"For the last time Miss Kiana, no means no!"
"Aunt Theresa, Mei-senpai, and grumpy Adam are in danger and you don't want to do anything!" Kiana screamed.
Dr. Margot wondered for the umpteenth time how it was possible that Alighieri and Raiden would tolerate and get along with the childish and stubborn girl Kaslana.
And she asked herself again why she continued working as a doctor in this academy. A nest of hormones, barely decent and slow pay, along with sleepless or high-horny staff.
Of course, the good pay and the fear and respect he felt towards his real boss.
"Miss Kiana, as I told you less than five minutes ago, your friends are deeply linked to the unknown Stigma in the director's body. If we cut off the dive at this point, everyone involved has a high chance of ending up in a vegetative state," Margot explained in frustration.
"Then why didn't he say any of this an hour ago?!"
"Subject Kiana idiotka asks a good question, doctor," Bronya added, speaking for the first time in a long time.
"Because none of you should be here and have further complicated the secrecy of the fucking mission!" Margot screamed in her head, pursing her lips as the only projection of her thoughts.
"Because this shouldn't have happened. Schicksal has the latest in technology, not to mention that it has been decades of research and progress to have safety measures and avoid tragedies during a dive."
She rubbed her temple and took a deep breath. She would definitely find the person responsible for complicating the mission. Once she did, she would poison her with multiple laxatives. Fuck the bastard!
"I understand your concern. I really do, ladies, but you must understand that Principal Theresa's situation is abnormal. Something like this has never been documented before."
Of course, the doctor was not going to reveal the similarity of this situation with the multiple failures and terrible experiments of the first dives, where the poor bastards ended up with exploding heads, strokes, mental breakdowns, and identity crises. Such disasters were kept under lock and key.
Getting back to the point, the situation was not good at all, although the fact that the director was still alive and that the boy had not yet pulled out his claws to fight said that there was still a chance for them to solve this.
"Then do something instead of wasting time on that tablet!" Kiana shouted, glaring at the doctor.
Margot didn't respond. She pressed a series of commands and handed the tablet to Kiana.
"What is this?" The girl did not understand any of the information that appeared on the screen.
"That, Miss Kiana, are the vital signs of the director and her friends, as well as their neural activity and information about the current situation. Since all this started, I contacted Schiksal headquarters and have been sending this data every ten minutes, as protocol demands. The only thing I can do at the moment is monitor them and send this information while HQ sends its experts and best equipment to deal with the situation."
It took a couple of minutes for Kiana to understand the doctor's words.
"So the only thing we can do for the moment is sit and wait for help to arrive?"
Dr. Margot nodded.
Kiana opened her mouth, but Bronya gently took her arm and shook her head. Kiana exhaled in defeat.
"I-I'm sorry, doctor," Kiana apologized.
Margot smiled, accepting Kaslana's apology, but inside she couldn't help but wonder what her reaction would be if she really knew what was at stake.
"Once I've dealt with this, I'm going to get drunk until I can't remember my name. Fuck the morning shift!"
"That? That can not be possible…"
Theresa responded, taken aback by Adam's words. And she wasn't the only one, Mei had taken a couple of steps back, beginning to feel true horror since the terrible beginning of the dive.
"A-Adam-kun? B-But how is that possible? I-I believed that for a Herrscher to be born, there must be a great concentration of Honkai energy."
Adam nodded. "That's how it is. "I don't understand how this is possible without Schicksal having gone on high alert given the destruction caused by the birth of a Herrscher." Adam bit his tongue as Mei flinched. It wasn't his intention to remind her of what happened in Nagazora, but it was the harsh truth.
"So, maybe you got it wrong, Adam-kun?" Mei hoped that was the case, but Adam shook his head.
"I would like to say yes, but I'm afraid not. On very few occasions has my power failed me when it comes to Honkai."
"And won't this be one of those times, Adam?" Theresa asked, hoping this was the case.
"That feeling that the Third Herrscher gave me is one of those things that one never forgets or confuses, director." Adam shook his head. "Even though I was crazy because my powers ran rampant, that feeling that ran down the back of my neck never stopped until the Herrscher was contained."
"Damn it," Theresa said quietly.
She couldn't help but feel how everything was getting worse. Slippery students, who got into things they shouldn't have? Nothing that a good punishment couldn't solve. Performing miracles when St. Freya's budget was almost in the red? Tedious and stressful, but there would be money at the end of the month. A rebellious stigma? Worrying, and even more so with her students in the line of fire, but there would be a solution to it.
But a Herrscher in the Stigma?
If this was true, the last thing Theresa wanted in the world was for her students -too young and green! - fight against a Herrscher. They were far from ready to face something like this.
" Director Theresa… What do we do?" Mei asked.
Theresa looked at her and the worry and fear that the young black-haired woman felt were very clear. Considering her status as a Herrscher and the last experience she had at being one, Theresa didn't blame her for feeling overwhelmed.
