"Me, fight Phantylia the Undying? Oh, fucking Tielnan, you're a fucking genius! Let's fucking do it!"
"The above was the opinion of the first companion I consulted. After gaining Chen Li's consent, I randomly selected a second companion for their input, and the reply I received was this: Zulo is a Lord Ravager, and Phantylia is also a Lord Ravager. We were able to kill Zulo… oh, Tielnan, don't worry about how we killed him. That means we can kill Phantylia, too! To kill two Lord Ravagers with one life, why wouldn't we take that deal?"
"In summary, on behalf of my companions, I have decided to answer your call for help. Make the Galaxy Rangers great again! And I… I will wait here for my companions' return."
Although Tielnan's voice was hoarse, his tone was resolute as he spoke these words.
"Chen Li? Chen Li? Tielnan has accepted the call."
Having called out to Chen Li several times without a response, Acheron turned her head, only to see him clutching the Miracle Card to his chest, looking absolutely heartbroken.
"Ah? Oh, then thank him for me," Chen Li said, staring at the single remaining use on the [Then I Ask You] Miracle Card.
"So, when do you plan to set out?" Acheron had never imagined this journey into the Sea of Death would conclude so swiftly; it was an experience entirely new to her.
"In 100 years."
"What?"
"You must have noticed it too, right? While they all gave very definite answers when I used the Miracle Card to question those Bloodsin Wraiths, they went back to wandering aimlessly over the Sea of Death once the card's effect ended. Even after witnessing all of that and deciding to answer the call, Tielnan still harbors hesitation in his heart," Chen Li explained after putting away the Miracle Card.
"Mm," Acheron nodded.
It was clear that for Tielnan, watching his "companions," who had died fighting a Lord Ravager, fall once again while fighting another Lord Ravager was not the perfect ending he envisioned.
"Acheron, do you have things of your own to attend to?" Chen Li suddenly asked.
"No," Acheron shook her head.
"Then… would you like to stay here for a while?"
"That's fine."
Acheron didn't ask why Chen Li suggested staying, nor did she ask how long "a while" would be. After becoming a Self-Anniliator due to the curse of Nihility, her only remaining purpose was to guard the path to the abyss of "Nihility," guide every soul unwilling to fall into it back to their original world, and pursue Nihility itself.
---o---
"What do we do next? How will we travel to the precise point in time a hundred years from now?" Tielnan asked, walking over to Chen Li's side.
"The arrow of the Hunt can strike first even when fired last, so naturally, it can also strike last even when fired first. It wouldn't be impossible to gather the power of countless Bloodsin Wraiths, shoot an arrow, and have it arrive at the time of the request a century later. The death-wish of the Hunt is never quelled, not even at the end of life, which is why the Bloodsin Wraiths of these Galaxy Rangers still drift upon this Sea of Death. But do you really want them to charge into battle in their Bloodsin Wraith forms?" Chen Li asked Tielnan.
"What do you mean?"
"The blessing of the Hunt on this longbow is its most inconspicuous feature." Chen Li temporarily took the Longbow of Peace directly from Kikyo's hands, no longer using a projection. This time, he might need to use it for a long while.
"What else is there?" Tielnan's curiosity was piqued.
"There is also Hell."
Chen Li tossed the Longbow of Peace into the distance. With a deafening rumble, a colossal structure descended from the sky, materializing on the shore of the Sea of Death.
The gates of the grim yet magnificent mansion swung open with a crash, and countless demons of all shapes and sizes slowly emerged from within.
Seeing the phantoms of this demonic host, Acheron instinctively placed her hand on the hilt of her longsword.
"Get lost," Chen Li casually shouted at the demons.
After a moment of stunned silence, the sin-drenched demons parted, clearing a path to the mansion and revealing the scene behind its gates.
Beyond the mansion lay a vision of hell, a landscape of boundless gloom that bore a striking resemblance to this Sea of Death.
"Everyone, welcome to the Underworld," Chen Li said to the two behind him.
"After this longbow kills a sinful person, it captures their soul and brings it here, to this hell, subjecting them to eternal torment. This provides a power source for the bow, and in critical moments, these evil souls can be released to aid in battle."
Chen Li led Acheron and Tielnan into this hell. In reality, this was simply the internal space of the Longbow of Peace, now made manifest.
"Very good. That's very much in the spirit of the Hunt. But are you implying you're going to use this bow to kill the Bloodsin Wraiths?" Tielnan couldn't help but ask.
Though the Galaxy Rangers appeared wherever injustice was found, their advocacy for fighting violence with violence and their praise for swift and decisive killing meant they were hardly saints. In fact, the Galaxy Rangers were one of the more extreme groups in the universe. To them, if the souls of these rotten, sinful people could be exchanged for even a single credit point to help others, or even themselves, it was worth it.
"How could I? Do I really seem like such a depraved person in your eyes?" Chen Li looked at Tielnan in astonishment.
Bloodsin Wraiths were the lingering obsessions of Pathstriders. In other words, they were essentially Pathstriders suffering from depression, especially the one standing before him. Anyone who has dealt with depression knows that while there are many treatments, improper methods can make the person even more depressed.
