Inside the solemn shrine, everyone wore fox masks.
On the altar of the main hall sat a fox that spoke human language.
"Everything dedicated to Corroding Schicksal!"
As the fox spoke, the crowd below, wearing their fox masks, echoed in unison.
"Everything dedicated to Corroding Schicksal!!!" ×N
The sound was deafening, shaking the mind of a certain young boy among them and making his blood boil.
At this moment, the fox was actually just a product of high technology.
Time flew, and it was unknown how long had passed. The original boy had grown into a middle-aged man. He had also grown from standing like a minion to becoming the leader.
In front of him was a fox that had already exposed its mechanical structure. Yet even so—
"Everything dedicated to Corroding Schicksal!"
"Everything dedicated to Corroding Schicksal!!!" ×N
The deafening shouts still held no hesitation. They were the most loyal servants of the fox before them, even if they had no idea what "Corroding Schicksal" meant.
To be honest, even he, the Guji of the shrine, had a unique interpretation of this phrase. But this was normal; after all, everyone's dream of "Corroding Schicksal" was different.
Therefore, as long as the other party's impression of "Corroding Schicksal" retained the characteristics of a fox, then that person was a member of the Yae Shrine.
As for those who lost this specific symbol in their impression... they were executed on the spot!
It was precisely under such extremely high requirements that the purity of those who remained rose higher and higher. Until now, the original boy, now the middle-aged Guji, had no old friends left.
Even the newcomers who joined later were distant from him. And when he reached old age, and the higher-ups no longer sent newcomers in, the entire Yae Shrine gradually had only him left.
—No one's faith could be purer than his!
Perhaps only he could completely anchor the impression of "Corroding Schicksal" onto the fox. Precisely because of this, only he could become "Corroding Schicksal."
By the time he came back to his senses, he... or perhaps it should be said it, had long since devoured all the remains in the shrine, becoming a fox standing upon a pile of corpses.
"Everything dedicated to Corroding Schicksal!"
This voice traveled far, as if countless people were repeating it.
"Everything dedicated to Corroding Schicksal!!!" ×N
The deafening sound seemed as if it wanted to tear through space, making the entire earth tremble.
However, in the end...
"Let me be responsible for support from the outside?"
The fox, who thought it would be entrusted with important tasks, was ultimately excluded from the core circle because its faith was too pure. It was unknown whether this was its luck or its tragedy.
But in short, it had no complaints and fell into a slumber of unknown duration, until—
"Our arrival."
Waking up from [Demon Fox's Diary], Leo's expression was quite subtle.
The content of this diary wasn't much, but the information within was particularly important.
First, the way they cultivated monsters should have started with mental suggestion. At that time, they didn't have any magical abilities. But later, as faith intensified, the fake became real.
—This could be considered a different form of apotheosis through worship, right?
Secondly, the truly pure believers were paradoxically not trusted by those higher-ups. But thinking about it, it made sense. These absolute monsters cultivated through faith were loyal servants who would commit suicide the moment they deviated from their faith; they didn't know how to be flexible at all.
Just like the difference between the Fox and the Eye Monster. The former didn't understand the concept of surrender, while the latter could conceive the thought of surrendering; the two were completely incomparable.
When compromise was needed during a mission, the fox certainly couldn't do it. Being excluded from the core circle and treated merely as a handy tool was perfectly normal.
As for the final point—
"Corroding Schicksal?"
Leo muttered while looking at MEI and asked, "How do you think this term should be interpreted?"
Although they had heard it many times in [Demon Fox's Diary], if they couldn't grasp the essence of this term, it would be equivalent to missing the most important information.
"No need to ask when you already know."
Shaking her head, MEI stated bluntly, "I think the same as you; this should refer to the Herrscher of Corruption."
"This is the method they use to steal the power of the Herrscher of Corruption."
"And—"
Turning to look at Kiana and Raiden Mei, she continued, "Their powers must have been targeted in the same way."
"Ugh!"
Hearing MEI say this, Kiana couldn't help but rub her arms with both hands and said, "That's truly too disgusting!"
In her view, this method of stealing her power was simply terrifyingly evil, giving her the feeling of maggots crawling on her body.
