章 7: Chapter 7: Residual Heart
"A shrine maiden?"
Kikyō frowned at Yae Sakura standing before her...
It felt like... Yae Sakura was mocking the profession of a shrine maiden.
It wasn't because she was half-demon; despite having repelled countless monsters, Kikyō didn't discriminate against half-demons—unless they were evil ones. Sometimes, she even pitied them.
The offspring of human-monster unions... were often very unfortunate.
Kikyō had seen many wicked and fanatical half-demons, as well as many innocent and kind-hearted ones who led miserable lives.
But... as Kikyō looked at Yae Sakura's attire...
It seemed inspired by a shrine maiden's style, but the skirt... was shockingly short!
Such an indecent version of a shrine maiden's outfit was unheard of to Kikyō.
Shrine maidens should be symbols of purity and holiness. Even ordinary women wouldn't dress like that, let alone a shrine maiden!
As fellow shrine maidens, Kikyō couldn't accept this!
"She really is a shrine maiden! But..."
"...a shrine maiden who killed the god she believed in!" Yae Sakura coldly stated without any concern for her identity as a "god-defying shrine maiden"!
"What?"
Hearing this, Kikyō's eyes widened involuntarily. The arrow she was aiming at Yae Sakura instantly shot with tremendous spiritual power.
As a shrine maiden, killing the god I believe in is way too dangerous!
"This attack isn't enough!"
Sword Intent: Zanshin!
Yae Sakura blinked, and suddenly everything around her slowed down.
In the game, Zanshin was the ability to increase your attack speed after narrowly dodging an attack.
But... now outside of the game, Zanshin had become a sword intent understood by the Gyakushin Miko.
It was like gaining a fly's vision—everything moved infinitely slower. What would normally take one second for an ordinary person to see now took several times or even ten times longer when using Sword Intent: Zanshin.
So... Kikyō's arrow aimed at Yae Sakura suddenly became very slow.
When Kikyō's exorcist arrow was only half a meter away from Yae Sakura, she drew her blade...
The flash of the blade...
And the exorcist arrow was instantly cut in two!
Kikyō's arrow was just a regular arrow with her special spiritual energy added. Against the Spiritual Blade: Sakura Blossom, it couldn't stand a chance.
To Kikyō, it seemed as if Yae Sakura had merely twitched her hand, and her arrow for exorcism vanished.
The speed at which the sword was drawn and sheathed left Kikyō no time to react.
But when her attack missed, Kikyō didn't give up... She fired another arrow right away and then turned to run...
Kikyō was kind and forgiving to others, gentle with those weaker than herself, and selflessly devoted to helping people. Yet during battle, she could calmly analyze her opponent's position or the situation on the field.
Clearly, I'm no match for this enemy, she thought. Staying here would be suicidal.
As Kikyō prepared to withdraw, she kept an eye out for Yae Sakura's pursuit.
But...
"Instantaneous Body Flicker!"
Yae Sakura, locked onto Kikyō, used the signature ability of a Gyakushinn Miko—Instantaneous Body Flicker...
With a burst of energy, she flashed through her enemy's body, appearing instantly behind them.
This ability was like cheating—it didn't follow normal rules.
Unlike in the game, where Instantaneous Body Flicker required line of sight, now Yae could target anyone within her view and instantly appear behind them.
It made absolutely no sense.
So... despite being nearly half a mile away from Kikyō, Yae transformed into a sword glare and appeared right behind her in a flash.
However... under Yae's control, the sword glare didn't harm Kikyō at all.
Caught off guard by Yae suddenly materializing behind her, Kikyō froze briefly before reacting. She quickly kicked back at Yae.
Although Kikyō excelled in archery, barriers, and exorcism abilities, she wasn't weak in close-quarters combat either—though not exceptionally strong.
Facing Kikyō's kick, Yae easily blocked it aside.
As a Valkyrie specializing in close-range fighting, how could a long-distance shooter possibly stand up to her? Even without her spiritual blade, Yae swiftly overpowered Kikyō with her bare hands alone.
"You've lost!"
Yae Sakura let go of Kikyō and took a few steps back. She had never intended to do anything else.
"Wh...what do you want?" Kikyō looked at Yae Sakura in surprise, not understanding her intentions. She could have easily defeated me with one blow.
So now she's going to...let me go?
"I don't want anything from you. You were the first to attack!" Yae Sakura shrugged; she'd never wanted to harm Kikyō.
It wasn't because Kikyō was one of Inuyasha's female leads, but rather... compared to Natsuki, Kikyō was undoubtedly more attractive bait for monsters—especially when possessing the Jewel of Four Souls. Countless creatures would come after it.
This meant reaching the quest goal of ten thousand monsters would be quickly achieved.
However...it seemed the Jewel of Four Souls wasn't on Kikyō right now.
Based on what previous monsters had said, this version of Kikyō probably hadn't taken possession of the jewel yet.
If that's the case, wouldn't it be faster to wait until Kikyō gets the jewel before stealing it?
But before then, I need to maintain some kind of relationship with Kikyō... Even if we're not friends, we can't be outright hostile.
"..."
Kikyō stared at Yae Sakura, silent...
It was true that she attacked first, but still... killing a shrine maiden who worshipped my own god—doesn't that make me evil?
But now, even Kikyō wasn't so sure. For the moment, it seemed like Yae Sakura might not be evil after all.
"Do you know why I would kill a god I once worshipped?" Yae Sakura suddenly asked Kikyō, as if reading her thoughts.
Kikyō hesitated... Could there be more to this story? Though she didn't speak, curiosity flickered in her eyes.
"Because that 'god' was actually a fallen evil spirit—it wasn't a god at all... but a fox demon. I used to be human too; I only became what I am now because of it."
"A fallen evil spirit..."
Kikyō looked at Yae Sakura. Even though she couldn't fully believe her yet, her attitude toward Yae Sakura had undoubtedly improved.
If this was the reason, then Yae Sakura's actions were understandable.
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