[Author quitted so I don't see the point to continue. Thanks for reading till now]
The next day.
Hikari Mariya and Yuri Mariya finished preparing for the ritual and got into the luxury sedan provided by Kaoru Sayanomiya.
"Oneesama, you absolutely have to remember these practical techniques. One month! Your happiness, and my ultimate plan, all depend on this!"
Hikari clenched her little fist, her eyes shining with determination. She seemed to have already pictured Yuri successfully capturing Akuto, while she stood proudly off to the side flashing a victory sign.
With that brimming confidence, one could hardly tell she was only a young miko.
"Practical techniques?"
Yuri looked at her younger sister's confident expression and took a deep breath, trying to suppress the panic in her heart.
She lightly smoothed the creases in her miko robes, her fingertips trembling almost imperceptibly.
The West Heaven Palace... the sealing ritual... the Heretic Sun Wukong... the Divine Ancestress she had seen through spirit vision... and Hikari's undeniable ultimatum.
Yuri bit her red lip, and her gaze gradually firmed.
Perhaps... Hikari was right. It was time to make a change.
For the sake of her own feelings, and so she would not disappoint her sister's expectations.
Yuri finally decided to take the initiative.
However... she had no intention of using her sister's so-called techniques.
She merely planned to tell Akuto all of her feelings. That was all.
...
Soon, under Kaoru's arrangements, Yuri and her younger sister Hikari boarded a black luxury sedan, then joined Akuto on the private train heading to the West Heaven Palace.
On the train, Yuri took the initiative to bring up something with Akuto.
"Hm? Yuri, you're saying you had a spirit vision of an unknown miko who carried divinity?" Akuto raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Lord Akuto." Yuri nodded lightly.
"Although she carried divinity, based on my judgment, she should not be a goddess."
"Not a goddess, yet she possesses divinity? In other words... a Divine Ancestress, or a miko possessed by a goddess?" A trace of understanding flashed through Akuto's eyes.
When it came to a Divine Ancestress connected to Yuri, there could only be one candidate.
"I believe she is a Divine Ancestress. Clearly, she is using her own body and power to communicate with me."
"I see." A look of comprehension passed through Akuto's eyes.
A Divine Ancestress connected to Yuri. In that case, it could only be that person.
Yuri had indeed inherited that Divine Ancestress's power.
That Divine Ancestress... was none other than the Divine Ancestress Sita from the original plot, also known as Princess Sita.
A Divine Ancestress was what a goddess became after losing her divine rank and falling into the state of a demigod.
Several Divine Ancestresses had appeared in the original story.
For example, Guinevere, who was obsessed with reviving the Last King.
Anshar, the Divine Ancestress who opposed the Campione Annie Charlton, also known as John Pluto Smith, in America.
Sita, the Divine Ancestress who lived in seclusion in the Netherworld and was connected to the Last King.
And Athena, the Divine Ancestress who was absorbed by the Holy Grail and reincarnated, inheriting Guinevere's will.
Among these Divine Ancestresses, the only one connected to Yuri was Sita.
...
"Why did she contact you, and what did she tell you?" Although Akuto already had some guesses, he still asked.
"Yes. She said she wanted to use me to obtain an opportunity to meet with Akuto." Yuri pressed her red lips together, hesitating.
"An opportunity to meet me? That's fine. Personally, I can meet with her at any time. But judging from your reaction, Yuri, it seems she cannot contact you whenever she likes?" Akuto had already inferred why Yuri was hesitating.
"Yes, Akuto. You're right." Yuri nodded.
"Although mikos also carry a portion of a goddess's power, that power is too faint, so it is difficult to establish a long-term, stable connection. I can basically only connect to that Divine Ancestress while in an empty, deeply asleep state."
"So..."
"So, Yuri, you want to sleep for a while on the Shinkansen?" Akuto asked with a smile.
"No! Of course not!" Yuri hurriedly denied it, her little face flushing red.
"It is a ritual. A ritual! As long as I perform a ritual to purify my body and spirit, I should be able to maintain communication with that Divine Ancestress for a longer period."
In Fuso Shinto culture, mikos were special beings who connected humans and gods. Rulers and common people alike received divine will through mikos.
However, mikos themselves were still partly human. Therefore, before communicating with gods, they needed to thoroughly cleanse the impurities from their bodies and spirits, allowing themselves to reach a state in which they could understand the gods.
What Yuri needed to do now was keep her body and spirit clear and open, so she could establish a long-term, stable connection with that Divine Ancestress once more.
Based on her estimate, as long as she could establish contact while awake this time, her relationship with that Divine Ancestress would become even closer in the future, and they would be able to communicate effectively even while Yuri was conscious.
...
"Conveniently, the West Heaven Palace has a place for that kind of ritual, so... so..."
"So after Yuri completes the ritual to purify her body and spirit, I can communicate with that Divine Ancestress through you and learn what she wants to tell me."
