Transformed into the leader of an esoteric sect in Japan

“The mayor should be there. When we left Dust Town with Dad, the mayor still refused to leave the town. He vowed to live and die with it.” Sha Zi looked at the ancient and tall locust tree in the center of the town. The locust tree, with countless corpses hanging from it, was still full of life, like a solemn giant guarding a long-dormant secret.

"Speaking of this mayor, in a town like this, is it really possible that we can still see him alive?" Kurosawa Shizuki found it hard to imagine how humans could survive in such a dilapidated town. In fact, it was a miracle that Eiko and Sako had survived until now, which made people suspicious.

Furthermore, as two little girls, do Eiko and Sako know a lot of things? Although they keep saying that all these secrets were "told to them by their father," their father was killed by Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki when they first met, so there is no way to verify the truth.

Could it be that everything they said wasn't "what their father told them," but rather "what God wanted us to know"?

Kurosawa Shizuki was certain that Asakura Yuki's suspicions were no less than hers, but Asakura Yuki's face remained calm, and Kurosawa Shizuki was certain that Asakura also had her own considerations.

"The mayor of Dust Town is also known as the Centipede Sage. He is a saint sent by the gods to guide humanity, and therefore he holds the invitation to the sacred path. Any human in the forest who wishes to ascend as a mortal must visit the mayor of Dust Town and undergo the Golden Bough's test. Because this is a mission bestowed upon him by the gods, the mayor will never die as long as there are humans in the forest." Yongzi led everyone toward the towering locust tree.

"Centipede Sage?" Kurosawa Shizuki was really surprised to hear this name here. She had read about it in Takasaki Ryo's memories. Fujiwara Kage's father was known as the Centipede Sage within the Shindai-kai and was one of the Shindai-kai's Flesh-Shedding Ones. The Centipede Sage who disappeared more than 20 years ago actually went to the forest alone.

"Two angel sisters, do you know the mayor?" Sha Zi blinked her big eyes at Kurosawa Shizuki.

"I don't know him personally, I've only heard his name before. If he really is the person I'm guessing..." Kurosawa Shizuki said uncertainly. Logically speaking, Centipede Sage should be a very rare title, but Kurosawa Shizuki did not rule out the possibility that Centipede Sage might have other meanings in Kirie's world.

If this Centipede Sage is indeed the Centipede Sage of the Divine Era, then his disappearance is because he went to the woods alone and became the mayor of Dust Town? What was he doing in the woods? Why did he build this town? What is his relationship with Mist Izumi's apostle, Mist Izumi? Countless questions arose in Kurosawa Shizuki's mind, but there was nowhere to find the answers.

"Let's get ready. If we encounter the Centipede Sage we know, there's no reason for us to let him go." Asakura Yuki whispered to Kurosawa Shizuki through the black material. Neither of them expected to run into a Flesh-Shedding Member of the Age of Gods in such a place. As a Flesh-Shedding Member of the Age of Gods, the Centipede Sage left reality and entered Dust Town, hiding for more than twenty years. Clearly, he had a very long-term plan.

Is the Centipede Sage connected to the Red Death that has spread in Dust Town? Could it be that this Centipede Sage shares the same idea as Asakura, wanting to study the Red Death and use it to intimidate his enemies?

No, it's obviously impossible for such a simple purpose. Moreover, Kurosawa Shizuki's intuition tells her that the Red Death is something that no normal person can fully understand. Even the madmen of the Divine Society cannot completely ignore the terrible risks behind this disease. Once the Red Death spreads throughout the world, the Divine Society's great transformation will probably become a joke.

P.S., has the recent plot been a bit boring? I'm having a headache too, but that's how the outline was written from the beginning. Sigh, it's a problem with the plot arrangement in my outline; I tried to lay out too much in the early stages.

Chapter 107, Section 108: The Sage Killed by the Golden Branch

Passing by the wooden stakes, forcing herself not to look at the grotesque corpses, Kurosawa Shizuki almost instinctively covered her nose. Even though, in theory, after several years, there shouldn't be much of a foul smell left here, the psychological discomfort was still hard to shake off. Even though the Red Death had been sealed away forever, the fear from those distant years had never left this town.

The four finally arrived at the town's center, a fairly spacious assembly square. Perhaps it had once been the venue for various public events in the town, but in the town's final days, it was clearly used as an execution square. Everywhere were various execution instruments—gallows, guillotines, stakes burned at the stake, spiked oxcarts, and the Iron Maiden, as well as various gruesome corpses remaining on the execution instruments.

