Chapter 700

“The Emperor of Heaven?” Fengji froze: “Of the Heavenly Realm?”

Su Lin remained silent, staring at the watermelon in his hand, realizing all eyes had inexplicably fixed on him.

The corners of his mouth seemed pulled by some rule-bound force, yet his facial muscles ultimately held greater control.

√→V

From “Capturing the Fugitive Princess of the Moon Capital” to “The Emperor of Heaven Returns to Gensokyo,” the seamless shift from shoujo to shonen was far too swift.

“Hahaha,” Kaguya still laughed without a care, hands pressed over her mouth as if stifling glee: “Forgive me, I merely recalled something delightful.”

“Did your wife just go into labor?” Xing asked.

“I’m from the Land of the Immortals—I can’t bear children, hahaha.”

Realizing the Moon Capital might have misunderstood, compounded by the current atmosphere and Xing’s punchline, Kaguya covered her face with her sleeve and chuckled softly.

The Moon Capital soldiers, who had arrived with only a single starship, stood frozen at the sight of the vast, overwhelming interstellar fleet.

Rows of towering golden golems, puppet warriors, and black-armored servitors stood assembled mid-cliff, kneeling on one knee, awaiting further orders.

“Mm.”

Su Lin dispelled the historical projection in his hand, changing the unspoken question “Why are you all here?” to: “Relax, don’t be formal.”

Hearing this, Tsurumaru Miki visibly relaxed: “Good, I was just worried that Chaldea might be kicked out for having too many people.”

Did you just move the gacha pool and the satellites in the sky back to Chaldea?!

Su Lin’s eyelid twitched—he realized he hadn’t returned to the Source; prolonged absenteeism might hurt the company’s annual recharge revenue.

“Actually, after Immortal Emiya’s invitation arrived,” Tsurumaru Miki scratched his cheek awkwardly, avoiding eye contact:

“Gilgamesh and the First Emperor directly swapped their Cosmic Spiritual Bases. Word must have spread over there, so all the Heroic Spirits of the Azure Galaxy registered their Spiritual Bases with Chaldea.”

Impressive. Truly impressive.

Su Lin nodded with a pleasant expression, a smile playing on his lips: ‘When we get back to work, I’ll assign you a Hell-difficulty Reality Crisis.’

But something felt off…

“Miki, how did you get here?” Emiya Shirou had planned to return later and bring over his newly contacted friends.

That’s it.

They weren’t even in the same void dimension, had no coordinates or the Fruit of Causes to guide them—how did they get here?

“Um…”

Tsurumaru Miki opened his mouth to speak, but Gilgamesh chuckled smugly and cut in.

“I swore I would never reveal any of his information.”

“Amon. Zhao Lei. Loki are here too.” Each name Su Lin uttered made Emiya Shirou and Lu Mingfei’s faces darken further.

Gilgamesh blinked: “Have your injuries and Omniscience recovered?”

Gilgamesh blinked: “Your injuries and omniscience have recovered?”

Su Lin and the others said nothing, only gazing at Merlin, who wore a monocle over his right eye, leaning against the torii, flipping through the “Touhou” manga while rolling two dice.

“Brilliant, as always, Lord Bishop~” they chorused in praise.

“No wonder, Lord Bishop~” they chorused in praise.

At this, Emiya Shirou and Lu Mingfei’s faces were shrouded in gloom, dark lines hanging from their brows, expressions as if wearing masks of agony.

The appearance of the Universal Communication Rune has introduced a new hidden threat to the myriad worlds.

No one may be able to suppress them anymore.

“Master, I brewed you a pot of Source Essence to replenish your body.”

“Lord Bishop, are you hungry? Aha is heartbroken—please eat some Scented Dry Cheese. Wait, this looks like a Temporal Prism? Doesn’t matter, just take a bite.”

“Boss Tianfu, I heard you’re getting married?”

“Mr. President, the wedding carriage and snipers are all ready.”

Several Moon Capital soldiers surrounding Su Lin now bore distinctive objects on their hands or faces.

To Watazumi Fengji, this bizarre scene felt like Su Lin’s silent retaliation for her earlier words and actions—an effortless control over the Moon Clan soldiers.

Su Lin’s posture—fingers interlaced beneath his chin, expression grave and solemn—was proof enough.

‘Probably during the creation of the Spell Cards—I returned Aha to the Source immediately, but He still got a fix on this location.’

I should’ve guessed when I saw that group chat of pleasure-seeking maniacs—they’d inevitably cause chaos, especially after sending Gilgamesh back.

“Should we eliminate them?” Su Lin asked beside him: “They came uninvited.”

Whether it’s Jitou Four or Ha Four, none of them are from Chaldea—they have legitimate grounds for expulsion.

