"I didn't expect that after so many years, you still take good care of your body."
Otto hadn't expected to arrive in Nagazora City in less than half a day.
But in the Stigmata space of Yae Sakura, the three little ones had already experienced a time loop. The demon sealed in the box next to Kallen had broken the seal and escaped, possessing Yae Sakura and even trying to kill Kallen.
Meanwhile, the villagers of Yae Village were even bolder, trying to blame the drought problem in Yae Village on Kallen, and preparing to sacrifice her!
Is this reasonable?
Otto rushed all the way here, and he had also been watching the broadcast by Bronie. When he heard the villagers blaming Kallen for meaningless sins, Otto's blood pressure immediately rose.
Originally, Hellmaru's plan was to make Yae Sakura realize that she had no power and could do nothing, and then kill Kallen. After all, there were three little ones who were dragging her down, and this time Yae Sakura would definitely Honkai.
But who would have thought? Kiana, Bronya, and Mei—who were just children in Hellmaru's eyes—proved to be incredibly resilient!
And Kallen repeated what she had done five hundred years ago. Using the Key of Binding Oath of Judah, she completely sealed the Honkai energy and constructed a seal based on the stigmata space on Yae Sakura's body.
As for how she did it, Kallen didn't know either. She thought this might work. The Kaslana family stigmata trial had already started, and the only thing she could do before the trial results came out was this.
The power of love is terrifying.
But Hellmaru was unwilling to give up. She would keep trying, saving, and replaying, just to break the seal created by that damn Kallen.
God knows how Kallen managed to do this. Was it the power of Judas? Or was it that the original box still served its original function and reactivated the seal with the help of Judas?
But it didn't matter. Hellmaru decided to start over.
And the time node was the day Yae Rin would be sacrificed.
That's right, not only Yae Rin, but Hellmaru would also send Kiana, Bronya, and Mei to the altar!
After another time loop, the whole atmosphere of Yae Village now felt so heavy.
"Sure enough, Hellmaru can't sit still anymore. She actually wants to use her little authority to resist. Mr. Otto, the next stage is yours. It doesn't matter what you want to do—whether it's stealing the treasure left by Kallen or adding insult to injury to Yae Sakura. Just show your strength."
Otto had arrived in Yae Village. His outfit was obviously very Shenzhou-style, making one wonder if this man was originally from Shenzhou, but with foreign blood. His confident and upright posture held a hint of gentle temperament, like that of a gentleman.
"Hehe, so I have to act according to my own wishes? Even if I do something that may cause psychological trauma to your Bronya?"
"If you can do this in front of Kallen, then you can try it!" Bronie remained unmoved, her sharp eyes seeming to see right through Otto.
Otto was slightly stunned. He didn't dare to provoke Bronie anymore. Who knew what methods she would use to retaliate?
Although Bronie appeared kind and often preached that everyone could smile because of the game, in reality, this woman was very narrow-minded. Every time she made a joke or a small threat, the other party would remember it in their heart, and one day, she would suddenly take revenge.
The worst part was that Otto might not even remember where he had offended her.
In short, his favorability with Bronie had likely sunk to the bottom. He wasn't sure what he had done to make Bronie hostile to him to this extent.
Was it because of the Honkai of the Babel Tower Laboratory? Or was it because of the deaths of the orphanage's parents, who had nothing to do with Bronie?
Such trivial matters made him hate himself, much like those anti-entropy people. No wonder they worked together.
After realizing some things, Otto flashed a sunny and cheerful smile, which seemed completely out of place with the grim atmosphere of Yae Village.
He pretended to be a wandering merchant, carrying a huge box behind him, and entered this strange village.
"Okay, okay, I will definitely not do any bad behavior in front of Kallen."
Today was the festival day of Yae Village. For Yae Village, this was an important event that determined whether the entire village could continue to exist in the future.
Therefore, the head of Yae Village places great importance on the care of the sacrifice.
To what extent?
Even if the tendons in the hands and feet are removed, the person must still be kept in Yae Village!
The endless malice, as if it wanted to devour everything, made Otto frown. He then attempted to contact Bronie, but Bronie had completely disconnected from him.
It seems Bronie is causing trouble elsewhere?
....
"Why! Why did this happen?"
At this moment, Kiana's hands and feet were tightly bound, and she was locked in a small, dark room.
"I remember the demon in the box suddenly took control of Yae Sakura and slaughtered the entire village... Then Miss Kallen..."
"We've been under Hellmaru's control from the beginning. If the Yae Sakura before was described as the mouth of a fox, now we've been swallowed whole."
Bronya calmly analyzed the situation. It wasn't until she lost Project Bunny that Bronya realized the true value of it. "Let's give it an hour off every week from now on."
"Eh? Since Hellmaru is so powerful, why didn't she send us here from the beginning?"
"Although Bronya wants to sigh that Kiana rarely uses her brain, I'll remind you: don't you chew your food thoroughly before swallowing?"
"Yes... Is that so...?"
"Is it the will? The will of self, the will to fight?" Mei quickly figured it out, and Bronya cast an admiring glance. "Originally, Hellmaru's goal was to deal with Yae Sakura, and she wanted to shake her heart through us. But we performed too well, and now she's furious, so she's using us as scapegoats."