To put it another way, if Chen Li killed all the Bloodsin Wraiths and stored them in the Longbow of Peace's space just to take them to fight Phantylia a hundred years later, how would that be any different from a parent who throws away the cat their child has raised for a year, just to save a little money to buy depression medication for the kid?
Just how abstract would Chen Li's thought process have to be to come up with a method like that?
"What I mean is, we can bring your companions into this Underworld and have them cleanse themselves in this pool here. At the very least, these Galaxy Rangers who mustered their courage to fight a Lord Ravager for the sake of justice should look like proper people," Chen Li said, pointing to a massive pool that was practically blocking the entrance of the Underworld after leading Acheron and Tielnan inside.
"What is this pool?" Tielnan asked.
"The Pond of Rebirth. One of the hellish wonders of the Underworld. A means of punishing evil souls. The more grievous the sins of a soul that enters, the more excruciating their time soaking in this pool will be. It is one of the locations where the Longbow of Peace harvests the energy of suffering," Chen Li answered.
The Longbow of Peace's energy source was derived from torturing evil souls, so this Underworld was filled with hellish wonders designed for that purpose.
"Moreover, this Pond of Rebirth has a side effect. When you toss in an evil soul that's been tortured beyond recognition by other punishments, it can slowly restore the soul's initial form, bring it back to clarity, and reset its tolerance to pain. This is to facilitate their continued torment so they can more conveniently provide pain energy."
"In other words… tossing the Bloodsin Wraiths in here might just help them recover their original appearances. And since the Galaxy Rangers usually spend their time punishing evil and promoting good, it won't be too painful for them when they go in. At most, it'll feel like a hot spring. Brother Tielnan, would you like to take a dip?" Chen Li asked.
"I'll pass. So what we need to do now is guide them into this pool to soak?" Tielnan shook his head, declining Chen Li's offer.
"Pretty much. However, this Pond of Rebirth has a drawback. The functions that restore a soul's clarity and initial form aren't free. They require the pain energy generated from torturing evil souls to sustain… probably due to a limited budget."
After all, it wasn't a 1-Star Curio, so how could it have so many features you could use for free? It was perfectly reasonable.
"As you can see, there are less than a hundred evil souls in this Longbow of Peace right now, and the amount of pain energy they provide is limited. By my estimate, to purify that veritable sea of Bloodsin Wraiths outside until they all look human again will probably take about 100 years…"
These hellish wonders were built for destruction, not "restoration." Restoring a soul's initial form was just a bonus function, so it wasn't very efficient.
"100 years… No matter. Time is meaningless to me," Tielnan said, shaking his head.
"I can help him," said Acheron.
"I really appreciate you two being so enthusiastic. Oh, right, it might get a little boring during these 100 years, so… care to watch some ads?" Chen Li took out two Friends Circle terminals.
"Ads? What ads?"
"Ads for the Revival Card. Collect 10 different fragments, and you can nominate a candidate to participate in the Revival Games. Win the tournament, and you'll be successfully revived for free."
"How is that possible?"
"I've never heard of such a thing."
Neither Acheron nor Tielnan could believe such a Curio existed.
"Why not give it a try and find out? The last fragment is incredibly hard to get, but you have 100 years anyway. Watching some ads while the Bloodsin Wraiths are in their hot spring can help pass the time."
"And… maybe there's a chance your companions can be revived. Tielnan, you must have some companions you'd do anything to see again, right?" Chen Li tempted him.
"If… if this is true, the Galaxy Rangers will forever remember your kindness." Tielnan glanced at the advertisement link on the Friends Circle terminal, then looked at Chen Li with a peculiar expression.
Acheron, standing to the side, shot Chen Li a helpless look. She had noticed that upon learning of the Revival Card's existence, Tielnan's obsession was quietly changing once again.
What was the point of guiding their souls to peace? Who would choose deliverance when they could revive their companions?
However, Acheron didn't mind this change. If you're going to help someone, see it through to the end. It was just some ads, right? She might as well watch them.
"You can thank me, and if someone really is revived, you can tell them that I, Chen Li, was the one who helped. But when they tell others how they were revived, tell them Sparkle did it!" Chen Li quickly added.
"Why? And who is Sparkle?"
"Reviving so many Galaxy Rangers at once could cause a huge mess in the universe. I'm afraid the Aeon of Equilibrium might personally come down to beat me up. And Sparkle is a dear friend of mine, my beloved family… she's willing to bear this burden for me," Chen Li said, stroking his chin.
A group of Galaxy Rangers might not have a huge impact, but what if something… strange got revived? Like… an Aeon?
Wouldn't Equilibrium just explode?
"Honestly, that doesn't sound like… and isn't it a bit wrong to shift the blame to someone else?" Acheron said, hesitating.
"Sparkle is a Masked Fool."
"Never mind then." Acheron nodded, completely at ease.
If she was a Masked Fool, then she probably deserved it.
---o---