A heartbeat.
A heartbeat that reached deep into her marrow thundered at this very moment.
Yae Sakura was stunned—not just by confusion, but more so by torment.
Did the mysterious Shrine Maiden mean for her to kill the Village Chief herself?
Yae Sakura had killed many monsters and seen human death and sacrifice.
But to ask a Shrine Maiden to personally end a villager's life—she still hesitated.
"Why are you still hesitating?"
The tone of the Shrine Maiden wearing the Inari mask dropped as she questioned her.
"If you want to protect those you love, you must learn to resist and let go."
"Choose for yourself: Rin or the Village Chief."
Hearing this, Yae Sakura's heart continued to race, and the bloodshot veins in her eyes seemed ready to burst.
As a Shrine Maiden.
Yae Sakura had never left the village she grew up in her entire life.
From the moment of her birth, her bloodline had predestined her to become the Shrine Maiden who guarded this village.
Under the earnest gazes of her kin and the reverent eyes of the villagers, the Shrine Maiden grew up complying with everyone's expectations.
And her sense of self was slowly eroded, bit by bit, by the 'responsibility of a Shrine Maiden'.
A Shrine Maiden should naturally protect the villagers and serve the gods; that was where her duty lay.
"When I arrived just now, I saw him preparing to harm Yae Rin, intending to sever the tendons in her hands and feet."
"If not for me, your sister might have died tonight."
"Even so, do you still want to be a dutiful Shrine Maiden?"
The Shrine Maiden of Inari spoke in a low voice, every word stabbing firmly into the depths of Yae Sakura's heart.
"Tell me, what is your choice..."
Yae Sakura's eyes were dazed; she made no move for a long time.
The resentment supporting her heart was not yet enough for her to sever everything.
Indecision and hesitation remained entwined around the tip of her blade.
At this moment, the breathing of everyone outside the space nearly stopped.
Facing Yae Sakura's choice, they were all incredibly nervous.
Everyone was speculating in their hearts about the final choice.
Even they, standing from a third-party perspective, could not provide the best answer.
This was a multiple-choice question where choosing was almost impossible.
On both sides of the scale were parts of life that were irreplaceable and impossible to discard.
On one side was the duty of a Shrine Maiden held since childhood, along with the kindness in her heart that hoped to spare a life.
On the other side were resentment and suffering, the Village Chief's murderous intent, the villagers' coercion, the High Priest's ruthlessness... everything was forcing Yae Sakura to draw her blade; it was the side of her that belonged to 'evil'.
Once she drew her blade, there might be no turning back.
Standing on the edge of a cliff, Yae Sakura looked blankly at both sides.
One thought leads to Hell!
One thought leads to Heaven!
On one side was a path of light, on the other, an abyss of despair.
The blade rose.
From now on, what she would face was the rebellion of one who was once a Shrine Maiden—becoming a presence that those she once protected would now fear.
Darkness, coldness, isolation.
She would close off her heart, turning loneliness into thorns to protect herself.
People of the dark world would see her as an outlier and harbor prejudice against her.
The light, the earnest gazes of her kin, the reverent eyes of the villagers—their expectations would completely diverge from her path.
After making her choice, the girl would bid a final farewell to her past.
Everything she once cherished would fade with the wind amidst the ringing of the blade before her.
But if the blade fell away, she would maintain everything she had now.
The villagers' respect, the purity of a Shrine Maiden, the inheritance of the Head of the Yae Family.
She would still be that ignorant Shrine Maiden from before, remaining pure forever.
She wouldn't need to make a choice, nor would she need to face the dark side of this world.
At that moment, a torrential rain suddenly began to fall from the sky.
"Rumble!"
Originally, it was because of the drought that they needed to pray to the gods, needed a sacrifice, needed Rin's life.
But even though she had defied the gods and been disrespectful, rain still fell from the sky.
In the darkness, Yae Sakura tilted her head up ignorantly as the storm raged wildly; the dark, heavy sky looked as if it were about to collapse.
This rain had come so suddenly.
The cold strands of rain soaked the girl's hair and also extinguished the flames in her heart.
