I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit

Sara lay on the bed, unable to sleep. It wasn't due to the unfamiliar surroundings.

Though this environment couldn't compare to the house her master, Kiichi, had created, it was far better than the days she spent living in the forest. Back then, she could sleep soundly on branches, rocks, or in the grass. A warm, comfortable bed should have been no issue.

What kept her awake was Chika—or rather, everything she had experienced in this sealed space.

Chika's words from earlier kept replaying in her mind.

The fragments of information were like puzzle pieces scattered in her head, riddled with gaps. She tried to fill them in, guessing and hypothesizing as she went.

"There absolutely were villagers here before… at least, there must have been."

"But where did they all go? If they were human, they'd have left some traces behind. It's impossible for them to vanish entirely, like rain evaporating under the sun."

"Chika said they all 'went out.' Why 'went out'? Why not 'left' or 'entered'? Where exactly did they 'go out' to?"

"Does 'went out' mean they left the village? That phrase would make logical sense. But is it really that simple? If they left the village, where could they have gone? Is there more to this sealed space—places Master and I don't know about?"

"Or… does 'went out' mean something else? Could it refer to leaving the sealed space entirely? Did they go to the outside world? And if so… why was Chika the only one left behind?"

Hypothesis after hypothesis surfaced, like stones tossed into water, rippling outward and stirring up even more questions. Then, one by one, she dismissed them all.

There just wasn't enough evidence.

That was to be expected—they had been here for less than a day.

The avenues for gathering information were limited. So far, Chika seemed like the only viable source, but her knowledge was patchy at best.

The strange occurrences in this village felt as numerous as stars in the night sky.

After thinking for so long, Sara began to wonder something else.

"Why do I care so much about these anomalies?"

Even she couldn't answer that question.

Perhaps it was just instinct.

She simply couldn't let it go.

---

The deep night cloaked the land.

This world had no stars, only a solitary silver moon hanging in the sky, serving as the faint and lonely source of light.

Of course, darkness posed no obstacle to Kiichi—or to the monsters that prowled within it.

Kiichi wasn't worried about finding the wandering beasts. All she had to do was let her aura seep out, and those creatures would approach her, like hyenas drawn to the scent of rotting flesh.

But these creatures, known as Rift Hounds, were far from cunning hyenas. Their first and only purpose wasn't survival or feeding—it was to unleash malice upon all living things in this world.

Reckless, self-destructive slaughter defined their behavior.

They were more akin to machines executing a programmed goal than creatures with souls. They didn't bother to assess the odds of victory or survival.

This worked in Kiichi's favor. As a yokai, her essence—Fenhuan Yu—still carried traces of humanity. Even she wasn't immune to the karmic weight of excessive killing, no matter how small the victims. But monsters like the Rift Hounds, devoid of souls? She could slay them in droves without a care.

However, it seemed that the Noble Phantasm she had unleashed earlier in the day had decimated too many of them. Now, she had to walk quite a distance to encounter even one or two stragglers.

Naturally, a few scattered monsters posed no threat to Kiichi. The longer she stayed in this world, the more attuned she became to the capabilities of her current Saint Graph.

Though she hadn't undergone further Ascensions, her ability to draw magical energy directly from the Root allowed her to unleash her full power without much limitation.

Thankfully, this sealed space also contained magic—or perhaps elemental energy. Whether this was due to a weakening of the seal or if it had always been this way, it ensured she didn't have to worry about exhausting her reserves.

Another Rift Hound disintegrated under the elegant arc of her blade, dissolving into an ominous black mist. Only a cursed, claw-like fragment remained, radiating malice as if defying its fate.

"Well, I have played similar games before," Kiichi muttered to herself. "Grinding for rare materials until dawn? I've got the patience for that. But really, I wouldn't mind having a word with the game designers about drop rates. A little boost wouldn't kill them, right?"

She glanced at her growing collection of loot. If she crafted weapons from it, she could probably outfit an entire army.

Hunting the Rift Hounds wasn't difficult for her, so most of her focus remained on analyzing the sealed space.

After all, she and Sara needed to find a way out once the monsters were eradicated. If she couldn't decipher the mechanics of this space and locate the exit, leaving would be troublesome.

At that moment, her analysis reached a new stage.

The information she uncovered left Kiichi momentarily stunned.

"The barrier covering this village… it's not just to protect the people inside from the monsters. It also…"

Before she could finish her thought, two crimson lights suddenly flickered in the bushes behind her.

Though she lacked skills like Instinct or Mind's Eye, centuries of combat experience allowed her to react instantly.

Steadying her stance, Kiichi pivoted and unleashed a swift counterattack with her blade.

The clash of metal rang out sharply as her weapon met a cross-shaped spear.

This was no Rift Hound.

Before her stood a towering figure, nearly two meters tall, clad in dark purple armor from head to toe.

"You're… a Kairagi?"

In Genshin Impact, Kairagi were unique enemies in Inazuma—former samurai or soldiers turned bandits, known for their extraordinary combat skills.

However, as Kiichi raised her eyes to meet the figure's face, she quickly realized her assumption was wrong.

Beneath the armored helmet, where a human head should have been, was only a dense, swirling black mist. In its center glowed two crimson orbs, faintly resembling eyes.

---

Hello! Thank you so much for reading this chapter. WiseTL has worked hard to bring these wonderful stories to you, and I'm so happy we could share this moment together! Don't you think stories are a little like dreams? Each one has its own colors and shapes, and they grow even brighter when shared with others.

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