Chapter 247

Chapter 247: Ame No Habakiri; Consuming Existence; Experience Points Inherited From New Game Plus

Salzburg.

Montchestain Castle Hotel.

Tang Liuli stepped out of the marble bathroom, her bright green eyes filled with tiredness, as she dried her wet hair with a towel, also smoothing down her messy bangs. Then, with a soft thud, she jumped onto the soft bed, feeling the cool mountain breeze from the window, enjoying the freshness of a midsummer night.

The surroundings of Monk Mountain were wonderful, and faintly, she could hear the gentle sounds of nature, reminding her of many years ago when she celebrated her birthday in a castle by the vineyard, wearing a birthday crown while her mom and dad sang her a birthday song, smiling as she blew out the candles.

Back then, the outside sounds were just like this.

The wind danced among the plants and branches, rolling up gentle whispers like waves, softly caressing her ears, bringing a wave of peaceful drowsiness.

Once upon a time, she wished she could stay in that moment forever.

As long as time didn’t move forward, she would still have a happy family, a slightly strict but loving mother, and a father who was greedy yet still cared deeply for her.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs."

In the present moment, Tang Liuli found herself having similar thoughts again.

The girl turned over, closed her eyes, and used her magic to create a gentle swirl that wrapped around her body, softly taking away some moisture, helping her hair and the damp sheets dry. She whispered softly:

"Everyone is very familiar, aren’t they?"

Miyuki, Qingxuan, Little Qing, and even Charlotte; it felt like they had shadows hidden in their hearts, always able to stir strange feelings at certain moments, triggering different memories, evoking unique images, and telling different stories.

Tang Liuli was not a fool; even though she had initially gotten lost in her own cleverness, she now understood that this was beyond what could be explained by sharing Honey Qing’s memories.

On the other hand, today she took the initiative to use her empathic gift on Charlotte.

"Guilt, joy, heartache, affection, concern."

"Charlotte… sister, who are you really?"

Tang Liuli has sensed the emotions of many people; she can clearly distinguish specific feelings and their intensities. For Charlotte, the emotions she evoked could be classified under close friends, family, and a beloved pet raised for decades—a truly remarkable bond.

In other words, Charlotte should also share the same sense of familiarity with Tang Liuli, and she likely understands where that feeling comes from; otherwise, she wouldn’t act so naturally.

Tang Liuli felt very strange. Even though her father had sold her to "Dazzling Stage" like a product, here she met so many friends who treated her like family, as if she had suddenly found many long-lost relatives.

This feeling of losing something and gaining something else made her feel confused, as if fate had smiled upon her, along with… deep unease.

It was because being with everyone made her so happy and cheerful that she worried it might all be an illusion.

Perhaps all of this was like the magic of a fairy godmother; once the time came, everyone would go their separate ways and become strangers again, like a movie ending with the cold credits rolling.

The shy cat was very scared; she was a timid person who hated being alone. Before, she managed to get by by putting on a brave face, building a strong fortress outside, but inside the fortress, everything was soft and fluffy, like clouds.

The girl turned over and hugged her pillow, burying her face in it. Because she feared that looking into the reasons behind these feelings might lead her to answers she didn’t want, she rarely gave up her role as Detective Liuli and chose to enjoy the happiness of being a (questionable) genius at reasoning.

"Stop thinking, stop thinking! I’ll scroll on my phone before bed!"

Tang Liuli felt a bit silly. She patted her cute baby face and flipped over to scroll on her phone for a while but unexpectedly discovered that today was the premiere of the sixth episode. The comments section on the official Weibo for "Dazzling Stage" was already filled with various requests for updates.

Tang Liuli blinked sleepily; because of the time difference, she figured the sixth episode would air only after she woke up, which was a bit of a shame. She wondered how the program group would edit the journeys of so many contestants.

The green-eyed cat looked through the comments, then put down the phone, turned off the night light, held the pillow close, curled up in the blanket, listened to the sound of the wind, and began to sleep soundly.

In the dream, the campfire crackled softly, and familiar voices around sounded like a lively and gentle melody. They comforted the girl’s hidden fears, warming her like a passionate and tender embrace.

…

…

At the same time, the green-eyed cat and her lovely daughter on the children’s channel had already fallen asleep.

Little Sakura snuggled in her room, as a good and honest person. She was studying the three elements of [Cocoon of the Heart], magic, and Artificial Lantern, to see if they would affect [Tempering of the Heart], using paper as her experiment.

Kirimi Miyuki’s main goal was, of course, to make Little Qing’s body better, but she also wanted to find a more fierce and powerful way to use [Tempering of the Heart].

For example, to recreate the battle techniques of the shrine maiden and the Supreme Disaster Beast named Leviathan from her memories.

—Ame no Habakiri.

This sword, known as the sword of the gods in the Dongliu myth, possesses power almost like a divine being in the hands of the shrine maiden. Its sharp light is as cold as the Cambrian period, embodying the concept of "cutting through anything" and capable of radiating like a nuclear explosion for miles, constantly clearing the overflowing Disaster Wave.

