded that the previous offering had not been a pure maiden, which was why the drought had not abated.
Without receiving the offering on time, the deity became enraged and ceased protecting the village, leading to the proliferation of demons.
"To appease the deity's wrath, the next ritual must be performed immediately."
The pale, bloodless-faced middle-aged man spoke with cold indifference, utterly devoid of emotion.
"This time, the offering is…"
Before the name was uttered, Yae Sakura felt a bone-chilling cold wash over her, causing her to instinctively wrap her arms around herself, trembling uncontrollably.
Even without hearing the name of the offering, she vaguely seemed to know who it was.
"Rin."
The middle-aged man revealed a chilling expression, his words piercing Yae Sakura's heart like a cold blade.
To compensate for the impurity of the last offering, the villagers collectively requested the Yae Shrine Master to use a miko's bloodline as a sacrifice to appease the deity.
The miko's bloodline referred to Yae Sakura's family. Unlike Yae Sakura, her younger sister, Yae Rin, had been frail and sickly since childhood, making her undoubtedly the best candidate for the offering.
"No, don't! That… please… don't!"
The kneeling miko pressed her forehead against the floor, which was as cold as her body temperature, as sounds of terror and alarm barely escaped her throat.
Witnessing the miko's desperate and pained posture, the middle-aged man remained not only indifferent but a faint glint even appeared in his hollow eyes:
"The ritual is in its preparatory phase; there are still a few days left. Make your preparations."
Much later.
Watching Yae Sakura leave the shrine like a zombie, the middle-aged man's lips curved into a cunning smile, like a fox toying with its prey.
Higokumaru, the Herrscher of Corruption from the Previous Era, was now overjoyed!
The reason wasn't simply admiring Yae Sakura's agonizing despair; after all, she had witnessed Yae Sakura in similar states over a hundred times.
What truly delighted her was that someone in the outside world had touched the black box that sealed her!
Five hundred years, it had been five hundred years!
Did you know how she spent those five hundred years!?
At this thought, Higokumaru couldn't help but become somewhat exasperated.
She hadn't expected that after five hundred years of torment, the miko's will could still persist so stubbornly.
Each time, just as it seemed on the verge of collapse, she managed to endure, always giving Higokumaru hope of a complete invasion, only for it to fail again.
This cycle repeated, making Higokumaru feel as wretched as if she had eaten excrement.
By now, Yae Sakura's despairing expressions barely managed to stir her emotions.
Fortunately, oh fortunately, a fish had finally touched the unbaited hook. Higokumaru, without a moment's hesitation, dragged them into the Stigmata Space!
With the black box's seal in place, she first had to crush the opponent's consciousness within the Stigmata Space before she could fully invade and occupy their body.
Once her consciousness emerged, absorbed enough Honkai energy, and recovered her state, she would then directly use absolute power to invade Yae Sakura, the one she had spent five hundred years consuming!
Turning Sakura into her exclusive puppet!
To Higokumaru's surprise, so many people had entered at once. But that wasn't bad; at least she had options.
She could choose a relatively superior body.
Unfortunately, those four were not ordinary people, otherwise she could have simply acted to seize and usurp them.
She could sense the strength of the four individuals' consciousnesses. If she were at her peak, Higokumaru would naturally have no fear and would simply rush in to finish them.
But having not replenished her energy for hundreds of years, and having kept the Stigmata Space in constant reincarnation, her condition was not good.
It was best to be cautious.
Therefore, Higokumaru advanced the ritual plot and informed Yae Sakura in advance that the offering would be her younger sister, Rin.
Once those individuals entered the village, she would tell Sakura that outsiders could replace Rin as the offering. Even if Sakura felt reluctance, she would surely act.
She would let Sakura be her blade, to first wear down or even eliminate those few people, and then she would act herself to completely corrupt them.
Afterward, the ritual plot would continue to be re-enacted, with Rin still as the sacrificial character. Even if Sakura's hands were stained with the blood of innocents, she still wouldn't be able to protect her sister.
This accumulation of guilt and despair might even break Yae Sakura in the end.
"Come quickly, my adorable new toys."