Whether it was Jitou Four or Ha Four Qi, none of them were from Chaldea; they had legitimate grounds for expulsion.

Watazumi Fengji’s gaze turned cold; she gripped the fan at her waist, watching warily as the man called “Emperor of Heaven” and the watching Watazumi Yiji on the ship mirrored her stance.

Before they could act, a figure emerged from behind the crowd.

“I asked these friends for help.”

A young man in a loose T-shirt, messy hair, and flip-flops waved a Universal Communication Rune at the crowd: “They came along just to give me a ride—I invited them.”

“You’re the only one with a conscience, my dear Li Jiatu!” Aha, having completed his possession of the Moon Clan soldier, wiped nonexistent tears:

“I’ve been wondering if the Lord Bishop has reclaimed his lost authority across other worlds—”

?? Is he now just pure divinity?

What the hell kind of movie plot is this? You’re calling me heartless?

After noting down a mark against Aha, Su Lin turned to Old Lu, who stood with arms wide, as if preparing to embrace everyone, with Lu Mingze behind him.

The little devil was unusually calm today—silent, motionless, dressed in a black evening suit with a white rose pinned to his chest, his gaze complex: disdain, perhaps, or pity.

This little devil was unusually calm today—silent, motionless, clad in a black evening gown with a white rose pinned to its chest, his gaze complex, seeming both contemptuous and pitying.

Old Lu grinned at Lu Mingfei, walking through the space between Gilgamesh, arms crossed, and Qin Shi Huang, standing with hands behind his back.

“You’ve got your circle, I’ve got mine. Honestly, these guys are loyal—even Su Lao-ge has vanished lately, completely unreachable.”

“Thanks, Qin Ge, thanks, Gilgamesh. Next time, let’s tax evasion again.”

“My wedding hasn’t even started yet—why are you here now?” Lu Mingfei stared.

He and Emiya Shirou had planned to return only after setting up the venue, yet among these Type-Moon Heroic Spirits were Old Lu and Lu Mingze.

“I’ve always wanted to come to Gensokyo—this place is full of beautiful girls. Every day I miss is a loss.”

Old Lu, excited, glanced at Watazumi Fengji’s hair color and hat: “Mokou, right?! I’ve admired you for ages—pleased to meet you!”

Old Lu, excited, glanced at the color of Miyuki Toyohime’s hair and hat and said: “You’re Magisa, right!? I’ve admired you for a long time—pleased to meet you!”

Worst-case scenario: sudden silence.

Old Lu was a mood-killer, oblivious to the stares, making a mistaken confession with the wrong name.

Old Lu acted like a mood killer, utterly ignoring the surrounding stares as he made a mistaken confession using the wrong name.

Lu Mingfei bit back the urge to sigh to the heavens.

“Isn’t she in the Moon Capital?” Old Lu asked, startled.

“Boss Tianfu and Princess Kaguya’s affair blew up—the Moon King sent them to bring Boss Tianfu back to the Moon Capital as a prince consort.”

The Moon Clan soldier possessed by Zhao Lei said.

Su Lin: “Fire’s burning.”

“Fucking Zuowang Dao!” Li Huowang understood instantly.

He delivered a flying kick to the Moon Clan soldier, summoning a wooden bench with Primordial Qi and beating him mercilessly—clearly fueled by personal grudge.

“I knew you were a purebred Mongolian stallion too,” Old Lu teased, then fell silent.

Because he saw Hōrai-san Kaguya holding a small notebook toward Su Lin, on which was written: [My family will come to take me back. If I refuse, I’ll drag Su Lao-sama down with me.]

Her ink-black eyes reflected the sunlight.

She tilted her head, staring at Su Lin, a strand of jet-black hair falling from her ear.

Old Lu’s smile vanished; his gaze grew hollow, as if his soul had drifted far away.

Even though “Eri” stood right there, dressed in a bridal gown beside Lu Mingfei, he couldn’t tear his eyes from this clumsy, deliberate act.

“Run with her,” Old Lu whispered, as if returning to the bravest moment of his life—but then snapped out of the uncanny déjà vu, his enthusiasm gone:

“You don’t need to run. You can cut straight to her homeland and make Tsukuyomi know who rules Gensokyo.”

“Or you can run—take her on a grand escape beneath the moonlight.”

“Guys, you’re all lucky. The choice is yours. You have enough time to waste, to squander opportunity after opportunity.”

His gaze swept over them, finally settling on Lu Mingfei and Eri.

Did your little-era, teenage-pain drama just kick in?

Su Lin should’ve greeted him with that—but now he stared coldly at the youth whose face matched Lu Mingfei’s perfectly, yet radiated even more carefree insolence.

