Transformed into the leader of an esoteric sect in Japan

“Damn it…you two little bastards…I was the one who gave you life,” he said his last words, broken and fragmented, “you actually found outsiders to help you?”

The giant wolf lowered its proud head, then was engulfed by countless merciless "goldfish," its flesh and blood flying everywhere—a gluttonous feast was unfolding.

“No, it wasn’t us, Dad! We don’t know any outsiders!” Sha Zi and Yong Zi argued with their father in utter terror, as if they had committed some terrible crime, watching helplessly as the giant wolf that their father had transformed into fell apart.

"Traitors who collude with outsiders! I... will not let you go." The black wolf head was bathed in blood-red liquid. Its body was rapidly sliced ​​off, exposing steaming flesh, fruit-like internal organs, and pale bones, yet it maintained its proud and upright posture.

However, amidst the remains of the giant wolf that had been completely devoured, both Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki clearly saw a grayish-white humanoid phantom that transformed into light and vanished in a flash, rising into the clouds.

"This is really troublesome. Are the people in this world all so hard to kill?" Yuki Asakura frowned. "After the physical bodies of these people die, their souls don't dissipate. Instead, they are guided by some force to a higher dimension."

"A higher dimension? Does this mean there are places like hell and heaven in this world?" Kurosawa Shizuki felt that this forest was becoming more and more strange.

“Father went to the Temple of the Wheel of Deity, where the gods reside. He is recorded there forever, and his memory will never fade until the final judgment,” Yongzi said quietly. “He will not let us go.”

"Sister, why did you save us? Being killed by Father was our fate. You are betraying the destiny ordained by God." After being rescued, Sha Zi showed no gratitude to Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura. Her eyes even held a hint of condemnation.

"You willingly let yourselves be killed?" Kurosawa Shizuki found it hard to believe that these two young girls would so willingly accept the arrangement of so-called "fate".

“We were created to be killed while we were on the run, but now everything is in chaos, and we have become things outside of our destiny.” Yongzi’s voice was full of fear for the uncertain future.

"Wait, Sand, could it be... that our dream has come true?" Sand's face suddenly lit up with immense joy.

"You mean... they are the angels who control shadows?" Eiko looked Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki up and down repeatedly.

"Little sisters, who is this angel you're talking about...?" Kurosawa Shizuki was getting more and more confused. Everything she saw after arriving in the woods was illogical.

“A vengeful angel with blue eyes, and a blazing angel who tamed the man-eating light,” Sand’s terrified expression gradually faded. She looked at Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura with a strange gaze, first doubt, then surprise, and finally fervor. “It’s true! It’s exactly the same as what was mentioned in the dream! It wasn’t just a dream! We haven’t been abandoned by fate. God has arranged a new and great mission for us!”

"Mentioned in your dreams?" Yuki Asakura pinched her chin with one hand, her eyes narrowed, a glint of light in them. "This is getting more and more interesting. We actually appeared in your dreams?"

What Kurosawa Shizuki was even more concerned about was that these two little girls, who were more like dolls than humans, could actually dream.

"Greetings to the two beautiful angels!" As if confirming a certain idea, Sako and Eiko knelt down in perfect unison before Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki, their expressions utterly devout.

"Get up, there's no need to be so serious," Kurosawa Shizuki quickly helped the two little girls up. She didn't feel any sense of accomplishment just because the two little girls worshipped her as an "angel."

"Sago and Eiko, these are your names, right? Don't you have surnames?" Although she was quite bothered by Sago and Eiko calling them "angels," Kurosawa Shizuki didn't seem to care about the title. Judging from their reaction, "angels" seemed to hold a very high status in this forest. If they mistook her for an angel, the rest of the conversation might be easier to begin.

“Reporting to Your Grace, we are merely Father’s possessions, born only to be sacrificed. If you ask for my full name, I am Sand No. 132, and she is Yongzi No. 156,” Sand replied respectfully.

"Numbers 132 and 156...were there many sands and Eikos in the past?" Yuki Asakura asked with great interest.

“A year ago, there were forty-two sands and thirty-six Yongzis, but now only the two of us are still alive.” Yongzi spoke of the chilling matter in a very calm tone.

