novelraw Chapter 285: The Will of Enma’s Servant, The Death of Chisoku-hime
Chapter 285: The Will of Enma’s Servant, The Death of Chisoku-hime
[The monster before you that had fallen into Extreme Evil did not attack you. It simply fixed its eyes on you, wearing an eerie smile.]
[Do you wish to kill the Extreme Evil Emperor of Sakura Falls?]
Lin Xun fell silent.
The last servant faithful to Enma, who endured torture without betraying his god, until he himself fell and became a monster.
For the little emperor who had already become a walking corpse, perhaps death was the best destination.
He let out a long sigh and prepared to press the attack option.
“No.”
Lin Xun suddenly felt that something was off and thought carefully.
“If the little emperor, after falling into Extreme Evil, sold out Ancient Heavenly Enma, then the surviving deities should all have been corroded by the evil god.”
“After that, the little emperor and the imperial family members would have lost their value. The Great General should have killed them and rightfully taken the throne.”Yet the little emperor was still alive, and even Chisoku-hime and some imperial family members were alive.
A bold guess arose in Lin Xun’s heart. Perhaps the little emperor had not yet called upon the surviving deities, or more precisely, had not exposed all of the surviving deities.
He did not know how accurate this guess was, but as long as there was the slightest possibility, it was worth a try.
Lin Xun looked at the item in his Inventory, the Newborn Fruit of Evil.
If there was still a sliver of hope, he could only use this item.
[You take out a tiny pitch-black seed and bring it close to the monster.]
[The seed suddenly bursts forth with a powerful, invisible suction, like the sea receiving a hundred rivers, constantly drawing in the malice on the monster’s body.]
[The suction is immense. The branches and leaves of malice on the monster are even pulled toward you, rustling.]
[The aura of malice gathers unceasingly toward the Fruit of Evil, causing the seed to grow plump and sturdy.]
[Absorbing malice in progress.]
[Current malice reserve: 2%]
[…]
[Current malice reserve: 4%]
[…]
[As the aura of malice continually ebbs, the malice in the child’s eyes lessens, and the eerie expression on its face gradually retracts.]
[Soon, clarity returns to the child’s eyes. It lowers its head to look at its monstrous body and lets out a bitter smile.]
[Then a vast and filthy will erupts from the head and pours into your mind.]
[The little emperor speaks without sound. The hoarse voice of a child drifts by your ear.]
[…]
[Lord Proxy, it resisted with all its might, but still could not withstand the corrosion of malice, becoming this neither-human-nor-ghost appearance.]
[After falling into Extreme Evil, it uncontrollably became a running dog at the evil god’s feet, and used the Servant’s Will to call upon the surviving deities.]
[It watched with its own eyes as one deity after another wailed in despair and sank into the mire of malice. This feeling was a hundred or a thousand times more painful than torture.]
[As it turned its back on Enma, the Servant’s Will in its mind gradually became corrupted and filthy, and its ability to communicate with deities was reduced to one tenth.]
[It has no face to see you, Lord Proxy, and even less to face Enma.]
[Now it seeks only death.]
[After you kill it, please split open its head and pass on the Servant’s Will granted by Enma to its elder sister, Chisoku-hime.]
[As the orthodox imperial bloodline, Chisoku-hime has not yet fallen into Extreme Evil. Elder sister can gradually purify the filthy will and restore its ability to communicate with the deities.]
[After Chisoku-hime secures the help of the surviving deities for you, Lord, please also kill elder sister, lest Chisoku-hime fall into the evil god’s hands and cause the remaining few deities to all fall.]
[With that said, the little emperor closes his eyes and awaits your beheading.]
[You are speechless. You draw the Dragon Sword Masamune at your waist and grant a servant the release he deserves.]
[With a flash of the blade, the little emperor’s head falls.]
[You have defeated the Extreme Evil Emperor of Sakura Falls. Experience slightly increased.]
[You swing your sword again and split the head in two, extracting a wisp of ghostly light shrouded in black vapor.]
[You have obtained Enma’s Servant’s Will (Special Equipment).]
[Enma’s Servant’s Will (Special Equipment): A mighty will granted by Ancient Heavenly Enma to it’s devout servant. A servant of pure faith can rely on this will to communicate with the deities under Enma.]
[Please note, only a Shell bearing the imperial bloodline of Sakura Falls can equip this, and the equipment has been tainted by an unknown power. It must be purified before it can exert the effect of this special equipment.]
[The monstrous Shell before you rapidly withers and dies. Vines and leaves all turn into black powder and scatter on the ground.]
[The Newborn Fruit of Evil in your hand stops absorbing malice. The withered, tiny seed has grown in size.]