"Most likely the doctor supervising the dive will have already realized what is happening and she must have already contacted Schicksal HQ for support," Theresa explained, giving a smile, trying to ease her student's worries.
Not to mention that she hoped that this would be the case.
"What I don't understand is, how did a damn Herrscher manage to sneak into the Stigma without anyone noticing?" Adam commented quietly, but Theresa and Mei heard him and turned to look at him.
Seeing their looks, he explained.
"The presence of a Herrshcer is not something easy to hide. Schicksal would have already picked up on the spike of energy one produces and my powers would have warned me even before the dive. This scenario reminds me of that shitty morning in Nagazora."
Adam bit his left thumb, in frustration and worry. "Doctor Margot said that the mission took place in Nagazora. The remaining energy could have formed a pseudo- Herrscher in place, but a Herrscher?"
"It's one of the concerns many in Shicksal have when there is a large residual amount of Honkai left in an area after an outbreak, Adam," Theresa interrupted. "Just because your powers didn't allow you to perceive it before, doesn't mean this can't happen."
Theresa's explanation was logical. But even so, Adam could feel that this was said in reproach to him for thinking that his powers were a sure guarantee.
Whatever the case, he would leave that thought for later. What he now had to focus on was getting out of there alive along with his companions.
Adam nodded.
"Is there a plan, director?"
Theresa closed her eyes and looked at the scene they were on. After a few minutes, she responded.
"The confrontation with the Herrscher may be more than inevitable. I don't like this at all, but at this point, maybe it's the only option we have left."
For a second Adam thought about shouting that this was an excellent opportunity to attack the Herrscher and kill it before it became stronger. But, there was one detail that he had overlooked. Theresa was the new Herrscher's unwitting host. He and Mei had a chance to get out of the dive, but that would mean leaving the director alone against the Herrscher. Adam also had to not forget that the Remnant was inside Theresa, slowly devouring her body.
Theresa was between a rock and a hard place, and if she fell, the repercussions would be beyond terrible.
But there was something he didn't understand: why hadn't Dr. Margot canceled both of their dives since communications had ceased? It had been hours. Adam asked Theresa. Her response made him curse more this day.
"When one takes a dive into a faulty Stigma, there is a risk of minds becoming deeply linked to the Stigma. If the connection is lost, there is a risk that their minds will become trapped in the Stigma, without the possibility of returning to their bodies." Theresa sighed heavily. "That's why I'm not happy you're here, kids. Normally a dive is carried out by a team of experts on the subject, and with the best technology that Schicksal can offer, and not with what they have put together at the last moment to be here."
Mei and Adam couldn't help but gulp, understanding the deadly implications of the dive.
"Dr. Margot was right. This whole thing is about to turn into a terrible cluster fuck of epic proportions."
Bullets, beast claws, explosions, and severe body trauma? Easy to deal with his gift.
Brain damage from using technology equivalent to a toaster? He was beyond screwed.
"So… Our only options are to wait for Margot-sensei to send help or face the new Herrscher?" Mei asked, pursing her lips in anxiety.
Theresa opened her mouth for a second and then closed it, choosing to nod in resignation.
"God fucking damn it," Adam cursed under his breath.
Theresa snorted in response.
"As? How is this possible?!" The village chief thought furiously, smashing the small wooden table in front of him.
He had retreated to one of the most secluded rooms within the sanctuary. As soon as he had closed, it had taken him monumental strength not to take on his true form and end everything in his path.
"Sakura and that Kaslana brat took down that abominable creature. How is it possible that something like that is here?!"
The last thing he remembered was seeing the creature being violently cut into pieces by the Kaslana. Speaking of the creature, he couldn't help but growl again as he remembered the humiliating defeat at the hands of that abomination.
Grotesque and clumsy, but he hated to admit that the thing had some ingenuity in attacking its prey.
"Where did that thing come from again? Were there more like that? Posing like a human?"
Whatever Sakura had done in her stupid emotional moment, it had not only granted him a new host but also allowed him to see the memories of the Kaslana brat. Not absolute access to these, but a quick look at what she had seen in the last few hours.
He had learned a little more about the reasons why the damn humans had sent the stupid Kaslana brat to that filthy pit of a city. Under other circumstances, he would have applauded the fact that the abomination had killed several soldiers from the same organization that he had had to endure all those years ago.
Anyway, what worried him most was the way that thing - posing like a human -had acted perfectly like one of them.
"Not only was there intelligence in his gaze, he looked ready to fight."
At first, he saw the presence of humans as something not worth worrying about, but, the moment he had felt the presence of the abomination -minimal and less terrible than that of the horrible creature with which he had fought to the death -a large part of him was determined to abandon this pathetic human form and dismember the abomination in front of him at all costs. The other human girl's scream had surprisingly brought him back to his senses, and not only that, the thing seemed to be confused by what had happened.