"Indeed..."
Raiden Mei's expression wasn't very good either, but recalling her own situation, she could almost confirm that this was the method those monsters used to seize her power.
"Heh!"
Sneering, Leo said, "These monsters talk about seeking divinity, but in reality, they are just maggots under rotting flesh."
"As for surviving the Finality of the Honkai, perhaps that isn't even as important to them as stealing the power of gods, right?"
"If we really have to say it, conversely, this fox held fast to its original intention and truly wanted to become a god."
Glancing once more at the [Demon Fox's Diary] in the system space, he closed the system space.
"Mhm."
Nodding, MEI said seriously, "It is indeed the least monster-like among them."
Looking at all the monsters Leo had seen in the instances, only this fox was exceptionally divine and handsome, without a trace of abnormality. But even such a fox was cultivated through countless corpses.
One could only say that the civilization where this fox existed was beyond saving!
"What about Sakura?"
Suddenly, Leo remembered something and asked, "Has she undergone any changes due to the soul fragments?"
"No."
Shaking her head, Kiana said, "We talked to her about this, but she didn't feel any abnormality in herself."
"To be honest, I even suspected if I had seen it wrong."
After speaking, she scratched her head with a slightly helpless look.
"No need to doubt yourself."
Shaking his head at Kiana, Leo stated bluntly, "Since what this fox worshiped was the Herrscher of Corruption, it's perfectly normal for such a thing to drop."
"It's just that the person you guys focused on might be wrong."
"You mean?"
"Exactly!"
A trace of seriousness flashed in his eyes as Leo stated bluntly, "The person you should be paying attention to is Rin."
"So now, can you take me to find Sakura and the others?"
"Perhaps they... need our help."
Since he wasn't sure of the situation, he could only use "perhaps."
At this moment, it was already evening. The horizon outside the window was filled with burning clouds, as red as that Demon Fox's demon fire.
[Real World: Sakura's Apartment]
"Who are you?"
Pointing her long sword horizontally at "Rin," Sakura had a face full of vigilance.
"Big Sis... no, Elder Sister, I am Rin!"
Facing Sakura's drawn blade, "Rin's" thoughts were also chaotic.
On one side was her life depending on Sakura for survival; on the other side was her life as a Demon Fox with another Big Sister.
Unlike Kiana and Raiden Mei, when Rin became Higokumaru, she was equivalent to being reborn.
Precisely because of this, when Higokumaru's soul fragment wanted to fuse with Rin, it became an incredibly difficult matter. And because Higokumaru's memories were more massive, it led to her easily suppressing Rin's consciousness.
This resulted in flaws being exposed by Sakura, even though she tried hard to pretend to be Rin.
—There was no helping it; she couldn't hide from Sakura's eyes!
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, killing intent burst forth from Sakura's eyes.
"Quickly tell me, where have you taken Rin?"
Her voice at this moment seemed to come from the Nine Serenities (Netherworld), piercingly cold.
"I, I..."
Facing Sakura's threat, Higokumaru felt like crying but had no tears. She couldn't even let Rin's consciousness surface if she wanted to, as the other party would fall into a coma just from being affected by the torrent of her memories.
The only method now was to give her enough time to instill memories into Rin bit by bit.
It was just a pity... what she lacked most right now was time!
"Still won't speak?"
A divine light flashed in her eyes. Sakura shouted while launching an attack at "Rin": "Then don't blame me for being ungracious!"
Of course, she didn't want "Rin's" life, she just wanted to control the other party. But undoubtedly, her attack was still ruthless, definitely aiming to render "Rin" completely immobile.
Thus—
Clang!
Her long sword slashed against another even sharper long sword. It was only because her swordsmanship had reached the point of perfection that she forcibly changed the slash into a bind. Otherwise, with this slash, her long sword would have broken into two pieces.
"Phew... made it in time."
Seeing Sakura retreat, Leo let out a long breath of relief.
"Leo... what is the meaning of this?"
Watching Kiana and the others behind Leo protecting "Rin," Sakura's brain was somewhat chaotic for a moment.
Ultimately, concern led to confusion. After discovering something wrong with her sister, she only suspected that someone had taken her away and wouldn't listen to "Rin's" explanation at all.