Besides these, the most eye-catching thing in the square is the centipede. Black, eight-legged centipedes, as thick as an index finger, leisurely crawl with their two sensitive antennae. One, three, dozens, thousands, millions, the endless black centipedes crawl all over the square. Underneath layer upon layer of centipedes are countless skeletons that have long been eaten away. Occasionally, you can see red fungus growing on the centipedes. Centipedes infected with the Red Death are frozen in time and space by divine power, just like centipedes frozen in amber.

"Hiss hiss hiss hiss—" The centipede kept emitting a chilling hissing sound, echoing the music box music that always reverberated in the forest, highlighting an ethereal and eerie feeling.

"The mayor is on the tree in the very center." Sha Zi pointed to the tallest black locust tree in town, which was also covered with creepy centipedes.

“We need fire, fire from the primordial sun, to dispel the path obscured by the centipede,” Eiko turned to look at Asakura Yuki, “That’s why you, the angel of radiant light, are here.”

"Then let's go. With my light protecting us, the insects will surely be unable to harm us." Asakura Yuki snapped her fingers decisively. Kurosawa Shizuki saw the translucent radiance wrap around Asakura's body in circles, then quickly spread out, like a sun falling to earth, enveloping everyone in the blink of an eye. Kurosawa Shizuki, Eiko, and Sako were in the radiance's protective shield, yet they did not feel any heat, only a reassuring warmth.

The four walked toward the locust tree where the centipede sage lived. Along the way, the black centipedes, due to their almost instinctive fear of the Yang Yan, made way for them. Those that were slow to avoid it were reduced to ashes as soon as they touched the Yang Yan.

Kurosawa Shizuki carefully lifted her leg from time to time to avoid the various skeletons lying on the roadside. She had no intention of trampling on other people's remains and offending the dead.

The seemingly terrifying sea of ​​centipedes posed no threat whatsoever to Asakura's glare shield. It seems that Asakura's power is indeed a natural nemesis to these centipedes. Asakura's body does possess a sacred and inviolable aura within the glare. Perhaps only the Prince of the Sun can lead everyone to the end of the centipede path unscathed.

The group arrived safely under the locust tree and, unsurprisingly, found the mayor of Dust Town, a being known as the Centipede Sage.

“As expected, no matter what happens, the mayor will never leave Dust Town.” Sand raised his head, struggling to look up at the presence high above.

"Because he is the guardian of the path to ascension, he must forever watch over Dust Town, even if Dust Town has long since perished." Yongzi looked at the mayor of Dust Town as if she were looking at a very familiar old friend. Her youthful appearance revealed such a weathered expression, which was quite incongruous.

Almost blending into the rough tree trunk, half decayed and half tender, with its arms clasped to its chest, it inexplicably evokes the image of the Holy Son nailed to the cross to atone for humanity's sins.

The mayor was naked from the waist up, his body as white as marble, yet covered with rings of patterns like tree rings. However, his face was that of a handsome young man who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, with beautiful eyebrows like a Greek sculpture, possessing both Eastern and Western aesthetic features.

Judging from his appearance alone, it is difficult to tell his age. He looks very old, but his body is full of youthful vitality.

In the center of the rings of the tree, there were cracks and scars, with black centipedes crawling in and out, which was quite disgusting. Foul-smelling lymph fluid also flowed out. Countless centipedes formed a black robe draped over the person's body, and the person exuded a vicious and dangerous aura.

At the heart of the centipede sage, there was a strange golden branch that pinned him to the tree trunk. The branch had seven forks, and even in the dark forest, it still shone with an eerie light, making it seem as if it were cast from pure gold. It looked like part of the plant, yet it also inexplicably reminded people of... a knife.

"It's truly astonishing that such a path of transformation actually exists within the Shindai-kai. It's not about pursuing immortality, but about chasing after eternal life, almost completely shedding the animalistic form and actively transforming into a plant..." Asakura Yuki seemed to be seeing this scene for the first time as well. In Kurosawa Shizuki's impression of the Shindai-kai, this esoteric sect seemed to have an extraordinary obsession with wings and flight. Yet this centipede sage actively merged himself with a tree, forever abandoning his wings of flight. What was he plotting?

"But combining himself with the locust tree also means that he has given up all mobility. In battle, he will probably be at a great disadvantage, right?" Kurosawa Shizuki seemed to be asking Asakura Yuki, or perhaps she was encouraging herself for the battle that might break out next.

Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki exchanged a glance, both seeing apprehension and certainty in each other's eyes. The centipede sage who became the town mayor was undoubtedly a fourth-tier being, and a flesh-shedder in the Gods Society, except that he controlled the power of the molted moth form and the opened awakening form.

