"Although there are countless things I could say about the cause of what happened and everything that followed, you only need to know the outcome." Chu Lian, who had been eagerly looking forward to hearing Kurumi Tokisaki explain what had happened to her world, felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head. The chill went straight to her heart.
Is she teasing me? That was Chu Lian's first reaction. But then she realized that if Kurumi merely wanted to tease her, there would have been no need to say any of this. So she just doesn't want to talk about it? Chu Lian did not respond and simply sat there, listening.
"The outcome was actually more or less what you imagined. The world was destroyed, every human died, and among the Spirits, I'm the only one still alive. All the others died too." Kurumi Tokisaki reached up and toyed with her long hair, her voice faint and distant. It was impossible to tell whether she was sad or simply no longer cared.
"I survived because of my ability to manipulate time and because of my clones. The others didn't have anything like that, so... that's how it ended." Her eyes remained fixed ahead, as though she had sunk into her memories. Perhaps this is retribution for everything I've done?
"Time and clones... Those two really are quite useful against Judgement. Unless it concentrates most of its attention on you, it won't be able to track where you've gone." Chu Lian nodded. She knew that time-related abilities were among the few most effective powers against Judgement. Any kind of temporal ability could interfere with Judgement's assessments. Unfortunately, people capable of manipulating time were simply too rare, so in practice, the effect was not especially significant.
"Oh? It sounds like you've encountered Judgement too." Hearing her say that, Kurumi Tokisaki turned to look at her with some curiosity.
"Mm. I was once marked by Judgement myself, but I managed to survive that tribulation in the end." Chu Lian did not want to delve too deeply into this subject either. If they truly started discussing it, Overlord would inevitably be dragged into the conversation, and then far too many things would become difficult to explain.
"So Judgement has already begun moving." Kurumi Tokisaki lay back on the bed and spread her arms, her voice subdued. Something suddenly occurred to her. Weren't quite a few Time Assassins people who had only wandered there after their worlds were destroyed? Destroyed worlds, powers related to time...
Sitting nearby, Chu Lian saw her expression and, after thinking about it for a moment, realized that Kurumi was probably considering something else.
For someone who was technically a prisoner, yet showed absolutely no fear whatsoever, Kurumi really was impressive. At the very least, Chu Lian knew that if their positions were reversed, she could never remain this calm. She would definitely be racking her brains for a way to escape.
"They all died. I'm the only one left, so I want to bring them back." Turning her head to look at Chu Lian, Kurumi Tokisaki revealed both her wish and her purpose. "Kill. Kill more people. Take their time, then use the Twelfth Bullet to reverse time and return to the past. If, even then, the Twelfth Bullet still can't take me back to before Judgement invaded, I'll find some other way. Whatever it takes, I will accomplish this."
Chu Lian listened without surprise. This girl had never truly been irredeemably evil to begin with. Her original goal had merely been to use the Twelfth Bullet to return thirty years into the past and eliminate the source responsible for the emergence of Spirits. Now that her world had been destroyed and all the humans and Spirits had died, it was perfectly natural for her to choose a different objective.
And judging from what she had said, Kurumi actually cared deeply about the other Spirits, didn't she? Otherwise, why would she want to revive them? Unfortunately, she was simply too weak, which was why she had remained helpless until now. Heaven Rank might make someone one of the strongest beings in a particular world, but once placed in a world with a higher level of energy, they would ultimately belong only to the group barely capable of protecting themselves.
Chu Lian did not know how Kurumi had managed to enter a world with such extraordinarily stable spacetime that anyone below the Transcendence Realm should have been unable to enter freely. Still, after thinking about it, she supposed Kurumi must have had her own methods.
"Are there any conditions for reviving them?" Chu Lian wanted to know exactly what Kurumi needed to do to resurrect those Spirits, so she asked.
"What, do you want to help me? Of course you can. As long as you can~" As she spoke, Kurumi lifted herself up and leaned close to Chu Lian. Reaching out, she pinched Chu Lian's chin and breathed softly against her, her voice captivating. "If you can help me revive them, then I'll be yours."
"Your offer is certainly tempting, but that's not what I'm after. At least not for now. Anyway, trying to seduce me isn't going to work." Chu Lian turned her head away with some difficulty, refusing to look at Kurumi's incomparably beautiful face. She was afraid she would lose control of herself and agree on the spot.
"Hehe, interesting. I knew you weren't interested in men, which is exactly why I offered myself. I didn't expect you to actually refuse. That's rather different from the horny little loli I'd imagined you to be." Kurumi lowered her hand and retreated slightly, leaving enough space for the two of them to converse without seeming overly intimate. It appeared she had needed considerable resolve to say what she had just said. Otherwise, why would she be backing away now?
"Hey, this is only the second time we've met, isn't it? What gives you the right to call me a horny loli?" Chu Lian frowned, her expression darkening. Has my reputation already spread everywhere? That definitely isn't a good thing.
"Just a feeling." Kurumi smiled softly. Rather than continuing to dwell on the subject, she asked, "Do you have a way to revive people?"
