After the meal, Yae Sakura began wandering around the village. Before she knew it, she had arrived at the village's Sacred Tree—the same one that ran through the entire story of Inuyasha.
In many fanfics, the Sacred Tree was said to possess the power of time and space. But in the year she'd spent here, Yae Sakura hadn't noticed anything unusual about it.
It only had a faint trace of spiritual energy, probably because people had worshipped it as a sacred tree for so long.
After observing it for a while without finding anything, Yae Sakura headed over to the nearby Bone-Eating Well.
She had tried jumping down it before, but she hadn't traveled to the modern world.
"Huh? Why are there two more Valkyries...? Weren't there 39? How are there 41 now? Oh my god..."
Bored, Yae Sakura opened the Valkyrie list and discovered that two more had appeared. There had only been 39 before.
She hadn't even finished clearing her first world, and now there were two more Valkyries?
[Cherry Bomb] Rozaliya Olenyeva? [Blueberry Blitz] Liliya Olenyeva?
Cherry and blueberry... Would the next one be Apple or Orange?
What the heck was this? Fruit Attack?
No!
She hadn't unlocked those characters, so they shouldn't show up at random, right?
[System Notice: Valkyries not in the host's account may still be randomly selected. For example, if the host becomes Rozaliya Olenyeva in the next new world, the system will automatically deduct 10,000 Crystals from the host to unlock that character. If the host doesn't have enough Crystals, they can be borrowed. Crystals earned later will be deducted automatically until the borrowed amount has been fully repaid.]
"Damn it! Automatic deduction... 10,000 Crystals?"
Although 10,000 Crystals was far less than the 28,000 needed to guarantee a character in the game, the ways of earning them were completely different...
In the game, it only cost 2,800 yuan. But here, she probably couldn't earn 10,000 even after finishing all the missions in one world, could she?
She was about ready to puke blood.
And now they were adding new characters too. Yae Sakura could almost see the endless days of unlocking Valkyries stretching out before her.
There was no going back...
Her little sister belonged to someone else now.
"Two greatsword characters, twins... They even have tails... Using their tails to wield weapons, that's clever... Finally, a Valkyrie who looks less human than Yae Sakura."
Looking at the new Valkyries, she muttered a few comments, utterly speechless.
After a while, once she'd settled down, Yae Sakura took out two Honkai Shards.
"What would happen if I released the Honkai Energy inside these shards in this world? Would it create Honkai Beasts? Or even a Herrscher?"
Playing with the Honkai Shards in her hand, Yae Sakura was quite curious...
A tiny bit of Honkai Energy shouldn't cause any trouble, right?
Maybe she could find somewhere to test it when she had time?
Never mind. It'd be disastrous if Honkai really descended on this world.
"Huh? A demon broke in?"
Yae Sakura suddenly looked toward the outskirts of the village. She sensed a demonic aura rapidly approaching.
She'd already cleared out all the demons around the village, so how could another foolhardy one have come near?
Putting away the Honkai Shards, Yae Sakura hurried back to the village.
By the time Yae Sakura arrived, she saw a flash of red. Before she could react, Kikyo rushed over.
"Kikyo, are you all right?" Yae Sakura asked anxiously, though Kikyo didn't seem to be hurt.
"I'm fine. A Half-Demon came to steal the Jewel of Four Souls. He broke through the village's barrier, but I hit him with a Sacred Arrow."
As she spoke, Kikyo took the Jewel of Four Souls from her clothes. It was tied with a cord, like a necklace.
"A Half-Demon... wearing red..."
Could it be this world's protagonist, Inuyasha?
The timing was about right.
Looking at Kikyo, Yae Sakura wondered what she should do.
Should she leave things alone and let them unfold? Bring them together? Or stop them from ending up together?
"What's wrong? Do you know that Half-Demon?" Kikyo asked, looking at Yae Sakura with confusion.
"He seems a little familiar..."
Hearing Kikyo's voice, Yae Sakura came back to her senses. She'd already made up her mind.
She would stop them.
What would happen to Kikyo if she ended up with Inuyasha?
She would help Inuyasha and Kagome be together, then disappear forever...
In the story of Inuyasha, Kikyo was one of the most tragic and pitiful characters...
Of course, this wasn't Inuyasha's fault. It was because of Onigumo—or rather, Naraku. Inuyasha hadn't wanted it to happen either. He loved Kikyo too.
But it was inevitable that Kikyo and Inuyasha wouldn't have a happy ending. Since she had the chance now, she might as well keep the two of them from getting together. That way, Kikyo wouldn't become the protagonist of such a tragic story.
Even if Kikyo never found love, at least she'd still be alive, wouldn't she?
"Kikyo..."
"Hmm?"
"Could you give me the Jewel of Four Souls?"
Looking at the Jewel of Four Souls in Kikyo's hand, Yae Sakura asked seriously.
"Uh... why? Didn't you say you didn't need the Jewel of Four Souls? That the wishes it granted were twisted?" Kikyo froze. For some reason, her heart suddenly ached, and she found herself unwilling to believe it.
Had Yae Sakura gotten close to her for the Jewel of Four Souls too?
But Kikyo immediately dismissed the thought. If Yae Sakura really wanted the jewel, Kikyo wouldn't stand a chance against her. With Yae Sakura's strength, she could take it whenever she wanted.
"I want to keep it safe for you..."
Seeing that Kikyo seemed to have misunderstood, Yae Sakura quickly explained.
If the Jewel of Four Souls wasn't with Kikyo, then she and Inuyasha would have no reason to cross paths. That meant... those things between them couldn't happen.
"Keep it safe for me..."
"Please trust me, all right?"
"...All right..."
Kikyo had wanted to say something, but when she saw the sincerity in Yae Sakura's eyes, she somehow found herself handing over the Jewel of Four Souls.
"Thank you for trusting me, Kikyo."
Yae Sakura calmly accepted the Jewel of Four Souls.
The moment the Jewel of Four Souls landed in Yae Sakura's hand, she froze. Then her face lit up...