[Thorns Ring] and [Ring of Yoba].
The former had already been demonstrated once during the fight against 'Prisoner' Yuki, while the latter was crafted using a new recipe Suke unlocked after grinding his combat level a while back.
[Item: Ring of Yoba]
[Upon taking damage, the wearer has a probability of gaining 5 seconds of invincibility.]
With the enhancement of [Pardofelis's Cat Collar] and the shared luck buff, this probability was raised to approximately 50%.
Do not underestimate these five seconds of invincibility. One must know that in battles between powerhouses of Tsukishiro Yuki's caliber, a single second is enough to determine life and death.
Let alone a duration comparable to a full Star Platinum time stop.
"Can you even do it, you ugly old man with long nose hair?"
"If you're only at this level, there's no need for the others to act; BB-chan alone can finish you off, you know?"
Manifesting from the chaos, BB waved the teaching pointer in her hand triumphantly. Every time Yhwach attempted to use his Spirit Speech to condense Spirit Particles, she would scatter his connections beforehand.
She flashed the two rings on the ring finger and middle finger of her left hand—the hand holding the pointer—intentionally or unintentionally, as if deliberately showing them off.
Abigail, stepping out from the gate, did the same.
She even deliberately extended her small hand out of the long sleeves of her puffy dress to grasp the Silver Key, revealing both rings completely.
Tsukishiro Yuki, on the other hand, wore the two rings on her right hand to distinguish them from the [Phoenix Ring] on the ring finger of her left hand, which held the most special significance to her.
It could be said that everyone was a Lord of the Rings.
But how should one put it...
Although they were combat rings, this actually caused some trouble for Suke.
"Your Holiness..."
"Tripoka is very unhappy."
Looking at her own empty hands, the little ghost beside Tripoka, which reflected her mood, began to turn dark in the forehead again.
It wasn't that Suke lacked the materials to craft another set for Tripoka.
It was simply that, for some unknown reason, aside from the limit of two gifts per week, she could not touch anything he handed to her!
And those two restricted gifts even had a cooldown of a full day between them!
"Be good. I'll give you an identical set tomorrow."
Suke attempted to comfort the Little Death God, though he didn't know how effective it would be.
Since things had come to this, let's gang up on 'Old Ha' first!
He was currently being mixed-doubles beaten by the powers of Nyar and Bubbles... oh no, he was the Lord King of Quincies, protecting the Soul Society single-handedly and fighting alone against two evil Outer Gods!
'Old Ha', dashing left and right within Bubbles' space-time blockade and Nyar's reality distortion: I have no objections.
"Animus~"
"Speaking of which, we should find time to hold the wedding, shouldn't we?"
Although she possessed one more ring of special significance than the other girls, Tsukishiro Yuki obviously still felt a sense of crisis.
"It just so happens that the season is turning to winter. Hiro and the others are about to go on break, and you can take a break from the farm work as well."
"How about we pick a time to make up for the wedding?"
"Let's have Hiro be the best man and Emma be the bridesmaid."
"Although we already held one privately in the past, without an audience, it feels a bit lacking in meaning, doesn't it~"
Tsukishiro Yuki swayed Suke's arm. This Great Witch was acting coquettishly in public just like that.
She completely disregarded the watchful eyes of the crowd, and even more so disregarded the fact that, strictly speaking, they were currently in the middle of a battle.
'Old Ha', who took a scythe slash from Tripoka as if she were venting her grievance: I have no objections.
"Huh?"
"A wedding? It's not impossible, it's just..."
Suke remembered that he had bought the Wedding Ring recipe, specifically used for marrying farmhands, from the Traveling Cart. The Iridium Bars and Prismatic Shards needed to craft the Wedding Ring were plentiful.
He was also quite curious about what would happen if he gave this ring, specifically designed for marriage, to Tsukishiro Yuki. After all, Spirit's Eve in Stardew Valley always came with special effects.
But Suke had other concerns.
He could naturally hold a wedding with Tsukishiro Yuki in the near future.
