The road leading to the Yellow Springs Gate was not easy to walk on. Not only was the gate sealed, but there were also many traps in the middle. It was almost impossible for the girls to walk in directly without disarming these traps.

But for Shizuku...

"boom!!!"

The heavy wooden door spun and flew out as if it had been hit by a truck, hitting the wall next to it. Then Shizuku strode forward with the greatsword in her hand, and behind her, Hinasaki Shinku and Amakura Mio followed cautiously.

"Hina...Miss, are we doing this right?"

Tian Cang Mio looked at the mess in front of her, and was obviously a little uneasy. After all, she was just a junior high school student, and she had never seen such a hardcore "breaking and entering". Even though this was an old village that had long been abandoned, she was still scared when she saw the girl in front of her rushing around like a wild boar.

"Don't worry, Shizuku-nee does this all the time, I'm used to it."

Compared to the somewhat nervous Amakura Mio, Hinasaki Shinku seemed very calm. After all, she was a high school student, several years older than Amakura Mio, and she also had experience in Himuro Residence. For Hinasaki Shinku, the noise of demolishing and renovating the house like Shizuku was actually a little better, at least it was loud and sounded lively. Otherwise, walking in such a dead silent place would be enough to make people mentally collapse.

"By the way, Sister Shizuku, I have a question."

Now that the backbone has arrived, Hinasaki Shinku is not so nervous anymore, so she also wants to answer questions.

"Hmm? What's the problem?"

"That... the ritual I saw was for the elder sister to kill the younger sister... but..."

Having said that, Hinasaki Shinkuen glanced at Amakura Mio beside her.

"But why is Amagura Kamisama possessed by Saeki? If she wants to complete the ritual, she should possess Mio-chan."

This is a question that Hinasaki Shinku has in mind, because she knows that her great-grandmother Yae is the elder sister and Sae is the younger sister. So according to this rule, Sae should have possessed Amakura Mio and let Amakura Kanon kill her.

But Saeki possessed her sister, Amakura Kanon... Was it the wrong person?

"Oh, that's not surprising."

However, Shizuku didn't care and gave a casual answer.

"Because the customs on both sides are different."

"Different customs?"

"Yes, according to modern people's customs, the one born first is the older sister, and the one born later is the younger sister. But according to ancient people's customs, they believed that the one born first is the younger sister, and the one born later is the older sister."

"……Why?"

Hearing this, Hinasaki Shinku and Amakura Mio were stunned.

"Why?"

To be honest, strictly speaking, modern people's habits are more in line with their cognition, but the ancient customs make them a little confused. Why was it the younger sister who was born first in ancient times?

"They think that the one born first is weaker and less powerful, so he or she rushes out first. The one born later is healthier and more stable, less impatient, and stronger. Therefore, according to ancient customs, the one born first and weaker is naturally the younger sister, and the one born later and stronger is the older sister."

"Oh...I see."

Hearing this, Hinasaki Shinku just sighed casually. Although she and Hinasaki Mafuyu are siblings, they were not born together, so she just regarded it as learning something new.

On the contrary, Amakura Mio had a complicated expression, because she remembered that her sister had always followed her since she was a child... To be honest, it looked more like the younger sister was chasing the older sister, rather than the older sister chasing the younger sister.

So in ancient times, one's elder sister was actually one's younger sister?

This seems pretty cute?

As they talked, the three of them continued to walk down.

The gate of the underworld in Kaigami Village is different from that in Himuro Residence: both have a tunnel in the house that goes all the way underground. When the ceremony is held, the people who perform the sacrifice line up and walk down the tunnel until they reach the gate of the underworld, and then the ceremony is held. In comparison, the sacrifice in Himuro Residence is more humane. Although there are sacrifices, strictly speaking, the sacrifices are only the "mekakushi no oki" used to select the "rope priestess" and the "rope priestess" who will be torn apart by a chariot.

However, the sacrifices in the Kaigami Village were even more extensive. Not only did one of the twins who were the main body of the sacrifice have to die, but even the priests in charge of the ceremony were not much better. Unlike the "Yellow Spring Gate" in Himuro Residence, the Yellow Spring Gate in the Kaigami Village was a large square pit, so there was no way to install a stone door like the one in Himuro Residence. At the end of the ceremony, the priests also had to throw the body of one of the dead twins into the pit to seal the Yellow Spring Gate.

However, they were not allowed to stare at the Yellow Spring Gate. Once they looked inside the Yellow Spring Gate, everything would be taken away from them. Therefore, the people in charge of the sacrifice had their eyes sewn shut and wore turbans to prevent them from seeing the existence hidden in the Yellow Spring Gate.

At the same time, the three of them walked out of the tunnel and came to the Gate of Yellow Springs at the bottom.

Passing through the Torii, you can see dozens of priests wearing turbans, holding tin staffs, and wearing black robes around the gate of Hades, chanting incantations in a low voice, while holding the tin staffs and hitting the ground vigorously. In the middle of them, Tiancang Jian was standing in front of a rectangular black pit with his back to everyone.

At the same time, a voice sounded in everyone's ears, with a helpless hum and sadness.

"Why did you leave me at that time? We clearly agreed to stay together forever... Until the end, I have been waiting for you..."