Either way, the human girl had given him the perfect opportunity to back off and plan how to deal with the abomination. A frontal attack would be dangerous, he had no idea what the thing was capable of if it had been able to maintain a human form all this time and fool its companions -or walking lunch boxes?
"Although, I wonder, why hadn't Sakura noticed it before?"
He knew of Sakura's sensitivity to detect Honkai energy around her, as well as in those people afflicted by it. Despite this, she had failed to perceive the truly horrendous and nauseating nature of the abomination.
"If it weren't for me, that idiot would have become food for that thing."
Sakura had called him a calamity and a demon. Ha! The damn girl owed him a lot for using his powers in the bloody confrontation and enduring the worst of the fight.
Frustratingly, the influence of his powers on the Stigma was limited - for now - but the human imbeciles operating in this place not only obeyed his every command but also passed him information on the pink-haired Miko's location as soon as he asked for it. Posing as the village chief had given him many benefits as he took care of his energy and prepared to take over the body of the Kaslana brat.
Speaking of Sakura, where was she? The last time he saw her was when the group of humans and the abomination took her to another part of the sanctuary.
"Knowing the silly girl, she must be in 'that place'."
He got up and walked quickly through the halls of the place. In a matter of seconds, he was outside and headed to the back of the sanctuary, to the edge of the forest.
"So here you were," he said dryly, stopping a couple of meters from Sakura.
She was kneeling in front of a stone tablet at the edge of the temple. Her forehead touched the dry grass while her hands held her head firmly. He noticed how her body trembled slightly, but there was no sound coming from her.
"As pathetic as you are, I must admit that you know how to keep your mask on even in your most vulnerable moments," he complimented her mentally. But still, he could see that she was more than on the verge of having a mental breakdown. If he were an idiot, he would have used his original form to goad her into starting the massacre that the damned Kaslana barely had stopped all those years ago.
However, the time he had spent with her locked in that prison and trying to destroy her will had given him great insight into how the Miko's mind worked.
So…
" Daisuke, Saburo, and Hiyoshimaru passed away this morning. Their bodies could no longer withstand hunger and disease," he reported without any hint of sympathy.
"And it wasn't just the three of them, the twins and five other people perished because of the bear that you failed to destroy in time, Miko-sama."
The village chief crossed his arms and looked with contempt at Sakura, who had not raised her head, despite the insulting comment. Oh, he knew she heard him, but she preferred to ignore her as she lamented in front of that old grave.
"Five died two days ago, and ten today. There is no sign of this terrible drought ending. "Some of the crops have shown signs of being contaminated and the beasts have attacked the village more than usual."
Sakura kept her head on the ground, her body had stopped shaking.
"I must say, Miko-sama, if this is not a sign that everything is getting worse, I don't know what it takes for you to understand that the ritual of offering is our only way to satisfy the gods."
Sakura still had her head on the ground.
"I guess I have to apply a little pressure."
"Miko-sama, I understand that you are trying to do right by the outsiders. It is an extremely noble action. But…"
"Ah! Yes, this will help."
"But the lives of all the villagers depend on us and our actions," his voice grew hoarse. "And that means that sometimes we have to make difficult decisions. Even having to do things that seem aberrant to others."
"A little more excitement…"
"I am aware that outsiders have nothing to do with the evil that plagues our village, Miko-sama. Still, if this means giving their lives to protect the village, so be it."
"And for the final touch…"
"Rin. She, better than anyone, knew the meaning of her sacrifice, Mi-Sakura," he finished saying in a fragile tone, something he had never done in front of the Miko.
"So, please…" He took a deep breath and:
"Don't let her sacrifice be in vain."
After his words, a long silence fell between them. The only thing you could hear was the chirping of the crickets and the passing of the wind through the leaves of the trees. It seemed that his words had had an effect, but he knew that it took a little time for them to make the Miko reconsider.
After all, he knew about the promise between the two sisters and how much it meant to Sakura.
True to her thoughts, Sakura stood up and wiped the tears from her face.
"I- I will do it. For Rin and for the village," Sakura said, her expression broken but a palpable resolve in her eyes.
Oh, he fought with all his might not to split his face with a cruel smile and laugh out loud at hearing this.
"Thank you, Miko-sama. Your devotion will never be forgotten."
"Not even your fragile and stupid heart! HAHAHAHA!"
He was getting closer to his goal. Only he needed to take more precautions to avoid complications and get rid of the abomination on two feet.
CONNECTING…
CONNECTING…
CONNECTION FORMED.
WELCOME ADMINISTRATOR.
UNIDA HAURES IS READY AND IN COORDINATION WITH THE OTHER ELEMENTS TO CARRY OUT THE PROTOCOL [PURGATIO LUX].
[REDACTED.]
NEGATIVE. MEASURES HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO AVOID INTERVENTIONS BY THIRD PARTIES.
[REDACTED.]