"Pfft, that guy is really a rookie! She can't even afford to play!" Kiana laughed out loud.
"Don't get too proud, stupid Kiana. We're now fish that can be slaughtered at will!"
"How can this binding stop me!?"
Bronya watched as Kiana exerted force. Her clothes ripped slightly, but the rope broke apart as if by miracle!
"Kiana, has your strange power grown again?"
"Hehe, as a knight of the Kaslana family, I will not be trapped by this meaningless binding!"
Even though the rope was not completely torn, it loosened enough for Kiana to break free. At that moment, the door to the room opened. It was the village chief of Yae Village.
"You bastard..."
"Is the sacrifice so dishonest? It seems that you outsiders do not have good intentions toward Yae Village. Since you're so dishonest, I have no choice but to use this method." The village chief took out a dagger that glinted coldly and slowly approached Kiana.
But how could Kiana just sit and wait for death?
"Hmph! You stinky old man, take this... Eh? Why can't I use my strength all of a sudden!?"
"Hehehe, because you're in my world! You broke free because I didn't find you, but once I do, how could I let you escape?"
"This voice... it's Hellmaru!" The village chief was possessed by Hellmaru!
"Mei, don't watch the next scene."
"What...?" Mei was confused as she saw Bronya close her eyes.
Chop!
Hand tendons, Feet tendons.
Kiana's limbs were throughly cut off in their tendons.
The village chief had done this countless times before. He had mastered the art of rendering the sacrifice completely immobile, turning them into useless beings, and ensuring they survived until the day of sacrifice!
Of course, that day wouldn't be too far away. This world was completely under the control of the other party, and any struggle was futile.
Why hadn't the other party resolved things already?
Because the priority was Yae Sakura—Yae Sakura, protected by Kallen!
Fear, worry, despair—these emotions engulfed Mei's heart.
But why?
"Why?" Mei asked, confused.
"Why are you still smiling, Kiana? After what happened to you... your hands and feet..."
"It hurts, it really hurts, but this can be overcome with momentum! And I noticed something! Hellmaru can't swallow us immediately because we still have hope in our hearts!"
"Although Kiana is a fool, this time, Bronya will praise you for protecting everyone. Hellmaru does suppress us in this world, but Bronya has slowly discovered the truth of this place!"
"Even you, Bronya..." Mei looked at the smiling Kiana and the always calm Bronya and felt a little relieved. She tried to believe in them. Mei told herself.
"We may have come to a place similar to the Palace in Persona. Hellmaru is a foreign object that invaded it, and after a long period of erosion, it seized a degree of authority. But it still has difficulty dealing with us!"
"Palace? Could it be that Miss Yae Sakura's heart is extremely twisted?"
"Twisted? Well, a little. For example, watching her sister being sacrificed. Or the way she flirted with Kallen for seven days. It's a bit twisted. But in the end, for Miss Yae Sakura's reputation, I'll shake my head."
"It's just a description, but this world is indeed constructed by Yae Sakura's cognition. Isn't the Honkai magical?"
"Fighting Spirit! you have to have more fighting spirit! It really hurts, and Sirin is already furious, but I promise that if Hellmaru appears before us again, and still uses her main body, I will definitely beat her down!"
Bronya felt a bit speechless about this hot-blooded idiot, but it was good to remain optimistic. Bronya couldn't help but feel a little relaxed too.
"How to say it... It's a bit magical. A dream-like world. Yae Sakura's will has lasted for such a long time?"
"Wait and hold on to hope. Bronya promises everyone that she will never let you get hurt like that again. Bronya will completely destroy that guy, Hellmaru!"
...
"Sometimes, I wonder if I've gone too far. Letting Kiana face this kind of scene, even though it's all fake, it will still leave a very deep impression, right?" Bronie clenched her nervous hands.
"Growth often comes with some pain, but Kiana is doing very well! It's okay, Bronie, believe in Kiana and Bronya. They will definitely make it through!"
Elysia understood Bronie's anxiety. Hellmaru was exuding malice, and this state was anything but cute. It made Elysia frown. The current Hellmaru looked more like a malicious Herrscher bent on destroying everything.
"When Rin comes back, we must make amends to Kiana and teach her a lesson for doing such a terrible thing."
Actually, Elysia knew that what Hellmaru had done was at most possessing Yae Sakura's body and slaughtering the entire Yae Village. But after seeing Yae Sakura's past experiences, Elysia felt that destroying the whole village wasn't such a big deal. It was just that she hadn't even spared the children, and that was truly too cruel.
"Fu Hua, how is it? Have you found the fragments of Kallen's stigmata? And where is Hellmaru?"
The three little ones had stayed in the time-accelerated Sakura Samsara for seven days. Fu Hua had been working inside of it for almost the same amount of time. She always kept her mission in mind and worked tirelessly to find the kind and lovely Rin.
"Bronie, I think I've found the target location, but if I approach it too easily, I'll definitely be noticed. When that happens, Hellmaru will fight back, and I can't guarantee that I'll be able to save Rin."
"In that case, let's find a little fox in Yae Village, a little fox named Higokumaru, who looks like an ELF."