"Revival... If you mean bringing someone back exactly as they originally were, nobody in this world can do it. As for other worlds, I don't know." Chu Lian shook her head. Because of this world's rules, nobody could safely revive a dead person exactly as they had been. Even Chu Lian, relying on the system and miraculous powers from other worlds, could only resurrect people under all manner of restrictions.
So if someone truly wanted to bring the dead back to life, the best solution was not to search for some nearly impossible resurrection method, but to have them become another species instead. That would be much easier.
"Revival is not a Rule that can be mastered so easily." Kurumi shook her head. She did not linger on the subject either. Instead, she stared into Chu Lian's eyes and asked, "Is there any way to bring all the Spirits back to life?"
"Are their souls inside your body?" Rather than answering, Chu Lian asked her a question of her own.
"Yes. I placed their souls inside my various clones. For now, the clones are nurturing their souls so their soul power won't deteriorate." Even if Kurumi had not understood many things at first, after wandering for so long, she had long since learned what all these concepts were called.
"Then this will be easy." Hearing that their souls were still intact, Chu Lian's delicate brows relaxed. "As long as the souls remain, they can be transformed into another race. Mm... You're Spirits, not humans, so I don't know whether it'll work. We can only try."
"Reincarnate them as another race? What happens to their memories and abilities?" Kurumi Tokisaki wanted to know what the consequences would be.
"If you want them to retain both their memories and abilities, they'll have to undergo the reincarnation gradually. It'll take at least three years. After three years, their Spirit souls will have transformed into another race. They'll retain their Spirit abilities, and they'll also keep their memories from before. Of course, when the time comes, they'll have to cultivate their strength again on their own. What do you think?"
Chu Lian looked at Kurumi Tokisaki, leaving the choice to her.
"Three years, and afterward there won't be any other Spirits besides me, yet they'll still be able to return to life? Isn't that perfect?" Her original wish had been to eliminate the existence of Spirits entirely, and the choice Chu Lian was now offering happened to satisfy everything she wanted. Although it required three years, it was still far better than wandering aimlessly and trying things without any direction. There was only one issue...
"You should know that when you ask someone to do something for you, there's always a price to pay." Chu Lian did not immediately agree. Instead, she looked at Kurumi and smiled.
"A price?" Kurumi placed one finger against the corner of her lips, her eyes shifting slightly. Then she stood and moved in front of Chu Lian, placing both hands on the hem of her school uniform skirt before slowly lifting it, first on one side, then the other.
Chu Lian watched with great interest as the glossy black pantyhose covering Kurumi's slender legs were gradually revealed before her eyes. At last, Kurumi lifted her skirt completely, exposing the delicate lace panties beneath, hazy yet clearly visible in the sunlight, mysterious and enticing at once.
"Pfft... If you keep this up, I won't be able to stop myself from devouring you." Chu Lian stood and moved closer, rising onto her tiptoes to whisper beside Kurumi's ear.
"Hehe. As long as you agree, what does it matter if you devour me?" Kurumi Tokisaki gazed at the girl before her, her eyes seeming faintly misty. When it came to teasing and seducing others, she was second to none. If Chu Lian truly intended to devour her, Kurumi would not refuse. Though when the time came, whether Chu Lian would devour her or she would devour Chu Lian was difficult to say.
"You really are a dangerously tempting enchantress. Unfortunately, I can't devour you just yet." Chu Lian took half a step back and watched Kurumi Tokisaki return to a more proper demeanor. She could not help marveling inwardly at Kurumi's charm. This girl really possesses a kind of sensuality that goes straight to the heart. As long as someone doesn't outright hate her, it's almost impossible not to be drawn in by it.
"Chu Lian!" The door opened, and Yaya stood in the doorway with her head slightly lowered as she called Chu Lian's name. The moment Chu Lian saw her like this, she knew things had gone wrong.
Sure enough, Yaya raised her head, tears swirling in her eyes as she bit her lower lip and said, "Why are you so intimate with someone you've barely met, yet so distant from Yaya? Does Chu Lian hate Yaya now? If you hate Yaya, then Yaya will leave Chu Lian and never bother you again."
Hearing that, Chu Lian immediately walked over. Ignoring Kurumi Tokisaki's probing gaze and Yaya's struggles alike, she pulled the petite girl into her arms and comforted her softly. "There, there, Yaya. You're thinking too much. How could I possibly hate you? I couldn't like you more if I tried. If you're worried that I might do something, you can sit beside me and watch while I talk to her. Wouldn't that solve everything?"
"You're not lying to Yaya?" Yaya raised her head and looked through tear-blurred eyes at the girl who was about the same height as her. She needed a definite answer.
"Of course not. Why would I lie to Yaya?" Taking her hand, Chu Lian led her back to the bed and sat down. Seeing that Yaya seemed to have calmed down, Chu Lian finally breathed a sigh of relief. Yaya is way too possessive, and she gets jealous and goes yandere far too easily. What a headache. When will I be able to make her less jealous? Should I find a chance to eat her? But my feelings for her aren't that deep yet. As for eating her... I'll wait until we've spent more time together.
While Chu Lian was lost in thought, Kurumi Tokisaki tilted her head and watched as well. What had originally been a perfectly normal conversation had suddenly become exceptionally quiet because of Yaya's unexpected intrusion.