"Only three?"
"Do you want them or not?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Shiki snatched the omamori. She wanted as many of these as she could get. Give them to me!
"Oh, one more thing." Yae Miko called out to the girl, who was about to teleport away.
"What is it now?"
"Did Kurosaki Ichigo save Kuchiki Rukia in the end?"
Shiki: "???"
"Why that puzzled expression? Isn't the book 'faded' written by you? Also, your pen name, Garan no Dou… Hmm, it sounds a bit like a name from Sumeru. Does it have any special meaning?"
"Nothing. As for whether she was saved or not, go read it yourself in two days." Shiki said irritably, then disappeared from beside the anchor point.
Seriously, she was so annoyed. She thought it was something important, but it turned out to be just to ask for plot updates?
Back in Konda Village…
"Hey, Ioroi, wake up!"
Shiki gently patted Ioroi's small head. Although she didn't know why he turned into a small Tanuki after fainting, it was good overall, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to carry him.
"Ugh? Damn defilement, watch my Great Swirl…"
Ioroi jolted up like a spring from the bed, but then he realized. This wasn't the bottom of Mt. Yougou; it was home!
"Uh… Is it over already?"
"Mm-hmm, what else? If it wasn't over, you wouldn't be lying here safe and sound."
"By the way, are you genuinely silly or just pretending? You can spin yourself dizzy!"
Isn't that just too comical? Imagine playing Garen in LoL, and then activating E only to stun yourself for two seconds. Isn't that just a joke?!
"An accident, an accident! It's entirely because I've been sealed for too long. I never used to get dizzy before." Ioroi said with an awkward laugh.
"Really?" Shiki looked at Ioroi suspiciously.
"Of course!"
Ioroi nodded quickly, though in Shiki's mind, she still suspected it was entirely due to his silliness.
"Alright, now that the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual is over, what are your thoughts?"
"Thoughts? Hmm… Sometimes, one still has to face reality. That Fox won't be coming back, but I will continue to help her protect Inazuma!"
"I've come to terms with it now, and most importantly, I've gained a new friend! Although she always chokes me…"
Compared to his downcast expression back then, Ioroi was now remarkably free-spirited.
"It's good that you've come to terms with it. Now, I have a surprise for you." Shiki said, unfastening the tachi from her waist and placing it on the bed.
"A surprise? What surprise? It's not going to be a big meal, is it? Then I want to eat back what I lost last time!"
"You big dummy, do you only know how to eat? Never mind, you tell him, Hana Sanri."
As her voice fell, a translucent spiritual body slowly emerged from Kujikanesada.
Even after being separated from the defilement, Hana Sanri still wore her mask. Perhaps Hana Sanri herself wasn't sure whose face to show to others?
Or perhaps under the influence of the defilement and disaster, her face…
"Long time no see, my old friend." Hana Sanri's gentle tone carried a hint of nostalgia.
"Fox? Wait, why are you in Shiki's nodachi? Didn't you tell me that after the Great Cleansing Ritual, you would disappear with the defilement?" Ioroi widened his eyes. He felt he had been deceived.
"So, this is all thanks to Nirishiki! She separated me from the defilement, which is why I can continue to exist in this world after the defilement was cleared."
"Separate… Shiki, you can even do such an ethereal thing!?"
Ioroi looked at the girl in shock. In his previous private conversation with Hana Sanri, they had certainly discussed how to survive after the defilement was cleared, but all the results had been negative.
To adjust his mindset, he had even deliberately stayed in Chinju Forest for a night.
"I merely severed the connection between Hana Sanri and the defilement. Of course, I couldn't do it at first. As the ritual progressed and my Mystic Eyes of Death Perception deepened, I was able to achieve this."
"Though the two are deeply intertwined, to me, it's no different from the Onmyōdō that sealed you."
"As long as I can see it, I can cut it. So, as long as it's alive, even a Archon, I can kill it for you to see."
Considering that there are Archons in this world, Shiki modified her "famous quote." In fact, the modification was just adding the word "Archon."
"How can there be such an outrageous ability in this world? By the way, how did you awaken it? I want to try it too!"
"It's simple, just die once," Shiki said calmly, uttering something extremely terrifying.
"A little over a month ago, I was attacked by Treasure Hoarders. At that time, I was just an ordinary person, so I was naturally injured."
"You know what death feels like? Your whole being is like sinking into a cold lake, descending as your consciousness is continuously stripped away."
"But after that, I entered a strange place. Although only an instant passed outside, I felt like I had been in there for a long time, and at that moment, I saw the end of all things."
"Do you know why I've always been so indifferent? The concept of the death of all things is not so easy to accept; that massive information diluted my emotions."
"After waking up, everything that appeared in my eyes was a scene of a final ending. Can you imagine a person covered in cracks talking to you?"
"As if they would fall apart the next second, all things in your eyes are so fragile, breaking at a touch, even yourself."
Ioroi listened and thought carefully, but in the end, he shook his head. He couldn't imagine what that scene would be like.
"I don't know, but I know it must not be a good sight."
"So, do you still want to obtain this power now?"
"No, no, I feel like I'd go crazy facing a world like that."
"It's best not to. Alright, you two can chat. I still have some things to take care of."
Shiki patted Ioroi, then picked up Tejima's straw hat and walked out of the room. The Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual had settled, and it was time for her to find that Master Masamori to make a fake Vision.
Of course, before going to Master Masamori, she had to find Kazuha first.
Before, Kazuha said he would help her find someone in this field. Perhaps he had found the legendary Master Masamori?
If that were truly the case, wouldn't she be looking for nothing if she went to Masamori first?
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