[Current malice reserve: 22%]
[You quietly leave the palace and sneak toward the bedchamber of Saio Chisoku-hime.]
[…]
Lin Xun checked the time. Less than half an hour of exploration time remained. The Great General was about to return to the Imperial Residence. He had to speed up.
[You quickly return to Chisoku-hime’s bedchamber.]
[Sneaking in again, the woman on the bed is still asleep.]
[You wake the Fire-Worshipping Saio Chisoku-hime, and under her horrified gaze you take out that cluster of flickering ghostly light, Enma’s Servant’s Will.]
[Chisoku-hime is stunned for a long time, then tears fall like rain.]
[To see Enma’s Servant’s Will here means that her younger brother, the little emperor, is no longer among the living.]
[You tell her that the little emperor has fallen into Extreme Evil, and that only she, as the last of the imperial bloodline, can purify the Servant’s Will, call upon the surviving deities, and help you slay the Great General.]
[Chisoku-hime silently receives the light and presses it into her forehead. Very soon, a vast and filthy will erupts from her body.]
[Chisoku-hime closes her eyes and senses for a long while, then shakes her head at you. She indicates that the Servant’s Will is unbearably filthy. Purification will take as little as two or three days, or as long as seven or eight days. It cannot be purified in a short time.]
[To call upon a deity in such a state will most likely receive no response.]
[Hearing this, you cannot help feeling disappointed.]
[What should you do?]
[1. Leave Saio Chisoku-hime inside the imperial palace, wait until next month when the Great General leaves the Residence, then sneak into the palace again to meet her.]
[2. Stay in the palace together with Saio Chisoku-hime and wait for her to purify the will and call upon the surviving deities for you.]
[3. Secretly escape the Imperial Residence with Saio Chisoku-hime and flee all the way to Thousand Orchid City. Settle her in the Tenshukaku and wait for purification to be completed.]
Lin Xun pondered carefully.
If the little emperor were not yet dead, the first option would be the most cautious and reliable choice.
Unfortunately the little emperor was already dead. At the latest by dawn tomorrow, the Great General would know that an outsider had infiltrated the palace, killed the little emperor, and taken the Servant’s Will.
Afterward, the Great General would certainly lock down the last imperial bloodline, Chisoku-hime, using her as bait to set a heaven-and-earth snare and wait for Lin Xun to take the hook.
Thus the first option was definitely unworkable.
As for the second option, continuing to hide in the palace was extremely dangerous, and it would mean hiding right beside a person under the Great General’s special attention. The slightest slip would expose him.
If that happened, he could die and at worst resurrect to continue.
But if Chisoku-hime were implanted with the seed of Extreme Evil by the Great General and, like the little emperor, was forced to communicate with the deities, causing the remaining deities to all fall, then there would be no turning back.
Therefore Chisoku-hime absolutely could not be left in the palace.
As for the third option, Lin Xun had the Shell of the Ninja Master and could take advantage of the Great General’s absence to enter and leave the palace freely, but Chisoku-hime was a Saio shrine maiden and did not know stealth skills.
Sneaking while escorting someone who could not turn invisible would amount to killing his way from the bedchamber all the way to the palace gate, and might even require withstanding the encirclement of Kyoto’s army and fleeing all the way to Thousand Orchid City.
With so little time left before the Great General returned to the palace, they might draw the Great General before even fighting out of the palace.
According to the decree the head of the Ogiwara Clan had received, the Great General would not kill him, but would chop off his limbs and reduce him to a human stick, leaving Lin Xun unable even to commit suicide, then slowly torment him.
All three options looked like the blood-soaked words ‘You died.’ For a time Lin Xun did not know what to do.
After long deliberation, he narrowed his eyes and steeled himself.
Beyond the three options given by the cursed game, there was in fact one more way out.
[You ask Chisoku-hime whether the imperial palace contains any repository of books, and whether there are documents about the war of the deities.]
[Chisoku-hime thinks and tells you that although there is a library in the Inner Courtyard, it holds only ordinary books and no precious materials.]
[But in the Great General’s residence, the Eastern Courtyard, there is a repository called the Jianjin Pavilion. It is rumored to hold many precious rare texts.]
[If the world still holds documents about the war of the deities, they can only be in the Jianjin Pavilion.]
[You have obtained the exact location of the Jianjin Pavilion.]
[You nod, indicating you understand.]
[Suddenly you ask whether Chisoku-hime is willing to give her life for Enma.]
[Saio Chisoku-hime is taken aback, then nods, not understanding. Of course, her devotion to Enma is as clear as the sun and the moon. To say nothing of giving her life, she would not hesitate even if it meant soul annihilation.]
