Help! I changed the gender of the male protagonist in the yandere game

Red moth.

“I remember, shouldn't this be a familiar of Red Heaven Tiger?”

An ominous premonition welled up in Hyakusuke's heart.

He looked up and saw the sky filled with sparkling gold dust—which wasn't gold dust at all, but scales.

Above the sea of flowers floated countless dense moths. Each time they flapped their wings, their movement through the air naturally scattered large amounts of scales, making him feel as if he were in a golden mist.

“Not good!”

Firefly-sized specks of light flickered.

“Don't absorb these dust particles, jump to the other side!”

Lake Lord Yuki Onna Hime warned.

He immediately held his breath and jumped far to the side—and at that instant, the golden mist exploded like gasoline ignited by a spark!

“Boom!”

Hyakusuke fell to the ground and rolled to the side.

However, the moths gathered together, scattering more gold dust below.

Boom boom boom boom!

Continuous explosions occurred, and Hyakusuke's surroundings were engulfed in a sea of fire.

“Escape to the northeast, there's a path there that can lead you out.”

The Lake Lord issued instructions.

“How do you know…?”

“Don't ask.”

“Okay!”

Hyakusuke didn't bother to ask more questions. He crouched down slightly, powerfully pushing off with his thighs, and jumped to an area not engulfed by fire and explosions.

The golden mist spread out, and the surrounding red sea of flowers was burning. The moths chased after him, but he ran without looking back.

“Run to the left.”

Yuki Onna Hime spoke again.

Hyakusuke ran wildly through the forest, his feet making a 'gasha gasha' sound—this should be a dream woven by the heavenly deity Sakura Mahoraba, like being in a hedge maze, decorated everywhere with greenery.

He didn't know how long he ran, but he finally became sure that he had shaken off those red moths, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.

Hyakusuke looked around and found himself deep in the forest. The visibility was very poor here, and further ahead was only a vast darkness.

“Alright, that's enough.”

The Lake Lord's voice was somewhat cold.

“And… Mahoraba, you should show yourself too—”

The specks of light floating around him shook a few times.

“Mahoraba, are you talking about that guardian deity?”

Hyakusuke let out a breath, he hadn't recovered from the situation just now.

“Hehe… who else could it be besides it?”

Yuki Onna Hime's voice was somewhat sarcastic.

“Look… aren't there those red dots on the ground?”

“Red dots.”

Hyakusuke asked in confusion.

His gaze suddenly focused on the front. On the mossy ground of the forest, many red dots extended.

Red flowers?

It was as if they were deliberately left bloodstains, used to mark a path.

Small red flowers bloomed in the darkness, the petals seemed to emit a faint light.

Hyakusuke began to walk on this path paved with red flowers, walking towards the dark depths of the forest. Before long, the density of these flowers continued to increase, turning into a winding, snake-like ribbon composed of red flowers.

Hyakusuke followed a winding route and came to an open space.

Then, he heard a whimper.

It was a sound like a child crying.

“A deer?”

Hyakusuke found a small deer.

This deer was surrounded by a hazy light, and the deer's head also had coral-colored, greenish-glowing four antlers.

“Mahoraba!”

He also noticed that this deer was kneeling in front of a “statue” and crying.

No, not a statue.

It was Hiiragi Hiruko, whom Hyakusuke had seen before in a praying state. She was still kneeling on the ground, motionless.

The young deer also noticed Hyakusuke's arrival, and black tears flowed from its eyes.

“That's right, this guy is Mahoraba.”

The Lake Lord said unhappily, “If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have bothered… Ah, asking me to save people, do you think you can do such a thing now?”

As if communicating with the Lake Lord, the young deer let out a jade chime-like cry.

“You still want me to save your shrine maiden… what nonsense are you talking about? It's good enough that I can clean up after you now.”

The Lake Lord snorted coldly.

“Didn't anyone tell you before not to interfere in human affairs at will? Also, look at what you've done to Dewa Province… just because you like to mess around, how many local gods and clan gods managing this area have been squeezed out by you? There are no other sacrifices in the Dewa area now, only the God Sakura Main Shrine dedicated to you. Do you know how much resentment these gods have?”

The young deer shook its head slightly and let out a short cry.

Hyakusuke couldn't understand the communication between the two gods at all and frowned.

“Don't push the responsibility to me. Also, even if you know you're wrong now, it's useless.”

Yuki Onna Hime said unhurriedly, “The Red Heaven Tiger's erosion of you is already very serious. If it completely controls your shrine maiden, it may directly open that seal. We must kill her to prevent future troubles… What, you can't kill her?”

The young deer pleaded in a voice close to a wail.

“Huh? What are you saying… you mean, that child is?”

Yuki Onna Hime's tone suddenly changed.

“Wait a minute… if you put it that way, wouldn't her background be—”

A long silence followed. It seemed that the young deer had told the Lake Lord some heavy news, and Yuki Onna Hime fell into thought again.