"Where are the others?" Kurosawa Shizuki knew that this forest, constructed by the madmen of the Shindaikai, could not possibly be normal in any way.

“Everyone else was given to the forest nymph by my father. In order to live forever, my father must constantly transform, so he keeps creating us to please the forest nymph and obtain her gifts. That is our only purpose.” When talking about her father, Sha Zi’s tone was as indifferent as if she were talking about a stranger.

Sha Zi and Yong Zi stood expressionless on either side of Kurosawa Shizuki, like a pair of exquisitely beautiful dolls. They didn't even glance at the gruesome corpse of their "father" who had died not long ago.

"What use are you to the Forest Fairy?" Yuki Asakura glanced at the two little girls. "You don't possess any power; it seems you can only be used as body pillows."

“The Forest Fairy loves dolls, but her dolls often break. My father is the most skilled puppeteer in the forest, so as long as the Forest Fairy needs dolls, my father will live on forever.” Yongzi’s empty eyes had no light, and her joints creaked as she moved.

"Did you run away so that you wouldn't be sacrificed to the forest nymphs by 'Father'?" As if the two little girls' answers reminded Asakura of something, Asakura's voice softened considerably.

“My angel, being offered as a sacrifice to the forest nymph by our father is the meaning of our birth. We have no need to run away to survive, because if we abandon this meaning, we have no value,” Sand said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“The reason we ran away was simply because of that beautiful dream, a dream we’ve been sharing recently,” Yongzi’s big eyes seemed to burn with the fire of hope. “We saw God with our own eyes! God is calling us, He wants us to become Valkyries under His command! We will meet the angels who will guide us to ascend!”

"Valkyrie?!" Kurosawa Shizuki was stunned. Wasn't that the title of the female demigods under Odin in Norse mythology? In order to deal with Ragnarok, Odin sent Valkyries to the human world to stir up conflict and summon the most valiant warriors who died in the war to Valhalla. Sanda and Eiko actually claimed that they had also seen "gods"? And they wanted to become Valkyries of "gods"?

Within this forest territory, the only one who can truly be called a god is Kirie. Did Sand and Eiko actually see Kirie? Kurosawa Shizuki didn't believe it. Based on her understanding of the game's setting from her previous life, the form of a god could never be directly seen by any mortal. Rather than saying they saw a god, Kurosawa Shizuki preferred to believe they saw something that resembled a god, or rather, they saw a god's apostle... such as Fujiwara Kyouko.

"Can you elaborate on what kind of god you saw? Why are you so certain that you saw a god?" Asakura Yuki's voice turned cold again.

“Because she comes from the Temple of the Wheel of Reincarnation, she is the master of the Temple of the Wheel of Reincarnation, and the whole world operates according to her will, so she must be a god.” When talking about gods, Sand’s voice became distant and ethereal. She raised a small hand and pointed to the steel temple that still shone with an inextinguishable red light through the gaps in the branches of the forest, and the music box that always played strange music.

That giant music box is known to the humans in the Woodland as the Temple of the Wheel.

"God himself told us that we must escape our warm home, turn our backs on our Creator, and enter the long, cold night. In the long night, we will meet the angels she sent. One of them is a vengeful angel with blue eyes, and the other is a radiant angel who controls light. They will help us complete three trials. After the trials are completed, we will ascend together to the Temple of the Wheel of Life to serve God forever." Yongzi crossed her arms and prayed with utmost devotion, a sweet and hopeful smile on her face.

"Now the oracle has come true! You two angel sisters have changed our destiny, and we will go together to see the gods!" Sha Zi excitedly waved her little fist.

The secrets hidden within the woods seem far more complex and obscure than Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura imagined. The dreams that Sako and Eiko mentioned are filled with the eerie atmosphere of conspiracy. Undoubtedly, behind all this, a hidden hand is pushing everything in the dark...

The mystery revealed by Sha Zi and Yongzi will not bring any relief to Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki; on the contrary, it will only make them more apprehensive, because the mystery also reveals another fact—

The master of this world, the "god" that Sand and Yongzi spoke of, had long been aware of the two outsiders' infiltration of the woodland. He even "kindly" invited them through the two little girls to embark on the path of ascension to the Wheel of Destiny at the highest point of the woodland to meet the gods.

