Collapse, Kaslana's Way of Survival

"And this is why we evacuated the citizens of Changkong. Without humans as carriers, the Hermit-Pseudo-Hermits will not be born."

"And don't even think about using the Pseudo-Hermaphrodite's power. The power of the innate stigmata far exceeds that of the Pseudo-Hermaphrodite."

After taking a glance at Xier's chest, Kainuo finally touched his own chest.

That is where his miraculous stigma is located.

"It's like my holy..."

"That stigma of yours is an exception among exceptions, no matter how you think about it, right? If such a strong stigma could really be created, then there's no reason why your so-called former civilization would be destroyed by the collapse."

Rolling her eyes, Xier interrupted Kaino.

"But I do understand why there are so few people born with stigmata."

"More than few? I wouldn't be surprised if all the existing stigmata holders in the world were with Saint Freya."

Shrugging, Kainuo patted Xier's shoulder.

"Okay, we've talked long enough. Now let's quickly install surveillance equipment in other places, and check if there are any people stranded in Changkong City who haven't left..."

At this moment, a sudden change occurred.

The alarm on the surveillance device in Kaino's hand suddenly went off, a continuous beeping sound. A dense mass of burning cherry blossoms appeared out of nowhere, almost instantly filling his field of vision and completely obscuring the figures of Xi'er and the others.

The next moment, Kainuo's consciousness, which even Yu Duchen could not interfere with, quietly sank into the darkness and fell into the deep sea.

Chapter 159 Sakura

"Wake up, please wake up."

A slightly cold voice lingered in Kainuo's ears. Although he was unconscious, he just felt that the voice was slightly familiar. Apart from that, his breathing became very difficult, and his chest and stomach felt inexplicably heavy and blocked.

"...Looks like he's drowning, right?"

The female voice became a little anxious. At the same time, Kainuo felt a pair of hands constantly exerting pressure on his chest, making him feel uncomfortable. He was constantly wavering between wanting to vomit but feeling that he could vomit, and wanting to vomit but not being able to vomit. He was extremely uncomfortable.

"Phew, there's nothing I can do. If I've offended you in the slightest, I was forced to do it. I hope you won't blame me when you wake up."

An inexplicable chill swept through his body, and then a heavy blow hit Keno's abdomen, and the pain made his originally confused mind suddenly clear up.

An uncontrollable urge to vomit washed over Kaino, who, without even considering the pain in his abdomen, rolled over and began to vomit. The dirty liquid, mixed with stomach juices, gushed out of his mouth, causing his throat to burn and a sigh of relief.

Although my stomach still hurts a little, at least my breathing is no longer obstructed.

"Great, it looks like you're okay."

The clearer female voice rang out again, and the owner of the voice seemed to be relieved at Kayno's awakening. At the same time, a hand was placed on Kayno's back, stroking it continuously, as if to make him feel more comfortable.

Kainuo wiped the dripping water from his face and shook his head. His mind had just come out of its hazy state, and he wasn't quite calm. But the owner of the voice seemed to possess an inexplicable magical power, slowly relaxing his tense heart and calming him down.

"I'm sorry. I know it's not pleasant to be attacked in the stomach. But it was completely helpless. I hope you can forgive me."

"It's okay, it's okay. I don't know why I suddenly got into the water, but I know you were trying to save me."

Kainuo turned around, sat down, rubbed his temples with a pout, opened his eyes and began to observe the surrounding situation.

Then I was stunned

At the end of his memory, he should be in front of the Yae Shrine with Silberra. Then the alarm of the surveillance device sounded and he fainted all of a sudden.

But what is happening now?

The clear sky and the green grass met at the horizon, a turbulent stream flowed behind him, and a girl who looked exactly like Yae Kasumi, whom he had met in the seaside world before, except for her ears, was now half-crouching in front of him.

The girl's azure eyes stared straight at him, a warm and kind smile on her face. The hand that had just gently stroked his back now followed his movements and supported his shoulder, while the other hand...

Glancing at the sharp blade extended from the girl's hand and placed across his neck, Kainuo swallowed and raised his hands decisively and simply.

"Eh--ah, well, I'm not a bad person. Big sister, please talk nicely. It's not good to use knives or guns!"

"You look clean and healthy. At least from the outside, you're not a bad person. But..."

As the girl spoke, her eyes shifted slightly downwards in a strange way, scanning back and forth between Keno's chest and crotch.

"With someone like you dressed so strangely, I really can't let my guard down without questioning him thoroughly."

Fancy clothes?

Kainuo was stunned at first, then he noticed the other person's current clothes.

The shrine maiden's costume has exposed armpits.

……

Who is dressed weirdly?

