At dusk, at the Demon Hour.
The time for the formal sacrificial ceremony finally arrived.
Satou Yunona wore that Kyo-Yuzen; the gorgeous and dignified attire gave her an air of elegance unlike anything she had ever worn before.
At this moment, she wore a polite, faint smile, but her dark eyes seemed to be curiously observing the villagers surrounding her.
She is lively and agile yet elegant and composed, which perfectly suits the image of a young lady of this age.
No villager doubted that the girl in front of them was not Kambara Yuu.
Whether it was Kambara Shuichi's performance of setting off fireworks for the celebration yesterday, or the villagers' own reverence for the gods, they could not imagine that someone would be so audacious as to disguise themselves as offerings and thus so desecrate the gods they had worshipped for five hundred years.
Daigo, dressed in ceremonial robes, gazed solemnly at the shrine he hadn't visited in ten years. His eyes fell upon the shrine's interior, which was shrouded in darkness, and his expression gradually became humble and joyful.
He still remembered the promise he made with Kambara Shuichi when they were children, but in Daigo's eyes at this moment, such an act was utterly blasphemous.
But the gods did not punish them for this; how compassionate and forgiving they were!
That was a great, gentle deity who offered ineffable protection to the village.
Why did I have such rebellious thoughts in the past?
This must be remedied.
That's why, after realizing his mistake, Daigo was the first to throw himself on Kambara Shuichi ten years ago, stopping him.
He cried and apologized to the man.
Even if it was to seek divine forgiveness, and even if Kambara Shuichi's actions were blasphemous in his eyes, the fact remains that he betrayed their promise.
The Daigo who now transforms all his guilt and sorrow into reverence for the gods is no longer the same Daigo, as a child, made a promise with Kambara Shuichi to break the bad habits of Kambara Village.
People change.
Even if he were to send that man's daughter to the shrine as a sacrifice, he would no longer feel guilt and sorrow, but only supreme joy.
In his eyes, the Kanbara Clan, who were qualified to offer themselves to the gods, were incredibly fortunate.
Seeing that Kambara Yuu possessed such honor and qualifications, he couldn't help but feel happy for Kambara Shuichi had made the right decision.
After all, he was his friend.
Although they had gone their separate ways, Daigo felt happy enough that they were able to eventually return to the same path.
However, it was a bit of a pity that he didn't choose to come and witness the ceremony in person today, Daigo sighed inwardly.
The butler that Kambara Shuichi brought this time was not absent.
He glanced at Su Qing'an, who stood out in the crowd, and tried his best to appear more dignified. With a stranger here to witness the ceremony, he couldn't afford to make any mistakes.
We must show him the respect that Kambara Village has for the gods.
"Miss Yu, Lord Kanbara must have explained the ritual process to you. Although three days is a bit tiring, please bear with it," Daigo said sincerely.
"Yes, Dad already told me. He said the ritual is very simple and that I should be obedient."
Satou Yunona nodded obediently. She glanced curiously at the eerily quiet villagers around her and asked:
"Uncle Daigo, has everyone in the village arrived?"
Daigo answered seriously upon hearing this:
"Of course, the Day of Sacrifice is a very important holiday in Kambara Village. Everyone arrives early, and there are only ten minutes left before the time. No one will be absent."
"But Miss Yu, why are you asking this?"
"I see. If none are missed, then they can bloom without worry."
The girl ignored Daigo's question. She glanced at the seeds that had already sprouted new buds around the shrine and suddenly said something completely unrelated to the previous topic.
The tiny yellow flowers bloomed and withered in an instant at Satou Yunona's words. This scene appeared and disappeared too quickly, and almost no one noticed this bizarre event.
However, the invisible neurotoxin instantly enveloped the entire area surrounding the shrine.
"Miss Yu... you...?"
Daigo's words came to an abrupt halt. The toxins created by his powers would take effect in less than a second on an ordinary human. His body was already paralyzed and unable to move. Drowsiness overwhelmed his nerves, and after uttering his last word, the man collapsed weakly to the ground.
It only took five seconds.
Ignoring any individual's tolerance or differences.
The villagers collapsed unconscious without causing the slightest commotion or disturbance.
