Chapter 82: Higokumaru's Sternest Master
Yae Sakura. Her very existence was a complex knot in the timeline, a character whose lore was caught in a strange limbo between the parallel worlds of Guns GirlZ and Honkai Impact 3rd.
Rovel's own knowledge of her history was spotty at best. He knew she had once saved Theresa in Nagazora City, but that was an event far in the future. The core of her tragedy lay five hundred years in the past, when she met Kallen Kaslana. The "Black Box" Kallen had brought from Schicksal had unwittingly awakened the dormant darkness festering in Yae Sakura's heart, slowly twisting her into a Pseudo-Herrscher.
Guided by the whispers from that box, she had unleashed her fury upon the superstitious and cruel people of Yae Village. In the end, it was Kallen who had been forced to seal her away.
The true identity of that "Black Box" was a horror from the Previous Era: the Herrscher of Corruption, a being born from the soul of Rin, the younger sister of the Flame-Chaser Sakura. Unable to be truly destroyed, Dr. MEI had sealed the Herrscher within the box, which then drifted through the currents of civilization until it fell into Kallen's hands in medieval Europe.
Yae Sakura had been sealed in her village, but Rovel had never known its exact location. Now, staring at the familiar, ruined landscape around him, a chilling thought took root. 'Could Nagazora City have been built upon the ashes of Yae Village?'
It made a terrifying kind of sense. With Mei's awakening as the Third Herrscher, the concentration of Honkai Energy in the area had skyrocketed, and that surge of power must have been enough to shatter a five-hundred-year-old seal.
The colossal crimson fox that now stood before them was Higokumaru. Strictly speaking, she wasn't the Previous Era's Herrscher of Corruption herself, but rather a physical manifestation of the darkness in Yae Sakura's heart, puppeteered by the Herrscher's malevolent will. The fox god that Yae Village had worshipped for generations was, in truth, a god of calamity.
'Perhaps this was Sakura's ultimate revenge,' Rovel mused, his eyes fixed on the beast. Her hatred for the villagers must have been absolute. They had sacrificed her beloved sister, Yae Rin, in the name of appeasing their god. So, what could be more fitting than for that very god to become the instrument of their destruction? It wasn't just revenge; it was a twisted, poetic punishment.
In the name of a false god, she would purge the truly sinful.
The sudden materialization of Higokumaru sent a jolt of tension through their group. Kiana, Mei, and Bronya immediately fell into defensive stances, their gazes locked on the towering creature.
A faint shimmer of data appeared in Rovel's vision.
[Name: Yae Sakura | Level: 60 (Degraded from???) | Trust: -50 | Danger Level: High!]
Her level wasn't astronomical, likely a consequence of being sealed for half a millennium, her power having atrophied significantly. But that trust value… Rovel had never seen anything like it. Negative fifty. It was a new record. It seemed five hundred years of solitude had done nothing to quell her burning hatred for humanity.
"Rovel, what's the play?" Kiana whispered, her eyes never leaving the fox.
Higokumaru made no move to attack, its nine massive tails swaying gently behind it. It was simply watching them, its golden eyes filled with a cold, ancient vigilance.
"Let's wait. Don't rush in," Rovel advised, his mind racing. "You should try talking to her."
"Me?" Kiana blinked, pointing at herself. "You want me to negotiate?"
Though it was never said aloud, their little squad clearly revolved around Rovel. He was the strategist, the one who called the shots. A task like this should have fallen to him.
"I have a strong premonition," Rovel said, his face a mask of utter seriousness. "The girl sleeping on its back might be a white-hair fetishist."
"Is… is that so?" Kiana's expression shifted from confusion to determination. "Okay, then! I'll give it a try."
She looked at Rovel's dead-serious expression, scratched her head, and accepted the mission without a second thought.
She actually believed him. She really, truly believed him.
A muscle twitched at the corner of Rovel's lips, a valiant but failing attempt to suppress a grin. He had to school his features into a mask of solemnity. Sometimes, a downturned mouth wasn't a sign of sadness; it was the desperate struggle to keep from bursting into laughter.
Still, there was a kernel of truth to his absurd suggestion. Kiana carried the blood of the Kaslana family, a direct link to Kallen. If anyone could get through to Yae Sakura, it was her.
"Ahem," Kiana cleared her throat, stepping forward cautiously. "Um… excuse me? Do you need any help?"
Higokumaru's massive head swiveled, its piercing gaze landing squarely on Kiana.
