The Evil Spirit Who Usurped Another's Nest / The God of Demons Who Keeps Humans in Captivity

This might be something Yae Sakura experienced in the past.

"Superstitious villagers, a dead sister... was it a sacrifice? But isn't the Frost Blade being worshipped here?"

Like Narukami Shrine, this shrine looks quite old; it's an ancient building, and it must have been dedicated to the Frost God since ancient times.

The Frost Blade is indeed a blade for slaying demons.

Even if it's not in its complete form, it still possesses some similar power, making it easy to intimidate ignorant villagers.

It's hard to associate Kiana with Frost Blade and sacrifice, and if there really were sacrifice incidents, would Yae Sakura carry Frost Blade with her at all times?

28

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Evil Ghost Who Usurped the Nest

They also ate in the courtyard.

Yae Sakura didn't go to other areas of the shrine either, perhaps because she was afraid Kiana would wander off, or perhaps because she didn't need to go anywhere else.

Because Yae Sakura was always by her side, Kiana never had a chance to explore other parts of the shrine.

Until nightfall.

Around 10 p. m., Kiana, who had been pretending to be asleep, opened her eyes. Hearing the sound of someone leaving, she carefully opened her eyes and sat up.

Yae Sakura left.

In the middle of the night, when they thought she was already fast asleep.

Could he have gone to poison them?

Remembering the herbs Yae Sakura had gathered—not for herself or her sister— Kiana, suspecting they might be poisonous, crept up stealthily.

She carefully opened the door, but Yae Sakura was nowhere to be seen. She quickly came out and closed the door again, intending to follow her out to check.

But when she carefully climbed over the courtyard gate, it was pitch black outside with only a few scattered candlelight, and she couldn't see Yae Sakura anywhere.

To avoid making a commotion, she moved very carefully and slowly, taking a little longer than usual since it was her first time doing something like this.

"... Take a look at the Frost Blade."

Not knowing which way Yae Sakura had gone, Kiana thought for a moment and decided to go check on the place where the Frost Blade was being performed.

She wanted to see how this superstitious place worshipped the Frost Blade, hoping to glean some insight from the shrine where it was enshrined.

Although there are slight differences in the details, the shrines where the rituals are performed are still easy to identify.

Kiana carefully hid in the darkness and headed towards the shrine where the gods were enshrined.

In just two minutes, she arrived nearby and confirmed that Yae Sakura was not there, but had gone somewhere else.

Kiana pushed open the door and went inside.

The candles inside the shrine were still burning and had not gone out, so it was bright enough to see everything inside.

But because of the light, Kiana was able to see what was inside the shrine, and she rubbed her eyes in surprise.

"Sakura and Sirin both said that Frost Blade is a deity enshrined at Yae Shrine, just like Narukami Shrine!"

Kiana doubted that she had seen correctly, and didn't even doubt that Yae Sakura and Sirin's words were false.

She walked a few steps to the statue, and after confirming that what was enshrined before her was indeed a strange statue, and not the familiar Frost Blade, she fell into a long silence for the first time.

Why isn't the Frost Blade being offered?

Yae Sakura said that her sword, like Narukami, was once a deity enshrined in a shrine.

She didn't believe that honest Yae Sakura would lie to her about something so trivial.

Furthermore, Sirin's statement was corroborated.

So why does this shrine enshrine not Frost Blade, but a statue with a blue face and fangs that doesn't look like a proper god?

Is this really not Kishin?

This is clearly a ritual to worship Kishin!

"This isn't the past at all?"

Kiana looked at the Kishin statue that had replaced the Frost Blade and began to suspect that the Stigmata world was not actually the past that Yae Sakura Remembrance.

This is not something that happened in the past.

It's not about the plot of the evolution of the Stigma.

If that's the case, it might explain why what Yae Sakura and the others told me was different from the actual situation.

Is that really the case?

Kiana frowned.

Looking at the statue before him, his eyes were filled with inquiry. If this was truly the case, then was Yae Sakura in the Stigmata world merely an evolution?

Is it not the real Yae Sakura?

Kiana pursed her lips, her heart growing heavier with each thought. The realization that the Stigmata world might not be what she imagined made her understand that they had all perished completely due to the Great Honkai.

He couldn't hide his depression.

You shouldn't have come here.

Yae Sakura's voice suddenly came from the doorway. She looked at Kiana, who had walked to the statue and was looking up at it, with a complicated expression.

Her business is now complete.

But then she discovered that Kiana had followed her out, so she made her way here.

Is this part of the past?

This question lingered in Kiana's mind. She turned back to look at Yae Sakura standing at the door, who looked somewhat unfamiliar and completely different from the person Remembrance.

She was calmer than I had imagined.

"Where's the knife?"

