Chapter 61: The Shame Among Herrschers
Haven't exercises for the Gyakushin Miko... always been for battling Higokumaru?
And now... it was finally time to do what her profession demanded of her!
Faced with Gyakushin Miko's constant flickers that were like flashes of sword light, Higokumaru could only be both enraged and powerless...
Her claws couldn't connect, and when her tail reached back to strike at Gyakushin Miko, the maiden had already reappeared on the other side of her body.
As the Gyakushinn Miko's Ultimate Move... Crimson Naraka reached its final second, she materialized right beside Higokumaru, plunging her sword into his hindquarters...
Before she could retaliate, the Gyakushinn Miko's Shunmetsu! struck one last time, unleashing a burst of sword energy into Higokumaru's nether regions!
-
A scream of unspeakable horror... a cry several times more agonized than any before, pierced the air.
Higokumaru's mind snapped, overwhelmed by primal instinct.
"I'll end you!"
Enormous flames engulfed her entire body, rising as a colossal inferno that threatened to pierce the heavens. Even the clouds above Yae Village... were incinerated in an instant.
It was as if the very fabric of the sky itself were about to be torn apart!
The sight was utterly terrifying!
Temperatures around Yae Village skyrocketed to over a hundred degrees Celsius, climbing ever higher...
Terrified, the Gyakushinn Miko quickly materialized near Kallen and the others, erecting a barrier to block both the scorching heat and the airborne corruption virus.
The temperature rapidly soared to over a thousand degrees...
Surrounding plants swiftly withered and ignited...
Witnessing the rampant and ferocious corrosion virus relentlessly devouring everything in its path, if not for the Gyakushinn Miko's barrier...
Even the Yae sisters and Kallen were finding it unbearable; the little village girl beside Yae Sakura was faring even worse.
This power from Higokumaru... Could it be the combined might of the Herrscher of Flames and the Herrscher of Corruption?
Impossible. How could Higokumaru possess the power of the Herrscher of Flames...?
Yet, according to the Gyakushin Miko's knowledge, there was no mention whatsoever of Higokumaru possessing such power!
Wait, that's not entirely true... It seems like there was something like that in the game...
The maddened Higokumaru was akin to a super nuclear weapon...
However... off to the side, the little fox Higokumaru wasn't within the barrier, yet the heat and corrosion had no effect on her whatsoever.
-
Now I have to maintain the barrier... Seems like defeating Higokumaru... will still have to be Higokumaru's job.
"Higokumaru!"
"Big sister, I'm here! Do you need help?" Upon hearing the gyakushinn Miko's voice, Higokumaru immediately dashed to her side. She looked at her big sister like a puppy seeing its owner.
"This Higokumaru... is yours to deal with!" The gyakushinn Miko gazed pleadingly at Higokumaru.
"But..."
The older girl's request naturally met with willingness to help, but right now, she was only a little fox! How could she possibly defeat what used to be herself?
"The Divine Key... the Jizo Mitama... take it!"
The gyakushinn Miko retrieved the Jizo Mitama from the warehouse and tossed it to Higokumaru.
"Indeed!"
Having acquired the Jizo Mitama, Higokumaru immediately radiated with newfound confidence.
Though she didn't yet possess the full power of a Herrscher, even Higokumaru fell short... In fact, the current Higokumaru surpassed her former self.
The seal on Higokumaru's Herrscher powers had not been fully broken; the black box remained intact.
Upon obtaining the Jizo Mitama, Higokumaru swiftly integrated it into her body. In an instant... the Herrscher core of the divine key aligned within her.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"
Higokumaru let out a piercing cry to the heavens!
Before her materialized an enormous fox, identical to Higokumaru herself.
With the Herrscher core in place, the now empowered Higokumaru lunged directly at her counterpart, who continued to escalate the temperature and spread the virus.
Even Higokumaru couldn't comprehend why a duplicate of herself... one who was impervious to the corruption... would intervene.
The charging Higokumaru effortlessly knocked her unguarded counterpart to the ground.
As the inferno column was disrupted, the temperature began to plummet.
In an instant, two enormous and identical multi-tailed foxes engaged in a close-quarters battle.
However... their fight looked more like a scuffle between two children.
"You bite my tail, I'll grab your ear..."
The two foxes tumbled about on the ground, their five tails each swishing and landing countless blows on each other.
After what seemed like an eternity, the foxes were finally forced to separate!
By then, both creatures were covered in wounds. Several tails had been severed, and large patches of their fox pelts had been torn away.
"This can't be," Higokumaru exclaimed, ignoring her own injuries as she stared at the other fox in disbelief. "How can you also possess powers of corruption? And... your Herrscher Core... Could you also be the Herrscher of Corruption?"
As they parted, Higokumaru's words raced through Higokumaru's mind. This fox possesses powers identical to mine? This... this defies logic!
As the Herrscher of Corruption, so long as I remain alive, a new Herrscher of Corruption should be impossible within this civilization. After all, there can't be two identical Herrscher entities.
What is the situation with this new Higokumaru?
And, as a Herrscher... you're here to stop me from destroying the civilization instead of doing so yourself! Do you even deserve to be called a Herrscher?
(TL Note: This arc is so confusing lol. So many "twins"...)
Higokumaru received no answer from Higokumaru. Instead, she produced several bottles from who knows where—each containing a medicine no larger than her current fingernail size. Without hesitation, he popped the tiny bottles into his mouth, along with the glass.
In less than ten seconds, Higokumaru's wounds had nearly healed, and even the tail that had been broken off her back had re-grown.
"Why would you, a Herrscher, help humankind?"
Just moments ago, Higokumaru had appeared horribly wounded, but now those injuries were nearly healed.
Higokumaru sensed danger. This newly appeared Herrscher was already on par with her, and now she possessed such miraculous abilities? She's going to defeat me for sure!
But... even if this civilization was strange, having given birth to a Herrscher of Corruption, what did it matter if a Herrscher stood with humankind? As a messenger of Honkai, could she truly help humans? How shameful for a Herrscher!
"Higokumaru, you'll understand one day! Just how delicious Big Sister's grilled meat and fried tofu are. For Big Sister and the fried tofu... what do the Herrscher or destroying civilizations matter?
"Now... don't continue down the wrong path. Just follow Big Sister, and you can enjoy delicious fried tofu too! If you surrender voluntarily, I'll even share half—no, wait... one-third of Big Sister's fried tofu with you!"
"If you persist in your unrepentant ways, don't blame me for losing my temper! For Big Sister's fried tofu, I'll oppose anyone who stands in my way!"
Higokumaru transformed into a young girl with fox ears, flying through the air... Her face stern, she spoke to the Higokumaru ahead: