Today a strange event had happened in this small town, perhaps if it had been a few days before, these two newcomers could have been heroes.
The newcomers were clearly Kikyo and Asahiko, who had arrived in this small town after advancing far enough down that road.
"Ughh, it's disgusting... How can a place smell so bad."
"It's not just you, I can also feel... That's disgusting."
Kikyo walks with absolute confidence among the curious people around, while Asahiko looks like she's about to vomit, because of the so-called "Smell" of the surroundings.
After walking through the town for a few minutes with no apparent direction, Kikyo suddenly stops and starts moving towards the crop fields.
"It is too scattered... Asahiko, where is the source of the smell?"
"Not here, it's over there. Right between the crops."
Stopping holding her nose for a few moments, Asahiko sniffs the surrounding air and, overlooking the discomfort, points towards the larger crop field.
Nodding to confirm that she can now hold her nose again, Kikyo and Asahiko move down the dirt path that leads them directly there.
"Stop, stop right now!
"Asahiko!"
"You didn't even hesitate. Hey, obey!"
Completely ignoring the muscular young man who suddenly appears, Kikyo just keeps walking and lets Asahiko take over.
¿What easier way to take care of annoyances than using charm? Having that clear, Asahiko with a few words puts the young villager under control.
"Asahiko, come and bring him with you."
"Yes, yes... It already looks like our roles have been reversed. You, follow me."
"Yes."
Making his way through the surrounding crops, Asahiko finally makes his way to where Kikyo stands, though his eyes are not on her, but on what lies before him.
It was a small shrine made of stones, though it seems to have a hollow interior that is closed by some wooden doors and above that door is a paper seal.
"Do you know what Kikyo is?"
"A shrine of blessings... It doesn't look quite right though."
"Don't tell me, that rotten smell is the norm."
Scoffing at Kikyo even as her face twists briefly, Asahiko walks around, though she doesn't notice anything strange besides the foul smell emerging from within.
Kikyo seemed to have already scanned the surroundings, though some hesitation still shows in her current demeanor. Lifting her body from the ground, she turns and looks towards the young man lowered Asahiko's charm.
"Who did this?"
"Hahaha, sorry... You already asked him. Who did this?"
"Some time ago a gift fell from the heavens to our village. Thanks to that gift the sacred tree came back to life, we all thought it was a miracle given by the gods…"
Pausing his narrative for a few seconds, just as if he was fighting something inside himself, the young man's eyes become more dreamy and he continues speaking.
"The sacred tree blessed us with great and tasty fruits, only one of those could be sold at a great price, then the loss of the crops was not such a bad thing."
"Gift, heaven, object with great power..."
"Yes, most likely he's talking about a fragment of the pearl."
Noticing where Asahiko's thoughts are going, Kikyo also makes it clear that she thinks the same thing. With that interruption out of the way, the young man continues speaking.
"The situation started to get worse a short while ago. There was a great battle between feudal lords nearby, making the sale of the fruits no longer profitable, but the sacred tree was still devouring the fertility of the surrounding soil."
"Heh, at last comes the twist in the plot."
"After many altercations we decided it was best to cut down the sacred tree, the fruits were a source of money, but without food none of that matters."
Asahiko's smile spreads across her face at this moment, almost as if she could savor the downfall of these inept people.
"It was horrible, the sacred tree was alive! That wasn't a blessing, it was a punishment for our greed... Many died and the worst thing is that the land has now become totally dry!"
"You can feel something from it"
"Nothing, it's a normal tree"
Kikyo and Asahiko were talking about the tree standing on a small hill. Well, the tree would be incorrect, as it has been cut down and in its surroundings there are a multitude of seals.
"When all seemed to be lost, they arrived one night... They call themselves the sakura practitioners, because of their weapons made of that material."
"Known?"
"Not at all."
Shaking her head in a universal gesture of denial, Kikyo fixes her tousled black hair and focuses her attention on the young man.
"After that night the sacred tree was cut down. That shrine was made with the blessing of the head priestess, they say it is for the fertility of the land and so it has been."
"What do you think of this, Kikyo?"
"It is, but it is not the right one. This is not natural, it is found eating up all the nutrients in the soil and forcibly growing crops. As soon as the nutrients run out, everything will become even worse than before."
"Better start now, right?"
Nodding to each other, Asahiko sends the young man away and takes a fighting stance, while Kikyo approaches the temple, then removes the seal on the wooden door.
A thick, black mist rises quickly into the sky, then it gathers into a sphere, only to emerge from within it a beast. It resembles a larger than normal wolf, only it has clouds on its feet that allow it to fly.
"Moon Shape:Crescent Moon".
The flaming crescent moon splits the newly arrived wolf into two easily, but from the surrounding crop fields a few more appear.
"They are shikigami. I'll purify what's in here, take care of them."
"As you say~. Lunar form:Full moon."
Spinning on her axis, Asahiko creates a bunch of flaming rings with her fan, turning all the shikigamis a pile of ashes.
"All done. How are you doing there?"
"It's done, but the effects will take a while to show."
As they were talking to each other, a multitude of footsteps were heard around them and they were quickly surrounded.
"Do your thing."
"Someone is bossy today. All of you, obey"