Regardless of whether the "god" who invited them was Muko, Kirie, or another high-ranking member of the Generation of Gods, they were certain that such an invitation to the enemy would not have any good outcome and that there was definitely a more sinister purpose behind it.

However, Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki seemed to have no chance to refuse. From the moment they rashly stepped into the forest, everything they encountered seemed to be controlled by a powerful force behind the scenes...

P.S., thanks to Akiyuki Shinbo for the lazy but unexpected comment.

Chapter 103, Section 104: Three Trials

"You said the gods want us to help you complete three trials. Only after successfully completing these trials will we be qualified to go to the Temple of the Wheel of Life. So, what exactly are these three trials?" Kurosawa Shizuki recalled the twelve trials assigned to Hercules by the gods in Greek mythology, yet he was ultimately deceived and manipulated by them. The Woodland God had summoned two little girls, requiring only that they complete three trials. It seemed the Woodland God was quite approachable?

"For the first trial, we need to go to Dust Town and retrieve the Water of Oblivion for the town's mayor. Only then can we exchange it for an invitation to the Temple of Reincarnation," Yongzi said innocently.

"The Water of Oblivion, what is that? I've never heard of it before," Asakura asked curiously.

"For us, it's a treasure from a story. It's said that the water only comes from a black well in the woods and can make a person forget their own existence, voice, and real name. It's also said that the last water of oblivion has dried up in the woods." Sand's voice was also uncertain.

"The second trial is that the Temple of Reincarnation is in the sky. If we want to visit it, we must have wings to fly so that we won't be attacked by the Amethyst Insects in the air. So we also need to gain the approval of the Forest Fairy and obtain our own wings." When Yongzi mentioned the "Forest Fairy", his voice was filled with undisguised fear.

"Wait, the Forest Fairy, isn't she the one your father is going to sacrifice you to?" Kurosawa Shizuki remembered that the two little girls had mentioned not long ago that the Forest Fairy liked to play with "toys".

“That’s right. Father sacrificed so many sisters so that he could constantly transform and maintain his life. Now we have to gain the recognition of the forest fairy to have wings. I think the hope is very slim.” Sand seemed to have no confidence in completing this task.

"For the third trial, we need to visit the Pillar-Head Hermit. He's been troubled by 'pests' lately. After we get rid of enough pests, he'll give us the key to the Temple of Reincarnation, so we can open its doors," Yongzi said absentmindedly at the end.

"And who is this Pillar-Head Hermit?" Asakura asked blankly. Neither she nor Kurosawa Shizuki had expected that this forest, which from the outside seemed to be just a hidden area under the Shedding Club, was actually much deeper than they had imagined. Dust Town, the Fairy of the Forest, the Pillar-Head Hermit—what were they all?

Rather than seeing it as a secret religious site operated by the Shindai-kai, Kurosawa Shizuki felt that this place was more like a complete world that revolved entirely around Kirie, with its own rules, a complete biosphere, and countless unique inhabitants.

"The pillar-headed hermit is the guardian of the tomb. He has dedicated himself to living forever on a pillar, guarding against all the darkness in the woodland. Without him, perhaps no one in the woodland would have survived to this day." The sand pile pillar-headed hermit seemed to have great respect for him.

Kurosawa Shizuki had heard of the term "pillar hermit" in her previous life. It seemed to be a religious term in Christianity, referring to a person who practiced a certain kind of asceticism. The pillar hermit would erect a stone pillar on the outskirts of a city, and for the rest of his life he would vow to dedicate everything to the gods. From then until his death, he would eat, drink, and relieve himself on the pillar, and his living needs would be provided for by devout believers every day. Visitors from all over the world would also come to him as a saint, seeking prophecy and praying for salvation. After the pillar hermit died, the pillar where he lived would be regarded as a sacred site by his descendants.

Spending the rest of one's life on a pillar sounds foolish, yet it is strangely awe-inspiring. Just how strong must one's faith be to make such a choice?

There's a "pillar-head hermit" in the woods? That sounds really strange.

"Three trials? That sounds so interesting! It's like three main quests for a hero in an RPG!" Asakura Yuki seemed quite oblivious, eager to try them out. Did she really see these trials as a game?