AFFIRMATIVE. IF NECESSARY, THE MATERIAL AND DATA HAVE BEEN DISSEMINATED TO AVOID NEGATIVE REPERCUSSIONS.
[REDACTED.]
ADMINISTRATOR, KNOWING THE SITUATION, IT IS RECOMMENDED TO START-
[REDACTED.]
UNDERSTOOD.
HAURES UNIT WILL BE KEPT READY FOR ANY CHANGES.
[REDACTED.]
DISCONNECTING…
DISCONNECTING…
DISCONNECTED.
The moon and stars had risen in the sky, plunging the town into darkness. Despite this, the moonlight barely offered enough to be able to see a few meters away. Problematic for anyone.
"Fast. We must be quick," said a woman wearing a fox mask with a mark on her forehead, her voice barely a whisper in the silence that had invaded the residential interior of the sanctuary.
But not for the local servants, who barely made a sound with their footsteps. Their steps were quick and silent like the night breeze.
In a few minutes, they were in front of the door of the room where the three strangers who would save the village from calamity lay.
Slowly, one of them gently slid the door open, trying not to make any noise. Once the door was opened, four servants entered through the door and stood in front of each of the futons that the strangers occupied.
Two of the servants had stopped in front of the longest futon. They both carried two tantō, unsheathed and ready for use. Their orders had been clear. They were to kill the male outsider. The village chief had said that he would only bring trouble if he was kept alive.
The servants exchanged glances and nodded. Fluently, two of the servants uncovered the two futons occupied by the foreign women and the other two stabbed their companion's head and body.
To the servants' surprise, the only noises in the room were the tearing of fabrics and their own gasps of surprise as they realized that none of the strangers were in the room.
Just blankets piled, where the outsiders must have been sleeping.
"It just can't be! Someone go to the chief and tell him that the outsiders have escaped-"
The servant fell, knocked out on the tatami floor, courtesy of a strong blow to the head. The other members turned around in alarm but were quickly suppressed by knockout punches or holds.
"It turned out better than I expected," Adam said, dropping the unconscious body of a servant.
"Honestly, I was afraid it wouldn't work," Mei commented a little embarrassed, gently putting one of her attackers on the ground.
The three of them had tiptoed into the next room. Sneaking out and ambushing the servants at the first chance.
"We were very lucky that none of them saw us leave the rooms before nightfall," Theresa added. "It was a risky plan, but… well."
Adam shrugged.
After piling the bodies in the corner of the room, Adam carefully poked his head through the door, sharpening his senses to know if more surprises were awaiting them. To their good luck, there were no more servants ready to pounce on them.
Seeing this as a great opportunity, the three quickly snuck out of the shrine, opting to head into the forest rather than enter the village. Both had their advantages and disadvantages. The forest would at least give them a chance to hide and use the environment to their advantage.
"The outsiders are escaping!"
Adam cursed when he saw one of the servants in the distance waving his hands frantically and shouting to get the attention of the others.
"Mei, run!" Adam shouted, scooping Theresa into his arms and running into the woods. Mei followed closely.
A bustle was generated throughout the sanctuary, followed by the shouts and demands of the villagers.
Adam and Mei jumped or dodged roots and branches at their frenetic pace. Running in the woods was dangerous, especially at night, but nothing compared to whatever the Herrscher and his lackeys planned for the three of them.
On more than one occasion, Mei almost stumbled but managed to correct herself at the last second thanks to her quick reflexes. In all her life, she had never had to run through the foliage and unevenness of the path in a forest.
Adam turned now and then to see if she was following him, and Mei noticed that he slowed down a little every time it seemed like she was going to fall. Despite the fear of the moment, Mei couldn't help but feel some frustration when she saw this, but she quickly squashed this feeling when she understood why.
"Unlike me, Adam-kun has been traveling for much of his life. He knows more about walking in the wild than I do."
Despite this, the fear of being caught and the seriousness of the situation were excellent teachers for Mei to maintain the pace and with fewer stumbles as the seconds passed.
The voices became increasingly distant, but in the distance, they could hear how more people joined the mob and how they cried out for them.
"Grab them!"
"The gods have spoken!"
"Don't let them escape!"
"Without them, our people will die!"
None of the three could help but feel chills as they heard the desperation in their words. Despite the speed at which they were running, the trio could hear more villagers joining the mob that was chasing them. Their screams could be heard getting closer. Despite constantly shouting, their throats did not become hoarse nor did their breaths seem to falter. What's more, they screamed with greater intensity!
"Shit! We're supposed to be faster than them," Adam glanced back. To his astonishment, the villagers began to gain ground in their race to catch them. How was this possible? He knew that the human body could do wonders but on the same level as a Valkyrie? The idea itself was ridiculous.
"Stigma doesn't follow the same physical laws as reality," Theresa responded, raising her voice enough for Mei to hear. "A rare Stigma like this can simulate reality, even manipulate some of its laws," she watched as the villagers got closer and closer. She tightened her grip on Adam's jacket. "So things can get a little weird."
