Chapter 4

"Where is the Star Core (Cancer of Myriad Worlds)?" Kafka asked.

Yin Lang shook their head and said: "It can tell us where the Star Core is."

Inside the space station, Yin Lang and Kafka traveled together, heading toward their destination. And the closer they got to the station's core area, the more hollow soldiers appeared along the way.

It's a pity that, no matter how many hollow soldiers were in front of them, they posed no threat.

It's worth noting that, while players see turn-based combat, to the spectators of the myriad worlds, what they see is a vibrant real-time battle.

Especially Yin Lang's ether-editing technique, to those who completely don't understand its principle, this is just magic.

"Wow, this magic is really convenient—any enemy disappears in a whoosh in an instant." Hustark, lying in the chair, envied them, "I can't even see the casting motion; this girl must be at the level of a first-rank mage, right?"

"Similar to 'teleportation' magic—but and today's magic have an essential difference… Ah-choo!" After returning to the inn in the town, Frieren lay flat on the bed, covering her face with a magic book; the ink smell mixed with some dust in the pages irritated her, making her sneeze.

Through the thick pages, she could clearly see how the girl named Yin Lang in the light curtain demonstrated the divine skill of altering reality.

Regarding their identity, Frieren already had an initial guess; given the magic that modern humans can master, the light curtain is likely another world completely unrelated to them.

This light curtain is very likely a tunnel connecting two worlds.

That world has no magic, but it possesses various "technologies" utterly different from magic—for example, Kafka's "word spirit".

The effect of this word spirit is extremely simple and brutal: it can make people unconditionally obey her commands; even if those twisted monsters can't understand Kafka's words at all, they will still act according to her will.

It is practically identical to the obedience magic of one of the Demon King's Seven Shining Wisemen, Urura.

However, Urura's obedience magic has weaknesses, while Kafka's word spirit seems to have no flaws; at least in Frieren's view, the effect of the word spirit is downright shameless.

Being able to make others obey unconditionally, to effortlessly alter reality… could they possibly break through this tunnel and come into the world Frieren now inhabits?

Frieren lowered her gaze slightly; although she disliked this guess, she couldn't help but seriously consider how likely it was to come true.

—

After dealing with all the monsters, Kafka and Yin Lang entered the target room, but there was nobody inside.

"Elio's script doesn't mention the exact location of the Star Core, which means that in the future he saw… we are not finding the Star Core through physical means. There are so many curious artifacts in this space station that it's not surprising that one could accomplish this."

Kafka gave a faint smile, the corner of her vivid lips curling into an alluring arc: "Using curious artifacts to hide curious artifacts—something that woman would do… Yin Lang, you've flipped through the catalog for so long, you must have a clue, right?"

"All the necessary clues are in hand; next we just need a little trick." Yin Lang said confidently.

As the words fell, the screens in the entire room began to flicker, finally displaying Yin Lang's insignia. Under the girl's godlike manipulation, the whole room suddenly turned intangible, transforming into countless flashing electronic torrents that converged beneath her feet, forming a void leading to the outside.

The two of them passed through the void and arrived at a bright room.

At the convergence of light, a pale yellow light sphere was slowly drifting there.

"Is this the Star Core they spoke of?"

In a certain place in Tokyo, Ryomen Sukuna, who had not yet become the legendary Black Flash Elbow King, lounged leisurely in a chair, keenly observing everything in the light curtain.

As the King of Curses, Sukuna quickly realized that the world in the light curtain was utterly different from the world he currently inhabited; it seemed to be a world devoid of cursed energy, yet it possessed combat methods similar to the effects of curses.

"This is somewhat interesting… could its effect be similar to that of a cursed tool?"

The Yin Lang in the light curtain had already prepared a vessel; she pulled out a light curtain on which appeared two people who, aside from gender, were nearly identical in pupil color and hair color.

The female side is labeled "Activate Vessel Star", while the male side is labeled "Activate Vessel Heaven".

After a hint of hesitation in Kafka's gaze, her finger firmly tapped the selection interface for Star.

As Yin Lang inserted a purple block into the screen, Star's body began to materialize out of thin air, hovering in midair and gradually revealing a complete human form.

"Hehe, Kenjaku, do you think curses can achieve this extent?" Ryomen Sukuna finally revealed a hint of a playful expression, looking at the man beside him wearing a monk's robe, with his hair tied in a bun, and a suture line on his forehead.

Kenjaku's eyes narrowed slightly, he yawned; although he was quite interested in the handgun weapon of the girl called Yin Lang, this question was obviously somewhat beyond his scope for him.

If curses could create people out of thin air, why would he bother going to such lengths to possess Yuji Itadori's mother's body?

But the scene of Star's birth in the light curtain is less a manifestation of curses or magic and more like a product of future human technology. Whether this massive space station or the amazing holographic projection, both are realms that curses struggle to reach.

Could the scene in the light curtain be humanity's achievement of the future?

Lost in thought, Kenjaku's gaze involuntarily flicked toward the window outside Akihabara.

... It seems he must reassess the value of humanity.

"Kafka in the light curtain has already come before Star holding the Star Core; after examining her closely, she turned her gaze back to the Star Core in her hand: 'How much does she still remember?'"

"At least she'll remember you." Yin Lang didn't even lift their head, their finger continuing to gesture on the screen.

"Huh." Upon hearing that, Kafka moved close and gently pushed the Star Core in her hand into Star's body.

"Time to get up~"

In no time at all, Star slowly opened her eyes: "Kafka?"

A smile flickered in Kafka's eyes: "Great, you still remember me."

Star rubbed her forehead; having just awakened from her dazed state, she still couldn't make sense of her situation, her mind a blank, unable to recall anything.

"It seems like a reunion of old acquaintances." Kenjaku smiled slightly, his eyes narrowing to a slit, "In my view, the girl called 'Star' is no ordinary identity."

"Oh?" Ryomen Sukuna's lips curled with a faint, ambiguous smile: "Could it be that you know this girl?"

"No, I don't."

"Then how did you guess?"

Kenjaku pressed his lips together and smiled, saying: "Wasn't it that Yuji Itadori only ended up in his current state because he had your fingers inside his body? This girl also harbors a Star Core within her; although I can't guess its exact purpose, it surely isn't something simple… being able to easily withstand the Cancer of Myriad Worlds, her body is definitely not that of an ordinary human."

Bringing up Yuji Itadori, Ryomen Sukuna stroked his chin with interest and sneered: "That brat… he'll surely die at my hands sooner or later."

His tone suddenly shifted; he lifted his gaze to Kafka in the light curtain, "Compared to the girl called Star, I'm more concerned about the woman named Kafka. She's like a spider lurking in the dark—very dangerous… and deadly."