Chapter Six: Think! Kurumi!

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Lu Mingfei: The newcomers have quite an accepting capacity.
Lu Mingfei: Wait, what did you just say? Is there a story about me too?

Lu Mingfei instantly grew excited.

Chen Mo: Of course! Who hasn't heard of Lu Mingfei, the Traveling Frog? You're practically a regular visitor across all worlds and realms now. It wouldn't surprise me at all if you joined our team as a newcomer.

Lu Mingfei: ?

What’s this nonsense, a frog? Have I turned into a toad?

No way... My own script is actually a fairy tale about the Frog Prince? He’s a frog, and the princess is like Chen Wenwen or something...

Chen Mo: Looks like you’re thinking about eating peaches again. Don’t dwell on it, loser. Your story is, damn it, a tea table covered with tragedies.

Lu Mingfei: ...

That stings, man.

Tokisaki Kurumi: What about my story, Mr. Chen Mo? Are you familiar with it?

Chen Mo: A quick search. But first, I need to ask — are you currently human or an elf? How long have you been an elf... or rather, how old are you now?

Tokisaki Kurumi: Asking a lady’s age is quite rude... but Mr. Chen Mo does seem to know quite a lot about me.

At this moment, Tokisaki Kurumi stood atop a towering spire, surrounded by a steel forest of countless skyscrapers. The night was low, and the city’s neon lights cast dazzling reflections in her eyes.

Beneath her feet, the spire was the city’s highest point, offering a panoramic view of the metropolis’s prosperity and clamor... as well as its sin and ugliness.

“Heh heh...”

Tokisaki Kurumi smiled softly.

“My future, huh... As a time elf, I actually have to rely on spoilers from my group friends to learn about my own destiny. I’m really a poor elf indeed.”

That said, Kurumi quickly asked Chen Mo the question she most wanted to know in the chat group.

Tokisaki Kurumi: So, Mr. Chen Mo, can you tell me...

Tokisaki Kurumi: In the end, did I succeed in killing ‘Phantom’?

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After sending the message, she held her breath, staring intently at the chat interface. Soon, Chen Mo replied.

Chen Mo: You mean the Origin Elf?

Chen Mo: You can’t kill her at all. Why do you think going back in time lets you take her down? Think! Kurumi! She’s the entity who granted you your powers. If you go back to a timeline before she bestowed those powers, she’ll still have the strength of other elves including you...

Chen Mo: Honestly, I want to ask why you think you can succeed.

Tokisaki Kurumi was taken aback by Chen Mo’s words. Upon reflection... it did make sense.

What weapon do I have against the Origin Elf? She possesses her own abilities plus the powers of other elves. Besides manipulating time, she’s inferior to normal elves in other respects.

Since she has her own power too, her time manipulation likely won’t affect the Origin Elf. It would come down to a pure strength contest... and how could one easily defeat an Origin Elf who wields the powers of all other elves?

How on earth can I win? How can I overcome her?

Perhaps, as Chen Mo said, my actions are doomed to fail...

Suddenly, Kurumi’s figure flickered, and her jet-black hair turned snowy white.

But she quickly regained composure. A massive clock appeared behind her. Raising an old-fashioned flintlock pistol, Kurumi fired at her own head.

It was akin to suicide... Yet, instead of her head exploding like a watermelon, the whiteness in her hair slowly faded as if time was reversing, finally vanishing completely.

“Phew... no need to rush. It’s not hopeless... I still have this, I still have the chat group...”

After learning of her inevitable failure, Kurumi instantly surged toward the raging demon lord transformation... Fortunately, she reacted in time, using the Fourth Bullet (Dalet) to reverse her body’s time flow and reset her physical state, avoiding the fate of becoming the demon lord.

Although she lacked the strength to defeat the Origin Elf, this chat group—filled with people from countless worlds—might just have someone powerful enough and willing to help her slay the Origin Elf.

Tokisaki Kurumi: I see, I understand now. Thanks, Brother Chen Mo.

Tokisaki Kurumi: But could you tell me how strong exactly is the Origin Elf?

Chen Mo: Hmm... The Star-Bursting King, right? Around here, the Origin Elf counts as a transcendent-level powerhouse in the Dao-Transformation tier.

Chen Mo: It seems only the future Han Li in this chat group can defeat her. But who knows how many hundreds or thousands of years it will take Han Li to reach that level...

Chen Mo: Uh, maybe the friend Kaguya Houraisan? The Touhou Project series is full of fan theories. Perhaps the Gensokyo she inhabits is a cosmic-level multiverse. It’s possible she could defeat the Origin Elf.

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Kaguya Houraisan: Me, fight the Origin Elf? Seriously?

In a dim little room, comfortably dominating the game and beating Aqua, Kaguya Houraisan blinked. Why had the topic suddenly shifted to her?

Although her master, Eirin Yagokoro, could unleash the Astronomical Burial Technique to alter the moon’s orbit and cause it to crash into Earth, and Kaguya herself possessed power that could forever cover half the Earth with Shiki's might, destroying surface civilization,

“Star-bursting”... If Kaguya’s guess was correct, that meant a destructive power like a star destroyer, directly obliterating planets.

If that was true, the Origin Elf was far beyond what she could handle. Probably only the Hell Goddess could match her.

Han Li: Daoist Chen Mo, you know about my future too? If possible, please tell me. I would be eternally grateful.

Chen Mo: Hmm? I can, but didn’t Lu Mingfei tell you? I recall the Mortal Cultivation Biography appeared back in 2008?

Lu Mingfei: It did, but it’s still ongoing. Chen Mo, you seem to know more than I do. Has your version of Mortal Cultivation Biography ended?

Chen Mo: I see. Yes, my version of Mortal Cultivation Biography is finished. Unfortunately, I can’t share your novel from here yet.

Emiya Shirou: Ah, fighting aliens, right?

Chen Mo: Yes. The dimension I’m in is only 2010. I have to wait a week to return to the main god space to copy the novels over for you.

Lu Mingfei: Wait, main god space? You traveled into Infinite Terror?

Chen Mo: That was the first generation. I’m from the third generation here.

Lu Mingfei scratched his head, not quite understanding the difference.

At that moment, Aqua, who had been repeatedly crushed by Kaguya in the game, appeared in the chat group.

Aqua: What about me? What does my future look like? Will Kazuma really defeat the demon lord and send me back to the heavens?

Chen Mo: Comedy anime characters, no need to butt in.

Aqua: ?