Upon hearing the new information about the Stigma, Adam swallowed in concern, having a slight idea what she meant.
"How much can you manipulate in a Stigma?"
They entered a clearing and-
"Where do you think you are going, dear guests?"
'The village chief,' standing not far from them, asked in a mocking tone.
Adam and Mei stopped dead
in their tracks.
"What?"
"Don't fuck with me…"
Mei and Adam couldn't believe what just happened. A few minutes ago they were fleeing the village through the forest behind the shrine, only to return to the side of it?!
"But-but we were running in a straight line…" Mei said perplexed. "How is it possible?
"Manipulate reality," Adam growled, worried and angry that they had fallen into the Herrscher's game. Who knows how far it could manipulate the Stigma?
Tension grew as they found themselves surrounded by the large crowd of villagers who had chased them through the forest -now armed with sticks, farm tools, and the occasional sword. They shouted or sang, happy that they had managed to corner them. Some were even panting. They didn't look like desperate humans, no, they looked more like a pack of wild beasts hungry for their prey.
"The offering must be carried out!"
"Finally! Finally! No more torment for our village!"
"The gods have allowed us to redeem ourselves!"
"Death to outsiders! Long live the village!"
" Director Theresa…" Mei whispered in fear. Theresa nor Adan blamed her.
"My people! On this glorious night, we will sacrifice the strangers so that the gods may smile upon us and put an end to the calamity that has befallen our prosperous people!" The village chief declared triumphantly with his arms raised. The euphoria of the villagers grew upon hearing his words. Adam and Theresa watched with revulsion as the village chief delighted in this scenario.
"My people, I need your support! The male stranger is a great threat to the ritual. Kill him! We only need the two women for the offering!"
"Fuck you, asshole!"
Adam was about to grab Mei and run out of there using his gift, but before he could take another step, several villagers tackled him by surprise at the same time. Taking him down along with Theresa.
"Adam-kun!" Mei screamed, going to help her friend, but a group of villagers blocked her way while others grabbed her arms and legs tightly.
"Stay away from my students!" Theresa screamed in anger and desperation, hitting the hands and villagers holding Adam. Some of her blows were effective, but for every hand she removed, two more held her or him. She struggled not to be separated from Adam, though, to her horror, the villagers managed to do so and quickly retreated with her in their hands.
Adam tried to move, but the large number of villagers on top of him made it impossible, not to mention the blows and kicks he received from them. Surprisingly, their punches were strong and their holds were powerful. It was as if he was being held down by Chariot beasts or ancient zombies with claws.
"Fast. Hurry up! The ritual must be carried out no matter what!" The village chief said urgently, pointing to a large stone ceremonial table, illuminated with torches and surrounded by a rope that carried bells and talismans on it; right behind the temple.
"Let them go!" Adam shouted angrily.
"Adam-kun!"
"No! Let my students go! It's me you want!"
"Fuck this!"
Adam felt his gift activate and…
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
"Bastards!" Adam roared in pain as he was stabbed several times in the back by pitchfork and axes. To his horror, he could feel how the blood began to gush from his body and how his strength left him. Seeing his state, the villagers let him go, stepping on his body as they walked away.
"ADAM!" Mei screamed in horror. The cold horror turned into a fierce anger that threatened to overflow from her body. Her rage was cut short when one of the villagers hit her on the head, knocking her out instantly.
"ADAM! MEI!" Theresa screamed desperately, struggling to free herself from her captor's grip, but it was useless. Her body became weaker with each attempt, adding that the villagers possessed unusual strength to support someone strong like her.
Seeing that Theresa was still struggling, the villagers quickly tied her arms and legs, leaving her completely at their mercy. Theresa was placed on the stone bed. She tried to stand up, but the rope on her legs prevented her from doing so.
"Now… Miko-sama. Complete the ritual and free the village from the calamity that plagues it!" The village chief shouted.
The crowd parted and from the free space appeared Yae Sakura, who wielded her katana in her right hand. With a slow step, she made her way to Theresa, who was struggling to escape, despite the state of her body.
Seeing who was approaching, a gleam of hope was born in Theresa's blue eyes.
"Sakura! Please help us! They have hurt my students! I need you to save them!"
The Miko did not respond, climbing onto the stone bed and stopping in front of the little director. She just looked at Theresa with a lost and cold look. Theresa continued to ask for help, but Sakura ignored her. Theresa's horror grew as Sakura's stance changed, raising her katana and tilting it, preparing to pierce her small body.
"No…" Theresa whined.
"Miko-sama, the time has come. Use the ceremonial sword and offer his soul to the gods!" The village chief shouted, ecstatic that everything was turning out better than he expected.
To Sakura, the joyful shouts of the villagers and the orders of the village chief sounded distant. The wind had become static and for the first time, the sword she had wielded for years with ease had become heavy. This same air, this helplessness reminded her of that terrible night...