Su Qing'an took the [Calming the Tempest] from the instrument case he had been carrying on his back. He silently stepped over the bodies slumped on the ground and walked to Satou Yunona's side, saying:
"Yuno, how long does your poison last?"
"Just to be on the safe side, it'll be three days' worth," the girl glanced at him and replied. "Let's untie these people after we deal with the Living Doll."
In every sense, Satou Yunona was already very cautious. In this first mission, she did not arrogantly choose not to make any preparations just because she possessed the power of Pseudo-Herrscher.
Clearing the area before fighting the boss is a wise decision.
Originally, she thought it necessary to specially prepare a formula to neutralize the toxins for Su Qing'an.
However, after testing them, the two discovered that the toxin, which was specifically designed to limit ordinary people, was completely ineffective against Su Qing'an's current physical condition.
It can only be said that the transplant of the Artificial Stigmata has indeed improved his physical fitness a lot, but specific details such as immunity to certain toxins cannot be seen simply by looking at the data displayed on the panel.
"You asked Headmaster Theresa about what you saw that day, didn't she give you a new answer?"
"Headmaster Theresa could only roughly confirm that the Miko's name was Yae Sakura, and that she was related to Kallen Kaslana, the most famous S-rank Valkyrie Schicksal history. She also mentioned quite a few other minor details."
"However, there's not much specific information to draw upon based on the current situation. At most, we can only confirm that this place might be a continuation of Yae Village."
"Perhaps it was founded by the descendants of Yae Village, or perhaps there is something left behind by Yae Village here that records that scene from back then, or perhaps it is both."
"If the latter possibility is true, then the birth of the Living Doll is undoubtedly inseparable from this thing."
Satou Yunona explained in detail, summarizing the information sent by Theresa and sharing her own insights.
Su Qing'an nodded upon hearing this and said:
"The Honkai event couldn't have happened without a reason. If that's the case, the method of killing the Living Doll might be related to that mysterious entity."
Instead of entering the shrine, the two chose to wait quietly for the ten-minute mark. Attacking the Living Doll before the exact Day of Sacrifice arrived would be pointless, a fact that Satou Yunona had personally confirmed.
However, both of them had already made preparations; both the Valkyrie armor in Kyo-Yuzen and the special armor in the butler uniform were just the basics.
Su Qing'an pulled the box out from behind the tree and handed Satou Yunona two small katanas made of special alloy, a coat, and a pair of shoes.
The short sword is a creation of Changguang Changchuan, but apart from its excellent Honkai Energy conductivity, its quality can only be described as average.
For Satou Yunona Sato, this was part of adapting to the Valkyrie's fighting style and supplementing her melee capabilities.
Satou Yunona took off her Kyo-Yuzen and straw sandals, neatly put on clothes over her Valkyrie armor, and stomped on her sneakers.
In battle, such ornate and elaborate Kyo-Yuzen would naturally be a burden.
Since it's a burden, there's nothing to be nostalgic about, right?
She took a deep breath, Pseudo-Herrscher Core began to mobilize a large amount of Honkai Energy.
This is a mountain forest, an ideal battleground for someone with the power to manipulate plants.
No matter how strong Living Doll is, it could never be at the level of Herrscher. It seems that it is likely a monster evolved from the remnants of a suspected Herrscher within the Miko's body.
From this perspective, it's impossible for Satou Yunona to be unable to defeat even a tiny fragment of her opponent.
Even under these circumstances, she chose to be on high alert.
Satou Yunona created countless vines that roamed over the surrounding plants, leaving behind the mark of her power using Honkai Energy.
The excess vines entangled the villagers on the ground, pulling them away from the battlefield and preventing them from being caught in the crossfire.
Even though she disapproved of the villagers' actions, Satou Yunona couldn't completely ignore their lives.
If she could really do that, killing all the villagers would be the safest and most foolproof method.
After leaving her mark all around, Satou Yunona's actions did not end there.
Building up your ultimate skill bar in advance after establishing a base is a fundamental part of the cautious strategy.
Unlike Satou Yunona, who could use her Pseudo-Herrscher abilities to plan the battle in advance, Su Qing'an simply placed her hand on the hilt of her sword calmly and simply.
He gazed at the entrance to the shrine, his eyes deep and cold.