The pink-haired girl in front of her must be Yae Sakura, but a young Yae Sakura.
As for the girl next to her, who bore some resemblance to Yae Sakura, she should be Yae Sakura's younger sister.
The two did not notice the sudden appearance of Inaba Tsukiyo, and were playing happily on the grassy field.
But the other girl's face suddenly changed, and she fell to the ground.
"Rin!!"
Seeing the girl fall, Yae Sakura quickly rushed over to help her up, and found that her breathing was very rapid, her face was flushed, and she was in great discomfort.
Again, Yae Sakura immediately carried her on her back and ran towards the top of the mountain.
"That girl, is she Yae Rin? She should be Sakura's sister."
Yae Sakura had never mentioned her to herself, nor had she told Kallen that she had a sister.
The reason she didn't tell them was probably because she didn't want to recall that sad memory again.
The scene then shifted. This time, what Inaba Tsukiyo saw was a very traditional Japanese-style room.
At this moment, Yae Rin was not as lively as she had been seen just now. She was lying very weakly on the mattress, and Yae Sakura was helping Yae Rin up to give her medicine.
Although the medicine was very bitter, Yae Rin did not complain. She didn't want to trouble Yae Sakura, and drank all the medicine little by little.
After Yae Rin finished all the medicine, Yae Sakura told Yae Rin to rest well, and she left the room with the empty bowl.
However, someone was already waiting for Yae Sakura in front of her.
This was a man whose face could not be clearly seen, but the moment Yae Sakura saw him, her attitude became very respectful.
"Father..."
"Have you not made a decision yet, Sakura? Yesterday, several more people died in the village. This time, the sacrifice must be made with the bloodline of a Miko. You are the Miko presiding over the ritual, and Rin is the sacrifice for this ritual."
Despite being her own daughter, this man spoke a very cruel reality.
These words caused the medicine bowl in Yae Sakura's hand to fall to the ground. Sakura, standing motionless on the ground, her pupils trembled violently, her heart was in turmoil.
"As you requested, I didn't tell her about being the sacrifice. However, you must also make a choice quickly. This is what we agreed upon."
Looking at the bowl that had fallen to the ground, the man shook his head, walked past Yae Sakura, patted her shoulder, and left the corridor.
After the man left, Yae Sakura fell directly to the ground as if all her strength had been drained.
Yae Sakura held her face with both hands. She had long known that the village intended for her to be part of this ritual, and also knew that her younger sister, Yae Rin, would be the sacrifice.
But... as her older sister, how could she let such a thing happen! As her older sister, how could she let such a thing happen.
She had to escape with Rin. As long as she escaped with Rin and found a doctor to cure Yae Rin's illness, they could live a happy life.
They had already agreed to go see the cherry blossoms together. As her older sister, she would absolutely fulfill her younger sister's wish.
"Rin... I will definitely protect you, Rin... Rin..."
Yae Sakura sobbed softly. At this moment, she bore no resemblance to her future self, just like a Little Girl who had lost her support, so pitiful.
Inaba Tsukiyo remained silent. This was not a happy memory, and Yae Sakura's hometown was not a happy place either.
The next moment, the world was the same as the one Inaba Tsukiyo first appeared in: it was still that rainy day, still that ritual site.
However, unlike the first time, Yae Rin had not yet been killed. She was still lying on the ritual board, and Yae Sakura had not yet made a move.
The surrounding villagers knelt on the ground, waiting for the ritual to be completed, but at this moment, Yae Sakura suddenly dropped the sword in her hand.
This was her plan: to escape from this place with Rin at the moment before the ritual began.
However, to Yae Sakura's despair, when she was about to pull Yae Rin up and escape from this place, she found that Yae Rin could not stand up no matter what.
"As expected... you still can't make up your mind, Sakura."
Just then, Yae Sakura's father, wearing a fox mask, came before Yae Sakura.
Wearing a fox mask, he exuded a faint authority. Just standing in front of Yae Sakura made Yae Sakura feel fear.
"Father... what exactly is going on? Rin, she... Rin, she... What exactly did you do to Rin!!!!"
An unwilling roar, this was an unwillingness towards her own powerlessness. Facing her own weakness, Yae Sakura felt a deep unwillingness.
The man quietly watched the out-of-control Yae Sakura, not showing much emotion.
He picked up the ritual blade that Yae Sakura had dropped and came before Yae Rin, who was lying on the ground, unable to move.
"I knew you would be soft-hearted and plan to escape with Rin. So, without your knowledge, I have already severed Rin's hand and foot tendons, so that Rin will not be able to escape."