But what about Abigail and BB? He couldn't just be irresponsible, right?
It wasn't that Suke wanted to 'pull out and turn ruthless'.
He was simply worried about the limitation in the original version of Stardew Valley where only one person could be married, which might prevent him from triggering the 'Marriage' ritual with Abi and the others later on.
Although in reality, whether a wedding ceremony was held or not wouldn't hinder his relationship with the two girls.
They could also make it up in other worlds outside of Stardew Valley, but it would always feel like something was missing.
In short, Suke felt that if marrying Tsukishiro Yuki meant that Stardew Valley could no longer host wedding ceremonies, it would undoubtedly be somewhat unfair to Abigail and BB.
Do not underestimate the importance of a ritual!
Living in this world, isn't that sense of ritual exactly what people want?
"What are you hesitating about, Animus?"
Seeing Suke hesitate, Tsukishiro Yuki blinked. Displeasure and even some uneasiness clearly surfaced in her expression.
What was there to hesitate about regarding such a thing?
Could it be... Animus was tired of her?
"No, it's nothing. Don't think wildly. I was just thinking about what auspicious day would be appropriate."
Years of tacit understanding allowed Suke to spot the anomaly in the depths of Tsukishiro Yuki's eyes with just a glance. While hurriedly explaining, he was also thinking of a solution.
Maybe he should go back and ask the omnipotent Boss Mabel.
Since she claimed to be omniscient and omnipotent, surely she would have a way!
'Old Ha', who also claimed to be omniscient and omnipotent yet was forced into a 'Lu Bu fighting the Three Heroes' scenario and was being suppressed: I have no objections.
Damn Witch...
If not for the fact that you used some unknown method to steal back the 'Essence'...!
Being gang-beaten by various colorful powers while watching that shameless Witch act all lovey-dovey with her lover, completely ignoring him, the King of Quincies finally reached the limits of his endurance!
How insulting! How blasphemous!
Why is the Lord who dominates the heavens so unfair, to actually bestow His mighty favor upon such a despicable and shameless Witch!
"Enough!"
Benefiting from the 'Trinity' achieved by absorbing Kurosaki Ichigo before Suke and the others descended, Yhwach did not collapse despite struggling against three supreme divinities!
This also proved from the side that the quality of that Lord's divinity was not on the same level as other divinities at all.
If supreme divinities were to be ranked, he was undoubtedly the apex of the apex!
"Witch! Stop flirting in front of me!"
"You know as well that this battle must ultimately be decided by the two of us, otherwise don't you dare think of winning the 'Essence' I possess!"
"I say, those who go against the Lord's will shall perish!"
Yhwach shouted in anger. Using his True Name as the foundation, he chanted the glory of 'Yahweh'!
[Auswahlen] (Holy Selection)!
He activated [Auswahlen], instantly refining the Death Gods of Squad Zero beside him—who originally regarded him as their master—into temporary Spirit Particles, using them to perform his own miracle!
Without a doubt, he succeeded.
Utilizing this limited burst of power, he finally briefly broke free from the Door Lord's blockade and connected with the Three Worlds of the Death Gods!
At the same moment, all Death Gods and Quincies, and even the Hollows in Hueco Mundo, felt an indescribable sensation.
It was as if their own vital energy had been linked by a mysterious force. At this moment, any attack on Yhwach would be transferred to all life in this world!
He's desperate!
Suke watched the Death Gods of Squad Zero, who turned into nutrients and were refined by Yhwach in the blink of an eye, and couldn't help but sigh. This King of Quincies really couldn't change his nature.
Whether he was winning or losing, he would elbow his teammates first.
As for whether he could win after elbowing them, don't ask. After all, in the original Thousand-Year Blood War arc, he elbowed a winning game into a losing one.
No wonder philosophers say that being Yhwach's enemy isn't scary, but becoming his friend or subordinate is often fatal.
"Animus—!"
Seeing this scene, Tsukishiro Yuki, who had been watching the battle, finally made a move.
She reached out her hand to Suke, and Suke, having prepared long ago, placed the Statue of Yoba he carried with him into her hand.