[Centipede Sage, a molting member of the Age of Gods, transformed into a tree, offering himself to the immortal golden branch, awaiting the final end of a long story...] Kurosawa Shizuki saw part of the Centipede Sage's panel. This was the first high-level enemy of the fourth tier she had encountered since coming to this world. No matter how bad his condition was, she had to be extremely careful when facing him in the future.

Although Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki didn't say anything, they were clearly prepared to act at any time. If they could eliminate a member of the Gods' Generation here, their trip to the Woodland Domain wouldn't be in vain.

"Mayor, Mayor! Do you remember us? We've come to see you again!" Sha Zi and Yong Zi raised their voices and shouted in unison.

A dozen seconds later, the mayor of Dust Town trembled slightly, shaking off the dust that had accumulated over the years. He opened his cloudy eyes and looked down at the new visitor under the locust tree.

“It’s Sha Zi and Yong Zi, it’s you! I thought I would never see you again,” the mayor said in a hoarse voice. “It seems that the gods were guiding you to get here. You were also blessed by Yang Yan. I haven’t seen such a sight in many years.”

"Logically, it should be your father who is here. Where is Masato? I haven't seen him in a long time." Centipede Sage was actually an acquaintance of Sand and Eiko's father.

“Dad has gone mad. In order to continue living after the forest was destroyed, he kept sacrificing us, killing us and remaking us. Until today, two angel sisters saved us and killed Dad.” Yongzi was talking about her father’s death, but her voice was so cold that it sounded like she was talking about a stranger.

"Uncle Mayor, please allow me to introduce you to our two new friends—Sister Sun Angel and Sister Yin Angel. Without their protection, we wouldn't be standing here at all!" Sha Zi pushed Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki to the front. Her voice was cheerful, just like a kindergarten child proudly introducing her new friends to her parents.

The Centipede Sage looked down at Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki from his high vantage point. Countless centipedes crawled outside the protective barrier of the blazing sun, and some even crawled out of the Centipede Sage's ears and into his nostrils. Kurosawa Shizuki felt a chill run down her spine under the Centipede Sage's gaze. Such a penetrating gaze made both Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki feel that they could not hide any secrets.

"There are no living people left in the woods, yet you still maintain human forms. It seems you are outsiders. How many years has it been? When I came in, it was still Heisei 2." The Centipede Sage gave Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki a gentle smile, as if he was completely unaware of their hostility.

“When we came in, it was March 18, 2019. The current prime minister is Abe, and it has been 30 years since the Heisei era,” said Yuki Asakura.

“Haha, 28 years have passed... The memories of the past are so distant, it’s like they happened in another world,” the centipede sage said with deep sorrow. “In the woods, I have endured three hundred years of suffering, yet I can never find relief in the liminal space between life and death, all because someone bestowed upon me this beautiful golden branch.”

Chapter 108, Section 109: Performance Opening

“We live in this absurd dream, where time has lost its meaning. This nightmare seems like it will never end… But I am lucky. It seems that this long night is finally coming to an end.” The centipede sage looked down at the crowd with his weathered eyes and a mysterious smile.

"You say all of this is just one person's beautiful dream? Whose beautiful dream? And why is she unwilling to wake up? Who pierced your heart with a golden branch?" Every word of the Centipede Sage seemed to contain a secret. Kurosawa Shizuki asked anxiously. The Centipede Sage seemed to know the answers to many things. If she could learn the truth about this forest from him, perhaps there would be no need to rush into war with him.

“A dreamer is just a child who doesn’t want to grow up—” The centipede sage’s words trailed off, his expression turning strange. Then, a mischievous smile spread across his face, and he put a finger to his lips: “Shh, I guess I can’t say. It seems you’re valued by her far more than I imagined. She’s been watching us all along, and she doesn’t expect me to reveal the secret so soon.”

Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki saw that cracks, like those of an old tree, were spreading and growing on the centipede sage's body, just like an old porcelain piece that could not withstand the passage of time.

"Mayor Uncle and Angel Sister, we don't understand what you're saying. Were you just talking about some kind of obscure riddle? Have you forgotten the original purpose of visiting the woodland?" Sand and Yongzi tilted their heads in confusion.

“It seems we don’t have much time left, you two ‘angel’ ladies,” the mayor said, his chaotic eyes looking at Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki. His pupils contracted slightly, reminiscent of the compound eyes of insects. In the blink of an eye, Kurosawa Shizuki felt as if he had become a different person again: “Our high and mighty spectator is urging us to take the stage.”

"Perform on stage? Mayor, what kind of performance does that audience member you mentioned want? Although I'm not a professional actor, my performances always bring joy to everyone." Asakura gave the mayor of Dust Town a bright smile, but anyone could see the malice lurking beneath it.

