Chapter 55: The European Emperor Reappears! Excited Paimon!
Belle picked up her second green-tier reward. The system interface labeled it [Startle Feather].
She drew the blade from its sheath. The metal was impossibly thin, catching the dim light of the room with a frigid, silver gleam. It was a soft sword, forged to bend and whip around guards, undoubtedly sharp enough to slice through solid iron like warm butter. But that same flexibility made it a nightmare to wield. One clumsy swing, and she would end up slicing her own arm off.
She sighed, carefully sliding the treacherous blade back into its scabbard. Straight to the collection pile it goes.
Her attention shifted to the white-tier items scattered across the table: three packs of [Instant Cup Noodles] in assorted flavors, a [Rechargeable Camping Lantern], a [Plush Bear Toy], a [Bag of Potato Chips], and an [Insulated Cup with Bunny Pattern].
Belle scooped up the thermos and the stuffed bear, her eyes curving into happy crescents. "Hehe, I can brew hot tea in this for our late-night proxy commissions, and this little guy is definitely sleeping on my bed tonight!"
Then, the siblings turned their collective gaze toward the centerpiece of the table. The Devil Fruit.
Swirling, flame-like patterns decorated its vibrant orange skin. It sat there, radiating a faint, unnatural warmth.
"Brother!" Belle broke the silence, her voice pitching up with barely contained glee. "This fruit... it grants elementalization! Does that mean if we run into a Hollow disaster, bullets, blades, or even the claws of those Ethereals will just pass right through us? We'd be completely immune to physical damage!"
Wise leaned forward. He reached out, his fingertips brushing the textured surface of the Flame-Flame Fruit. He could almost feel the dormant, volatile energy pulsing beneath the rind.
"Theoretically, yes," Wise said, his tone slipping into his usual, measured analytical rhythm. "In a fully elementalized state, pure kinetic impact loses its meaning. Here in New Eridu, where the most common threats inside the Hollows are physical Ethereal strikes, this provides an absurdly high safety net."
"That's amazing!" Belle bounced on her heels, nearly knocking her chair over. "We're practically invincible now!"
"It increases our survival rate exponentially," Wise corrected, tapping his temple. "But Belle, do not let this make you reckless."
He fixed her with a serious look. "Just because we haven't encountered mental or spiritual attacks yet doesn't mean they don't exist in New Eridu. This fruit does nothing to fortify our minds. Our baseline defenses in that regard remain exactly the same."
Belle paused, her hand instinctively rising to touch her forehead. Her nose scrunched up as she tried to visualize an invisible attack targeting her mind.
"," Wise continued, "controlling raw fire requires absolute precision. We need extensive practice to ensure we don't accidentally incinerate our surroundings, or innocent bystanders. And then there are the factions of New Eridu."
His eyes darkened slightly. "If certain megacorporations or underground syndicates discover we possess spontaneous elemental generation without an Ether aptitude, it will draw the worst kind of attention. We would become highly coveted research specimens."
Belle's posture straightened. She absorbed his warning, the initial high of the gacha pull settling into a grounded reality. "I get it, Brother. We keep it hidden. But at the very least, if our backs are against the wall, we have the ultimate trump card."
The perspective shifted across the multiverse, landing in the sweltering, vibrant lands of Natlan on the continent of Teyvat.
Lumine and Paimon sat in the shade, thoroughly infected by the group chat's recent streak of outrageous luck. The gacha interface hovered in their vision.
"Lumine, I am so ready for this!" Paimon floated in place, her tiny fists clenched in absolute determination. "I borrowed some of Klee's explosive luck before we started! I just know I'm going to pull something amazing to help you fight!"
Lumine smiled, amused by her companion's fierce expression. "Alright. Let's do it together."
With a synchronized mental command, they slammed the ten-pull button.
Points drained from their accounts. The virtual sky above them shattered into streaks of falling stars.
Suddenly, a blinding, heart-stopping pulse of deep purple light erupted directly in front of Paimon. The sheer intensity of the glow washed out the scattered green and white meteors falling beside it.
"Huh? Pur... purple?!"
