Heart of Remnant

"A shrine maiden?"

Kikyo frowned as she looked at Yae Sakura before her.

She felt that Yae Sakura was an insult to the profession of a shrine maiden.

It wasn't because of Yae Sakura's identity as a half-demon. Although Kikyo had purged countless demons, she did not discriminate against half-demons, provided they were not evil. Sometimes, Kikyo even felt sympathy for them.

Most half-demons born from the union of humans and demons lived pitiful lives.

Kikyo had seen many evil, paranoid half-demons, and she had also seen many who were innocent and kind but suffered tragic fates.

It was just that... Kikyo looked at Yae Sakura's attire.

It seemed to be in the style of a shrine maiden, but the skirt... it was shockingly short!

Kikyo had never heard of such a shameless shrine maiden outfit.

Shrine maidens were supposed to be sacred and pure; never mind a shrine maiden, even an ordinary woman would not dress like this!

As a fellow shrine maiden, Kikyo could not approve!

"I really am a shrine maiden! It's just that..."

"I am a shrine maiden who slew the god I once worshipped!! In other words... a Flame Sakitama!!!"

Yae Sakura spoke of her identity as a Flame Sakitama with cold indifference, not caring in the slightest.

"What?"

Hearing this, Kikyo's eyes widened. She immediately loosed the arrow she had been aiming at Yae Sakura, imbuing it with powerful spiritual energy.

To be a shrine maiden and yet slay the god one worshipped—it was too dangerous!

"That attack isn't enough!"

Sword Intent: Heart of Remnant!

Yae Sakura blinked, and everything around her instantly slowed down.

In the game, Heart of Remnant was an ability that increased one's attack speed after a perfect dodge.

However, now that she was out of the game, Heart of Remnant had transformed into a sword intent comprehended by the Flame Sakitama.

It was as if she had gained the eyes of a fly; the movements of everything around her were slowed infinitely. What would take one second to an ordinary person was slowed down several, or even over a dozen, times after activating the sword intent.

Therefore, the speed of the Exorcism Arrow Kikyo shot at Yae Sakura became incredibly slow.

When the Exorcism Arrow was only half a meter away from Yae Sakura, she drew her blade in an instant...

A flash of steel...

The Exorcism Arrow was severed immediately!

The arrow in Kikyo's hand was ordinary, merely imbued with her special spiritual power; before the Spirit Blade: Cherry Blossom Blizzard, it was fragile and weak.

To Kikyo, this scene looked as if Yae Sakura had merely moved her hand slightly, and then her Exorcism Arrow had vanished.

Kikyo hadn't even reacted to the speed at which the blade was drawn and sheathed.

However, with her attack having missed, Kikyo did not give up. She immediately loosed another arrow, then turned and ran...

Although Kikyo was tolerant and kind, gentle toward the weak, and selfless toward others, she could analyze her opponent's position and the situation on the battlefield with great composure.

Knowing she was no match for her opponent, staying to die would be unwise.

As Kikyo prepared to retreat, she remained on guard against a pursuit from Yae Sakura.

But...

"Flash Step!"

Locking onto Kikyo, Yae Sakura directly used the signature ability of the Flame Sakitama, Flash Step...

With a charged dash, she instantly passed through the enemy's body and appeared behind them.

This was absolutely a bug-like ability.

Unlike in the game, after leaving the game, Flash Step allowed her to lock onto any target within her line of sight and instantly teleport behind them.

It was an entirely unreasonable ability.

Therefore... even though Kikyo was nearly seven hundred meters away from Yae Sakura, Yae Sakura instantly transformed into a streak of sword light and appeared behind her.

However... under Yae Sakura's deliberate control, the sword light did not harm Kikyo.

Yae Sakura appeared behind Kikyo in an instant. Before Kikyo could react, her body paused for a moment, then she realized what had happened and kicked out at Yae Sakura.

Although Kikyo's greatest strengths were her archery, barriers, and exorcism seals, her close-quarters combat was not weak, though it couldn't be called strong either.

Facing Kikyo's kick, Yae Sakura blocked it casually.

As a melee Valkyrie, how could a long-range archer be a match for Yae Sakura? Even without using her Spirit Blade, Yae Sakura quickly subdued Kikyo with her bare hands.

"You have lost!"

Releasing Kikyo, Yae Sakura stepped back a few paces. She had no intention of doing anything to her.

"You... what exactly do you want?"

Kikyo looked at Yae Sakura in surprise, not understanding her intentions. She had clearly defeated her; a single strike could have finished her off.

Was she... letting her go?

"I don't want anything, but you were the one who attacked first!" Yae Sakura shrugged. She had never intended to do anything to Kikyo.

It wasn't because she was one of the heroines of Inuyasha, but rather... compared to Xia Ji, Kikyo was undoubtedly a more attractive bait for demons. Especially when she possessed the Jewel of Four Souls, the number of demons coming to snatch it would be countless.

The ten thousand demons required for her mission would be completed soon.

It was just that... the Jewel of Four Souls did not seem to be with Kikyo yet.

Based on what the previous demons had said, at this point in time, Kikyo should not have taken possession of the Jewel of Four Souls yet.

Since that was the case, why not wait until Kikyo obtained the Jewel of Four Souls and then steal the kills? Wouldn't that be faster?

But before that, her relationship with Kikyo... even if it wasn't good, it shouldn't be too bad either.

"..."

Kikyo looked at Yae Sakura and fell silent...

It was indeed she who had attacked first, but... a shrine maiden who had slain the god she worshipped had to be an evil person, right?

However, Kikyo was no longer so sure. For the moment, Yae Sakura did not seem like an evil person.

"Do you know why I killed the god I worshipped?" As if guessing what Kikyo was thinking, Yae Sakura suddenly spoke to her.

"..."

Hearing Yae Sakura's words, Kikyo was stunned... Could there be some hidden story? Although she didn't speak, her eyes were filled with curiosity.

"Because it was a fallen evil god. It wasn't a god... but a fox demon. I was once human, and the reason I became what I am now is also because of it."

"A fallen evil god..."

Looking at Yae Sakura, although she didn't believe it one hundred percent, her attitude toward Yae Sakura had undoubtedly improved significantly.

If that was the reason, then Yae Sakura's actions were understandable.