In her memories, she once left Ame no Habakiri at a main city, always slicing through the air with a cold sword energy that identified friends and foes alike, used to cleanse the Disaster Wave and protect all living beings within the city.

Kirimi Miyuki certainly did not expect to forge a real weapon.

If her memories are correct, aside from the Levatin which destroyed the world in Norse mythology, Futsunushi no Mikoto, Ame no Habakiri, and Kusanagi no Tsurugi from the Dongliu pantheon were the shrine maiden’s greatest masterpieces and her strongest means of fighting.

The way she sees it now, she probably couldn’t even create a famous earthly sword like Onikiri.

But looking at it another way, if simple creations like origami cranes can hold blessings, why couldn’t she aim to create a fake item? It doesn’t matter if she can’t produce the real Ame no Habakiri; making a replica or even just a sword energy could still be quite useful.

So, with this idea in mind, Little Sakura finished her dinner, bought some materials, and after returning to her room, she tinkered until now and has seen some results.

"Hmm~ Is this too tiny?"

Kirimi Miyuki examined her finished product, falling into deep thought.

This blade is made of silver, about the size of a small child’s hand, like a toy they would enjoy. However, it is very delicate, with a beautiful crafted surface that shimmers like cherry blossoms in the light, creating pretty rainbow colors. You could call it a special custom-made craft.

Of course, if you tied a string to the hilt, it might look more like a cross hanging from your chest.

Next to this fake sword, there is an even coarser imitation on the table, a sword made by folding paper. It looks so ordinary that it simply has the words "Ame no Habakiri" written on it in pen to prove its identity.

Little Sakura seemed embarrassed by this childish and silly action. She glanced at this embarrassing failure and felt that putting magic into it would be a waste, so she stood up, picked up the paper sword, and wanted to see just how useless it could be.

Everything in the castle is very expensive, and some valuable antiques are present, so to prevent accidents, it’s important not to cut things carelessly.

Kirimi Miyuki thought for a moment, then picked up a paper crane. She opened the window, feeling the cool mountain breeze on her face, as if she were going to slice an apple with a paper knife. She carefully tried to cut the poor little paper crane in her hand, but the result was… the paper knife didn’t bend, and the paper crane was unharmed.

"As expected, it didn’t really change much except for becoming a bit stiff."

Little Sakura started to worry that her other "successful" creation might also be just as useless. She sighed, stopped thinking about it, and put away the unharmed paper crane, as a child would wave a paintbrush, cutting the air with her paper knife towards the lush mountains outside the window.

"Ame no Habakiri, release."

As the sound faded, the paper knife in her hand turned to ashes. A few wisps of illusory cherry blossoms slipped through her fingers and vanished without a trace. The night in the distance showed no signs of change, and the mountain wind blew fiercely, making her grand line that consumed all creative power seem particularly silly and awkward.

Kirimi Miyuki felt extremely embarrassed. She quickly shut the window and decided to keep this dark secret locked away forever. She didn’t even want to check the effect of another fake and turned off the light, ready to sleep deeply.

At this moment, outside the window.

A wisp of cherry blossom, cut by the paper knife, floated on the mountain wind and reached the thick branches of the tree. Silently, it broke them, leaving only a petal that fell on the streetlights on either side of the mountain path, shattering metal, glass, and bulbs into a pile of fragments before returning to nothingness.

…

…

In the next room.

In Xie Qingxuan’s hands, dark magic particles moved back and forth, colliding. They sometimes separated and sometimes expanded. Under her will, they danced like flying insects, eventually gathering into a silent spinning orb of magic that occasionally made a rustling sound.

A self-created spell?

Xie Qingxuan did not know if this counted, she just instinctively felt that this way it should be a bit more powerful, and there were many different methods to try.

But practice brings true knowledge, without finding a place to test it out, it always feels like something is missing. Where should I throw this?

Xie Qingxuan was very troubled. Although she had names like Great Devil and Stage Tyrant that sounded fierce and unreasonable, she actually had no interest in destroying public property or hurting anything.

Just when the golden retriever wanted to give up, she suddenly remembered something Charlotte had said today.

—"I specifically asked Little Dream to find us a place with a pool to stay, so we can all play in the pool together, how about that? Isn’t it great!"

Xie Qingxuan pondered for a moment. She opened the window and glanced at the pool below, saying:

"What a coincidence, it’s right down there."

"So much water, if I throw it down, it shouldn’t break, right?"

Xie Qingxuan recalled her savings and confirmed that even if it broke, she could afford it, then she swiftly threw the magic ball down.

This orb, which contained ninety percent of her magical power and also had the ability to grant blessings, floated gracefully into the water like a falling leaf, without causing a single bubble or ripple.

However, soon after, a deafening roar, like thunder, erupted from the bottom of the pool.

In the next moment, hundreds of tons of water surged upward and then crashed down, splashing thousands of droplets, filling the pool with white waves and foam, swirling in the roar of the tide.