The energy stored in the statue for the day was consumed in an instant!
And it was at this moment that the seemingly ordinary Crown of Thorns fell from the sky.
In Yhwach's shocked gaze, the Crown of Thorns did not choose him, but chose Tsukishiro Yuki.
It even shrank into a bracelet according to Tsukishiro Yuki's will and was worn on the Great Witch's wrist!
Creak...
The moment the Crown of Thorns crowned the Great Witch.
The entire world—or rather, everything except for a handful of people like Suke and Tsukishiro Yuki, and their enemy Yhwach—froze.
On the ground below the sky, whether they were Death Gods, Witches, or mortals, their faces solidified like wax figures.
This included the sliver of a chance for victory that Yhwach had found after exhausting all his efforts to break free from the siege!
The connection he had just established to share glory and loss with all living beings of the Three Worlds was also abruptly severed at this moment, causing his just-rising aura to plummet!
"What blasphemy...!"
"Why? Witch?!"
"Why did it choose you and not me?!"
Clearly, this King of Quincies could accept the reinforcements Tsukishiro Yuki called in, and he could accept her stealing back the Essence.
But the only thing he could not accept was the situation before his eyes: a Witch full of blasphemy was favored by Him, despite Yhwach having performed all similar rituals!
"How would I know?"
"I have never pursued similarity with Him. That is unimportant to me. In the end, I have never cared about His self-righteous grace."
The bracelet formed by the Crown of Thorns pierced into Tsukishiro Yuki's delicate skin, drawing fresh blood. The intense pain, which felt as if it were tearing her soul apart, made Tsukishiro Yuki's eyelids tremble slightly.
But the warmth transmitted from the palm of her Animus, held tightly by her other hand, was enough for Tsukishiro Yuki to endure this extraordinary pain.
Tsukishiro Yuki's status was elevated to an unprecedented height. Within this pain, the scales fighting for the Essence began to tilt violently!
Like water from a high place destined to flow to a low place, the Essence belonging to the King of Quincies began to drain away as the entire world tilted!
"Filthy Witch...!"
"I am unwilling! I do not accept this! Witch, tell me your True Name! Who exactly are you?!"
Three external forces, possessing equally supreme status, invaded madly through the gaps of his draining Essence, vowing to tear this breach even wider!
The Holy Son shed His blood, sliding down from where the Spear of Longinus pierced, until He became breathless.
What does Yhwach mean by this?
Suke, standing beside Tsukishiro Yuki, was a bit confused. Did his Little Yuki have other names?
Wait...
Suke suddenly remembered an important matter!
'Tsukishiro Yuki' seemed indeed not to be her true name, but the name of an ordinary girl with a similar face whose identity she, as the Great Witch, had assumed!
Perhaps because he was used to calling her that, or because he hadn't deliberately thought about it, Suke had never asked her about this in the six hundred years he had been with Tsukishiro Yuki!
Suke turned his head to look at Tsukishiro Yuki, or rather, the young girl who held the title of Great Witch.
"No need to worry, Animus."
"I am me. I am the unpopular Great Witch, and also the 'Anima' who will accompany you, Animus, forever."
"Just call me in the way you like. I can accept anything~"
"Just like... I have always called you Animus [True Name Unknown]~"
Tsukishiro Yuki placed her index finger against her lips, smiling at him gently as if being playful.
Just seeing her smile was enough to calm one down; just hearing her laughter was enough to make one relax.
The hands held by the two involuntarily gripped each other tighter.
Immediately, Tsukishiro Yuki looked towards Yhwach, who was already in a state of fading away:
"A guy like you, who deliberately took a name corresponding to His just to chase after power, cannot understand me."
"Let the farce end here, Usurper."
The Great Witch raised her hand and pointed down. The 'Trinity' that had been completed on the King of Quincies began to crack.
Boom—!!!
It was a soundless roar that made the entire frozen world tremble!
The heavens shook and the earth quaked.
____
New Story: Junji Ito: I Shall Smash Hellstar Remina
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