Chapter 36

Meanwhile, in Yae Village, a group of people had gathered outside Sakura's house, performing a bowing gesture as if they were worshipping something.

"Oh, gods, if only we had more time, I would willingly offer my pure daughter as a sacrifice," Sakura's father exclaimed, bowing his head to the ground as he worshipped the everlasting flame. "Why did you give us an unending fire instead of rain to end the drought?"

"Hey, you there! Let's offer more young girls as offerings to appease the gods' anger," Sakura's father ordered, pointing at a guard who immediately followed his command. The terrified girls who had been captured pleaded for mercy, but their pleas were ignored. The guard tied them to stakes and threw them into the unquenchable fire.

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"I nearly forgot to extinguish the unquenchable flame," Amane said, requesting Metis help to put out the fire that Kiana had created in Yae Village.

However, he later received a report from Metis that Sakura's father had become irrational and threw a group of girls into the fire. Fortunately, because Amane had managed to put out the flame, the girls were able to survive.

But the most disgusting thing was when they were saved from the flames, Sakura's father got a thought of cutting the girls into pieces and offering their pieces to him.

"That piece of..." Amane said with anger, as the others noticed his change of emotion.

"What's wrong?" Theresa asked, as the rest of them waited for his answer.

Amane made a memory ball and showed them the image he received from Metis along with its prediction.

"Those people!" Kiana, Theresa, and Kallen were angered by the scene they saw and felt disgusted.

Sakura just sighed, while Rin began to cry upon learning that their father had planned to sacrifice them.

"It's okay, no need to cry, Rin," Amane said, gently patting her head. "Even though your father wanted to harm you, you don't have a single memory of him, right? Your big sister was the one who always cared for you. Your own father was practically a stranger."

Rin realized his words were true. Her sister had been the only one looking after her, and her father had never really paid attention to her. He only visited because her sister was a strong warrior.

She couldn't even recall having meaningful conversations with her father.

Sakura smiled as Rin stopped crying and looked at her. "Big sister, I'm going to become strong, strong enough to protect you," Rin said, clenching her fist.

Higokumaru smiled upon seeing this, then turned to Amane. "Are we going to the past now?"

"Perhaps now is the right time for that," Amane replied as he looked at Sakura. "But before that, I would gladly bring endless rain to your village."

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In Sakura village, the villagers were bowing outside while three girls were tied to stakes. They cried and begged for mercy, but the elder merely stated it was their blessing to become an offering for the village's well-being.

"You desire rain, correct?" A voice echoed in everyone's minds, sparking a mix of fear and hope that their god had finally taken notice.

"Oh, dear God, please hear my plea," Sakura's father prayed.

"What is your request?" the voice responded.

"We seek rain for our village and the vitality of our land," Sakura's father entreated, prostrating himself.

"I understand..." Silence fell upon Yae Village. No one dared to move, awaiting the god's words.

"You shall no longer sacrifice young virgins to me. Instead, seek ways to respect life without killing or harming others. Use your hands to heal people and create new things," the supposed god declared. "In return, you shall receive unending rain."

Excitement spread through the entire village as the voice faded away, replaced by cheers and celebrations. The rain had begun.

Until the flood comes later...

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"Hey... Amane, do you think I'm doing the right thing by protecting humanity? I mean, following my promise as a Kaslana, being a shield against the Honkai," Kiana questioned. Seeing Hikkogamaru's memories had an impact, but watching them again made her wonder if she was on the correct path.

"What exactly is the Kaslana oath?" Amane asked, looking at her.

Theresa, Rin, Higokumaru, and Sakura all perked up, waiting for her reply. Kallen also looked at her, curious even though she already knew about the Kaslana oath.

"Every brave Kaslana must follow their oath. Fight against the wicked Honkai and defeat the false gods. Your ancestors rest as humanity's strong defenders. By the judgment of Shamash, Kaslanas fight without yielding," Kiana recited, her fist clenched.

"Our responsibility is to fight evil and protect the weak," Kiana affirmed, looking seriously at Amane.

"Do you find satisfaction in that?" Amane asked.

"Yes! It's the Kaslana oath! We might die, but we won't give up. I'm ready to give up my life to keep others safe!" She proudly proclaimed, embodying the true spirit of a Kaslana.

Amane's expression grew serious, and Rin and Sakura also looked at her with concern.

"I'm going to make your father come to his senses, even if it means ending him!" Theresa yelled in anger. "I thought he hadn't filled your head with that foolish Kaslana oath!" She exclaimed, her punch causing the ground to crater.

"Calm down, Theresa," Amane said, trying to calm her down.

Theresa let out a sigh as they found a new spot to set up camp, knowing that they would be journeying to the past later.

"Kiana, it should be 'I'll never die and yield.' Our duty is to safeguard this world from evil. Imagine if the last of you guys were gone, then evil would prevail," Kiana nodded in agreement. "Kallen, the same goes for you." Kallen couldn't argue with that and was forced to reconsider her oath.

"Both of you don't need to be humanity's sole shield. When humanity is pushed to its limits, they can create miracles to overcome challenges. Even though humans can be foolish, self-centered, and hypocritical."

"You should have faith in humanity's potential. Just think about how the people of the Past Era created weapons and technologies. They did so when they were on the brink of extinction..." He spoke, recalling everything he had learned about the past era, and now he had the chance to witness it later.