Chapter 158: We're Going to Win!
The grim, pale face, like that of a vampire bat that never saw sunlight, now looked as if it had seen a ghost.
The crackling sounds of burning, the panicked cries of villagers, all seemed to vanish, and even the violently leaping, grand flames froze for a moment, like a paused film.
There were two reasons: one was the name uttered by the silver-haired beauty.
—Rin.
A bizarre, energetic fox mask appeared on the middle-aged man's face, and his eyes glowed crimson. Higokumaru, her name exposed, abandoned her pretense as the Shrine Master.
"Who are you?"
She was silent for a while, her tone bone-chillingly cold.
That tone… it was so familiar, truly familiar!
Full of enthusiasm, sweetness, purity, and lightness, it seemed to provoke Higokumaru's nerves wildly with an almost 'DO' like cadence, stirring up past memories.
Knowing herself and that person, could this individual be a human from fifty thousand years ago?
"Haven't I already introduced myself? My name is Bronya Zaychik."
Silver Wing walked step by step towards the Herrscher, switching back to her normal way of speaking.
She was just messing with Higokumaru's mind; that charming, full-of-allure voice could wait until she drew Elysia.
"Perhaps you don't know me, but I know your relationship with Sakura, and I understand what happened to you in the past."
"Regardless of the malicious developments caused by those unknown factors, in terms of facts and outcome, you truly suffered a chilling betrayal; for you, it was an undeserved calamity."
"So, before we begin, I'll give you a chance to surrender."
The silver-haired beauty pressed her lips together, holding a faint smile, her light tone seemingly devoid of any hostility.
"You… human! How arrogant!!!"
Higokumaru felt utterly offended and ridiculed!
This human, how dare she!
How dare she!
How dare she just peel open the scar in the deepest part of her soul that she dared not touch!
Higokumaru recalled all that happened tens of thousands of years ago, and that final battle.
Believed to be the Twelfth Herrscher, she willingly allowed herself to be imprisoned by the Flame-Chasers, only to be brutally murdered by low-ranking soldiers.
Rage, immense rage!
She corrupted the electronic systems, battling with someone for control of a nuclear missile silo. At that time, Rin's consciousness had not yet been completely devoured by her, and she stubbornly ignored the risks to find her sister.
It was her sister's death that gave those people the opportunity to seal her.
At this moment, Higokumaru was no longer that gentle maiden.
However, the maiden named Rin was indeed Higokumaru's past self, a part of who she was now.
Precisely so, Higokumaru clearly recalled the malice she had once faced.
Humanity's inherent depravity, like flowing pus, sent chills down one's spine. She recalled her past fear and despair, which now surged in her soul as flames of vengeance and a tide of murderous intent.
Her power, stirred by emotion, caused her form to suddenly change. Her luxurious attire ripped apart, and her body expanded rapidly.
The Herrscher of Corruption, residing in a human body, transformed in an instant into a white and red fox with four tails.
It was a terrifyingly massive form, large enough to be called a fox demon. It let out a long howl to the sky, and black-red Honkai energy surged out, collapsing the ground and the surrounding buildings…
The shrine collapsed, and fiery debris fell from the shattered eaves, continuing to burn on the ground.
"Just the few of you? That's sheer delusion!"
Waving its four flame-wreathed tails, the fox demon's eyes bulged with rage, and crimson flames spewed forth from its mouth.
"Whoa! This fox is the Herrscher of Corruption from the Previous Era?"
Kiana and Mei, having completed their arson mission, and Bronya, who could only achieve a three-star good citizen rating due to limited map conditions, rushed together to the shrine to rendezvous with Silver Wing.
"Silver Wing, look out!"
However, just as they passed through the multiple torii gates, they sensed an extremely oppressive and corrosive Honkai energy spreading. Running over, they saw the fox demon attacking Silver Wing, and Kiana immediately charged forward with her baseball bat.
As she had said before, Silver Wing was under her protection!
"Watch closely, Silver Wing, this is my…"
"Love!"
Kevin and Siegfried would probably be very pleased.
Kiana actually attempted to counter the Herrscher's flame breath with an ordinary baseball bat, unupgraded by the Herrscher of the Void.
As a result, in the next instant, the flames suddenly exploded, engulfing the white-haired girl.
Amidst the explosive fire and thick black smoke, a slender figure flew smoothly and directly backward.
At this moment, the white-haired girl looked as if she'd been roasted by flames in a comedy manga: her small face was blackened with smoke, and her eyes had become vacant, white circles.
However, upon crashing into a warm and soft embrace, Kiana immediately woke up, shook her head to clear away the black smoke and ash, and with a nonchalant yet genuinely serious concern, asked about the gray-haired beauty behind her.
"Silver Wing, are you alright?"
Silver Wing was silent for half a second, feeling the white-haired girl rubbing against her chest, and paid no mind to Kiana taking advantage of the situation.
"I'm fine."
The silver-haired beauty shook her head, a slightly peculiar expression on her face, and glanced at Kiana's trembling hand: "You, on the other hand, aren't hurt, are you?"