After all—
"This is too inconceivable, isn't it?"
Although she knew about soul fragments and knew that Kiana and Raiden Mei were such existences, she had always thought she would be the one affected by soul fragments, not her sister.
But now—
"You mean... you are the future Rin?"
"Mhm..."
Seeing Sakura finally willing to listen to her explanation, "Rin"... or rather Higokumaru, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"You can understand it that way, but essentially I am already a different person."
In a certain sense, she was born from Rin's dead body, just like the relationship between the Herrscher of Sentience and Fu Hua.
"Then what about Rin?"
Hearing this, Sakura became even more nervous.
"Her consciousness is temporarily suppressed by me, but I swear I didn't do it on purpose. It's just that my memories are too massive; she still needs a little time to digest them."
Afraid Sakura would get anxious again, Higokumaru hurriedly finished her sentence in one breath.
Looking at Higokumaru silently for a while, and determining the other party wasn't lying, Sakura continued to press: "How long is needed?"
"I don't know either..."
Shaking her head, Higokumaru stated bluntly, "This depends on whether her will is firm."
"In short, not only will I not make things difficult for her, but I will also specifically guide her within the memory torrent."
"After all... she is me."
After speaking, she revealed a rather sorrowful expression.
In fact, she felt guilt regarding her identity. No matter what, she was the Herrscher of Corruption, the root cause of pain and even death for her older sister and her Big Sister.
Precisely because of this, she was actually more willing to give all her power to Rin, rather than to herself, a monster born with original sin.
"Is that so?"
Sakura had calmed down by now. Although she could feel that Higokumaru was indeed not her sister, there was a faint connection between the two sides. Therefore, the other party's sadness was clearly conveyed to her.
"I understand... I was too hasty just now, sorry."
After speaking, she actively lowered her head to Higokumaru.
The previous her clearly could have handled this matter more calmly, but—
"You cared too much about Rin; I can understand."
Whether as the other party's "younger sister" or because of Yae Sakura in her memories, Higokumaru could understand Sakura's eagerness to save her sister just now, so she naturally wouldn't mind.
However—
"Just take this as my atonement."
Coming in front of Higokumaru, Sakura pulled the other party into her embrace.
"Eh? Mm..."
First stunned, Higokumaru then subconsciously let out a comfortable sound.
After all, without a doubt, her sister's warm embrace was her safest haven now, capable of making her forget all worries. And perhaps because of this, her consciousness gradually relaxed, allowing that sliver of consciousness she had suppressed to surface.
"Sis, Sister..."
As if having had a very long dream, Rin looked at Sakura with a dazed expression.
"?"
Never having expected her hug to have such an effect, Sakura was also quite shocked. But as long as she confirmed Rin was still there, this was the best news for her.
Therefore, unconsciously, her hug became tighter.
Until—
"Alright."
Seeing the pretty face of the younger sister, who didn't know how to refuse her sister's hug, turning red, Leo hurriedly spoke up: "If you keep hugging, Rin won't be able to take it."
"Uh... sorry, sorry!"
Hearing Leo's reminder, Sakura finally realized how much strength she had used. One could only say, once matters were linked to her sister, her reason evaporated instantly.
"It's okay..."
Shaking her head at Sakura, Rin spoke, "As long as Sister is at ease."
During this process, she had gradually understood everything.
And—
"Is... is this okay?"
Following the voice she heard in her ear, she actually condensed a part of the power within her body into a small fox person.
"Mhm, mhm! Rin is indeed a genius!"
The small Higokumaru that emerged from the void circled around Rin with a face full of excitement.
"Didn't you say I am you, and you are me?"
Revealing a complex expression as she looked at Higokumaru, Rin said, "Isn't this just you praising yourself in a roundabout way?"
"Uh..."
Slightly stunned, Higokumaru simply crossed her arms and nodded: "I am indeed a genius!"
After speaking, she revealed a look of considerable wisdom.
Seeing Higokumaru being so blunt, Rin fell silent instead. However, the other party's performance also made her truly understand that the two of them were not "one person."
"So, this Little Brother..."
Seeing Rin understood, Higokumaru turned her gaze to Leo.
