Chapter 251: Myriad Celestia Trailer — An Exorcism at Fyxestroll Garden 『 Part Two 』
〜Genshin Impact World〜
Teyvat, Liyue—
"Oh? Isn't that Miss Xueyi?"
Hu Tao was instantly amused. This gloomy atmosphere certainly looked the part, though this landscape of mountains and waters, suffused with such yin energy, didn't seem like the Xianzhou Alliance at all—it looked more like somewhere in Teyvat.
"Judging by Miss Huohuo's reaction, this must be a scene from when she first took up her post, correct?"
Zhongli remarked from the side.
"…So this is the Ten-Lords Commission?"
Hu Tao's eyes widened.
"No way, right? I mean, I figured the Ten-Lords Commission would be a gloomy place, but building it in a spot like this? That's just unnecessarily terrifying!"
"Heh… Director, on this matter, you are somewhat mistaken."
Zhongli sat in a rosewood chair, holding his teacup as he spoke in a leisurely tone.
"Just now, when Miss Huohuo held the compass to find her bearings, I took a brief look. The Ten-Lords Commission is situated with the abyss to the north and a missing corner in the northeast; the mountain formation it relies upon resembles a dragon's spine split by a blade. In geomancy, there is a concept known as the 'Dragon-Severing Formation.' The Ten-Lords Commission was likely sited here specifically to suppress the resentment of wandering spirits."
"Aiyaya, my dear Consultant, you even know about geomancy… Is there anything in this world you don't know?"
Hu Tao looked at Zhongli with admiration. Honestly, she couldn't figure it out. Her own Consultant didn't look very old, and every day he went out, it was either to walk his birds or listen to opera. She never saw him burying his nose in books, yet when he spoke, it was one profound theory after another, as if he knew everything about astronomy and geography.
"The Director praises me too highly. The art of geomancy is vast and profound; I merely know a thing or two."
—
「 "Are you alright?"
"Let me help you up…"
A hand suddenly reached out toward Huohuo. She looked up in a daze, only to find herself staring directly into Hanya's face, pale as paper. Instantly, her soul nearly scattered from fright, and she mentally cracked apart on the spot—
"AAAAAAH—!!"
Huohuo launched herself from a standing start, fleeing for her life. But as she crossed the mountain gate, she completely failed to notice the steps beneath her feet, and just like that—rumble, tumble—she rolled all the way down the mountain.
Huohuo rubbed her head as she climbed up from the ground, only to see an ancient, simple gate before her. The paper on the door was long since tattered, flapping weakly in the wind with a flap-flap sound, as if something were gently patting against it.
Thump-THUMP—!
There really was something banging from behind the door. The fragile wooden gate could no longer withstand the impact. Accompanied by an even more intense thump-thump, Huohuo's pupils constricted into tiny black dots of sheer terror.
Until… the gate was suddenly smashed open, and a blue specter flew out violently, heading straight for Huohuo!
"I'M GOING TO EAT YOU—!!"
Huohuo was so scared she tipped backward, falling straight off the sofa. Amidst the "Hahaha" laughter of the tail, her soul—hands clasped together in prayer—drifted leisurely upwards.
Looking at Huohuo, who had collapsed on the floor, drained of all color, Tail laughed until tears nearly came out. "You said yourself you wanted me to tell a ghost story to build up your guts. Isn't this just your own personal experience from your first day on the job? Is it really worth getting this scared over? Sheesh…"
Seeing Huohuo's soul floating in mid-air, Tail slammed his body into it, knocking it back into her physical form.
"That's enough courage training for today!"
Having regained consciousness, Huohuo grabbed the remote control, intending to cut the feed, but Tail snatched it away in one bite. "We've barely started! Keep it going for yours truly!" 」
「 ..... 」
〜Demon Slayer World〜
"AAAAAAH—!! So, so, so cute!"
Zenitsu suddenly sprang up from his hospital bed, curling up like a boiled shrimp and emitting an indescribable, bizarre shriek, as if pink bubbles were starting to pop out of the top of his head.
"If I could, I'd protect her for the rest of my life!!"
The entire Butterfly Mansion seemed to shake. Aoi, who was hanging out the laundry, trembled, causing a freshly washed sheet to fall directly onto the ground.
"Hah? My ears are getting calluses just listening to you say that."
Inosuke's face was full of disdain.
"You? Rely on you? What if the two of you run into a demon? If you both faint from fear, I'm certainly not carrying you back."
"T-That was just an accident…!"
At the mention of his cowardly fainting, Zenitsu's face instantly turned the color of pig liver.
"And why are you so certain I'll definitely faint!? I'm not that timid! Besides, after I faint, when I wake up, the demons are all dead! And I have a bunch of new wounds on me! I don't know what happened either?!"
"Zenitsu…"
Tanjiro laughed awkwardly. Although Zenitsu himself was completely oblivious, as his comrade, Tanjiro, understood his combat habits well, compared to a conscious Zenitsu, the unconscious one was a bit more reliable.
—
「 After playing on the Xianzhou for a few days, Stelle suddenly received a text message from Pam. The Express was about to head to the Car Wash Planet, so she needed to come back early for the big cleanup if she'd had enough fun outside.
Upon returning to the Express, Pam discovered a slight deviation in their heading. For Pam, who always maintained precise control over navigation, this was something almost impossible to encounter.
Saying this, Pam intended to head to the control room to take a look, but just then, the train experienced a violent jolt and vibration. The lights in the carriage flickered out for an instant, and when Stelle picked herself up from the floor, she suddenly saw a massive dark shadow flash past the window.
By the time March 7th pressed herself against the window to look, the shadow had vanished, replaced by a crimson cosmic landscape outside.
"Why has the view outside the train turned… like this? It's all red… What happened?" March 7th scratched her head in confusion.
"Did we fall into the third dimension?"
"The third dimension?" March 7th was even more bewildering. "What are you talking about… You don't actually expect me to understand that, do you?"
Dan Heng arrived quickly, stating that the train's progress was currently blocked. The earlier commotion had caused a chain reaction; a spaceship had rear-ended the Express, and following the collision, two individuals had come aboard looking for the train.
As he spoke, Dan Heng pointed toward a red-haired man not far away, who was muttering to himself in front of a potted plant.
The stranger was clad in silver armor, dressed like a medieval knight, while the other person looked like his attendant. This combination… for a moment, March 7th, really couldn't tell if they were here to cause trouble or what.
Just as Stelle and March approached them, the train's lights suddenly dimmed, followed by a spotlight beaming down onto the red-haired knight's head.
"A glittering universe, the anomaly on the other side, blooming like pigment—" The knight bowed slightly, his voice deep and gentle. He slowly raised his right hand, his steel-armored fingers pausing before the potted plant, as if what stood before him was not a plant, but a noble lady.
"You… are truly beautiful." 」
「 ..... 」
( Translator-kun: We are almost at Penacony~ )