"Higokumaru... you'd better pray I can help the shrine maiden resolve her inner turmoil."
Nagami muttered as he stood by the window, arms crossed, gazing down at the villagers bustling about in preparation for the sacrificial ritual.
"Otherwise, even if I beat you into some eldritch horror, you're still not getting any fried tofu."
Technically, he was under house arrest—but only because he hadn't bothered resisting.
If it helped bring closure to Yae Sakura, then a bit of forced confinement was something he could endure.
Taking a sip of the still-steaming tea, Nagami's gaze swept past the guards posted outside.
All of them wore cheerful smiles, banging drums and laughing like they were celebrating a festival.
Red lanterns cast warm light across the shrine grounds—but instead of joy, the atmosphere felt unsettling.
Disturbingly hollow.
These villagers… the uglier side of humanity was on full display.
Deep within the stigmata space, several glowing violet hexagrams spun silently, gradually unraveling the mysteries of this domain.
Once fully decoded, Higokumaru would have nowhere left to hide.
That was why Nagami hadn't acted earlier—he was waiting for the complete breakdown of the space's structure.
When that happened, even if he had to destroy the entire realm temporarily, he'd be able to preserve the core and restore the stigmata afterward.
'BOOM —'
A blinding flash of lightning tore through the sky, thunder rumbling ominously in the cloud-choked heavens.
Outside, shouts of celebration erupted—some villagers were actually cheering for the approaching storm.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed when the door suddenly slammed open.
A group of figures stormed in, all wearing ceremonial garb and fox masks.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Feigning ignorance, Nagami glanced at the fox-faced daggers in the villagers' hands, his eyes narrowing.
"Nagami-sama, please accompany us to the shrine behind the mountain for the offering~"
One of them bowed slightly, tone disturbingly chipper.
"Wow. This is how you invite people? Really?"
Nagami didn't move from his seat.
He stretched lazily—and then blinked, finally noticing something.
"...Wait. Did you just call me miss? I'm a guy!"
To the villagers, that reaction was clearly a refusal.
"Restrain her!"
The masked leader gave the order without hesitation.
The group lunged, clumsily but forcefully, swarming Nagami and tying him up.
Once they had him immobilized, they skillfully severed the tendons in his arms and legs with their daggers.
Blood streamed from his body, soaking his white robes in scarlet—but even as the pain should have been unbearable, Nagami's golden eyes remained calm.
Unshaken.
One of the attackers paused, confused by his silence.
Still, no one questioned it.
Held up by two villagers, Nagami flashed a bright grin.
"By the way… could someone tell me where the shrine maiden is?"
"No need to worry, Nagami-sama. She's been waiting for you at the shrine."
One villager gave him a strangely meaningful look before they dragged him out.
Inside the shrine's main hall, the air was thick with dread.
Yae Sakura sat before the sacred statue, her face pale and shadowed.
Despair gnawed at her like a demon in the dark.
"Sakura, it's time. You must go."
Her father, now dressed in ornate ritual robes, entered with the same cold, unreadable expression as ever.
"The sacrifice has been prepared."
Sakura barely nodded.
With trembling limbs, she rose and followed him like a lifeless puppet.
Together, they ascended the steps to the ritual altar.
Around them, villagers beamed with pious excitement. The storm clouds and harsh lightning seemed—absurdly—to them like signs of divine favor.
Sakura's hand gripped the ritual blade tightly.
"Sister, you must become a splendid shrine maiden!"
That soft voice, that brilliant smile—those final words echoed in her mind.
In the depths of her pale violet eyes, a phantom fox engulfed in eerie flames flickered past.
As the flames swirled, Sakura's once-clear gaze twisted—a slit pupil split through her irises like a cursed scar.
[Heh… even if you're the Herrscher of Reason, what can you do? As long as you won't harm Sakura, you can't stop me from corrupting her.]
[And… after she nearly carved me up in that frenzy, don't think I'll forget that little grudge anytime soon!]
Peering out from the depths of Sakura's soul, Higokumaru sneered at the sight of Nagami, bound in the center of the altar.
Its lips curled into a manic, arrogant smirk.
Nagami stood there on the central platform, arms and legs lashed upright by ceremonial ropes—looking completely bored.
'What kind of messed-up lullaby is this sacrificial chant?'
'Is it supposed to hypnotize me or something?'
In his mind, Nagami was already humming "The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" just to pass the time.
The ropes were just there to keep him upright—as far as the villagers knew, his tendons had been cut.
What they didn't know was that in his spiritual form, Nagami's "Code" granted him pseudo-immortality.
And even without that, his Herrscher of Reason abilities could regenerate the damage instantly.