Forcing an elegant yet polite smile, Kainuo said stiffly, "I don't think my clothes are anything special. They're just ordinary clothes."

"very common?"

The girl's expression became even more strange. She glanced at Kainuo's clothes again, hesitated for a moment, and then skillfully sheathed the knife.

"I don't see many people outside of Yaemura. Maybe it's true that what you say is dressed like this is very ordinary."

"First, let me introduce myself. My name is Yae Sakura." Sighing, Yae Sakura looked at Kaino.

"Could you please tell me your identity and the reason why you drowned in this stream less than one meter deep?"

Glancing back at the stream, Kai-Lin Ni] Shi Si Wu Nuo couldn't help but twitch his lips while thinking about how to fool the other party.

After all, it was a stream that even his period couldn't flood, so it wouldn't be good if the excuse wasn't good enough.

"I was out playing with my two friends, and I was attacked by something and blacked out. Then you rescued me." Kainuo said in a sad tone.

Patting his head, Kaino raised his head and looked at Yae Sakura, a glimmer of hope in his eyes: "By the way, Miss Yae, have you seen my friends? One of them is a little girl with black and red hair, and the other is a big girl with white and gray hair."

After thinking for a while, Yaezakura frowned and shook her head. She looked at Kaino with an apologetic look in her eyes: "I'm sorry, I haven't seen a girl with such a unique hair color."

"Is that so?" Pinching his eyebrows, Kainuo couldn't help but feel a headache.

He didn't know why he had suddenly come here, nor did he know why Seele and the others had suddenly disappeared from his side. He hadn't felt any signs of heat in the stigmata on his chest before he passed out, so he could rule out the possibility of another inexplicable time travel. But if that were the case, why would he have met Yae Sakura?

Wait.

Yae?

"Um, Miss Yae, I'd like to ask you something." Kaino blinked and asked tentatively, "Do you know Yae Shrine? My friends and I were planning to go there."

Kainuo noticed that when he mentioned Yae Shrine, Yae Sakura's eyes darkened for a moment.

"As for Yae Shrine, it's the shrine my father presides over, so in a sense, it's my home. But I never expected that the shrine's reputation would spread so far, that even outsiders like you knew about it."

"I just know the name," he said jokingly, then continued, "By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Kayno Kaslana, just call me Kayno."

"Could you please let me stay at your family shrine for a while, Miss Yae? I'd like to see if I can wait for my friends to come. Of course, I'll pay for the accommodation."

"The accommodation fee is waived. If you're just taking in one person, I can still make the decision. Besides, your body seems a little weak from drowning. It would be better for you to recuperate at the shrine."

Shaking her head, Yae Sakura picked up the wooden bucket full of water beside her and stood up. She looked at Kayno's clothes again and hesitated.

"If possible, I hope that Kainuo can change your clothes - at the very least, you can pretend to be injured and take off this one. Although I'm a bit casual about the way you outsiders dress, the villagers are quite serious about this."

"Women dressed as men are already unacceptable, and men dressed as women could be caught and whipped."

Huh? A man dressed as a woman?

Kaino's eyes widened, and he looked down at his clothes in disbelief.

A set of nun's uniform in the style of the Destiny Order, the same style his aunt wore.

…and it fits perfectly.

Chapter 160 Shrine

Holding the soaked nun's uniform, wearing a pure white shirt and shorts, Kaino looked downcast again at Yae Sakura who was leading the way in front of him, rubbed his temples and sighed.

The situation is becoming increasingly complicated.

In his memory, the Yae Shrine in Nagashora City had become a dilapidated mess, but now, in Yae Sakura's mouth, the shrine had become her home. Nagashora City, which surrounded the shrine, had suddenly disappeared, replaced by green grass and blue sky, resembling a rural landscape.

Time travel was definitely impossible, and space travel, possessing the power of the Herrscher of the Void, would have made it impossible for him not to notice. After ruling out these two possibilities, the only remaining possibility was obvious.

The Yae Shrine in Changkong City collapsed, and the pseudo-heresyrster born from the collapse pulled him into a world similar to an illusion, and separated him from Seele and others.

...No, considering that even Yu Duchen, created by the Herrscher of Consciousness's core, couldn't force him into the illusion, the possibility that this place was an illusion was extremely small. In comparison, this world should be similar to a special spiritual space like a seaside amusement park.

Of course, without the support of an etheric anchor, this world was far inferior to the Seaside Amusement Park in every way. For example, while his underwear was still his, his personal devices and the bracelet Seele had tied to his left wrist on his birthday were all gone, and his outer clothing had inexplicably transformed into a nun's uniform.

