Chapter Seventy-One: The Bride of the False God
In the original work of “Star Guide 2.”
Regarding the enemy “Bai Ling Miko” appearing in the chapter about the false god Bai Ling.
The naming conventions contain certain easter eggs and hints.
The name of the Bai Ling Miko typically consists of “XX Flower.”
The easter egg is that the “number” represents the “position” of the Miko that the false god Bai Ling is marrying.
The Bai Ling Mikos are categorized into sister relationships by the size of their numbers.
As a gameplay hint, the larger this “number,” the greater their strength.
The strongest among them is “Amamiya Chika.”
As a Bai Ling Miko, she is even bestowed a new title—
“The Bride of the False God.”
She is one of the formidable enemies encountered in the mid to late stages of any route apart from the one chosen for Amamiya Chika by the protagonist.
It also reflects one of the reasons the “Star Guide” series is referred to as a subpar work.
If a player does not enter a certain heroine’s route, that heroine will turn into an enemy for the protagonist, appearing weaker in personal route storylines, yet stronger as an antagonistic force.
Moreover, their endings are invariably the same.
They all die at the hands of the “protagonist.”
…..
…..
“Where am I…?”
Chika slowly regained consciousness.
She soon realized that she seemed to be indoors.
The orange light pouring in from the window indicated it was likely dusk.
Dusk?
Thinking of this, Chika finally remembered where she was.
Her last memory was being with Kanade in the basement of the special ring SEMA.
In that pure white room, she had made a wish to that bell.
Then she was taken to another world where Bai Ling resides.
Chika recalls that when she first arrived in this world, she was together with Kanade.
And standing not far from them was a figure clad in a white ceremonial outfit, wearing a fox mask, appearing both beautiful and eerie.
But in the next moment, her vision was engulfed by thick fog, and she lost consciousness.
Now Chika felt a sense of delayed realization.
The eerie figure standing in front of her at that time should be the senior she had longed for—Touka.
—So has Bai Ling taken me away?
While Chika pondered this, she tried to move her limbs, only to discover that she was bound with red ribbons and hanging in the air.
Furthermore, she was completely undraped, her garments missing.
Her crystal-clear, fair skin reflected an enticing sheen under the light.
This caused Chika’s face to flush a deep crimson.
“W-Why—!?”
She attempted to struggle, but found the ribbons binding her limbs to be exceptionally resilient.
Realizing her efforts were futile, Chika decided to search for anything around her that she could use.
She soon noticed that she seemed to be in a spacious room with walls made of wooden boards on all sides.
In each of the four directions of the room stood a stout pillar.
The other end of the red ribbons was tied to these pillars.
Above the room, there was a row of narrow windows likely meant for ventilation.
The remnants of the setting sun streamed in from there.
And beneath the room.
Less than half a meter below her suspended bare feet.
Was a pool filled with clear water.
The calm water surface mirrored the image of Chika’s voluptuous and mature figure.
Chika vaguely recalled hearing something about this before.
—This is the purification before the ceremony.
The Mikos who are to be offered as sacrifices to the gods must wash away impurities with holy water before the ceremony.
At the same time, Chika noticed something unusual.
She was not wearing glasses.
As a person with severe myopia, she could see the surroundings clearly at this moment.
She sensed that something was changing in her body.
Looking down at the water’s surface, clear reflections revealed her face.
Though her appearance seemed to have become even more beautiful and alluring, the color of her watery eyes bore a sinister shade of red.
As Chika was taken aback, several figures, wearing white ceremonial garments, entered through the door.
They carried a stack of pure white fabric.
Chika realized that these were the garments they were about to change her into— “the white ceremonial outfit.”
…..
…..
On the dusk street.
A girl, slowly raising her body from the ground.
She surveyed her surroundings.
Until she spotted a boy standing before her, holding a weapon with a wary expression.
The blade gleaming under the sunset reminded her of the wound on her arm.
The delayed pain surged in her heart, prompting her to instinctively clutch her arm and curl up.
“Are… are you okay?”
The boy’s voice, filled with tension yet laced with concern, reached her.
As the girl gasped for air, she gradually regained her consciousness and her memories slowly returned.