"I'm fine, just my clothes got a little dirty."
Enduring the urge to grimace and the pain in her body, Kiana nodded dismissively.
To Silver Wing: merely a slightly dirty hem.
To Mei: just a bit of wear and tear.
If Sirin were to awaken, she would probably hear Kiana internally wailing wildly, 'W-w-whoa, I was just scared to death, I thought I was almost a goner!'
"Kiana, are you really okay?"
"Okay my foot, you idiot Kiana, what kind of showboating was that!?"
Two figures rushed over, directly grabbing Kiana's arms, one on each side, lifted her up, accelerated into a sprint, and ran backward.
As they were in a consciousness space, and due to frequently using Silver Wing's emotionally healthy body and experiencing cleared emotional impacts, Bronya merely habitually maintained a lack of emotion. However, when she truly couldn't hold back, she would show clear emotional fluctuations.
Just like now.
Bronya, ironically, had thought Kiana was very brave when she rushed forward, only for her to charge in and retreat in one smooth, utterly embarrassing motion!
After helping Kiana retreat, Raiden Mei drew her greatsword, Raikiri, and stood in front of Kiana. Meeting the crimson, frantic beast eyes of the sinister fox demon, she felt a slight tightness in her chest.
Undoubtedly, it was a classic plot: a party of heroes eliminating an evil boss.
But usually, shouldn't one level up before fighting a boss?
Having not undergone the Third Eruption and awakened Herrscher powers, the current Mei was merely a novice who had only recently begun to learn how to use Honkai energy, albeit one with slightly stronger swordsmanship.
Looking at the shattered buildings and ground, Bronya remained expressionless for now.
Most of her combat power was reliant on Project Bunny, but facing a Herrscher with the authority of corruption, using technological constructs was essentially aiding the enemy.
If she were to go in alone, she didn't possess the abnormal physique of the Kaslana family; a single blast from the fox demon would truly turn her into a roasted Bronya!
"Hmph, ants!"
Seeing the performance of The Trio, Higokumaru cast a gaze filled with disdain and contempt, yet she could not hide the rage within it.
"With such paltry strength, you dare to oppose a deity?"
"Just… just this?!"
Originally, Higokumaru had maintained a degree of vigilance towards this group, wondering if they might be strong, especially since her condition wasn't good. But now, it seemed her caution was entirely unnecessary.
Higokumaru gained confidence—'We're going to win!'
"To use such direct means to destroy Yae Village, are you that eager to become my puppets?"
Higokumaru's demonic voice resounded, accompanied by a joyful cackle.
"You wish to defeat me in my Stigmata World?"
This was Yae Sakura's Stigmata Space, and due to Higokumaru's prolonged symbiosis and power of corruption with Yae Sakura, she had become another master of this Stigmata Space.
This was her home ground!
How can fish caught in a net contend with the hunter?
"You are not the only master of the Stigmata Space."
Silver Wing glanced at The Trio, who were standing ready for battle, but merely smiled faintly, unconcerned.
"Are you talking about Yae Sakura?"
The cruel Higokumaru let out a sharp, piercing laugh, as if she had heard something utterly ridiculous.
Indeed, joining forces with the other master of the Stigmata Space, that is, collaborating with Yae Sakura to fight her, would increase their chances of winning.
Originally, if these people had slowly followed her script, there might have been a slim chance of success.
But by adopting such an extreme and crude approach, it would be utterly impossible to gain Yae Sakura's help!
On the contrary, if Yae Sakura, in her unconscious state, were to learn that this group was the culprit behind burning the mountains, killing people, and destroying the village, she might even join Higokumaru in fighting them.
However, that was in her unconscious state.
Intense combat could potentially awaken Yae Sakura. Therefore, Higokumaru had currently put Yae Sakura into a dormant state.
"Not Yae Sakura, but another."
These words made the grinning Higokumaru freeze for a moment. Another master of the Stigmata Space? "How is that possible!?"
"That would be you, Rin."
Silver Wing bent down as if to pick up a stone, then suddenly threw it towards the four-tailed fox demon.
Higokumaru did not dodge; instead, she watched the silver-haired beauty with an incredulous gaze. Surely this human didn't think throwing a stone could harm her, did she?
However, Higokumaru quickly noticed something unusual: it wasn't an ordinary stone, but a square stone block imprinted with two intertwined white tigers.
The stone emitted a white glow, yet Higokumaru didn't sense any Honkai energy or power that could threaten her.
The moment the stone struck the fox demon, to Higokumaru's bewildered expression, she felt as if she was being torn apart by a strange force.
"Roar~!"
The separated light and shadow: one remained the terrifying and ferocious fox demon, its body wreathed in black flames fueled by hatred and resentment.
Opposite it was a girl of about fourteen or fifteen, with beautiful, vibrant cherry-colored long hair tied into a ponytail, and delicate, small oval cheeks adorned with cherry-like thin lips.
She wore a red and white off-shoulder miko outfit, black shorts, a shimenawa tied at her waist, and flame-patterned stockings covering her beautiful feet clad in geta.
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