060 - Kurumi Really Comes in Handy

PS: The patch for Chapter 54 regarding why reversing time on cremated remains wouldn't work has been added—basically, a soul either reincarnates or disperses depending on the world's setting. Since souls exist on a deeper dimension, they can't be affected by simple time manipulation. So reversing time on a dead body would just revive an empty shell, an onahole.

...

Inside a 55-square-meter rental apartment, four very different individuals sat together—

A former human, a former vampire, a spirit, and… a NPC-spirit?

They had cleared off the dining table and were discussing their next move.

While browsing information on his laptop, Souta spoke up:

"Alright, as usual, let's rule out seeking help from beings like the Magic God from A Certain Magical Index, the Mercury King from Dies Irae, or the Demon-Slaying Overlord Azathoth."

(TL Note: Mercurius | Shinza Bansho, Azathoth from LoveCraft)

Sitting beside him, Kurumi nodded in agreement.

"That does sound reasonable, I agree—"

"Wait a minute!" Altair interrupted, looking puzzled. "As usual? What do you mean? Are you saying those people are useless and can't help us?"

Even Kiss-Shot perked up her ears, eager to hear Souta's explanation.

Before he could answer, Kurumi let out a wry smile and said:

"No, it's not that they're weak—it's that we are too weak. We have no right to negotiate with them. Sure, if they were willing to help, they could probably solve our problem with a snap of their fingers. But… these types of beings fall into the category of 'easy to summon, impossible to get rid of.'"

She still vividly remembered how complicated her emotions were when Souta first told her about such overpowered beings.

After all, she had always thought her own strength was fairly decent…

"Solve our problem with just a snap of their fingers…" Altair's interest grew stronger. "Can you tell me more?"

"Maybe later." Souta shook his head, then turned his laptop screen towards Kurumi, Kiss-Shot, and Altair so they could see.

"I've searched for resurrection methods in anime and games. Here's what I found. Our way to revive Setsuna is likely among these."

Pointing at the screen, Souta began explaining each option:

Possible Resurrection Methods

Dragon Balls (Dragon Ball)"This set of seven mystical orbs comes from the Dragon Ball universe. In that world, even major characters get killed off left and right by planet-destroying villains. But as long as someone gathers all seven Dragon Balls, they can summon Shenron, the Eternal Dragon, and wish for someone's revival. If we can get our hands on them, reviving Setsuna would be no problem."

Tenseiga (Inuyasha)"This is a sword from Inuyasha. It's useless for attacking the living, but it can bring back the dead. By cutting down the messengers of the underworld, it can retrieve souls and resurrect people. However… your world, Altair, obviously doesn't have any underworld messengers, so I don't think Tenseiga would work here."

The Outer Path (Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique-Gedō — Rinne Tensei no Jutsu) (Naruto)"This high-level resurrection jutsu from Naruto can only be used by those who possess the Rinnegan. The wielder, like Nagato, once used it to revive everyone in Konoha who had died during the invasion. This technique… wait a second!"

A Sudden Realization

Souta stopped abruptly, a thought striking him.

"Most resurrection methods are bound to their respective world mechanics."

He gave an example: "Tenseiga only works by cutting down underworld messengers. But outside of Inuyasha, where do we find those?"

"Similarly, Rinne Tensei works by summoning souls from the afterlife of the Naruto world. But Setsuna's soul isn't in the Naruto afterlife—so how would it even work?"

With that thought, he decided to ask the system.

A moment later, the system responded:

[Yes, as long as the resurrection method isn't limited by extremely specific world rules—like Tenseiga—then revivals can generally be performed across different worlds.]

Different Resurrection Methods Work Across Worlds?

"Wait, resurrection methods work across worlds?" Souta was a bit surprised. "That doesn't seem right. Rinne Tensei calls back souls from Naruto's afterlife. Setsuna's soul isn't there, so how would it revive her?"

The system replied:

[In the Re:CREATORS world, using Rinne Tensei will trigger a 'forced soul recall' effect. Even a completely dispersed soul will be forcibly reconstructed.]

Souta let out a sigh of relief. "A forced soul recall…? If that works, then we're all good."

If resurrection abilities weren't interchangeable across worlds, then all their hard work to obtain one would be completely wasted—and there'd be no place to cry about it.

Next, Souta continued introducing various resurrection abilities from different works to Altair and the others.

After a thorough discussion, the four of them narrowed down their options to two:

— Dragon Balls.

— Rinne Tensei (Reincarnation Jutsu).

Souta looked at Altair and the other two.

"Which do you think is better—Dragon Balls or Rinne Tensei?"

He had already explained the details of both options.

Dragon Balls would be relatively easier to obtain, but once used, they would scatter and require another round of collection. Essentially, they were a one-time-use item.

However, could they directly wish for Shenron to grant them a resurrection ability instead?

As for Rinne Tensei… stealing the Rinnegan was out of the question, so their only choice was to find a way to deal with Nagato.

Since only friends in the group could travel between worlds, bringing Rinne Tensei into Altair's world would require sending an invitation to Nagato.

An invitation… costs 10,000 points.

In contrast, traveling to obtain Dragon Balls would only require one travel pass, costing just 500 points.

However, an invitation permanently connects a world, which was a hidden benefit worth considering when comparing the two options.

"Let's go with the Dragon Balls," Kiss-Shot(Shinobu) was the first to speak.

"Using Rinne Tensei costs the life of the caster—one life for another… that completely defeats the purpose of saving someone."

"That actually isn't an issue," Souta explained. "The reason Rinne Tensei causes death is because it drains the user's life force. But with Kurumi here, she can simply reverse the caster's physical state to restore them."

"I also think Dragon Balls are the better choice," Altair added.

"Setsuna's physical body is already gone, and Rinne Tensei is a soul-calling resurrection ability. Without a body, just recalling her soul wouldn't be enough, would it?"

"That's not a problem either," Souta responded. "With Kurumi's time reversal, she can directly restore Setsuna's body from her ashes."

Kurumi, sitting beside him, had a satisfied smirk on her lips.

Yes, I'm this useful, this important in Souta's eyes!—She was probably thinking that.

"Wait… are you sure reversing time on a box of ashes can fully restore a body?"

Altair furrowed her brows.

"There's barely any physical matter left in the urn. Even if you reverse its state to three months ago, wouldn't it just reconstruct an incomplete skeleton at best?"

Souta was momentarily stunned.

He hadn't considered that.

Fortunately, Kurumi answered in his place:

"No, don't worry—when time is reversed, any missing matter will automatically be recalled."

"But…"

"But what?" Souta asked.

Kurumi gave a soft, knowing smile and said:

"I still think we should go with the Dragon Balls. After all, if we choose Rinne Tensei, you'll have to spend an invitation letter—doesn't that seem like a bad deal?"

Souta nodded.

"Yeah… not very cost-effective. Even though it would permanently connect us to a new world, it's not a world I particularly want to visit.

But Nagato's resurrection jutsu, paired with your time reversal, could be reused indefinitely…"

After some internal struggle, Souta gritted his teeth and made a budget-conscious decision:

"Forget it. Let's go with the Dragon Balls."