In addition to this, what gave Kainuo a headache was that he and Xier did not rely on power to break in forcibly like last time, but instead entered through normal means like the captain.

But this actually means that they can no longer use their power to leave directly like they did last time, but need to find a reasonable way to leave, otherwise their consciousness without physical protection will probably completely dissipate in an instant.

Really, I just came to Changkong City to solve an impending collapse, how could I be involved in such a big thing?

rustle.

The subtle sound of limbs rubbing against leaves suddenly rang out, causing Kayno's brows to twitch. The Herrscher of Reason activated his power, and the Xuanyuan Sword, in its original form, instantly fell into his hands.

"Lord Kainuo, please be careful."

Yaezakura, who was walking in front, also stopped almost at the same time, put down the bucket and placed her right hand on the hilt of the sheathed sword.

She glanced around warily, finally focusing her gaze on a small forest to her side. Unsheathing her long sword, without a single word to Kaino, Yae Sakura stomped onto the ground and instantly plunged into the forest.

In a moment, Yaesakura reappeared, but in her hands was the battered corpse of a knight-level Honkai beast.

"There have been more and more monsters appearing recently. This is really a bad sign."

Sighing, she threw the corpse of the Honkai beast aside. Yae Sakura paused slightly, then shifted her gaze to the Xuanyuan Sword in Kainuo's hand, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Lord Kainuo." Yaezakura took a step back and looked at Kainuo with a hint of caution. "If I remember correctly, you didn't have any weapons in your hands just now, right?"

"Ah? This?" Kainuo blinked and made a sword flower. Then, with a flick of his hand, the Xuanyuan Sword transformed into light blue particles and disappeared without a trace. "It's just casually taking out and putting away weapons. It's a method that everyone in our area knows. It's nothing special."

Yae Sakura didn't say anything, stared at Kaino for a few seconds, and finally took a deep breath and slowly sheathed the sword.

"Alright, I'll trust you once more. After all, nothing you've said so far has been proven to be a lie." Even so, Yae Sakura's face was still slightly wary. "Of course, if possible, I hope you'll tell me when you draw your weapon again."

"Of course, of course." Kainuo agreed with a smile, "After all, I'm a guest, this is what I should do."

"It's good that you have this awareness." Yaezakura nodded, turned around and continued to lead the way.

Kainuo sighed and followed reluctantly.

……

"We're here. This is Yae Village, the village where I live."

After walking for another half a day and leading Kainuo to the entrance of a village, Yae Sakura stopped, turned around and introduced Kainuo.

"I can't understand why your village is so far away from that stream? And the road is so difficult to walk on." Kainuo rubbed his sore ankle and complained.

I don't know if it was really because of the drowning, but although his powers were still there, his physical fitness had indeed inexplicably declined. Although he was still stronger than an ordinary person, he was definitely inferior to Kaslana's abnormal physique.

"Since it's a village, it would make more sense to be closer to the stream, right?"

"That stream isn't one that villagers often go to. If I hadn't been patrolling the area around the village and fetching water to exercise my physical strength, I wouldn't have gone there."

Shaking her head, Yaezakura continued to lead the way while explaining, "Although the water flow isn't strong, there are still quite a few tributaries around Yae Village. Although the water flow has been decreasing recently and is showing signs of drying up, no one would go that far to fetch water."

"So if I hadn't happened to be on patrol today, you would probably have drowned without being discovered."

"Ah, thank you then."

Kaino scratched his head and thanked him.

"But you just said that the streams around Yae Village have dried up again. Have they ever dried up?"

Yaezakura paused, her expression dimming for a moment, but after a moment of hesitation, she quickly came to her senses.

"It's best not to discuss this within the village. It's taboo for many people there." After warning Kaino, Yaezakura said calmly, "The river did dry up a few years ago, and many people died. Fortunately, Yaezakura held a memorial service in time, and several heavy rains quickly saved the village."

"Sacrifice...isn't this too superstitious?" Kainuo couldn't help but complain.

But that’s not the case. In the 21st century, there are still many people who are very superstitious.

For example, before every make-up exam, Kiana would bow to the heaven and earth like in the comic books. In the end, Theresa couldn't stand it anymore and secretly helped her change her grades.

"Superstitious? Perhaps. But every time Yae Village holds a festival, good weather and good harvests will soon follow."

Yaezakura responded with a confused look, shook her head, stood still, and pointed at the huge building in front of her.

"We're here. This is Yae Shrine."

Kainuo raised his eyebrows upon hearing this and began to look at the building in front of him.

The general structure of the building was exactly the same as the Yae Shrine he had seen in Changkong City. Although he had not recognized it at first because everything had become brand new, a closer look confirmed that the two were indeed the same thing.