Chapter 73: Undine's Tale

"All right, I've completely suppressed the Honkai within you. Though you can't use Honkai energy for now, it won't continue to corrupt you."

After helping suppress the Honkai possessing Hokushin Mei, Higokumaru withdrew her hand and spoke with a super-cute expression.

"The power... it's gone..."

Hokushin Mei didn't respond to Higokumaru's words. Instead, she placed her own hand on her chest, feeling a strange sense of loss.

Throughout her life, Hokushin Mei had valued her strength and combat prowess above all else.

Though the miko master before her claimed this power was evil, Hokushin Mei didn't mind her personality being influenced by it. So the sudden disappearance of this power left her feeling somewhat disheartened.

Of course... she didn't want to become a complete puppet of Honkai either.

"Don't worry. This power is your own; no one can take it from you. Right now, Higokumaru is merely helping you suppress this evil Honkai energy. Once you can fully control the Honkai energy yourself, you'll undoubtedly be even stronger than you are now." Noticing Hokushin Mei's dejection, the fox-eared miko approached her and offered words of comfort.

For Hokushin Mei, combat and strength held greater importance than life itself.

Yet precisely because of this, she failed to value her own existence.

This... needs correcting...

"I understand, Master," Hokushin Mei nodded, indicating her comprehension of the miko's words.

"Good! With matters resolved so smoothly, let's return to the village! We finished quickly enough... the barbecue probably hasn't even been touched yet. Mei arrived just in time!"

Though night had fallen, the battle hadn't taken long. They could continue the barbecue upon returning...

"..."

Hokushin Mei stared at the miko in confusion, utterly failing to grasp the meaning behind her words.

"Higokumaru, let's go back..."

"Alright, Big Sister... let's go back and continue eating barbecue!" Although Big Sister's matters were more important than the barbecue, if Big Sister's barbecue was involved... Higokumaru didn't want to miss out.

As she spoke, she transformed into a large fox and let Big Sister ride on her back.

When Hokushin Mei tried to climb on as well, Higokumaru immediately stopped her with her tail.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Only Big Sister can ride me, got it?"

Higokumaru stood up, glaring fiercely at Hokushin Mei.

How dare a mere human try to ride on the body of a noble Herrscher? In this entire world, only Big Sister could ride her.

"I..."

Hokushin Mei looked at Higokumaru, feeling utterly bewildered. It wasn't just because Higokumaru was her master's mount. More than that... she sensed an even greater power emanating from Higokumaru's body.

"Let's go..."

Higokumaru wrapped one of her tails around Hokushin Mei like she would a little fox, and flew back to Yae Village.

Being carried like this by Higokumaru made Hokushin Mei feel extremely uncomfortable, as if she might vomit...

The fox-eared miko sat on Higokumaru's back, looking at the completed bounty mission.

She directly claimed the rewards: 3 Seele Valkyrie Fragments and 60 Crystals. This was nothing special compared to previous missions.

The real prize was a chance to spin Ai-chan's Big Wheel. This single spin was actually worth 1,000 Ai-chan Exclusive Coins!

In Ai-chan's Treasure Trove, these coins were priced exactly at 999 Ai-chan Exclusive Coins. There was even a purchase limit - only ten spins per world.

But... the miko didn't even have a thousand Ai-chan coins. Whether exclusive or not, it made no difference to her.

When she spun the Ai-chan Big Wheel, she realized it was just like those fortune spinners, but with an Ai-chan twist. The wheel was divided into many sections, and... shockingly, two-thirds of them seemed to offer quite impressive rewards.

For example: Valkyrie (Swallowtail Phantasm) character card, four-star initial weapons (Undine's Tale, Star Shatterer: Vikrant, Skadi Ondurgud), Stigmata (Dirac, Fu Hua the Musician)...

Most of these were relatively new items; the miko didn't have them because they hadn't been released yet when she first crossed over...

Apart from these, there were also super Titans like the Titan Mechs (MSR-7 Heavenly Father, Titan Berserk).

Zombie-type: (Wind Phantom), (Summon Demon God), (Scythe Queen), (Dead Warrior)...

Honkai Beasts: Emperor Rank (Ganesha), (Assaka), (Parvati), Judgment Rank (Giant Chiyou), (Benares)...

Finally, there were three armed dolls: Jingwei's Wings, Dummy Judas, and Selune's Elegy (Cross).

These three dolls looked like incredibly cute and realistic Barbie dolls, with abilities and sizes similar to Ai-chan and Higokumaru in the open world.

They were all less than half a meter tall, and like Higokumaru and Ai-chan, they could assist in combat.

However, their assistance was limited to combat only; they didn't have the trash-picking capabilities of Higokumaru and Ai-chan.

Most of the items on the big wheel were excellent, especially the Judgment Rank Chiyou and Benares, which could be obtained through the spin.

However, the price was undoubtedly very expensive.

If something else were to be drawn instead, it would feel like a loss.

After all, Honkai Crystals cost only 300 Ai-chan Coins...

After a moment of hesitation, the miko still tapped the start button, and then... the big wheel began to spin.

The initial rotation speed was very fast, but it gradually slowed down.

Parvati passed, Dead Warrior passed... Scythe Queen passed...

Then... as it was about to stop at Benares, the miko's heart couldn't help but get excited...

But the pointer still swept past Benares, and came to rest in the space behind it...

A four-star initial scythe weapon... [Undine's Tale].

"Ah..."

The miko didn't know whether this was a loss or a gain. Although she indeed didn't have this weapon, but... she couldn't use it now anyway.

For now, it could only be stored in the warehouse.

Moreover, whether it was a loss or gain to exchange something worth 999 Ai-chan Exclusive Coins for [Undine's Tale] was hard to say.

However, it wasn't too bad. Even if it was a scythe... whether for Gyakushinn Miko or Sixth Serenade, it could still be used.

Four-Star Scythe: Undine's Tale

Description: A scythe that appeared alongside Seele's awakened Stigmata power. Its icy-sharp appearance starkly contrasts with the sweet demeanor this girl usually exudes.

Perhaps this weapon represents her hidden, unknown side. Or maybe it simply answers Seele's desire to protect someone.

The weapon comes with two skills: Dark Flood and Songs of the Deep. This is a weapon exclusive to Seele. Except for Seele... others cannot fully utilize its power when using it...

In short, this weapon is useless!

It's not even as good as Rita and her exclusive scythe.