"Who are you?"
She knew everyone else; be it Kiana or MEI, they could be considered her old acquaintances. But only Leo, she had never seen before.
But what puzzled her greatly was that her sister had calmed down because of him... very suspicious! In her impression, Sakura was surprisingly cold. Except for towards her, she was almost the same towards everyone else.
But such a sister seemed different towards this man—there was an affair!
"I am Leo."
Not standing on ceremony with Higokumaru, Leo smiled and reached out to rub the other party's petite head.
"I belong to the variables, so it's normal that you don't know me."
"As for identity, currently I am the lover of Kiana, Mei, and MEI."
After speaking, he turned to look at Kiana and MEI.
As for Raiden Mei, naturally, she was hiding inside the long sword, which could be considered "escaping the disaster."
"Ah this..."
Facing Leo's shocking statement, Higokumaru couldn't help but crash.
And what made her doubt life even more was that Kiana and the others didn't refute it; at most, they glared at Leo with blushing pretty faces to show dissatisfaction.
Are they still the people I know?
For a moment, she couldn't quite accept it. After all, in her memory, these girls were almost insulated from romance. Let alone serving one male together.
Thus, after a long while, she squeezed out a sentence—
"Little Brother... you are the Herrscher of Corruption, right?"
In fact, only in this way could she understand why these girls were willing.
"Heh~"
Amused by Higokumaru's words, Leo said, "Things are far more complex than you think. Later, I will explain it to you slowly."
"Mhm..."
Nodding slightly, Higokumaru let it drop.
"In short, being able to confirm your consciousness isn't controlled by the Honkai, I am relieved."
To be honest, Leo had been in a state of high alert from beginning to end. Even reaching out to touch Higokumaru's head was to confirm if the other party had hostility.
Honestly speaking, if not for his [Tiny Miracle] being on CD, he would have definitely performed a lie detection.
"Naturally."
Hearing Leo say this, Higokumaru stated bluntly, "After all, I mainly contain the memory part; as for power, I don't have much."
Of course, her "not much power" here was in comparison to her peak state, which was the Herrscher form. Just regarding the current environment, she was still quite strong.
"Then you are being somewhat modest."
Understanding Higokumaru's current intensity, Leo stated bluntly, "Even if I didn't come, you should have been able to exchange a few moves with Sakura."
"It's just that the final outcome—"
"I should have been kicked out of the apartment by Big Sis."
Before Leo could finish, Higokumaru actively finished the sentence.
In fact, she had already been prepared to wander for a while at that time. But luckily Leo arrived in time, avoiding the predicament of her being homeless.
"That's true."
Nodding, Leo looked at Sakura again.
"Anyway, now you can be at ease about Rin, right?"
"With Higokumaru present, her safety shouldn't be threatened for the time being."
"And in the future, when Rin reaches the node of becoming the Herrscher of Corruption, just let Higokumaru absorb this power."
In his view, this was absolutely the best ending; he didn't even need to worry about Rin's [Energy] issues, Higokumaru would solve them. And judging from Higokumaru's condition, she wanted to share power with Rin, or even push the power directly to Rin to use.
It was just that the current Rin clearly couldn't control so much power.
"Mhm..."
Nodding, Sakura suddenly walked in front of Leo.
"In that case, I am indeed at ease about Rin's safety."
"So..."
Revealing a resolute gaze, she stated bluntly to Leo: "Please let me join you!"
It was just that as soon as she finished saying this, a blush couldn't help but rise on her pretty face. After all, she knew clearly what joining Leo represented; Kiana had educated her on this aspect.
"Have you thought it through?"
Leo didn't pretend to be some upright gentleman; he was quite covetous of Sakura.
—Not only craving her body, but craving her numerical values even more!
Reverse-deducing from the values provided by Sakura, the other party's stats were only a tiny bit less than Kiana's; she was absolutely also a beautiful stats monster! Precisely because of this, he incomparably desired to obtain the other party.
"Of course."
Nodding, Sakura suddenly thought of something and turned her head to look at Rin.
"However—"
Turning back to look at Leo again, she said seriously: "You are not allowed to make a move on Rin!"