Asking questions about Yae Sakura only affect her attitude, not the operation of the entire Stigmata world.

If the person in front of her is indeed the real Yae Sakura, then her question won't significantly affect Yae Sakura's attitude.

After seeing the items enshrined at the shrine, Kiana decided against further investigation, cautiously fearing anything that might affect the stability of the Stigmata world.

Yae Sakura initially thought that she had secretly come here to see the enshrined items because she couldn't contain her curiosity.

I never expected that she wasn't.

They also mentioned the items originally enshrined at the shrine.

She regretted not watching her complex emotions transform into astonishment, but Yae Sakura still glanced warily at the blue-faced, fanged statue behind her.

"You've been targeted by it."

Kiana's words made Yae Sakura realize that she was no ordinary adventurer.

But she was targeted by an evil spirit.

Through her long-term observation, she knew that the evil spirit could use this statue to mark those who came here.

Then, export grains are selected.

"This isn't the place to talk, let's go back first."

Seeing that she didn't react, Yae Sakura reminded her again, and Kiana then walked over to her and left with her.

Yae Sakura did not deny the existence of the sword!

Kiana's expression changed several times, but she finally couldn't contain herself and asked impatiently on the way back, "Shouldn't the shrine enshrine the 'Frost God'?"

Yae Sakura was walking ahead, paused for a moment upon hearing this ancient name, then spoke softly in the night, "Twelve years ago, the shrine did indeed enshrine the Frost God."

"That was a long time ago. Now, the people in the village all worship that Evil God."

She glanced at Kiana and asked, "How do you know about 'Frost God'?"

The shrine here does indeed enshrine the Frost God.

But the nest has been usurped!

Kiana struggled to describe her rollercoaster-like emotions; if that was the case, then the possibility that this place represented a part of the past was still quite high.

Looking at Yae Sakura, whose eyes were filled with doubt and inquiry, Kiana realized that the Stigmata world was not as fragile as she had thought.

Yae Sakura remained silent the whole way. Although she had many questions, she felt that Yae Sakura was a good person, so she was quite understanding and didn't say anything more, waiting for Yae Sakura to think of an answer.

When we returned to the courtyard...

Kiana finally spoke.

Do you know the Demon Slaying Blade Masters?

Yae Sakura was taken aback, a look of confusion on her face. "Demon Slayer... Sword Clan? What's that?"

As expected, Yae Sakura, like Mei, was completely unaware of the existence of the Sword Clan at this moment.

Even though the shrine enshrines the most important sword, the shrine maiden, who is the sword's designated owner, was unaware of the sword-wielding organization in the past.

She seemed to realize something, and looked at Yae Sakura with a serious expression. "Do you know about Kishin?"

"... Does it refer to that Evil God?"

Recalling her first meeting with Yae Sakura, and how Yae Sakura kindly explained things to her, Kiana adjusted her mindset to that time and said, "Long ago, Eight Million Gods descended to this world, harming all living beings and causing havoc on humanity. To save the world, Izumo forged the sword..."

~~~~~

29

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Kishin Who Keep Humans in Captivity

It's a very subtle feeling to embellish the words Yae Sakura once said to me and then return them to her.

"I have come here precisely to find the whereabouts of the Kishin and the Frost Blade."

Kiana cleverly used this sentence as the ending; she didn't say that she was a Demon Slaying Blade Masters, but she was hinting that Yae Sakura should think in that direction.

As for Yae Sakura...

She was somewhat dazed by what she heard.

From the time she could remember, Yae Village had been isolated from the world. She thought the outside world was different, and that Yae Village's misfortune was just an exception. Little did she know that such things had existed for a long time and were found in every corner of the world.

Eight Million Gods...

That evil spirit that killed so many people.

It turns out that all that's needed is to obtain the abandoned Frost Blade to end all this misfortune.

Kiana's words shocked her, but Yae Sakura didn't doubt them and chose to trust her completely.

Because her intuition told her that was the case.

Kiana is right.

Those are Kishin.

In an instant, she imagined many possibilities, including why Kiana hadn't explained her purpose earlier, which she thought was because Kiana didn't know if there were any trustworthy people left here.

Most of the people in Yae Village have been bewitched by the Evil God, and those who do not believe have mostly become sacrifices.

Those who aid and abet evil.

It was the Shrine Master of Yae Shrine who abandoned his Frost Blade and chose to erect a statue for Evil God.

Her... father!

"Will getting the Frost Blade end everything?"

Where the Evil God comes from is not important.

Because killing it has always been Yae Sakura's goal, she will not give up on killing it because of the origin of the Evil God.

She had been preparing for this for a long time.

Kiana's timing was perfect. She had been patiently waiting for the right opportunity to strike decisively.

"Able."