omake.txt

Stubbornly Stylish Sacrifice

Henemimi (ヘネミミ)

Species: Human

Ability: Being sacrificed

A human who was raised to be a sacrifice. Whenever magic requires life or blood as a sacrifice, chickens are most commonly used. They are economic, efficient, and can be eaten after depending on the type of ritual. Henemimi was meant to be one of these sacrificial chickens.

Since she was born, Henemimi believed she was being trained to be a shrine maiden. Since a shrine maiden is a living offering to the gods, this was the ideal way to prepare her to be sacrificed for a certain spell.

This spell was the creation of Hensokyo, a world within a painting. It was designed by the sage that raised her, based on occultic knowledge they received from a youkai. It was meant to serve as a sanctuary for the sage and anyone they cared about, where they could live freely.

On the night that Henemimi was meant to be sacrificed, the sage realized something. Henemimi was worth far more than Hensokyo could ever be. Not just sentimentally, but she was a sacrifice that would be a waste to use this way.

She had simply become too valuable.

The sage instead explained the concept of Hensokyo to her, and that she was intended to be a sacrifice. Henemimi was, as you'd expect, furious at this revelation. After a fight that led to her being defeated, but the sage beaten to an inch of their life, the two reconciled and talked it out.

Instead of sacrificing her for the sake of Hensokyo, Henemimi would become the shrine maiden of the land. She would keep it stable by staying within it, and it would be maintained by killing any who intruded. They would be thrown into the lake behind the shrine, and their blood would be pigment for the painted world.

And so Henemimi became the shrine maiden of Hensokyo, the Land of Disguises. If an intruder entered, and was there to take over Hensokyo or take her due to her value as a sacrifice, she killed them and threw them in the lake.

However, if an intruder was able to entertain her, she'd allow them to live. One of these intruders made the error of teaching her about technology. And so Henemimi came up with an idea. She would spread a rumor of Hensokyo's existence online, which meant more people would intrude into it.

Either the lake would become scarlet, or she'd have more people to entertain her. Two birds, one stone.

The ability of being sacrificed means that Henemimi is exceptionally talented at being a shrine maiden, who are a living offering to the gods. When fighting, she uses feathers and eggs instead of needles or ofuda, because she prefers the feeling of life that they contain. She gets along well with beast gods, channeling them often.

Her affinity for being sacrificed means that if she were sacrificed for a spell, it could be a spell on the level of destroying a country. By merely staining a feather with her blood, they're transformed into a tool that can easily exterminate most youkai. Again, she is simply too valuable.

Unfocused Shot: Sacred Egg

Henemimi slowly throws eggs, automatically aimed at the part of the screen with the highest number of enemies. If there are no enemies, it's thrown at the center of the screen. After a moment, or if an enemy is hit, the egg explodes into a dense burst of bullets.

Focused Shot: Stylish Feather

Henemimi rapidly throws feather shaped bullets in front of her. They have light tracking which causes them to hit enemies even when aim is slightly off. A forgiving, easy to use shot with modest damage.

Spell Card: Sacrifice Sign "Scarlet Painting"

Henemimi slowly sweeps a feather in front of her twice, creating massive red strokes of blood that stay on the screen for a moment. The strokes cover roughly a third of the screen vertically, and the entire screen horizontally. Any enemy that touches a stroke takes continuous damage, making this bomb deal fantastic damage if the enemy doesn't move.

Due to her stubborness, Henemimi has a ridiculous death bomb window of 30 frames, or half a second, meaning it is difficult to waste bombs with her.

Additionally, if Henemimi has no lives remaining, she gains a crimson aura around her. Her shots become red and deal 10% more damage, and she performs a third stroke when using her bomb.

A well rounded character capable of handling most situations, but struggles with damage against enemies that move or restrict her movement. A great choice if you simply want to clear the game, regardless of difficulty.

Written by Kongou Kokuretsu and basic concept by Henemimi