Chapter 31: A New Valkyrie

After lunch, Yae Sakura strolled around the village and found herself at the sacred tree—the one that ran through the entire Inuyasha series.

In many fanworks, this divine tree supposedly had time-traveling powers, but during her year there, Yae Sakura never noticed anything special about it.

It only emitted a faint spiritual energy, likely due to being worshipped as a sacred tree.

After observing it for a while without any insights, Yae Sakura moved on to the nearby Bone-Eating Well.

She'd tried jumping down before, but it never transported her to the modern world.

"Huh? Why are there two more Valkyries... Weren't there only 39 before? Now there're 41? What the heck..."

Yae Sakurazuka, feeling bored, clicked on the Valkyries list and noticed that two new ones had been added. She was sure there were only 39 earlier.

There are still worlds left and I haven't cleared in this first world, so why would there be two extra Valkyries now?

[Molotov Cherry: Rozaliya Olenyeva]

[Blueberry Blitz: Liliya Olenyeva]

First cherries, then blueberries? Is next time going to be apples or oranges?

What kind of nonsense is this? Some fruit-themed power team?

Wait a second!

I haven't unlocked these characters yet, right? So they probably won't randomly appear in future worlds.

System Notification: Even if you haven't unlocked a Valkyrie in your account, she can still randomly appear in the next world. If that happens, the system will automatically deduct 10,000 crystals from your account to unlock her.

If you don't have enough crystals, you can get them on credit. Future earnings will be used to pay off the debt until it's fully settled.

Friendly reminder: There's no interest charged.

"What the hell? Automatically deducting... ten thousand crystals?"

Although 10,000 crystals seemed like less than the game's standard 28,000 crystal cost for guaranteed characters, it felt completely different because...

In the game, 28,000 crystals might cost around 280 yuan, but here, earning 10,000 crystals by completing tasks in one world alone wouldn't even come close.

She felt like spitting blood at the thought.

There were even new characters added—Yae Sakura could see endless days of unlocking Valkyries stretching out before her.

No going back now...

Her little sister was someone else's now.

"Two giant sword characters, twins... and they even have tails... Using their tails for weapons, that's interesting... Finally, Valkyries who look even less human than Yae Sakura."

Yae Sakura silently scoffed at the new Valkyries for a while.

After a moment, she composed herself and took out two Honkai fragments.

"What would happen if I release the Honkai energy from these fragments in this world? Would it create Honkai beasts? Or maybe even Herrscher?"

Playing with the Honkai fragments, Yae Sakura was very curious...

If it's just a tiny bit of Honkai energy, should be fine, right?

Should I find some time to try it out somewhere?

Nah, too risky. If Honkai truly descended on this world, it'd be disastrous.

"Huh? A monster's approaching?"

Suddenly, Yae Sakura looked outside the village, sensing a surge of demonic energy rapidly closing in.

We've already cleared all the monsters around here—how is one still coming?

Yae quickly put away her Honkai fragments and rushed back to the village.

When Yae Sakura arrived at the village, she saw a red figure flash by. Before she could react, Kikyō showed up.

"Kikyō, are you okay?" Yae Sakura asked, concerned. But from what she could tell, Kikyō seemed fine.

"I'm all right," Kikyō said. "It was a half-demon who wanted to steal the Shikon no Tama. It broke through the barrier around the village, but I hit it with my Evil-Breaking Arrow."

As she spoke, Kikyō took out the Shikon no Tama. She had tied it onto a cord, so now it looked like a necklace.

"A half-demon... in red clothes..."

Could it be this world's protagonist, Inuyasha?

If I think about it, the timing is about right.

Yae Sakura looked at Kikyō, trying to decide what to do.

Should she ignore them and let things happen as they would? Should she bring them together? Or should she stop them from being together?

"What's wrong? Do you know that half-demon?" Kikyō asked, looking at Yae Sakura with confusion.

"He looks familiar..."

Hearing Kikyō's voice brought Yae Sakura back to reality. She had made her decision.

She would stop them.

What happened to Kikyō when she was with Inuyasha?

If she helped Inuyasha and Kagome, she herself would disappear forever...

In this Inuyasha storyline, Kikyō is definitely the most pitiful character...

Of course, it's not Inuyasha's fault. It was all because of the spider demon or, more specifically, Naraku. Inuyasha didn't want any of it; he loved Kikyō too.

But their relationship was doomed from the start. If that's how it had to be... then why not use this chance to keep them apart? That way, Kikyō wouldn't become the tragic heroine of that sad story.

Even if she couldn't have love or whatever, at least she'd still be alive, right?

"Kikyō-chan..."

"Hm?"

"Could you give me the Shikon no Tama?" Yae asked seriously, eyeing the jewel in Kikyō's hand.

"Why?" Kikyō hesitated. "Didn't you say before that you don't need the Shikon no Tama? Are your wishes also twisted ones?" The words hurt her heart for some reason, making her reluctant to believe them.

Yae approached her just for the Shikon no Tama?

But quickly, Kikyō dismissed that thought. If it really were about the jewel, with Yae's strength, she could easily take it anytime she wanted. There would be no way Kikyō could resist.

"I want to help you look after it..."

Seeing Kikyō seemed confused, Yae Sakura quickly explained.

If the Shikon no Tama wasn't with Kikyō, then Inuyasha would have had little interaction with her. And if that hadn't happened... none of those things between them could have occurred either.

"Please look after it for me..."

"Trust me, okay?"

"...Okay..."

Kikyō was about to say more, but as she met Yae Sakura's sincere gaze, something compelled her to hand over the Shikon no Tama directly.

"Thank you for your trust, Kikyō."

Yae Sakura calmly accepted the jewel.

Just as the Shikon no Tama came into Yae Sakura's possession, suddenly her expression shifted from surprise to delight...