“In the eyes of the high and mighty God, everything in this world is a grand performance. She looks down from above, she witnesses everything, she controls everything,” the mayor’s voice sounded very sad. “We are just puppets in her hands. The script she arranged for us is an extremely sad story, and this story is destined to have an extremely cruel yet beautiful ending.”

As soon as he finished speaking, both Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki saw a murky deep red color emerge in the eyes of the Centipede Sage. All clear reason was dispelled in those eyes, and in the blink of an eye, the Centipede Sage seemed to have completely transformed into another person.

“Uncle Mayor, today, we’ve come to…” Sand seemed to have completely ignored the conversation between Centipede Sage, Kurosawa Shizuki, and Asakura. She spoke to Centipede Sage in a cold and mechanical voice, as if she were reading a script in a monotone.

"You've come seeking an invitation to the Temple of Reincarnation, haven't you? These days, the only people who come to this useless old man like me have this one purpose," the Centipede Sage seemed to remember something, his expression full of bewilderment. "How many times has this happened? So many times that I've lost count."

"How many times? Have other people come looking for the invitation before?" Yongzi asked, following the centipede sage's words. Although Yongzi was asking a question, she didn't seem to have any doubts. Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki could both see that they were indeed being influenced by an incredibly powerful force, operating according to a predetermined script...

It seemed that no complete life existed in the woods long ago; everything was like a pre-programmed sequence, running in a monotonous, repetitive cycle.

Kurosawa Shizuki felt that what Asakura had said before was correct. Perhaps in God's eyes, she really was playing an RPG game, and she and Asakura were just playable characters controlled by God.

“This is not surprising. Every living person in the woods is now craving an invitation, because everyone knows that the Red Death has extinguished our last hope. The woods are about to be reshaped, and completing the three trials to reach the temple is the only way for mortals to survive. Everyone believes they have been chosen by the gods.” The mayor’s voice grew increasingly mechanical and numb. “Do you have any Water of Oblivion? This dream is becoming increasingly unstable; I need more Water of Oblivion…”

The background story, main quest, and quest requirements have all been explained; it's a true RPG.

“Mayor, but no one has ever found that black well in the woods. The Water of Oblivion is just a distant legend. Could you at least give us some guidance?” Sand said with great difficulty.

"I'm sorry, Shazi and Yongzi, although your father is someone I know, that doesn't mean I can make an exception for you in this matter. In the past, perhaps we could discuss it, but now, the Water of Oblivion that I've accumulated over so many years has been stolen. If you can find the thief..." The mayor seemed to be revealing another clue to a side quest.

"Troublesome, troublesome, so incredibly troublesome! One mission after another, main quests connected to side quests, when will this ever end!" Yuki Asakura impatiently interrupted the monotone reading of Sand, Eiko, and Centipede Sage, who were being manipulated. "Mayor, can you still understand what I'm saying?"

"Ladies Angels, do you have any further questions?" The Centipede Sage turned around with a smile, like an NPC who had been selected to confirm a dialogue.

"An invitation letter? What exactly is this invitation letter that we received after completing the mission?" Asakura Yuki asked loudly.

"The invitation is the golden branch on my chest, and the golden branch is the key to opening the temple..." The mayor, or rather the centipede sage's smile, became increasingly strange, filled with undisguised malice. "Someone was once given a golden branch by the gods, who wanted her to live forever in the woods, guarding the gate to ascension. But she betrayed the gods, and she used the golden branch to nail me to this place. I chose the red death."

The golden branch on the centipede sage's chest is like a work of art sculpted by the most skilled artist, with every inch of detail being exquisite. He places one hand on the golden branch, which shakes and trembles, displaying incredible divinity.

“We don’t intend to come into contact with the Red Death, we won’t go looking for thieves, and we certainly don’t plan to search for the Water of Oblivion. I think we have an even simpler and more direct option.” Asakura Yuki’s smile was tinged with coldness.

Sha Zi and Yong Zi exchanged a glance, then silently retreated, perhaps keenly aware of what was about to happen.

The centipedes throughout the central square began to stir restlessly, as if they sensed something ominous was about to happen.

Sand and Eiko left the glare barrier that Asakura used to defend against centipedes and ran into the centipede tide without looking back. To Kurosawa Shizuki's surprise, not a single centipede tried to bite them. They had been pretending to hide inside the light barrier, but in fact, the centipedes had no hostility towards them at all.

Kurosawa Shizuki no longer had time to care where Sako and Eiko had gone, because the pressure coming from the direction of the Centipede Sage was becoming stronger and stronger. The Centipede Sage had once again broken free from the mechanical feeling of being controlled, and his eyes had become more lively.

