What Do You Want?

A massive pillar of fire descended from the sky, instantly turning the entire Yae Village into a sea of flames.

"You weren't confident you could beat me, so you decided to defeat Sakura's will first and seize her body?"

Higanbana's body gradually transformed into Honkai Energy and vanished before Feng Chen's eyes.

"Where did she go?"

The villagers' screams did not make Feng Chen shift his target. He was certain that the Herrscher of Erosion was hiding among them.

One villager after another fell. Yae Sakura held Kallen in her arms as tears streamed down her face.

"Just like five hundred years ago... It was all me. It's all my fault..."

Amid the sea of flames, a little girl climbed onto the altar and looked at Yae Sakura. "Miko sister... please save my mother... I'm begging you..."

But could Yae Sakura agree? Impossible. She would never agree, and even if she did, she couldn't do it.

Because Yae Village had already been destroyed, and there were probably only a few survivors.

"It's useless... It's useless... Nothing can be changed, whether it's by me or Dust-kun..."

"Miko sister!"

"It's useless... It's useless!"

The golden full moon was dyed red by blood. Yae Sakura held a Katana in her hand, her body stained with blood.

"Both Katana were originally Spirit Blade Cherry Blossom Snow. Is that why one of them was dyed into the Demonic Blade Crimson Cherry Blossom?"

"This girl's body... is finally mine!"

"Sakura!" Kallen awoke and stood in front of "Sakura."

She didn't know why Yae Sakura had become like this, but she had to stop her.

"Sakura, what are you doing?! Wake up! Sakura!"

"Splurt!" The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out with startling clarity in Yae Sakura's ears.

"Clang!"

There was no color left in Kallen's face. Her eyelids drooped slightly, making her look like Sleeping Beauty from a fairy tale.

Without the bloodstains on her body, it would have been even more perfect.

"Kallen!"

Feng Chen knew that this was Yae Sakura's memory, merely altered by the Herrscher of Erosion to change some of the outcomes.

"What has already happened... can't be changed? System, does this mean I've lost to the Herrscher of Erosion?"

"If Yae Sakura was the wager, then the host has already lost."

"Is that so... What should I do?"

"Destroy this world."

"I can't do that."

"You've fallen for her too, haven't you?"

"You still talk like that. Even though you're not human, you always manage to show a little Human Nature."

"I learned it from you."

"Yae Sakura" walked toward Feng Chen, her eyes filled with mockery. "See? I won. No matter how many secrets you have, I still won this game."

Had the Herrscher of Erosion really won? Of course not, because Feng Chen had kept one last card up his sleeve...

"Upper Clarity: Still Water, Tranquil Wind."

A gentle breeze brushed across "Yae Sakura's" exquisite face. Her pupils abruptly contracted, and an involuntary blush spread across her cheeks.

Their foreheads pressed together, and the atmosphere grew somewhat subtle.

"Humans have souls, and souls can influence each other, right?"

"That's right. The host can completely use his own soul to enter Yae Sakura's soul and temporarily drive out the Herrscher of Erosion's soul."

"Only temporarily?"

"After all, Yae Sakura is currently relying on the Herrscher of Erosion to stay alive. If the Herrscher of Erosion dies, then Yae Sakura will also..."

"I understand..."

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Inside Yae Sakura's soul stood a girl with fox ears and a fox tail. As for Yae Sakura, she was bound to a cross.

"Get out!"

The battle of souls had little to do with Honkai Energy. With the Will of Honkai as his system, Feng Chen completely overwhelmed the Herrscher of Erosion in terms of the soul.

"Death Force Breaks the Sea!"

Words like "having mercy on women" simply did not exist in Feng Chen's dictionary.

"Why... do you have such a powerful soul?" The Herrscher of Erosion was no fool. Feng Chen's absolute suppression of her soul proved that his soul was more powerful than a Herrscher's.

"You'll have to ask Honkai itself about that."

He wasn't wrong. This really was something that had to be asked of Honkai. After all, Feng Chen's powerful soul was absolutely inseparable from the Will of Honkai.

"Hmph... I thought I had won, but I never expected you to turn the tables on me. Tell me, what do you want?"

Feng Chen could completely imprison the Herrscher of Erosion's soul. That way, he could preserve Yae Sakura's life while ensuring her safety.

"Just stay here obediently. Besides, I know why you did this. You're not the Herrscher of Erosion."

"You... what are you talking about?! How could I not be the Herrscher of Erosion? I am the Herrscher of Erosion, the Twelfth Herrscher of the previous civilization, the Herrscher of Erosion who destroyed the last three human cities!"

"You're not. You're the 'good' side of the Herrscher of Erosion. Sakura mentioned it to me before. She said the 'evil' side of the Herrscher of Erosion was called Higanbana, using the 'hell' character. And you're Hiyori Maru, using the character for 'jade pendant.'"

"I... I..."

"Besides, if you were the evil side, Higanbana, you wouldn't have killed Kallen just now. You would have let everything continue according to Yae Sakura's memories. Only then could you completely destroy Sakura's will."

"Honestly... why does a man have to be so clever..." Hiyori Maru muttered.

"Then can you tell me why you did this? I heard Sakura mention you before. She said you were a very cute child."

"Ch... child? Big sister really is something..."

A blush appeared on Hiyori Maru's face. She was clearly reluctant, but she seemed to like being called that well enough.

"I just wanted Big Sister to become a little stronger... Big Sister was always distracted because of Kallen, and I didn't want her to become like that."

It seemed that Hiyori Maru had been acting with Yae Sakura's best interests in mind after all. Feng Chen had been somewhat rash in disrupting her plans.

"Since I've already disrupted your plans, then forget it... I thought the Herrscher of Erosion was causing trouble."

"The Herrscher of Erosion was sealed inside Jizou Mitama. This is Big Sister's memory, so how could the Herrscher of Erosion's consciousness be here? Unless she escaped from Jizou Mitama again, but that's impossible now. Jizou Mitama had already taken shape; it just couldn't be taken out."

"But isn't Jizou Mitama what's inside the box?"

His words made Hiyori Maru freeze. She probably realized where he had gotten things wrong.

"Jizou Mitama is in the box, but it's not the only thing in the box. Do you understand now?"

"I see. Then where is Jizou Mitama?"

"There." Hiyori Maru pointed outside the village, where a tall black tower appeared.

"It's right there. Big Sister and I have never entered the highest floor. The lower floors are all connected rooms, and there are also dead apostles inside. If you want to go in, be careful."

"I understand. But perhaps... I won't be going in for now. I'll enter when I need the Herrscher of Erosion."

"That would be for the best. But I have to sneak away. Big Sister must already know I was behind this. You should hurry and leave too."