"Asakura, are you really planning to help them complete these three trials? We're not in the mood to play house with two little girls..." Kurosawa Shizuki thought Asakura should be the kind of person with strong execution and high efficiency, but now Asakura Yuki is behaving like a carefree child. Following the will of the gods to complete the three trials, she definitely won't encounter anything good, right?

"If we're talking about the entire forest, the most obvious core area is clearly the Temple of Reincarnation. If we want to solve the problem, we most likely have to go to the Temple of Reincarnation anyway," Asakura said calmly. "Now we've just happened to meet Sand and Eiko, and they've also just learned about us. In order to get to the Temple of Reincarnation, we must complete three trials. This is the most straightforward path in front of us."

"What are those two older sisters talking about?" Sha Zi asked Yong Zi, who was standing next to her, completely bewildered.

“Eiko didn’t understand either, but there was an older sister who seemed unwilling to help us complete the trial and was going to abandon us…” Eiko looked at Kurosawa Shizuki with teary eyes.

"Angel sister, don't abandon us! Dad is dead, you are our only hope!" Sha Zi and Yong Zi grabbed Kurosawa Shizuki's clothes and burst into tears, making Kurosawa Shizuki very embarrassed.

"Don't cry, I didn't mean to abandon you. I was just discussing with another angel how we can better help you!" Kurosawa Shizuki quickly comforted the two little girls for a long time before they calmed down.

Kurosawa Shizuki pulled Asakura to a spot a little distance away from the two girls and continued to communicate with him in a low voice.

"But this is the path that the god they speak of has arranged for us. Can we really walk this path with a clear conscience? Are you sure we won't step into the trap of the Divine Society?" Kurosawa Shizuki felt that these three trials sounded like a conspiracy. And were Sanda and Eiko really as harmless as they appeared? Kurosawa Shizuki felt that no creature in the forest was trustworthy. Who knew what terrifying true nature they might be hiding?

Two little girls created by their father, who was a puppeteer. If they are puppets, then who is speaking through their mouths?

"Unfortunately, we didn't just step into the Age of Gods' trap; we're already in it. The Forest Master didn't throw us directly into a certain death trap; instead, she arranged these strange 'three trials' for us, proving that we clearly have a more special place in her script. Since we're already in such a dangerous situation, it's not unreasonable to appropriately cooperate with the enemy's arrangements. Only by actively performing will we be useful 'toys' in the Forest Master's eyes. If we try to rashly resist her arrangements, we might even anger her and bring about even more dangerous consequences." Kurosawa Shizuki hadn't expected Asakura to have considered so much.

"And we can't ignore this—the so-called path to ascension is the path to approaching the gods. We want to meet the gods of this realm, but we don't follow the path of transformation, thus disqualifying ourselves. This is the reversed ascension path I was looking for. Didn't you notice? The three trials that Yongzi and Shazi told us about seem to coincide with the reversed ascension I need. The gods of the forest seem to have considered everything quite thoroughly, directly delivering what we want to us." Asakura sneered.

"What do you think is the purpose of the forest god making us complete three trials? There's no way she could have any good intentions towards us, right?" Kurosawa Shizuki said uneasily. Free gifts are always the most valuable, and anything that comes too easily only makes Kurosawa Shizuki feel more uneasy.

"It is meaningless to try to understand gods with the mind of mortals. Moreover, I think the so-called three trials are probably not entirely a trap set by the Divine Society. Such a vast world is obviously beyond the complete control of even the power of the Divine Society. I am sure that if there is really a being close to 'god' in this world, then she is definitely not just a puppet controlled by the Divine Society."

“Wait, speaking of which, why do we call the forest goddess ‘she’? Is there any evidence that she is female? Why has this become an established fact for us?” Kurosawa Shizuki suddenly realized an extremely strange fact. Ever since she entered this forest, she had been experiencing a subtle sense of unease, as if something around her had been silently altered.

“That’s right,” Asakura paused for a moment, then laughed even more heartily. “Heh, it seems my guess was right. This kind of silent distortion of common sense is indeed close to the authority of a god. It seems that the owner of this forest may be of a higher status than imagined. She has almost complete control over this world, and everything operates according to her will. So as long as we mention her, she will definitely be able to observe us and silently tamper with our common sense and intuition.”