"Is that right?"
"Yes! That's right." Yuri breathed a sigh of relief.
As expected, saying something like that herself was still far too difficult.
Because from another angle, was that not the same as inviting Akuto after washing herself clean?
First purify herself, then invite Akuto... would the next step not be getting eaten by Akuto?
If it were an ordinary situation, Yuri would not be this shy. After all, when handling serious matters, she was extremely earnest and responsible.
But this time... she truly did carry the thought of offering her feelings to Akuto after the purification, which was why she felt so embarrassed about inviting him herself.
Fortunately, when she became stuck, Akuto took the initiative and moved the matter forward.
"My, my."
Not far away, Erica and Liliana both cast dry looks toward Yuri.
Before offering themselves to Akuto, the two of them had also gone on a three-person date with him, so they understood all too well what girls were usually preparing for when they performed this kind of ceremonial activity.
That said, they had no intention of obstructing Yuri. In fact, they even planned to help her a little.
After all, they had already established their relationships with Akuto, so delaying others no longer had much meaning. Moreover, they also knew Yuri had known Akuto the earliest. She was truly one of the old guard.
In short, after learning that Yuri was preparing to invite Akuto, many people silently adjusted their schedules.
Most of them arranged their plans to avoid Yuri, but there were also people who deliberately adjusted their schedules to overlap with hers.
For example... Ena Seishuuin and Hikari Mariya.
Both of them silently changed their itineraries because Yuri had worked up the courage to invite him.
...
Soon, after getting off the Shinkansen, the group boarded several black luxury sedans and set out for the West Heaven Palace.
At the station, Lu Yinghua stood at a distance, watching Akuto's group leave.
He himself was used to running straight to the destination. Added to that, he did not think he could adapt to the environment around Akuto, where he was surrounded by girls. Therefore, although he bore the responsibility of maintaining contact with Akuto, Lu Yinghua decisively chose to separate from Akuto's main group.
The reason the corner of his mouth was twitching was because... he had seen a familiar figure in Akuto's harem: the Divine Ancestress Anshar.
Lu Yinghua knew that Akuto had asked Luo Hao for the Divine Ancestress Anshar. In fact, he had personally completed the task of escorting Anshar to Akuto.
However, at the time, he had assumed Akuto intended to use Anshar, a demigod, to perform some sort of ritual to summon a god.
But now... it seemed that Anshar had also joined the new king Akuto's harem?
Taking even a Divine Ancestress into his harem... this new king, Akuto, was far too fierce.
Clearly, Lu Yinghua's understanding of Akuto was still too shallow.
Had he known about Athena in advance, he would not have been surprised at all by Akuto bringing Anshar into his harem.
After all, as the former queen of the gods, Athena's rank was far higher than that of the Divine Ancestresses, who were only demigods.
[I hope the new king Akuto really can subdue Master.]
Watching Akuto's group depart, Lu Yinghua prayed sincerely in his heart.
He truly hoped Akuto could conquer Luo Hao in the way a man conquered a woman.
Because then, Luo Hao's attention would be focused entirely on Akuto alone.
Once Luo Hao had no time for him, he would be freed. He would no longer have to suffer Luo Hao's torment.
Lu Yinghua had been a pitiable child since he was young, tortured by Luo Hao until he developed a fear of women. Therefore, when he saw Akuto handling a crowd of beautiful girls with effortless ease, Lu Yinghua felt nothing but boundless admiration.
Akuto: as expected of the man who could become his master's husband!
...
Meanwhile, on Akuto's side.
Under the warm glow of the setting sun, Akuto and his group had arrived at the West Heaven Palace.
The afterglow of sunset draped the ancient buildings of the West Heaven Palace in a layer of warm gold.
The air was filled with sandalwood and the fresh scent of grass and trees. The quiet before the ritual enveloped this sacred place.
Hikari, as the Disaster-Purging miko who possessed the key ability needed to unseal the Heretic Sun Wukong, was preparing to perform the purification ritual according to ancient tradition, accompanied by dedicated mikos.
Of course, the miko accompanying her was not her older sister, Yuri.
Although Yuri held an extremely high status among mikos, perhaps even ranking among the highest in all of Fuso, she did not have the qualification to assist Hikari with her ritual purification.
The mikos assisting Hikari with her purification were those originally stationed at the West Heaven Palace.
"Oneesama, I'll go purify myself first. You have to do your best, okay?"
As she spoke, Hikari, dressed in splendid miko attire, temporarily said goodbye to Yuri.
With that, Hikari turned and headed toward the purification chamber prepared specially for the ritual. Her steps were light, and anyone could tell she was in a rather good mood.
However, Yuri did not know why Hikari was so elated at that moment.
Only later that night, when Hikari came out and accompanied her, did Yuri realize that Hikari had already made her preparations from this moment onward.
(End of Chapter)
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