Strangely, all these sounds were confined within the pool, as if trapped in a vacuum, or even erased from existence. The water that should have filled the pool slowly faded into nothingness under the invasion of dark magic.

After a long time.

Xie Qingxuan looked at the pool, which was now two-thirds empty, lost in thought.

Indeed, the effect of this blessing was just as she remembered; it could extend beyond herself, even directly eroding, consuming, and erasing the existence of other things.

But one thing was different from her memory: the cost of activating the blessing seemed to be compensatable, using consumed magic power to replace it.

After confirming this news, Xie Qingxuan felt unusually cheerful. Her cold, detached eyes softened, her pink lips curved into a lovely smile, and she spoke to herself in a rare moment of liveliness.

"Magical girl, how amazing."

—Splash!

The golden retriever felt a bump on her head. She turned around in confusion and saw the Pure White Witch with her deep gaze.

So…

Xie Qingxuan’s pretty face looked even more lively and joyful, almost without thinking she wanted to cuddle closer.

Chu Yuanqing was completely taken aback by this reaction. She felt a sense of helplessness, like hitting a pillow. She quickly pressed her hand against the person’s head and said seriously:

"Even if it’s amazing, you can’t use magic carelessly."

"And! I have clearly told you not to use that ability randomly anymore; you didn’t listen to me at all."

Xie Qingxuan’s brain, processing the information that Honey Qing wouldn’t let her cuddle, released a wave of disappointment. She drooped her eyelids and stood quietly in place without speaking.

When Chu Yuanqing saw this reaction, she began to regret if she had spoken too harshly. Quickly, like a loving mother, she gently patted the golden retriever’s head and spoke in a soft voice, saying:

"I just worry that you might hurt yourself, I’m not blaming you."

Xie Qingxuan looked up at Honey Qing and said seriously:

"I won’t hurt myself for something that isn’t worth it."

"Also, I found out that the cost of this ability can be paid with magic, so it won’t be a big problem."

This was undoubtedly very important news.

Chu Yuanqing was shaken, her heart stirred like a huge wave, and she understood what it meant when the cost of blessings could be paid with magic.

In the old days, countless warriors died from the backlash of blessings, and some abilities they had held great strategic value from the perspective of civilization or even entire planets.

But due to the cost and limitations, they could only be sadly used up, and even before their death, they had no chance to make any positive impact on the situation.

The shrine maiden, the Awakened One, the Demon King, and the songstress, all these beings blessed with the highest gifts, are particularly notable.

Why can’t these extravagant gifts ever match the power of the Calamity God on the same level?

Because the price of these blessings is very high, reaching a level capable of fighting the Calamity God almost always requires the cost of death.

Tang Liuli’s Wall of Sighs can block all attacks from the Calamity God, but to create such a Pure White High Wall, she must sacrifice all her flesh and blood, and the result is merely a fortress that the Calamity God finds difficult to invade.

The shrine maiden’s Tempering of the Heart is the same; without Chu Yuanqing’s help, even if she forges Levatin with her soul and body, she could only control it at the moment of her death to strike one blow against Tenno-Gochu, and while that blow could destroy Dongliu Island and the surrounding sea for miles, it is still far from killing a god.

These pillars of humanity are all bound by the price, leading to the fact that even giving everything does not qualify them to challenge the Calamity God.

In other words, if they could use the blessings freely without cost, the Calamity God would no longer be an insurmountable mountain.

The news that Xie Qingxuan shared clearly states this possible future.

In this moment,

Chu Yuanqing finally believed Charlotte’s theory. Planetary consciousness must have received information from the first playthrough, so it linked to the Sea of Truth early, spending a long time and creating the miracle called magical girls.

The true use of this miracle is not to hope that people of the new era will quickly rise to fight against the gods, but rather… to let those warriors who once had the potential to defeat gods truly stand alongside the gods in the New Game Plus!

Wait, so the pendant He gave me has the same meaning?

Chu Yuanqing’s feelings were excited and complicated. She understood that the magical compensation discovered by Xie Qingxuan might not be a perfect mechanism; it could have limits and might not provide complete immunity.

But the feeling of having companions besides herself who are making plans for the future is already a wonderful comfort.

Unfortunately, after planetary consciousness did all that, it likely fell into a deep sleep. Otherwise, talking to it might have uncovered more unknown surprises.

Chu Yuanqing’s thoughts turned as she had Xie Qingxuan demonstrate the blessings and the reality of magical compensation several more times, growing more excited and joyful.

"Qingxuan, come with me! Let’s find Charlotte!"

At this moment, Honey Qing, full of thoughts about saving the world, completely forgot that the two guys were bad people, focused only on throwing wild parties and playing doctor games.

The Pure White Witch’s eyes sparkled brightly. She decided to share this amazing news with Charlotte. She took Xie Qingxuan’s soft and slender hand, as if she were a lamb walking into a tiger’s den, completely unprepared as she entered the other person’s room.