Yae Sakura

Yae Sakura sheathed her sword.

She watched the two leave slowly before gradually changing the way she was breathing to conceal her presence.

That person's martial arts level is very high.

It wouldn't be surprising if they were discovered immediately if they didn't do this.

She didn't want to associate with that girl unless absolutely necessary.

The boy's appearance interrupted Yae Sakura's preparation to draw her sword to save the person, so continuing not to appear after that was the best decision she could make.

Because it's best for that girl to avoid any contact with the village.

This girl, so similar to Kallen, has arrived in this world that has been reincarnated countless times.

My choice that day led to this outcome.

Still, there is no escape.

Hiyori, you should be very tired too.

You probably want to take a nap too.

But is it that even after five hundred years, I alone cannot make you completely let go?

Perhaps this girl can do it.

But none of that matters anymore.

What is destiny, what is a tragic vow, what is an obsession, what is good and evil?

It has nothing to do with her anymore.

Yae Sakura smiled, a smile completely different from her usual demeanor.

Not gentle, not elegant, not aloof.

There was only inexplicable danger and eeriness.

This time...

This time, we must rescue Rin.

Regardless of the cost.

The Rin here is nothing but a phantom; the real Rin was killed by her own hands long ago.

Yae Sakura understood this.

Perhaps she was already broken at that time, but during her most empty period, she met the Saintess named Kallen Kaslana.

The Saintess gave her genuine and unwavering love, and Yae Sakura cherished it dearly in return.

She absorbed this love, which was far too fleeting, almost like a dream, and stubbornly held on for five hundred years.

It has been reincarnated hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of times, never ceasing.

Just as the outside world realized that Kallen was dead, Kallen Kaslana, inside the Yae Sakura Stigmata Space, also truly died.

She is genuine too.

It's broken.

Therefore, for Yae Sakura right now, only Rin is important.

As for that girl who looks a lot like Kallen, what difference does it make if they do?

She was not Kallen after all; she was just a stranger she would miss.

Yae Sakura still retains all her memories, but the cherry-haired girl who exists now and the Miko of Changkong City that day may no longer be the same person.

The girl used her knife to cut open the giant bear's carcass, and her Spirit Blade, named Sakura Fubuki, easily separated the tough fur and bones.

Finally, she found a piece of skull that had been mostly corroded.

This is why she met Theresa: in order to find the villagers who had been separated from the raiding team in the mountains.

Now, all that remains of this villager is his skull, which barely proves he was human in life.

Yae Sakura indifferently used the tip of her knife to lift the skull, catching it with a cloth in her other hand.

She severed the bear's two front paws with her Spirit Blade, then sheathed the blade and left the place without looking back.

Although the village has always lacked food, these mutated beasts are not edible, as their ancestors have proven with their lives. Anyone who eats them is likely to contract a strange disease and eventually turn into a monster that harms people.

At that time, Miko who protects the village will be needed.

He was appointed as the second saburo.

Su Qing'an and Theresa walked through the mountains and forests, relying on the paths clearly marked by human hands over time and his intuition to make their way towards Yae Village.

He said:

"Headmaster Theresa, let's analyze the current situation."

Theresa nodded in agreement.

"First, we can understand that the other side may not be able to attack us directly, so I guess there must be some kind of rule of victory and defeat here, and since the other side is currently in the advantage, it is conceivable that this rule must be favorable to the other side."

The girl nodded and said:

"The essence of the Stigmata Space is a data space. Since it contains the data most likely to manifest within the data space, it is naturally related to the holder of the Stigmata."

"Judging from the surrounding terrain, the villagers' language, and the clothes we were automatically replaced with, this is ancient times in the Far East."

Su Qing'an glanced at the kimono she was wearing, her expression unchanged.

For him, as long as it doesn't affect the speed of his punches, the appearance of his clothing is a negligible factor.

The girl was also wearing a kimono, but it had a wider variety of colors and a more complex design.

He thought for a moment and then said:

"The place where Yae Sakura is now is very likely the predecessor of Kambara Village, Yae Village."

"From the documents and history of Kambara Village, it is clear that Yae Village has a foolish custom of sacrificing living people to the gods to pray for rain. Perhaps what we are about to encounter is closely related to this."

Theresa agreed, saying:

"Yae Sakura spent her entire life here. All her joys, hatreds, and sorrows were experienced in this village. This is her Stigmata Space, so it's normal that it manifests in this place."

"Our key point right now is to understand what exactly happened back then."

"If everything in the Stigmata Space is a reflection and recurrence of history, then preventing potential tragedies is one of the factors leading to victory."

Su Qing'an was silent for a moment, then said:

"Headmaster Theresa, Yae Sakura is Miko, and her father is the shrine priest, the most powerful person in the entire village."

"Under these circumstances, Yae Sakura had a frail and sickly younger sister named Yae Rin."

"But one day, the girl to be sacrificed may have had an accident, and the village could not find a suitable substitute for her. Yae Sakura's Father, as the head priest, had a pure and virgin girl in his family."

What choice do you think he will make?

Theresa fell silent; she understood the answer and said:

"If the ending is destined to be tragic, then the choice of this deity is self-evident."

"Yes, you're right. Unlike a great father like Mr. Kanbara, this Yae High Priest is terrible. He forced Yae Sakura to kill her sister, Yae Rin, with his own hands."

"This is a fragment of memory that Yuno saw when she first encountered the Living Doll that day."

It also incorporates Su Qing'an's knowledge of the plot and documents from Kambara Village; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to find the accurate answer from so many details.

Su Qing'an showed an unhappy expression and continued:

"Headmistress, do you know what's the funniest thing? After we killed Yae Rin, it actually started raining."

Everyone present that day was laughing, except for Yae Sakura, who was crying.

Theresa looked at the village that was not far away, a look of unspoken emotion on her face.

Was the rain that fell that day because the offerings pleased the so-called gods, or was it a lament for the tragedy caused by such folly?

Regardless.

She finally had the chance to repay this debt of gratitude that had nearly cost her her life.