"You shouldn't have come back, Raiden Mei."
Yae Sakura gripped her sword tightly and stood in Mei's way.
"Miss Yae Sakura!!!"
Mei held her weapon and warily watched Yae Sakura standing before her. "Please let me pass! I have to save that little girl!"
"No, you can't go over there."
Yae Sakura blocked Mei's path with her sword. "She is the sacrifice for this Sacrifice Ritual. The ritual cannot be interrupted."
"Miss Yae Sakura! Do even you believe that sacrificing a little girl in exchange for temporary peace is something that exists and can be allowed?!"
Mei felt anger rising within her.
By now, Mei could already hear the surrounding villagers shouting accusations.
Those rebukes were directed at both Mei and Yae Sakura.
Mei heard villagers cursing her, saying that this outsider had brought disaster.
Others cursed the disaster Mei had brought for killing their families.
And even... many people were cursing Yae Sakura as well.
They questioned why the Miko who protected the village had not driven this outsider away and continued the festival.
But faced with Mei and Yae Sakura, who possessed the power to slay monsters, all they could do was talk from the sidelines.
"Yae Sakura!"
Standing atop the platform, the Yae God Master spoke to Yae Sakura below. "The festival is about to begin. She wants to stop it now. You should know what you need to do!!!"
"..."
Yae Sakura fell silent.
The Yae God Master added fuel to the fire. "Do you want your sister to die for nothing?!"
Those words tore through Yae Sakura's mental defenses.
Yae Sakura raised the sword in her hand toward Mei.
Because of the festival, the sword Yae Sakura held now was not the ordinary blade she used to fight monsters, but Kite Bird, the sword that