"Kallen…" A soft, feminine voice, impossibly gentle, emanated from the fox's maw.
"What was that?" Kiana didn't quite catch the whisper and took another step closer, leaning in.
Suddenly, the air crackled. A torrent of fire erupted from Higokumaru's mouth, a roaring pillar of flame that sought to incinerate Kiana where she stood.
With a yelp, Kiana threw herself backward, tumbling through the air and landing gracefully a dozen meters away. "Rovel, you tricked me!" she shouted, glaring at him.
His logic had been sound, but he'd forgotten one crucial detail. While Yae Sakura might have a soft spot for Kallen's legacy, Higokumaru—the embodiment of her rage—wanted nothing more than to burn that legacy to ash.
The attack, however, served its purpose perfectly. As Higokumaru focused its undivided attention on Kiana, Rovel moved. He became a blur, a shadow that flowed over the rubble and up the side of a nearby ruined building. In a single, fluid leap, he launched himself from the rooftop, landing silently on the vast expanse of the fox's fiery back.
The heat radiating from its fur was intense, but it was nothing compared to the inferno of Kalpas.
"Who?!" Higokumaru whipped its head around, its snarl echoing through the ruins. But it was too late. Rovel had already scooped the unconscious, pink-haired miko from her resting place and vaulted away.
"Let her go!" Higokumaru's voice cracked with panic. Yae Sakura was her anchor, her other half. If anything happened to her, the fox would cease to exist.
Before the beast could give chase, two streaks of light screamed through the air. Bronya, ever the tactician, fired a pair of missiles that slammed into the building beside the fox, bringing it down in a cloud of dust and steel that blocked Higokumaru's path. She didn't know the specifics of Rovel's plan, but in that moment, her trust in him was absolute.
"You… you dare?!" Higokumaru glared at the three girls, its fur bristling with rage. A titanic battle was about to begin.
Miles away, Rovel gently set Yae Sakura down amidst the debris and knelt beside her. He tried to wake her.
"Sister… wake up, Yae Sakura…" His voice was a soft murmur, almost too quiet, as if he were afraid of startling her.
Unsurprisingly, she showed no signs of stirring.
'Well, if the gentle approach doesn't work…' A look of pure, unadulterated mischief crossed his face. "It seems I have to use that move. My apologies, please forgive me…"
With a theatrical sigh, Rovel stretched out his audacious hands and reached for the pair of soft, twitching appendages atop her head.
A moment later, Yae Sakura felt a strange, tingling sensation spreading from her sensitive fox ears. Her eyes snapped open, a gasp escaping her lips as she woke with a jolt.
"You're finally awake," Rovel said, pulling his hands back with an expression of deep relief.
"And what, precisely," she began, her voice as cold as a winter morning, "do you think you are doing?" Yae Sakura stared at him, her hand already resting on the hilt of the katana at her waist, the legendary Spirit Blade: Sakura Fubuki. Her gaze was so sharp that Rovel felt as if he were a single breath away from being decapitated.
"Don't misunderstand! I was just trying to wake you up," he explained, holding up his hands placatingly. "See? The effect was very significant, wasn't it?"
He silently moved his hands further away from her soft, pink ears.
"..." Yae Sakura's violet eyes narrowed, scrutinizing him.
Perhaps it was the subtle influence of his charisma stat, or maybe, just maybe, she caught the faint, familiar scent of cherry blossoms clinging to him. After a long, tense moment, the data above her head flickered. The trust level rose from -50 to -40.
She finally looked away, seemingly accepting his flimsy excuse.
"Where is this?" she asked, her voice laced with confusion as she took in the devastated city around her. This place was nothing like the Yae Village etched into her memory.
"This is Nagazora City," Rovel answered. "A Honkai Eruption just occurred. And right now, I need your help."
"?" She tilted her head, a flicker of bewilderment in her eyes.
At that exact moment, Higokumaru, locked in a fierce battle with Kiana and the others, suddenly froze. A deep chill washed over it, making every strand of its crimson fur stand on end.
It turned its massive head and saw her. Yae Sakura, awake and standing beside the man who had taken her. A flash of pure hatred crossed its vulpine features.
"Return to me!" Yae Sakura's voice cut through the air, sharp and commanding.
In the next second, Higokumaru's colossal body dissolved into particles of red light, coalescing into a gleaming blade that flew across the battlefield and landed perfectly in Yae Sakura's waiting hand.
It was clear who was in charge. Yae Sakura was, and always would be, Higokumaru's sternest master.
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