Along with the sound, Tiancang Jian was seen slowly walking towards the pit in front of him.

"elder sister!!!"

Seeing this, Amakura Mio screamed and wanted to rush over to grab her sister. At the same time, Shizuku also raised Frostmourne and flicked it lightly with her fingers.

"bite--!!!"

Soon, a white light emerged from the sword, then flew forward and transformed into a middle-aged woman in a kimono - that was none other than Souma Yae... or rather, the soul of Kurosawa Yae, who was in the Himuro residence.

At this moment, the scene around changed instantly.

The priests who were originally surrounding the place disappeared, and Tiancang Jian, who was standing in front of the gate of the underworld, turned into a short-haired girl wearing a white kimono.

"I'm sorry...Saju...I'm sorry."

Looking at the girl in front of her, Kurosawa Yae slowly walked towards her, and her figure gradually changed as she walked forward. Soon, the middle-aged woman who was originally a mother in the Himuro residence turned into a figure that was almost identical to the kimono girl in front of her. She had short black hair and wore a white kimono, with a ribbon hanging from the side emitting a bright red glow.

"Saju... I'm sorry... I'm back..."

Hearing Kurosawa Yae's whisper, the girl in kimono turned around and looked at her.

"Sure enough... you are back..."

“I’m so sorry…”

Looking at his sister in front of him, Kurosawa Yae whispered what he had always wanted to say.

"We clearly agreed to stay with you forever... at that time..."

"I know, I know..."

The kimono girl shook her head and looked at Kurosawa Yae, who also looked at her. Hinasaki Shinku and Amakura Mio watched this scene from the side, not knowing what to say. Hinasaki Shinku, in particular, had a very complicated mood at the moment.

After all, what I witnessed was the love and hatred of my great-grandmother’s generation…

Then, the two girls held hands, turned around, and Kurosawa Yae looked at everyone and nodded.

"Thank you..."

As he spoke, Yae looked at his sister.

"Now I can fulfill my promise."

As they spoke, the sisters turned around again, faced the Gate of Hades in front of them, and held each other's hands.

"We made a promise to stay together forever."

Then, two girls in white kimonos clasped their hands tightly and fell towards the bottomless gate of Hades in front of them.

"elder sister!!"

Seeing this, Amakura Mio suddenly realized that Sasaki was still attached to her sister!

So she hurriedly rushed forward, hugged Amakoto Kan, and pulled her back. At the same time, Kurosawa Sashige's soul also separated from Amakoto Kan, and fell into the dark bottomless abyss with her sister Kurosawa Yae.

"careful!"

Seeing Amakura Mio rushing out, Hinasaki Shinku hurried forward, grabbed the two girls and pulled them back.

However, at this moment, the scenery in front of her suddenly changed again.

“Hahahaha…hahahaha…”

Forest, bright sunshine, hills, streams.

In front of the trees and grass, two young girls were frolicking and playing.

"Sister, come quickly."

The girl running in front was waving and smiling, while the girl behind was panting.

"Wait a minute, Mio, wait a minute."

"Hurry up, sister..."

The girl in front quickened her pace again and ran forward. Seeing this scene, the girl behind became more uneasy and frightened.

Mio is leaving me.

She is leaving me. What if she never comes back? What if we separate?

Thinking of this, the girl felt extremely scared and uneasy. However, at this moment, she saw the hillside beside her. Then the girl looked forward again, watching her sister running forward lively and happily, she made up her mind. Then, she took advantage of the moment when her sister turned her head and jumped down the hillside.

"ah--!!!"

When the girl regained consciousness, her sister had already fallen beside her, crying.

“Sister, sister!!!”

My legs hurt.

The girl felt a piercing pain, but it did not cause her any suffering. On the contrary, as she watched her sister constantly apologizing to her, she felt an inexplicable joy in her heart.

That way she won't leave me.

She will always be by my side.

We will always be together... It's a promise, eh? Mio.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

Thinking of this, the girl could no longer suppress her inner joy and burst into laughter.

“——!!!”

Hinasaki Shinhong suddenly came to her senses and found that Shizuku was pressing her shoulders and staring at her.

"Sister Shizuku, I..."

Hinasaki Shinku wanted to say something, but Shizuku just shook her head, put a finger to Hinasaki Shinku's mouth, and stopped her from continuing.

“…”

Hinasaki Shinku also closed her mouth and looked forward, only to see in front of them, Amakura Mio was hugging her sister tightly and crying.

However, this heartwarming scene made Hinasaki Shinkuro feel cold all over.

She recalled what Amakura Mio had said to her before.

"My sister...she had an accident because of me before, so her legs and feet are disabled..."

"It's all my fault..."

“…”

At this moment, looking at the sisters hugging each other, Hinasaki Shinkuen didn't know what to say.

She now knew clearly that it was not Amakura Mio's fault, and her sister did not fall "accidentally"...

Obviously everything has ended, but for some reason, Hinasaki Shinku feels that everything seems to have just begun.

At the same time, red butterflies emitting bright auras flew up and slowly ascended into the sky.

Hinasaki Shinkuro watched this scene with extremely complicated feelings in her heart.