After speaking, she looked completely serious.
"Uh..."
Facing these words from Sakura, Leo was somewhat speechless.
"What kind of person do you take me for?"
"I haven't taken the initiative to make a move on anyone yet."
In fact, even with MEI, he only wanted to form a [Bond] with the other party and didn't have thoughts of deep interaction. It was just that subsequently, due to a series of events, it finally turned into what it was now.
But to really treat him as a playboy who hooked up with people everywhere all day long, that would be somewhat wronging him.
"Is... is that so?"
Seeing Kiana and MEI nod, Sakura then lowered her head in slight shame.
"Sorry..."
"It's okay."
Reaching out to pat Sakura's shoulder, Leo said with a sunny smile: "Wait until we've been in contact for a long time in the future, and you will understand me better."
"Mhm..."
Feeling Leo's kindness, a warmth rose in Sakura's heart.
"Your joining..."
And Higokumaru, who had been observing all along, finally saw some clues from this.
"Something's not right, is it?"
After all, having lived for a longer time, she wasn't a simple young girl like Rin; she immediately sensed something strange from this.
"Nothing isn't right."
Smiling at Higokumaru, Leo said, "It's just an ability of mine; I can obtain power by forming [Bonds] with people."
"But since your sister said so, I won't force anything on you guys."
Although he indeed also somewhat coveted Higokumaru's power, since he had just demonstrated his character to Sakura, he naturally couldn't go back on his word.
Not to mention... the days ahead are long!
He indeed wouldn't take the initiative to make a move on Rin or Higokumaru, but he had never said these two couldn't make a move on him.
And if he attracted the two through personal charisma, then this [Bond] would naturally rise faster, without him needing to waste much effort. Otherwise, this [Bond] increase was still very slow.
Just like Sakura—
[Bond: 30%]
Even though he helped her resolve such an event, her [Bond] didn't increase much. One could only say that this mutual understanding was truly a task of grinding an iron pestle into a needle.
And regarding Kiana and MEI rising so fast, it was entirely because both sides rose from humble beginnings and had truly followed each other in life and death.
But when it came to Sakura, they still lacked too much understanding between them.
"There is actually such an ability..."
Looking at Leo with a complex expression, Higokumaru had simply never heard of such an ability. But since this was a power confirmed even by Kiana and the others, she wouldn't say anything more.
After all, she didn't consider herself more authoritative than the God of Earth.
"Alright."
Seeing that everything that should be discussed was discussed, Kiana spoke up and asked: "Have you guys eaten?"
"Are we moving after eating, or moving over now?"
"Mm?"
Hearing Kiana say this, Leo was stunned instead.
"This is Sakura's rented apartment, and my house is temporarily uninhabited, so it's perfect for letting them live there."
Seeing Kiana had already started helping Sakura pack luggage, MEI took the initiative to explain.
"And in this way, Sakura can participate more quickly and conveniently in any activities, and there's no need to worry about Rin either."
"Is that so?"
Hearing this, Leo nodded.
In fact, he had just thought Sakura and Rin were going to live in his home. And to be honest, his home was actually running out of space to live in.
After all, even a high-end apartment had limited rooms.
So... should I purchase a villa?
—Forget it!
Just as this thought was born, he immediately dispelled it. After all, the painful lesson of a certain Miss Raven was still vivid in his mind; he didn't want to roll on the ground throwing a tantrum for an island villa.
Moreover, theoretically speaking, he wouldn't live here for long either. Afterwards, he should be drifting everywhere, so there was completely no need to purchase another property now.
He could consider these things later when everything had settled.
But by then, it probably wouldn't require him to worry. Perhaps he would accidentally meet a rich woman who would directly arrange a Golden Courtyard for him.
Speaking of which, Eden's concert seems to be starting soon, right?
At this moment, Eden shouldn't have joined the Fire Moth yet, so he would just go to show his face. And... what if there were unexpected gains?
Thinking about it, he prepared to solve the matter of concert tickets through "money power" after returning. At that time, he would take everyone over.
The only problem was—
Looking at the headphones on Sakura's shoulders, he understood that Sakura and Eden would never have an intersection in music in this lifetime!
________________________________________
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