[You nod expressionlessly and say in a low voice that if so, then very well. The time has come for her to give her life for Enma.]
[You suddenly draw the sword at your waist. Brilliant sword light flashes. Blood spurts from the woman’s throat.]
[She looks at you in disbelief, clutches her throat, and slowly falls.]
[You speak on to the fallen woman. To defeat the Great General, only this path remains. You will use her body to fulfill the will of the deity and ultimately defeat the Great General.]
[The shock in the woman’s eyes gradually gives way to relief. She then closes her eyes. Two lines of clear tears slide down, and she is silent forever.]
[You have defeated the Fire-Worshipping Saio Chisoku-hime. Experience greatly increased.]
[You have obtained Faint Spirit Essence of Profound Unfathomability ×1.]
[You look at the woman’s corpse, face streaked with tears.]
[Fire-Worshipping Saio Chisoku-hime: As the first daughter of the imperial family of Sakura Falls, Chisoku-hime became the highest-ranked shrine maiden, Saio. Her healing divine arts have reached the pinnacle, and none can surpass her. Sadly the imperial family declined. She could not enter the Tenmei Grand Shrine to raise the little emperor’s prestige and could only pass her days in the lightless deep palace. She died to a clean and decisive throat-cut. Compatibility: 116% (+55%).]
[Do you wish to possess this Shell?]
The three options given by the cursed game were all traps.
Unless he could have infiltrated the imperial palace while the little emperor was not yet fallen and met him to communicate with the surviving deities, he would face a dead end.
If he chose any one of the three options, not only would he fail to reach the final goal, he would fall into a deadlock.
The only remaining way out was to kill Chisoku-hime and seize her Shell.
Once he stored her Shell in the Shell Slots, Lin Xun could escape the palace alone.
After waiting for the Shell to purify the Servant’s Will, he could complete the final step of summoning the deities and slay the Great General.
Lin Xun let out a long breath and pressed the ‘possess’ option.
[You possess the Shell of Fire-Worshipping Saio Chisoku-hime.]
Killing small-fry like courtesans and attendants did not burden him with guilt. Even slaughtering an entire grand shrine or shrine did not weigh on him.
But Chisoku-hime was not the same as those minor monsters. She was a friendly story character who had been murdered by his hand for the sake of clearing the chapter. To be honest, Lin Xun’s thoughts did not sit easy.
“How can the weak speak of right and wrong, good and evil?”
“Only when one is truly strong does one have the qualification to disdain such base actions.”
Lin Xun shook his head and cast off stray thoughts.
[Shell: Fire-Worshipping Saio Chisoku-hime]
[True Name: Takuhata no Musume-hime]
[Compatibility: 116% (+55%). Compatibility has exceeded the threshold. Shell quality increased.]
[Shell Quality: Legendary]
[Shell Level: 67 (+7)]
[Shell Equipment: Twelve-Layer Five-Robe Tang Garments (Legendary Equipment): The Tang-textile fabric of the twelve-layered robe uses the most luxurious double-weave Tang twill among textiles. Only the highest-ranked shrine maidens of successive generations, the Saio, can wear it.]
[Equipment Trait, Devout Divine Domain: Blessed by the divine arts of countless generations of Saio, this robe can spontaneously generate a Divine Domain around the Shell, greatly increasing all attributes of the shrine maiden Shell.]
[Shell Equipment: Enma’s Servant’s Will (Special Equipment): …]
[Shell Skill: Urayasu Kagura Dance (Epic+ Skill): … Using this skill restores a certain amount of HP to a designated Shell.]
[Shell Skill: Prosperity Kagura Dance (Epic+ Skill): … Using this skill restores a certain amount of HP to allied Shells within a nearby range.]
[Shell Skill: Kagura Dance of Eight Maidens (Legendary Skill): … Using this skill dispels a certain number of negative statuses from a designated Shell.]
With the compatibility buff, the Shell of Saio Chisoku-hime had reached Legendary quality, on par with the Ninja Master, the Palace Master of Iya Palace, and the Greedy Wolf Star Lord, thus entering the first echelon of main-force Shells.
This high-quality Shell was sufficient to wield the power of the Legendary+ weapon Amateru Sakiina’s Harvest Sickle.
Lin Xun equipped the Harvest Sickle to the Shell, then switched Shells again.
[You possess the Shell of Fire-Worshipping Heartless Ninja master.]
[You turn gracefully, open a pair of dim eyes, and your figure vanishes from the bedchamber.]
[Maintaining stealth, you leave Chisoku-hime’s bedchamber.]
[You stride toward the Eastern Courtyard of the Imperial Residence, heading for the Jianjin Pavilion.]