After a moment, the specks of light brightened slightly, and her voice sounded again.

“Hyakusuke, I'm asking you… is there any way to solve this matter without killing Hiiragi Hiruko?”

“Lake Lord, are you joking?”

“No, I'm not joking.”

Yuki Onna Hime's tone was very serious.

“I hope you can consider it carefully. Of course, there is no coercion here. However, listen to me carefully… Hiiragi Hiruko, that is, this generation's 'Shrine Maiden of the Sun Wheel' chosen by Mahoraba, her identity is extraordinary.”

—Shrine Maiden of the Sun Wheel!?

Hyakusuke's heart stirred. He seemed to have heard this title before.

“She is a 'shrine maiden' with the power of a special bloodline, like a reincarnation. This power appears in people with that bloodline every certain period.”

Yuki Onna Hime continued, “In this country's history, this bloodline is also known as the 'Blood of the Heavenly Grandson', that is, the bloodline of the imperial family. Hiiragi Hiruko's biological father should be a descendant of the imperial family who controls the court.”

“What?”

Hyakusuke was stunned.

“However, even so…”

“That's right, even the imperial family is nothing, dying is just dying… The key is the 'Shrine Maiden of the Sun Wheel'. This is a secret in the imperial bloodline, and it will only be born among the descendants of the imperial family, that is, women. If she was born in the imperial palace, she should be able to become this generation's Saiō.”

Yuki Onna Hime sighed, “This should involve the imperial succession struggle, that's why she fell into the folk… I really didn't expect it, Mahoraba, you really know how to hide things~ Do you know how important this news is to us.”

The young deer lowered its head and let out a short “chirp” cry.

Hyakusuke tried hard to think, but he couldn't recall any information about the “Shrine Maiden of the Sun Wheel”.

“Forget it.”

On the other side, the Lake Lord, who was communicating with the heavenly deity Sakura, also seemed to shake her head.

“Mahoraba, I don't care about the kind of worldly affairs you're talking about… By the way, Hyakusuke, I haven't finished my words yet. The so-called Shrine Maiden of the Sun Wheel is one of the three shrine maidens that have been born since ancient times. They are the 'Sun Wheel' of the Heavenly Grandson family, the 'Shining Moon' under Tsukishiro no Ō, and the 'True Perpetual Night' of Takeshaya Susanoo no Ō.

According to the information I have, if the three shrine maidens can be gathered, then the 'Yomi Sending Back Ritual' can be held to directly seal disasters such as the Yomi Vortex, without directly confronting the power of Yomi.”

“Wait a minute, are you talking about the 'Yomi Sending Back Ritual', referring to the ancient ritual that can seal the Yomi Vortex?”

Hearing this, as if a flash of inspiration, Hyakusuke finally remembered that it was content researched by the big guys in the later stages of the game.

It should be in the chapter where the Phantom Yamatai Ruins are located. The protagonist group discovered many past documents through investigating the Yamatai Kingdom in the dream.

One of the files recorded that in the distant past, the Yomi Vortex had erupted once, but it was eventually quelled by the people of that time.

The people of that era forcibly sealed the Yomi Vortex through the “Yomi Sending Back Ritual” held by the three shrine maidens.

“Let me add that the 'Shrine Maiden of Perpetual Night' of the Izutsu Mountain must know the whereabouts of the 'True Perpetual Night'; if Hiiragi Hiruko can successfully inherit the identity of this generation's Shrine Maiden of the Sun Wheel, then as long as the Shrine Maiden of Shining Moon is found, these three shrine maidens can be gathered.”

The words spoken by Yuki Onna Hime made Hyakusuke's heart stir.

“The problem is that the so-called 'Yomi Sending Back Ritual' should have been lost long ago, right?”

“Leave this matter to me, anyway, there must be ancient gods who know this information, I will consult them.”

The Lake Lord's tone was very cheerful.

“The problem is still your wishes—I will not force you to do things, the choice is up to you to consider.”

Hearing this, Hyakusuke took a deep breath and remained calm.

‘My own strength is not very strong… Solving the current problem of Kasumi Castle on the premise of ensuring Hiiragi Hiruko's survival, this is obviously beyond my ability.’

He would not overestimate his ability and make wrong judgments.

“Then, I have another good news to tell you.”

Yuki Onna Hime said calmly, “According to Mahoraba, Tsukigara Yomei's soul has 'awakened', and part of the power in her body has been released—”

An unusual expression also appeared on Hyakusuke's face.

“What kind of power has she awakened?”

“It's 'Soul Shaving'.”

The Lake Lord's voice was low, “It can only be said that everything is due to fate, she happened to draw a skill that can be called a trump card for us at the most critical moment… In addition, she also cut and injured the Red Heaven Tiger's soul.”

This, this is really—

Hearing this, a wave of shock surged in Hyakusuke's heart.

‘It can only be said that she is worthy of being the protagonist, she can really show her importance at critical moments.’

—Tsukigara Yomei, you can really bring me surprises.