—o—
Outside Yae Village.
Higokumaru was enduring a form of torture she had never before experienced in her life.
She struggled with all her might, trying to break free from her bonds, but how could she possibly escape the restraints formed from the ultra-thin, flexible strips of the Lance of the Void?
“There, there, don’t move, Rin.
We’re here to save you.
Just eat this.” Kiana came before Higokumaru, carrying a dark, lumpy mass she called the glory of the Kaslana culinary world.
“You vile, wretched humans!
I will never eat any of your…
Bleeeaaarghhh!!!”
Higokumaru wanted to declare that she would never eat a single bite of human food, but unfortunately, in her giant fox form, her mouth was simply too large.
Even the slightest gap was enough for Kiana to stuff the food inside.
In an instant, the Hajime fox’s legs went stiff.
“&*&#@!” Higokumaru shrieked in a language utterly incomprehensible to human ears.
“What is she saying?” Talulah asked.
“I don’t know.
Maybe she’s saying it’s delicious and she wants more,” Kiana speculated.
Chiaki spoke thoughtfully, “No, I think I might understand what she’s saying.”
“You can understand her?” Seele was stunned.
How could he possibly understand those sounds when you couldn’t even make out the syllables?
“It’s like a funeral for a thousand fried tofus is happening in my mouth,” Chiaki translated.
“Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
My Kaslana cuisine is the best in the world!
She must be saying my cooking is super-duper-unbelievably delicious and she wants another bite!” Kiana rejected Chiaki’s translation.
“Kid, you can’t deny reality anymore.
Just admit it, your cooking is absolute crap,” Chiaki said, trying to drag Kiana back to the real world.
“How dare you insult Kaslana cuisine!
I won’t forgive you for this, not even you, Chiaki!
Later, I’ll sink you into Tokyo Bay right along with this fox.”
Ah, she’s really lost it, Chiaki thought.
How ugly she looks, running from reality, unwilling to admit the truth about herself.
Maybe I should learn a thing or two from those syrupy-sweet TV hosts and try to kill you with kindness.
The flower language of the evil gardenia is patience and forbearance.
“Kiana, there’s no shame in admitting your own mistakes and shortcomings.
But being stubborn is your fault,” Talulah added, landing a critical blow.
“Talulah, how dare you use my own spell against me!” Kiana roared.
Weren’t those her exact words in the last chapter?!
“Hmph, the loser should make a graceful exit.
Now it’s my cooking’s turn.
Eat your fill, Rin.
This is your favorite fried tofu.”
Higokumaru: [Swearing in the tongue of the Previous Era!]
After Talulah forcibly stuffed the military survivalist feast into her mouth, Higokumaru fell silent for a moment.
But this was merely the quiet before the storm.
Then, she began to scream and sob, her cries tearing through the surrounding silence and echoing across the empty fields.
Tears gushed out like a bursting dam.
Once the first drop escaped, there was no stopping the flood.
Her four paws flailed wildly as she curled up, crying so hard it turned into vomiting.
Oh, wait, she was actually vomiting!
It was the first time Chiaki had ever seen a fox wail so miserably.
Amidst the cries, Higokumaru’s giant fox body began to shrink, quickly transforming into the form of a girl about 1.5 meters tall.
Now in human form, she successfully escaped the bonds of the Void Lance.
But she didn’t run.
Instead, she just stood there blankly, like a neutered Hajime, having completely lost all meaning in life.
Nothing mattered anymore.
However, when Kiana and Talulah decided to cook again to have Higokumaru judge whose food was better, a look of pure terror crossed her face.
Gah!
I don’t want to see it!
I don’t want to see it!
I don’t want to see what’s become of those poor fried tofus!
Don’t show me that stuff, and don’t make me eat it!!
In that instant, Kiana and Talulah had transformed into demons in her eyes, whispering in her ear, “My lady, if you don’t behave, we might just have to cook again.”
The next moment, Higokumaru snapped her head up.
Amidst her teary eyes was a hint of stubbornness and resilience.
She charged straight for the pots and pans, snatched the ingredients from Kiana and Talulah’s hands, and started cooking.
A fox ate your food, immediately transformed into a human, and cooked you a three-course meal with soup.
Before long, Higokumaru placed the meal on the table.
“You call that stuff food?!
That’s pig slop!
No, it’s the wet garbage from a trash can that’s worse than pig slop!” Higokumaru berated Kiana and Talulah.
She had never eaten anything so disgusting in her entire life.
As she spoke, she began to frantically devour the food she had made, sobbing hysterically the entire time.
Her tears soaked the rice, making every bite exceptionally salty.
She wanted to fight back, but she couldn’t beat this group.
If she resisted, she might be force-fed more of that dark cuisine.
This was the only humiliating, pathetic way she could escape reality.
The more she thought about how wronged she was, the angrier she got, which only made her feel more wronged.
Remembering the “cuisine” that had shattered her ideals, made her mouth experience death, pierced her stomach lining, and nearly turned her into a funeral portrait, Higokumaru’s power began to plummet, then plummet more, then plummet furiously.
Plummet, plummet, plummet!
In the blink of an eye, the detestable and terrifying demon god had been reduced to a chibi-sized, two-heads-tall moe creature with fox ears.
Back in the real world, the black box on the table suddenly lit up as if activating some mysterious program.
Its surface began to change, the light at its edges converging into sharp lines, as sharp as a razor’s edge.
The box’s edges gradually stretched, its form twisting.
Its metallic texture became more prominent under the light.
In an interplay of light and shadow, the black box finally transformed into a majestic, beautiful, yet sinister tachi.
The 12th Divine Key, Jizo Mitama.
—o—
I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow…
It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Aeon Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom’s new dawn…
[XX Aeon]Rin (Higokumaru).
—o—
With the completion of Jizo Mitama, Chiaki and the others were transported back to reality.
On the table, the so-called Key of Erosion lay quietly, like an ordinary, uninspired weapon.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a Herrscher die from bad cooking,” Chiaki remarked.
He couldn’t imagine the sheer despair Higokumaru must have felt when she ate the food Kiana and Talulah had made.
“So this is Jizo Mitama?
With this, can we just kick Otto to death like a stray dog on the street?” Kiana excitedly reached out to touch it, but the moment she got close, Jizo Mitama reacted like a startled Hajime, emitting a black and red mist to attack her.
“Calm down,” Chiaki said, soothing Rin’s emotions while also telling Kiana to back off before the two of them started a fight.
Originally, he had planned to give Jizo Mitama to Kiana first.
Combining the most functionally versatile Divine Key of the Previous Era with the most functionally versatile Herrscher of the Current Era should have produced a result where 1+1 was greater than 2.
He’d have Kiana constantly open space portals to Schicksal HQ with the Key of Erosion, endlessly raiding their base and kicking Otto to death.
He just hadn’t expected Kiana and Rin to be completely incompatible.
Oh well, you can’t force these things.
Just then, Bronya, who had been forgotten by everyone since her mission was complete and her purpose served, appeared.
The group’s first reaction upon seeing her was—Huh?
You’re still here?
But her next words made them all freeze.
“Schicksal’s S-rank Valkyries, Durandal and Rita Rossweisse, are on their way here, armed.”
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