As she thought, Higokumaru revealed a smile of complete control.
A plan to kill two birds with one stone, simply a perfect script!
"Humans, your nightmare is returning!"
With an expression of frenzied excitement, Higokumaru's heart swelled with fury and infinite hatred. Once she was liberated, she would surely annihilate all of humanity.
However, the middle-aged man, who was just fantasizing about a bright future, suddenly sniffed like a fox and furrowed his brow.
Higokumaru smelled a strange odor.
It seemed like the smell of burnt fried tofu. Wait, burnt?
Higokumaru, realizing what was happening, sprang up like a coiled spring, strode rapidly out of the shrine's main hall, stood on the bluestone slab, and then suddenly widened her eyes.
"This is!"
She saw ancient trees in distant mountain forests and the crops planted in farms withering in flames. The village was also burning, being destroyed, and wails and screams echoed through heaven and earth.
Fire was wantonly consuming everything, thick black smoke billowing upwards, seemingly covering the sky.
"What's going on!?"
Higokumaru was utterly dumbfounded.
As the Herrscher of Corruption, she could theoretically perceive everything within the Stigmata Space, and indeed, she could do so at this very moment.
However, maintaining that state consumed a lot of energy. She had no way to replenish Honkai energy, and the energy she did recover had to sustain the reincarnation illusion, so she saved it whenever possible.
There was no need to constantly monitor everything externally, even the few consciousnesses she had dragged into the Stigmata Space.
Randomly arriving in an unfamiliar environment and discovering a village, you'd surely enter to investigate the situation, wouldn't you?
And interact with the villagers, right?
Using the esteemed Yae Shrine Master as her avatar, she could secretly manipulate everything, guiding the story towards the script she had written.
But now, something seemed to have gone wrong.
"What in the world happened!?"
This was no time to conserve energy. Higokumaru immediately used her power of corruption to sense the changes within the Stigmata Space. Then, she saw…
A white-haired girl, shouting "Wuhu~ Set the mountains on fire, rot in jail!," was gleefully running through the forest with a torch, setting fires here and there.
A gentle-looking black and purple-haired girl, like a Yamato Nadeshiko, was muttering "I'm sorry!" "My apologies!" while bowing to the crops and simultaneously setting them alight with a torch.
An expressionless gray-haired loli was setting fires everywhere in the village. When villagers tried to stop her, they were blasted to smithereens by a steel behemoth standing in front of the girl.
Flames spewed from the behemoth's cannon muzzle, joining the arson squad.
Flames erupted everywhere. Yae Sakura, shaken by the news that her sister would be the next offering, was temporarily pulled from her despair by the sudden chaos.
Yae Sakura first went home, carried her sister out, and brought her to a wide, safe area. Then, she joined the villagers in fighting the fire and searching for its source.
Perceiving the changes in the Stigmata Space and the reason for the fires, Higokumaru became utterly bewildered!
No, what is wrong with you guys?
It's one thing to not follow the script.
But why are you starting arson and murder without even a greeting!?
Higokumaru began to question her life choices.
Especially the gray-haired loli in the village, what she was doing wasn't just arson and murder; she was essentially treating Yae Village as Los Santos, striving to become a five-star good citizen.
Seeing this, Higokumaru couldn't help but lean back in disbelief.
So ruthless?
Are you the evil Herrscher, or am I the evil Herrscher!?
Compared to the attitude of the Fourth Calamity towards game NPCs, Herrschers were still far kinder to humans.
However, Higokumaru's bewilderment did not last long.
She sensed the presence of the last consciousness. Thick smoke began to rise around the shrine. A tall, voluptuous silver-haired beauty, wearing shield-shaped leg rings, her shapely legs taking lazy strides, walked through the raging flames.
"Let me think…"
"Should the opening line be something like this?"
The silver-grey curly-haired beauty pressed a finger to her lips, and her rising lips formed a meaningful tone:
"You must be Ling, right? Nice to meet you~!"
"My name is Bronya. As you can see, I am a beautiful maiden, splendid as scattered blossoms."
This enthusiastic attitude made Higokumaru's pupils contract, revealing a ghost-stricken expression.
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