Some clarity had returned to her mind. In front of her was the sacrifice to the gods. A little girl, innocent and free of all guilt. Blue eyes, once full of life, that had resigned themselves to what was about to happen.
Her eyes were so similar to those of
" Nee-chan, I will always love your rice balls, no matter what!"
"RIN!"
The katana fell to the ground, at the same time as Sakura fell to her knees. She was breathing heavily, looking at her hands in horror. The same ones she had used to sacrifice her sister, the same ones she was going to use to sacrifice an innocent, again.
I̶̢̚ẗ̶̬ ̴̮̊i̵̢͛s̵͖͐ ̵͈͂y̸̢͠o̴̼̔ṵ̴̑ř̷̼ ̵̪̓d̸̠̓ù̵̻t̵̩̀ỹ̴̬!̵̻͑
̶͇̓S̷̢̒a̷̙̋v̶̢́e̴͓̽ ̶̠̊t̴̝̑h̴̼͌e̷͇̍m̷͙̕!̸̹̌ ̸̲̔S̴̡̃â̵̫v̷͖͆e̸̩͒ ̸̣͝t̵̬͂ḥ̶́e̸͙͊ ̴̻̀v̴̛͕i̶̢͛ḻ̷͘l̵͖̇ạ̴̐g̴̺̃e̴̟̓!̴͖́
̴̪̎S̶̜͌e̷͔͑r̶͇̿v̵͈̈́i̸̧͊n̴̝͝g̴̯͋ ̸̟̿ẗ̵͚ẖ̵̀ȅ̴͚ ̶̢̀g̷̠̽o̴̩͊d̶̬̉s̴̥̃ ̷̟̓i̸̤͘s̸̛̖ ̴̧̽ṭ̶͝h̷͇̽e̵̥̚ ̶̺̾M̸̹̾i̸̯̽k̷̟̋o̷̡̊'̴͕̾ŝ̸̘ ̵̥͋d̶̟͗u̴̘̚t̷̹͘ȳ̴̜!̸͙̈́
Sakura put her hands on her head and shook it, refusing to continue with the sacrifice.
"NO! I can not do it!"
"Sakura, listen to me! Help-ugh !" Theresa tried to speak, but the Herrscher delivered a sharp blow to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to double over on the cold ceremonial stone bed.
"You continue to disappoint me, Sakura," the Herrscher murmured. "It doesn't matter. I will help you, again. After all, I am the one who keeps us alive."
A dark cloud of miasma began to gush from the village chief. Despite this, the villagers did not seem to care, in fact, this only made them crazy with joy. In their minds, this was a divine sign.
"Listen to them, Sakura. They are impatient for the ritual," he grabbed Theresa by one arm and pulled roughly at her hair. She barely squealed. The pain and weak state of her body were too much for her.
"They need this. You know this, Rin knew this. Why do you keep refusing?"
It grew and began to envelop Sakura. She could feel her horror, despair, and denial slowly evaporate from her mind. As her desire not to carry out the ritual.
"A Miko must obey the gods and give them offerings. It's your duty, Sakura. Never forget."
He… He was right.
A Miko must obey the gods and give them offerings.
It doesn't matter who or what has to be sacrificed.
"̵N̷e̸e̸-̶c̶h̶a̸n̴!̵ ̸B̷e̶c̶o̶m̸e̷ ̵a̴ ̷g̷r̴e̸a̸t̶ ̶M̴i̶k̵o̸!̶ ̴F̵o̸r̶ ̸t̷h̶e̷ ̶v̴i̶l̵l̷a̸g̴e̴!̸"̴
She wouldn't break her promise to Rin.
She would become a great Miko.
For Rin.
She picked up the katana lying at her side and prepared to do her duty.
"Miko-sama! Thank you! Thank you for this!"
"Finally! The time of great misfortune is about to end!"
"Praise Miko-sama for saving our village!
"Do it! Do it do it! DO IT!"
"The village has spoken Sakura. Do your duty!"
Sakura raised her katana and for a long moment, she looked closely at the girl who would save her village.
"DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!"
I̸ ̵a̴m̵ ̴s̷o̴r̴.̶.̴.̶
Something heavy collided with Sakura and the village chief, throwing them away from the stone bed and causing them to crash onto the cold, hard floor. The confusion caused by the miasma cloud slowly began to fade away. It took her a moment to realize that what had knocked her down was someone from the village, moaning in pain.
Sakura looked up and heard that the chants of joy had stopped and had transformed into a terrible silence. The villagers filled with panic and horror could not move as they saw a black featureless humanoid demonic figure standing on the stone bed.
In his wide arms, the demon carried the unconscious young black-haired outsider and the stunned little girl who was about to be sacrificed. Behind the demon were the bodies of several of the villagers knocked out or paralyzed by the fear the demon invoked.
"Did I ruin your show, you bastards?!"
Adam felt a strange mix of sensations.