"!!!!"
Yae Sakura looked at the man in front of her in disbelief. She couldn't believe that this man would do such a cruel thing for the ritual to proceed.
Just to make Yae Rin unable to escape, he actually severed Yae Rin's foot tendons. This... "You... demon..."
"This is for Yae Village, for the continuation of the village. Rin's sacrifice is necessary."
He did not feel sad about his daughter's death, as if he was doing something perfectly natural.
The man picked up the blade in his hand and, without any hesitation, cut Yae Rin's throat, completing the sacrifice.
Yae Rin's blood flowed continuously. Her eyes did not close. Even though she could no longer see anything clearly, she still kept her eyes open, looking at Yae Sakura who was within reach.
Her hands were already uncontrollable. Even if she wanted to hold Yae Sakura's hand, she couldn't.
She could only open her mouth and, with her last bit of strength, said to Yae Sakura.
"Big... sister... I... love... you... the most."
After saying that, Yae Rin's hands fell, completely losing all signs of life.
At the same time, it suddenly started to rain heavily. The surrounding villagers looked at the sky and cheered loudly.
However, while the villagers were cheering, Yae Sakura could only despairingly look at Yae Rin's lifeless body.
At this moment, she was so powerless; it was because of her own weakness that she couldn't protect the people she held dear.
The cheers around her were so jarring and repulsive in her ears.
She looked up at the raindrops continuously falling from the sky; this rain could save the lives of all the villagers in Yae Village, but the price was her sister's life.
Her father's words still echoed in her mind: for the continuation of the village, was Rin's sacrifice necessary? Heh heh... The despair in her heart and everything that had just happened made Yae Sakura begin to detest this world, and these villagers who sacrificed Yae Rin, all of them were equally repulsive.
It was at this moment that Inaba Tsukiyo noticed a power quietly entering Yae Sakura's body, subtly influencing Yae Sakura without anyone, not even Yae Sakura herself, noticing.
After this world ended, Inaba Tsukiyo did not continue to see Yae Sakura's memories; she arrived at a completely different place than before—a sacrificial site engulfed in flames.
As if it had just gone through a battle, in front of the damaged shrine, Inaba Tsukiyo saw a girl in a black nun's habit lying weakly there.
"Kallen?"
This familiar face, judging by the timeline, could only be Kallen.
Inaba Tsukiyo approached Kallen, and as she drew near, Kallen seemed to sense something, struggling to get up from the ground.
"Miss Miko, whom I do not know..."
"Kallen... how could you..."
Inaba Tsukiyo wanted to heal Kallen, but she couldn't connect to Kallen's power, so she couldn't save her at all.
"You know me? Never mind, my time is running out. If... if you encounter a Miko with cherry-blossom colored long hair nearby... please... you must give this to her..."
With tears in her eyes, Kallen closed her eyes and completely lost all signs of life after handing the necklace in her hand to Inaba Tsukiyo.
The item Kallen gave her was a golden cross, which looked like an ornament, attached to a chain, like a necklace.
After Kallen handed the necklace to Inaba Tsukiyo, the space began to collapse.
Finally... Inaba Tsukiyo arrived at the Stigmata Space where Theresa was. This time, she did not appear in Yae Village, but in a place outside Yae Village.
"Tsukiyo-jie... This is the Stigmata Space where the Headmaster's consciousness resides. However, since a moment ago, a power has been affecting Bronya and Tsukiyo-jie's communication. It might not be possible to communicate with Tsukiyo-jie from now on. When Bronya cannot be reached, please be careful, Tsukiyo-jie."
Bronya's image became extremely blurry, and even her voice was barely audible.
At the end of the communication, the blue screen completely disappeared in front of Inaba Tsukiyo, and her communication with Bronya was completely cut off.
"Affecting my communication with Bronya? That's right, since this is where Theresa is, that fox should also be here. Since the main body is here, it's not surprising for communication to be affected. But... this is also good."
Suddenly, a giant black bear appeared behind Inaba Tsukiyo. This was a very strange black bear, with peculiar patterns on its body.
At the same time, behind the black bear, two tentacle-like things were floating.
Seeing Inaba Tsukiyo standing defenselessly in front of it, the black bear roared loudly, and the tentacles behind it flew towards Inaba Tsukiyo, preparing to bind her.
[Clang!]
A sharp glint flashed, and the tentacles that were about to touch her were easily cut apart.
Immediately after, cracks appeared on the black bear's body, which was split in two, and its body fell heavily to the ground.
"Yae Village... Higokumaru..."
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