"Good evening, Sakura"
Seeing her shuffling forward like a hollow husk, Nagami furrowed his brows—then sighed.
"Nagami… help me… please… save me…"
'CLANG.'
The shrine's head priest—her father—drew the sacred blade, its surface gleaming blood-red in the glow of the red lanterns.
He cast a glance at the "green-haired girl" with an eerie smile.
Then, bowing deeply, he presented the blade to the shrine maiden.
"Let the rite begin!"
In that moment, Sakura was no longer his daughter.
She was the priestess entrusted to commune with the divine.
The cold steel glinted in her trembling hands.
"Don't worry. I heard you."
Nagami's voice was gentle and clear, a calm presence in the storm.
"I'll save you—no matter what."
The girl's hair slipped forward, veiling her expression in shadow as she reached out with shaking hands toward the blade.
The once-lightweight sacred blade now required every ounce of strength just to lift.
Under the hopeful gazes of the villagers—beneath the watchful eyes of the Yae shrine maiden—the girl struggled to raise the gleaming, cold edge of her blade, pointing it toward the smiling boy who had just said he came to save her.
'Drip.'
The first raindrop landed on the blade's tip, scattering into glistening droplets.
"Lady Miko!"
"Divine One!"
"It's raining! It's finally raining! The gods have answered us!"
Their cries rang out like voices calling toward the future.
Yae Sakura's face contorted into a twisted smile—one far more painful than tears—as she looked at the all-too-familiar expression on Nagami's face.
The scene, identical to one in her memory, overlapped with a smiling figure from long ago.
"Sister, you must become a great shrine maiden, okay~"
Just one swing...
If she simply offered Nagami as a sacrifice to the gods...
She could save the village from its suffering, rescue the people from their torment...
And become the perfect shrine maiden...
Cold rain soaked her long hair. Beneath her damp bangs, her lifeless eyes reflected the image of the demonic fox ever more clearly.
Tears, mixed with rainwater, traced down her cheeks as Yae Sakura shut her eyes in despair.
"Sakura, you've already become a wonderful shrine maiden."
To the villagers' horror, Nagami—his arms and legs crippled—slipped free from the ceremonial ropes that had propped him up and stepped forward with a soft smile.
The blade pierced cleanly through his chest—but Nagami didn't even flinch.
Instead, he gently embraced the trembling, tear-soaked miko.
The guards in fox masks, who had rushed to stop him from escaping, now froze in stunned silence.
"Nagami! Why?! Why would you do this?!"
Her eyes widened in shock, her voice hoarse as panic and disbelief swallowed her whole.
"Don't make that face, Sakura."
Nagami reached out, his fingertips caressing her delicate, porcelain-like cheek.
"You couldn't escape the shadows of the past. You couldn't bring yourself to sacrifice others, even to save them."
"You didn't want to hurt me, yet the weight of the villagers' expectations was crushing you."
"Maybe, all this time—through countless cycles spun by Higokumaru—you've tasted the despair of loss over and over again."
He gently wiped the tears from her eyes.
Though the blade had pierced his heart, Nagami was still alive—standing tall, smiling softly.
Even Yae-sama and the villagers stood dumbfounded.
Without care, he pulled the blade from his chest and wrapped his arms around the girl's trembling, fragile body.
"You don't have to be afraid anymore. I've come to save you."
"If facing this alone means only despair, then I'll make sure you're never alone again."
Emotions tangled like a storm—thoughts heavy and thick like mud.
But one thing pierced through it all: his unwavering will.
And in Yae Sakura's eyes, the emptiness faded.
The demonic fox that had been taking form began to falter… crowded out by the radiant light of hope.
"After all, we made a promise, didn't we? To see the cherry blossoms together next spring."
In Nagami's eyes—his pupils like violet hexagrams—a downpour of blue shooting stars began to fall.
He raised his hand high, slowly clenching it into a fist.
Light exploded across the world.
The stormy veil of black clouds vanished, pierced by brilliant sunlight.
Blue skies and white clouds returned once more.
At that moment, the entire scene shifted.
All the villagers of Yae Village who had participated in the ritual vanished—completely, as if they had never existed.
"Analysis complete"
"I've got you now, Higokumaru!
With a motion like pulling something from thin air, he yanked forward—dragging out the core hiding in Yae Sakura's heart, along with the power scattered throughout the Stigmata space.
A pillar of blazing fire erupted into the sky, dyeing the night crimson like spilled blood.
As the flames died down, a massive fox emerged—towering, with five flaming tails whipping through the air.
"Damn you! You're a Herrscher! Why would you help humans?!"
Its twisted face was full of rage and disbelief.
Its flames writhed like cursed resentment—an inferno of hate.
Higokumaru's voice trembled with fury.