On the one hand, there was the horrible pain that came after being stabbed simultaneously by farm tools in various parts of the body.
Then a warm sensation, as if he were standing in a puddle of warm water - which was quickly cooling.
Then there was that terrible cold, a cold so terrible and unparalleled that it invoked the primordial instinct of survival at all costs in any living being.
And the last one created confusion. He didn't know if the overwhelming heat he felt was his gift working at full speed to get him back on his feet or if it was fury at seeing the villagers' ecstasy at the sacrifice they were about to make.
"Miko-sama, the time has come. Use the ceremonial sword and offer his soul to the gods!" The village chief shouted in ecstasy.
Oh, how he was going to enjoy breaking that bastard's face-
"Listen only to the sound of my voice. Let your mind relax. Let your thoughts drift."
Adam felt something warm touch his forehead as if he were somewhere warm and safe. Suddenly he felt the need not to beat the Herrscher responsible for this whole mess to death.
"Surrender yourself to your dreams. Let them wash over you like the gentle waves of the bluest ocean. Let them envelop you. Comfort you."
He could feel his mind begin to go numb and a soft warmth slowly filled his body.
"Imagine somewhere calm. Imagine somewhere safe. Imagine yourself in a frozen forest. You're standing in a clearing. Trees around you are so tall, they touch the sky"
He does not! He had to get up and help-
"Pure white snowflakes fall all around. You can feel them melt on your skin. You are not cold. It cannot overcome the warmth of your beating heart. Can you hear it? You only have to listen."
He could feel his gift slipping away. As if something put it out of his reach.
"Can you hear it slowing? You're slowing it. You are in control. Calm. At peace."
"NO! I can not do it!" Sakura screamed.
"Sakura, listen to me! Help- ugh !" Theresa tried to speak, but the Herrscher delivered a sharp blow to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to double over on the cold ceremonial stone bed.
"YOU ARE IN THE FROZ-"
"Fuck this!"
Pushing the intoxicating feeling of peace to the back of his mind, Adam called his gift, and as if a switch had been flipped, it gladly responded to his call.
Wounds gushing blood closed in seconds and the feeling of heaviness and exhaustion were replaced by adrenaline and muscles eager to be used.
Adam raised his head and the world seemed to slow down, seeing in detail how the villagers' faces twisted in a twisted mixture of relief and ecstasy.
For a moment he wanted to take such expressions away from the villagers, replace them with cries of despair and horror; using his claws and tendrils in very creative ways. Make every last zealot present regret having crossed his path.
No... There were more important things to do than kill them all. Adam took a deep breath and quickly looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to him. The crowd only had eyes for the ritual. Still, it was better to hurry. He stood up. He looked for Mei, seeing that she had been carried to the stone bed, but not with Theresa, she was being carried by a small group of five and not far from the sacrifice altar. Adam noticed that she was unconscious.
Before Adam could devise a plan to rescue his companions safely, he saw how a strange black cloud of miasma erupted from the Herrscher's body and enveloped Sakura's figure. The Miko stiffened and a dead expression took over her face. At this, the villagers did not cower in fear, on the contrary, they began to shout nonsense that this was a divine sign.
"Miko-sama! Thank you! Thank you for this!"
"Finally! The time of great misfortune is about to end!"
"Praise Miko-sama for saving our village!
"Do it! Do it do it! DO IT!"
"The village has spoken Sakura. Do your duty!"
No, it was no longer the time to be stealthy. It was time to make an entrance as subtle as a hammer to someone's face.
He just hoped that what he was going to do didn't epically explode in his face.
Adam manifested his armor, the strange mixture of cold and heat becoming present around his figure. The armor covered his entire body, in addition to making his figure grow. A migraine made his head protest, but he ignored it for the moment.
"Wait! How is that-?!"
The villager, who had managed to notice what was happening behind him, fell silent when he was knocked sideways by Adam, breaking several of his bones in the process.
Adam didn't stay to watch, he started running at high speed in Theresa's direction. He crossed the crowd separating him from the ritual at high speed. The action was not complicated for him, with his gift and armor, it was as if he were going through a wall of cushions. Unfortunately for the villagers, several of their bones were broken in the process.
Adam stretched out his arm to grab Mei. There were still meters separating them, but the arm of his armor stretched out with ease, taking the villagers holding Mei by surprise. None of them could avoid being hit by the arm, which split into tendrils and hit the five villagers simultaneously. Before Mei could touch the ground, the tendrils caught her.
As soon as Adam saw this, he ordered the tendrils to return, while he concentrated on his final objective.
"DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!"
Seeing that a couple of villagers were closer to the stone bed, Adam threw his free arm in their direction. From this, multiple tendrils came out with force and hit the villagers, who were thrown in the direction of the Miko and the Chief village-Herrscher. Adam smiled evilly as the fucking bastards slammed into their targets, interrupting the sacrifice.
Ignoring Theresa's stunned expression, Adam stopped his sprint and carefully picked her up.