Old Lu smiled faintly: “I’ve come to deliver your wedding gift.”

“You can give the gift later—the ceremony hasn’t even started.” Lu Mingfei’s tone shifted slightly, a flicker of panic in his eyes: “Let’s talk in a couple days.”

“I don’t belong at a scene like that.” Old Lu fumbled in his pockets again.

“Lu Mingze, I didn’t bring my phone.”

“I did, brother.” Lu Mingze smiled silently, pulling out a pure-black N96 phone and playing the song “Love Story Happened Suddenly” by Kazumasa Oda.

“Finally willing to call me brother?” Old Lu was surprised.

“I owe you some comfort,” Lu Mingze smiled: “Like a stray dog on the street—you can’t adopt it, but you still feel pity.”

“I must offer you some comfort,” Lu Mingze smiled: “Like a stray dog by the roadside—though you can’t be taken in, pity still exists.”

Old Lu pulled from the void a book entirely crimson, its cover inscribed in silver script: [The River of Nancy].

Old Lu pulled from the void a book entirely crimson, its surface inscribed with strange silver characters: [Nancy’s River].

That was an item Su Lin purchased long ago from the System Store, its effect being to induce stasis.

“The item isn’t bad—it’s practically a divine artifact for someone clinging to life—but beyond that, it’s useless.”

“Sorry, Lao Su, but you’ll have to find him to pay up.”

Those hands didn’t pause a single moment; with just a slight exertion, they tore the book into shreds. The petals drifting around instantly froze, then, carried by the semi-transparent crimson light born from the fragments, were swept upward into the sky.

[Don’t know where to begin—the time slips away in silence.]

“Sakura?” Himeari reached out toward the translucent, almost insubstantial figure of Lao Lu, helplessly glancing at Lu Mingfei beside her.

“Are you crazy?!” Lu Mingfei cried out in panic.

He rushed forward, yet realized at that moment he had no power to act—he instinctively turned to Su Lin and pleaded: “Su—”

“Coward! Look over here!!!”

The roar carried raw release—those golden eyes, ignited and brighter than the sun, stared unblinkingly at Lu Mingfei.

Somehow, Lu Mingfei froze in place. All sound filtered away. A chill touched his nose—he lifted his head to gaze up at the rain-swept sky.

In his mind, he “remembered” the wine cellar, “remembered” the call log, “remembered” that rainy night—the past that bound all timelines yet remained forever unrelieved.

That was the bravest day of his life. He wasn’t cornered, not truly—but he truly dared to run away with a yakuza heiress, while being hunted across all Tokyo.

That was the most cowardly choice of his life: he should have traded a quarter of his life for power, yet foolishly believed she had boarded a flight to Korea, naively thinking someone else would step forward to fix the disaster—yet everyone had bet everything on him!

Do you love that girl enough to die for her? Maybe not.

But memories ferment over time.

Those wounds, those lost souls, that red leather suitcase filled with “Lu Mingfei” belonging to Himeari, the tango danced by Zero and Renata.

The throne remained cold, hard, and unforgiving—but a false softness lay within his arms.

“I should have died long ago—with all of them, all the sacrifices—in that Antarctic ice tomb!”

The scaled, barely human shape before him whispered: “I can always ask others for help, beg for pity—I have nothing. But you are stronger than me.”

“You still have all of this.”

“You once said you’d one day help me change the ending of this story?”

“Wake up. False endings must vanish—they become nourishment for truth. Lu Mingze was right: I’m nothing but fragments stitched together after countless rewinds.”

Rain fell from heaven, snow-white threads blanketed the earth. Rain washed the blood from the ground. A fearsome black dragon opened its golden dragon eyes, fixed intently on that youthful, slightly vacant face.

“There cannot be two Lu Mingfeis at Himeari’s wedding. I don’t need your pity.”

The black dragon held out a golden orb engraved with a dragon pattern before Lu Mingfei: “You are me.”

The vermilion torii cut the horizon into fragments; the hanging shimenawa swayed gently in the wind.

Tiny spirit grasses sprouted from cracks in the stone steps, blooming and withering along the path traced by the shrine maiden’s broom.

“A person’s memorial day can’t fall on the same day as a joyous occasion,” Lu Mingze paused his phone’s playback, gazing at the golden cocoon within, and whispered: “Good night, brother.”

Moments later, a heartbeat pulsed from the cocoon—and before all eyes, it shattered open. He watched Lu Mingfei step out, his upper body branded with golden traces of the World Tree.

After a moment, the cocoon pulsed with a heartbeat, then swiftly split open before all eyes—he watched Lu Mingfei step forth, golden traces of the World Tree branded across his upper body.

"Good morning, brother."