“I understand your choice, but I advise you to follow the rules,” the Centipede Sage said, his empty eyes flashing with black centipedes that then burst into a maniacal grin. “Hehehehe, if you insist on killing me, I’m very much looking forward to it! Come on, little girls! Try and see if you can kill me!”

The centipede sage opened his arms as if to embrace them, but the entire locust tree he was attached to began to tremble violently, with withered leaves flying everywhere, and the restless centipedes piled up in layers from all directions.

“Rules are made by the strong. If there’s a door blocking our way, we don’t necessarily have to go through all the trouble of finding the key. Sometimes, it’s easier to just push the door down.” Asakura’s smile grew brighter and brighter. Behind her, bubble-like flames of light appeared one after another. After such a long period of rest, she and Kurosawa Shizuki had not fully recovered, but they had recovered about 70% of their strength.

They decided to kill this "sage" who was bound here and remove the golden branch from his chest. Kurosawa Shizuki was not sure if this script was also arranged by that high and mighty god from the beginning.

P.S. Actually, the Woodland part was originally envisioned as a large expansion. I initially wanted to write a dark fairy tale-like independent world, but I found that if I actually wrote it that way, it would be too drawn out, almost enough to be a separate book. So I cut a lot of it, but it still looks incredibly drawn out, which is frustrating.

Chapter 109, Section 110: Confrontation with the Flesh-Shedding Members of the Age of Gods

Based on their perception, this centipede sage, who was neither human nor tree, seemed to be in a worse state than them, despite his imposing presence. His aura fluctuated, and even his mental state was unstable. They really had no need to search for some unheard-of Water of Oblivion in the woods for the enemies of the Divine Society.

“I agree with Miss Asakura’s opinion. It’s obviously simpler to just kill you than to go looking for some Water of Oblivion.” Kurosawa Shizuki felt that the Centipede Sage never intended to give them the Golden Branch from the beginning. In the woods, taking it by force might be far better than working hard.

"If you can kill me, the Golden Branch will naturally belong to you; it is part of the rules," the Centipede Sage said with considerable pleasure as he faced the murderous Asakura and Kurosawa Shizuki. His body was covered with terrifying insects, and the rings on his body spun endlessly like living things. "The Golden Branch is the symbol of the Mist Spring's faith. In the distant past, the Golden Branch was always passed down among priests through mutual slaughter. The one who controls the Golden Branch is the priest king of the forest."

Almost as soon as the words were spoken, two distinct energy fields were already formed between Kurosawa Shizuki, Asakura, and the Centipede Sage.

Around Asakura, bubble-like flames floated up and down, countless illusions coalesced and dissipated, making her body seem unreal, like a phantom. A ukiyo-e-like scroll unfolded behind her on her royal robes, depicting beautiful mountains and rivers, a brilliant sun, and countless swimming fish. The flames gathered in the air to form a rushing sea of ​​fish, and at the very center of this sea of ​​flames, a golden giant tree, no less tall than a locust tree, grew, and unparalleled power of the flames was accumulating within it.

Surrounding Kurosawa Shizuki were clusters of filthy shadows, carrying a blasphemous malice, wrapped around the girl's slender body, making her aura ghostly. Black thorns, chains, and liquid coiled behind her, weaving a black barrier, on which countless twisting arms and eyes appeared.

In the center of Dust Town, on the ancient locust tree laden with corpses, the Centipede Sage gently stroked the golden branch stuck in his heart, a calm smile on his lips. Countless centipedes were constantly gushing out from the ancient locust tree, writhing and forming black mountains around it, their movement like surging waves of the sea.

Everywhere were entrances and exits for centipedes. They tore at each other, head biting tail, tail connected to head, circling and soaring around the ancient tree where the centipede sage parasitized.

"Come, two lovely angel ladies..." The centipede sage chuckled wickedly, his body completely obscured by the centipede tide. "Let us dance. The golden branch is the victor's reward. Whether we win or lose, we will present the most spectacular performance to the audience above us. We will please her; only in this way can the dream continue forever..."

As soon as they finished speaking, Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki attacked the centipede sage almost simultaneously without holding back.

Asakura Yuki put on the dark gold Yang God mask. She waved her arms, and the gathered Yang Flame Fish Tide consisted of at least tens of thousands of Yang Flame Goldfish. Under her symphonic conductor-like arm movements, the rushing goldfish soared and charged forward. The Centipede Sage also responded to her offensive, with countless black centipedes rushing towards Asakura's Yang Flame Fish Tide.