The shouts of joy were replaced by a deadly silence. The crowd looked disturbed at his presence.
"Did I ruin your show, you bastards?!"
Sakura pushed the villager on top of her to the side and was on her feet in an instant, staggering for a second at the sudden movement. Despite her condition, she prepared to fight, gripping her katana tightly.
"I should kill every single one of you," Adam growled. His gift empowered his voice and emphasized his desire to beat them to death. "But I have unfinished business with your leader," he spat venomously out the title, keeping his eyes on Sakura and the sprawled figure of the 'village chief'.
The crowd screamed as they saw black tendrils, with cruelly sharp tips sprouting from his back and rising above his back and sides.
"Get out, human scum, and pray I don't see you ever again!"
Obeying his words, the villagers ran in terror, injured or not, pushing, fighting and even crawling or dragging others, no one wanted to find out the genuineness of his words.
In a matter of seconds, the place was abandoned, leaving only Adam, Mei, Theresa, and Sakura.
"Yae, are you yourself, or am I talking to a puppet?"
The question took the miko by surprise. Her surprise grew even more as she looked closely at the demonic figure. The claws reminded her of a fresh memory that had occurred earlier in the day.
"Alighieri-san?!" Sakura exclaimed.
Adam nodded.
"How? What is happening-?
"Yae, I know you have questions, but you better stay away from that bastard," Adam pointed with his head at the village chief who remained motionless. Adam grunted as he felt a strong pressure on his head, but the others interpreted it as irritation.
The miko looked at the body of the village chief lying on the cold stone floor.
She looked closely at the village chief. His clothes were dirty from having rolled on the floor. There were scratches on his legs and arms. His face was not visible, but a pool of blood could be seen beginning to form from a wound on his head.
"He…He is dead?"
Sakura was trying to understand this scene. The body of the village chief, of her… father … he was there. Thrown. As if he were a worthless object on the dirty floor.
The miko didn't know exactly what to feel about this fact.
"Bastard? Be careful how you refer to me, you abomination!" A deep voice roared from the body of the 'village chief'.
Everyone tensed as red flames consumed the body in a second, growing and taking a new shape. The flames retracted and in its place was a gigantic red-pink fox with four tails, with red coloring on each tip and at the end of its four legs.
The miko felt a knot in her mind unravel as she saw this fox-like demon demanding respect. Images and memories began to assault her. For a second she thought her head would explode, but the pain vanished in an instant. Once the memories settled, she felt something in her growl.
Sakura gripped her katana tightly with both hands, the knuckles of her hands turning white from the force. The uncertainty she had felt a moment ago was replaced by anger. Anger at being deceived by a demon; for having heard its words; for having followed its commands and, above all; for having almost murdered an innocent woman for its diabolical whims!
But she held back. This was not the time to be blinded by anger. She had a duty to fulfill.
And that was to finish off the demonic beast in front of her.
For her part, Theresa shared a grip similar to Sakura's on Adam's arm, although the difference was that she wasn't doing it out of anger. Oh no, she was scared, but not for herself. She feared for her students, who had to face one of the worst enemies Schicksal had to face in its long war against the Honkai.
Mei had regained consciousness, tossing on Adam's arms. The fox's roar had woken her up with a jump. It took her a few seconds to realize that Director Theresa was next to her and that she was being carried by Adam. Mei barely managed to hold back a scream at seeing his altered form. But, she did gasp when she saw the menacing gigantic fox.
The demonic fox growled and, using one of its tails, destroyed much of the back of the shrine, sending debris and dirt flying behind it with ease.
"I never expected in my life to have to deal with a disgusting creature like you again," the fox said, looking at Adam with disgust, showing its sharp and deadly jaws. "And now, I have to deal with your kind again, just when I'm one step away from getting a new body!"
Sakura, Mei, and Theresa did not understand what the demonic fox meant by this, but Adam did, making a bitter face under his helmet when such information was revealed.
"Rejoice, scum, for you will have the honor of being exterminated by me.
The fox's tails rose and at the tips of these, four balls of deadly fire manifested.
It smiled cruelly as it saw how the scum and other humans tensed.
"I, ruler of this space and will of the Honkai incarnate, the Destroyer of humanity!"
Without waiting for another second, the Herrscher launched the balls of destruction in their direction.
Here's another chapter.
Sorry for the delay. Stuff in real life is a bother.
And, to be honest, I was planning on updating two chapters instead of just one, but some people had DM and asked me if the story was abandoned or if I was dead.
Neither, just busy as fuck.
And about the other chapter, well... I have 6-7 K words written up. Why I haven't published it yet? Well, I haven't finished writing the confrontation between the Herrscher, Adam, and the Remanent! Including the conclusion for Sakura's Salvation!
In fact, I will take a bit of something (cause its time to eat where a I live) and continue writing the chapter.
I hope you like it, dear readers.
See ya!