Chapter 77: God's Descent
At the same time, in the shrine.
The girl who was to be the presiding priestess of the ritual was now dully making preparations.
She washed up and changed into a new shrine maiden costume.
The red and white shrine maiden costume was dignified and decent, wrapping her body and adding a sense of solemnity.
However, her mood could not improve no matter what.
She had not completely given up hope. Before the ceremony was complete, she tried to step out of the shrine, secretly return home to pack her luggage, take Rin away, and run away.
Even if there are only two sisters, they will definitely be able to live well in other places in the Far East.
If all else fails, they can travel across the ocean to other countries, such as neighboring China.
However, whether it was at the entrance of the shrine or every corner of the shrine, there were villagers patrolling.
They probably knew what they wanted to do, so they didn't give themselves the chance to escape.
Before the ceremony began, she was forced to stay here and couldn't go anywhere.
Therefore, the last chance would probably be to kidnap Rin right there at the ceremony venue.
But the chance of success by doing this...isn't it too small...
The girl was hesitant.
Although she would try no matter how slim the hope of success was, she would not hesitate to try if there was a way to increase the probability of saving her sister.
At this moment, a familiar figure appeared in the shrine.
It was the samurai who often came to visit the shrine during this period, and she came again today.
"Sister Mei, how could you...?"
Yae Sakura looked at the samurai girl who came to visit her, but she felt a little confused.
Normally the shrine is open to the public and anyone can come in, but today the shrine has been completely closed off by the lord. Apart from her and the other villagers in charge of patrolling, there should be no one else here.
Seeing the cherry-colored girl in front of her looking a little confused, Mei explained:
"There were a few people at the door who stopped me from coming in, so I used a little force."
As she said this, she also shook the sword in her hand.
As a "ronin samurai," it is quite normal for her to do as she pleases.
Of course, she was not as ruthless as Kirataka who lived next door and took people's lives with one move.
Her sword was not unsheathed, but it only made the group of villagers who were blocking the road fall asleep temporarily.
"I heard that you were going to preside over a ceremony today, so I came to see you."
Mei explained using the words she had prepared in advance.
"…"
Yae Sakura was silent for a long while.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she looked at the other person with an almost longing look.
During this period of time, which was neither too long nor too short, she had already realized that the other party possessed extremely advanced sword skills, even far better than her own.
'If, if I could ask her to help rescue Rin from the ceremony...'
'The probability of rescuing my sister would be greatly increased, right?'
'This... might work!'
So, the cherry-colored girl stepped forward without hesitation, tightly grasped Mei's hand, and pleaded with a sincere tone:
"Sister Mei, could you please do me a favor?"
......
The faint light of the flame burned in the darkness, casting an ambiguous halo, outlining a mysterious and depressing picture of the village.
Many villagers knelt silently in front of the altar, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
On the stone platform of the ceremony venue, the girl who was to be sacrificed had been placed there.
——Although no one knew where the villagers who were responsible for cutting her tendons and brought her here had gone, the sacrifice did come to the ceremony site alone.
Although her tendons were not cut, the sacrificial girl did not run away, so the villagers waiting here had no other ideas.
They only hoped that the ceremony would begin quickly and that the girl's life could be exchanged for the nectar that fell from the sky.
On the stone platform, Yae Rin knelt quietly with her eyes closed, as if she had accepted her fate.
The night wind blew quietly, bringing with it a fishy smell and mournful cries. The villagers stared at the girl in fascination, with piety that came from the bottom of their hearts.
As the night gradually fell, the shadows of the houses were reflected in every corner of the village, like a huge theater under the dome. Whether it was the trembling firelight, the shadows refracted by the lights, or the dull and pious faces of the villagers, the whole scene was rendered more depressing and tense.
In this state, Yae Sakura also went up to the ceremony venue.
She came to Rin with an expressionless face and raised the spiritual sword Sakura Fubuki in her hand.
Yae Sakura's plan is actually very simple.
——She pretended to kill her own sister, but in fact, she cut the rope on her in an instant, then pulled her and Mei together to escape from the encirclement of the villagers and escape from Yae Village.
Taking a deep breath, the girl's eyes became determined, and she quickly swung Sakura Fubuki and slashed at Yae Rin.
With each blow of the knife, the ropes that bound Rin's hands and feet broke, and she regained her freedom.
Then, Yae Sakura took her sister's hand and said anxiously:
"Rin, let's go, let's get out of here!"
"elder sister..."
"Where do you want to escape to?"
An unexpected voice reached Yae Sakura's ears.
Along with it comes the unbearable high temperature.
"…"
Yae Sakura paused while pulling her sister along. She turned around with difficulty, only to see a huge monster behind her.
The huge crimson fox was taller than most houses in the village.
Its four legs were covered in pitch-black flames, and around its neck was a red and white shimenawa rope. On its forehead was a red mark in the shape of three magatama.
Behind it, there are several huge tails swinging back and forth, with colors changing from light to dark.
This is the true appearance of the Fox God.
"This... this is God."
In the past, she had never seen what a god looked like. Now that she saw it with her own eyes for the first time, she was deeply shocked.
This is the "Fox God" that Yae Village believes in...
For a moment, new ideas came to her mind, such as asking God for forgiveness and asking it to let Rin go.
Being watched by such a terrifying existence, can she really escape from Yae Village with her sister?
Did the villagers in the past also hold ceremonies under the gaze of such monsters?
Outside the venue, the villagers watching the scene all expressed their surprise:
"It's Master Fox God, Master Fox God!"
The ignorant people could not help but become excited. They prostrated themselves on the ground and kowtowed. The pain from the broken foreheads seemed unable to stop them from worshipping the gods.
In such a fanatical atmosphere, facing the so-called Fox God, Yae Sakura's hand holding the sword was trembling slightly, and she was unable to move.
Looking down at the sisters in front of him, the so-called "Fox God" said in a low voice:
"Think carefully... You can't escape this fate, Yae Sakura."
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