“Hey, God,” Asakura said nonchalantly, looking up at the Chakra Temple at the very top of the woods, his voice light and mocking, “You’ve arranged for us to undergo three trials, are you so lonely that you’re so eager for us to fly up into the sky to keep you company?”

There was, of course, no response from the music box-shaped revolving temple; it simply spun endlessly, its mournful and sorrowful music forever echoing in the woodland, lingering there...

In a magnificent room high above, a girl in pink pajamas leans against a soft cushion, legs crossed, intently playing a Nintendo Switch. On the game console, a hero rides a snow-white steed, chasing a demon engulfed in black aura.

On a toy stage in front of the girl, two adorable rag dolls are putting on an absurd performance without anyone controlling them. The rag doll on the left is wearing a red dress, and the rag doll on the right is wearing a purple dress.

On the stage, there are also golden kimono dolls, blue-eyed girl dolls, and another hunter doll with its head and body separated.

On the stage of the rag doll, she had already written the script for a grand performance.

Now it's up to the actors to give it their all.

"Sister, don't disappoint me again. After all, only the hero can defeat the Demon King." On the game console, the hero aimed his longbow at the Demon King, drew the bowstring to its fullest extent, and a flash of light appeared as he charged up.

P.S. Thanks to Yatogami Tohka for the 15 Salted Fish Thrusts. Looks like she opened the big lucky bag just like me, haha. The lucky bag event is really a huge loss.

Chapter 104, Section 105: The Female Corpse in the River of Illusion

Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki decide to play along and help the two little girls complete their three trials. After consulting with Sako and Eiko, they tentatively set their first destination as Dust Town, which is the closest mission destination to them. Moreover, according to Sako, the mayor of Dust Town seems to be a relatively easy person to talk to, and he seems to have been lenient with others in the past regarding his mission to find the Water of Oblivion.

“In the middle of our life’s journey, I suddenly found myself in a dark forest with no way out. Its wild and harsh environment is hard to describe…” Yuki Asakura sang in an aria-like tone as she walked, her hands behind her back.

"It sounds like Dante's Divine Comedy. Asakura, you really have the leisure to recite the poems." Kurosawa Shizuki was truly amazed by Asakura's optimistic attitude.

“Don’t you feel like we’re living in a mythological story like Divine Comedy right now? As 'angels' walking through the dark woods, helping two girls chosen by God to complete three trials, and finally going to see the gods in person.” Yuki Asakura seemed very excited about their current situation.

“If we were really living in the Divine Comedy, I think we would be heading deeper into hell.” Kurosawa Shizuki looked around uneasily.

The deeper they went into the forest, the more rugged the terrain became. Red light passed through the branches, barely illuminating the way ahead. The withered trees and jagged rocks all around were increasingly bizarre in shape, and the branches were getting lower and lower. The black leaves looked like the fingers of unknown creatures. Often, huge shadows of unknown creatures could be seen sweeping overhead. Some looked like the human-faced spider that Kurosawa Shizuki had encountered before, while many other creatures had forms that Kurosawa Shizuki had never heard of before.

Occasionally, one can see strange runes carved on the trunks of ancient, vigorous trees, as well as hanging bone totems.

Eiko and Sako walked merrily ahead, humming a lighthearted tune as they guided Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki along the way. Although they appeared slender, they moved quite quickly through the woods, stopping occasionally to wait for Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura.

"Angel sisters, you're too slow! We still have a long way to go to Dust Town!" Sand waved her little hand at Kurosawa Shizuki, making no attempt to control her voice.

“Sand, there are obviously more than just us in the woods. With such a loud noise, aren’t you afraid of attracting some monster?” Kurosawa Shizuki felt a chill run down her spine when she thought of the spider she had encountered not long ago. She had almost become its meal.

“As expected of an angel who has always lived in the heavens, knowing nothing about life in the forest,” Eiko mocked Kurosawa Shizuki’s ignorance. “Everyone in the forest is forever in their own place. The ground belongs to humans, the shadows overhead belong to the creatures of darkness, and the sky belongs to angels, their families, and gods. This is a covenant between humans and the forest fairies. We respect each other’s space, and as long as we do not invade their territory, they will have no reason to trespass into ours.”