Everything was already over.
There was no need to make a choice anymore.
The heavy rain had come; the drought was over.
But—
Warm tears overflowed from the corners of her eyes.
What a theatrical scene. The rain that couldn't be obtained even with Rin's life had just fallen so carelessly.
Suddenly, Yae Sakura raised her hand. She turned her head and saw the delicate profile of the Shrine Maiden of Inari on her shoulder.
The Shrine Maiden's hand was raised by the other Shrine Maiden who was hugging her waist from behind.
A decisive voice rang in her ear.
"Don't wait until it's too late to regret why you didn't make a choice sooner."
"Better to summon your courage early and make the choice that follows your heart."
The Shrine Maiden of Inari didn't use force; she simply placed her hand on the back of Yae Sakura's hand.
A warm breath was transmitted over; she had always believed that Yae Sakura could do this.
Redemption?
Sakura didn't need that kind of thing.
The only one who could redeem her was herself!
"Rumble!"
At this moment, thunder roared.
A streak of purple-red lightning sliced through the night sky.
The hand rose, the blade fell.
Crimson blood splashed onto Yae Sakura's cheek.
The palm of her hand was trembling slightly.
There was no need to look back anymore.
As long as falling into darkness could protect Rin and everything she loved.
Then, she was willing to stay here forever.
From then on, that cowardly and hesitant Shrine Maiden died.
What was reborn was a god-defier who turned against the light.
Gyakushinn Miko!
Just as Yae Sakura slumped down weakly.
Suddenly, a shrill, mocking laugh came from the original statue of the god.
"Interesting. This is what humans are—beings that can betray all their principles because of their own greed."
"Wouldn't you agree, Shrine Maiden?"
The god appeared.
With a cracking sound, the room where the god was worshipped collapsed and split open.
A massive fox demon towered into the clouds amidst the thunderstorm.
Its body was like fire, and its crimson eyes stared at the two of them with violence.
As soon as raindrops hit its body, they quickly evaporated into steam.
—ROAR!!!
A beast-like screech.
This was the god they had been worshipping all along.
They had never seen it before, so they had felt apprehensive.
But watching the fox demon stir up trouble, Yae Sakura was no longer afraid.
On the contrary, she almost wanted to laugh.
A god like this—was it worth them giving up everything?
"Go find Rin; she's in the corner of the shrine. Little Shrine Maiden, don't forget."
The mysterious woman in the Inari mask whispered beside Yae Sakura's face.
Having said that, she raised her Tachi and looked straight at the god.
One human!
One god!
Facing each other.
Before the massive god, the body of the Shrine Maiden of Inari was as weak and small as an ant.
But she never bowed her head.
It was nothing more than a god.
Nothing more than a god!
Could a god truly bring them happiness?
A god that required the service of innocent young girls?
An evil god that required the flesh and blood of ordinary people as sacrifice?
"Such a god is better off gone!"
The time to end this moment had come.
Time seemed to slow down.
Cherry blossoms drifted; through her hazy eyes, Yae Sakura saw petals fluttering toward the firmament.
So many cherry blossoms.
Fragrant petals swayed amidst the pitter-patter of the rain.
Mysterious petals fell from the sky, more and more of them—the ocean of flowers Yunduo had spoken of.
It had arrived!
At this moment, even the god was filled with wonder, unable to understand why such a strange radiance was falling from the heavens.
A strange pink light filled the entire sky, as if the world itself were made of cherry blossoms.
Then, with a violent swirl, the pink light obscured the sky.
The ring of the blade mingled with the sound of shattering cherry blossoms, hidden within the soft patter of the petals.
"Cherry blossoms—"
At that moment, a cluster of petals split apart, brushing against the stamens and causing the surrounding petals to ripple.
Then, one, two, three... countless petals all radiated resentment!
Petals that should have been pure and flawless were now like the scythes of ghosts, speaking of an indelible hatred.
These cherry blossom petals traced patterns one after another, creating the exact same sound.
"Scatter!"
With a soft word, cherry blossoms filled the sky.
In Yae Sakura's eyes, pink light drifted as rain fell to the ground.
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