Paimon froze. She blinked hard, raising her little hands to rub her eyes furiously, half-expecting the color to fade into a disappointing blue. It didn't.
"Lumine! Lumine! Look at this!" Paimon shrieked, her voice echoing off the nearby canyon walls. "It's purple again! I actually got another purple!"
She abandoned all composure, spinning through the air in chaotic, dizzying loops. Her face was flushed bright pink with adrenaline. She was so desperate to celebrate the victory that she completely forgot to check what the item actually was.
While Paimon performed her aerial victory dance, Lumine observed her own results. Two steady, condensed blue meteors had landed in her inventory. She hadn't hit the jackpot like Paimon's Klee-infused miracle, but she was consistently pulling high-quality utility items, much like Dan Heng.
The first blue light materialized into a thick, ancient tome. The cover felt neither like metal nor jade, but something warm and alive. complex, abstruse patterns mapped out stellar trajectories across the binding.
The system provided the name: [Mystic Pivot Array Codex].
Lumine sent a sliver of her consciousness into the book. Instantly, a vast ocean of esoteric knowledge flooded her mind. She saw the foundational strokes of spirit-gathering formations, the layered geometry of protective barriers, and the deceptive loops of maze illusions. The knowledge scaled all the way up to apocalyptic offensive grand arrays and soul-locking traps designed by Golden Core stage cultivators.
It was a complete, master-class encyclopedia of array formations, complete with exhaustive annotations.
Lumine opened her eyes, a clear understanding settling in her mind. She carefully stored the codex away. While her own combat style relied on elemental manipulation rather than stationary setups, she knew exactly who needed this. Dan Heng and the Divination Commission back on the Xianzhou Luofu had mountains of spirit stones but lacked this exact kind of systematic, foundational array knowledge. Passing this to him would save them centuries of blind trial and error.
The second blue light faded, leaving a three-foot-long banner resting in her palms.
Lumine frowned. The flagpole felt like heavy, warm jade. The fabric of the banner was pitch black, woven from an unrecognizable material. Dark gold threads embroidered countless complex runes across the surface, pulsing with a strange, heavy truth.
But the aura radiating from the cloth was violently contradictory. Half of the runes glowed with a grand, righteous, and deeply comforting light. The other half bled a sinister, resentful, and suffocatingly evil miasma.
The system interface flickered with its title: [Human Emperor Flag (Ten Thousand Souls Banner)].
A block of text expanded beneath it, detailing that this was a growth-type magic artifact. Its ultimate form depended entirely on the wielder's intent and methodology.
If used as the Human Emperor Flag on the glorious righteous path, it provided shelter and nourishment for fallen heroes and wandering loyal souls. A wielder with righteous intent could grant these souls peace, or summon the heroes who willingly recognized their cause to assist in battle. The power scaled with the quantity and quality of sheltered heroes.
If used as the Ten Thousand Souls Banner on the sinister evil path, it forcibly imprisoned and refined living souls. It tormented them with endless pain and resentment, transforming them into mindless, slaughter-driven vengeful spirits. The crueler the methods, the stronger the spirits, exponentially increasing destructive power at the cost of severe backlash.
Lumine's golden eyes hardened. The hesitation lasted less than a fraction of a second.
She would walk the glorious righteous path. She would forge it into the Human Emperor Flag.
Her fingers tightened around the jade pole. She wondered how many lost heroes wandered the multiverse, waiting for a place to rest. This banner was no longer just a weapon; it was a heavy, solemn responsibility.
Stowing the flag, she checked her remaining pulls. A bottle of emerald-green [Rejuvenation Pills] for rapid healing and spiritual restoration, alongside a [Gourmet Tablecloth] and a bottle of [Delicious Seasoning]—the exact same items Stelle had pulled earlier.
Lumine let out a soft laugh. Paimon's lifelong dream of infinite food freedom had just been secured. And that magical seasoning would absolutely baffle the Raiden Shogun the next time they shared a dessert.
She looked up. Paimon was still doing barrel rolls in the sky, giggling uncontrollably.
"Alright, Paimon," Lumine called out, a warm smile spreading across her face. "What amazing thing did you pull? You look like you're about to explode from happiness."
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