She recalled her memories of being a “Miko.”
And the past and name she had before becoming a Miko.
Kuzuka Touka.
“…..You are… a student from Hoshikage High School?”
Kuzuka painfully lifted her head and looked in Kanade’s direction.
From the uniform Kanade wore, she deduced that he was a student from Hoshikage High School.
However, the ordinary-looking silver blade in Kanade’s hand made her begin to doubt his identity.
“Yes, yes.”
Kanade responded, still alert.
“I just heard you call out Amamiya-senpai, that is, Amamiya Chika-senpai’s name…”
Upon hearing that name, Kuzuka’s slightly reddened eyes suddenly widened.
“…..You know Chika-chan!?”
Kuzuka asked excitedly, recalling the voice that flashed through her mind just before she came here.
(“Please let me meet Touka-senpai again—”)
Considering the situation, she understood that her junior Chika had made a wish to “her mother,” no, to that “monster.”
That’s why she appeared here.
And the wishing Chika had been taken away by the “monster” due to the cost of her wish.
“No, I can’t let Chika-chan be with it—”
Kuzuka struggled to rise but fell forward due to excessive blood loss.
This time, Kanade could no longer hold back and stepped forward to support her.
The former head of the advanced self-study club, Kuzuka Touka.
She was the most beloved senior of Amamiya Chika, who had rescued her from the depths of loneliness during their middle school years.
But ironically, it was also because of her that Chika had come under the watch of the false god Bai Ling.
Kuzuka Touka was the emotional support for Amamiya Chika and was the key to awakening Chika, who transformed into “the Bride of the False God.”
After Kanade’s reassurance and a simple dressing of her wound,
Kuzuka managed to regain some calm and cognitive ability.
Through their brief exchanges, they learned of each other’s identities and purposes.
…..
…..
In the real world.
The rain continued to fall incessantly.
Causing the people of Kawano City to remain oblivious to the white mist that enveloped the outdoors.
Bai Ling Shrine.
Nagi, using the storm as cover, stealthily slipped into the warehouse of Bai Ling Shrine.
Inside the dimly lit warehouse.
Occasional flashes of lightning from outside illuminated the interior.
Nagi rummaged through the mountain of boxes inside and found a complete red and white Miko outfit.
The real “Miko outfit.”
In a hurry to head out, Nagi hadn’t had time to change clothes, so she could only borrow the Miko clothing from the Bai Ling Shrine.
Using the power of Garuda, she brushed off the dirt and dust from the clothes.
Then she began to remove her only piece of furry sleepwear.
Along with the skin-tight inner garments underneath.
As the fabric slipped off her smooth, tender skin and fell to the ground.
The flashes of lightning occasionally illuminated Nagi’s completely unclothed, snow-white form.
Her figure was completely unlike that of girls her age, exuding a sensual allure.
Under the silver flashes of lightning, a shadow with enticing curves was cast upon the floor.
Her smooth, black hair concealed the fair skin on her back, faintly revealing the rounded, perky curves of her bottom, as well as her long, shapely thighs.
The soft, silken material of the Miko outfit brushed against Nagi’s delicate skin, wrapping around her full, supple bust, accentuating her slender, alluring waist and hip curves.
With the aid of Garuda’s supernatural abilities,
Nagi quickly donned the red and white Miko attire.
Combined with her long, straight black hair and innocent look, she moved with the grace characteristic of a traditional Miko.
The false god Bai Ling.
As one of the bosses in “Star Guide 2.”
Should not awaken at this point in time, nor should it be killed at this time.
Its dominion over dusk maintained the tranquility of Kawano City.
At the same time, it protected the protagonist from outside detection.
Although the timeline for defeating the false god Bai Ling varies across different routes in “Star Guide 2,”
it is at least supposed to occur after the protagonist enters high school.
After the protagonist awakens their supernatural abilities and undergoes certain growth.
Even with the addition of Alice Astrea, who for some unknown reason has prematurely become an ACE, it would not pose a threat to the false god Bai Ling.
Thus—
A shimmer of silver-white light flickered in Nagi’s starry eyes at this moment.
As if she had made a certain resolve.
