LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 56: You Are Already Dead
Li Mo was ready to "silence" the ghost.
However, the Cognitive Ghost was a bizarre entity and couldn't die. But Li Mo directly locked the time of its dismemberment, keeping it in a state of death.
With Bizarre Kiana's spacetime ability, even if she had already left this spacetime, those who remained wouldn't be released from their locked state unless, over a long period of time, they underwent even more twisted and bizarre changes, and were contaminated by other bizarre entities.
"This infant looks a lot like the child who ate the grave incense that day," Shigure Kira said, looking at the familiar infant ghost. Indeed, the identity of this ghost was the ghost who had swallowed the grave incense that day.
"I actually didn't notice…" Shigure Kira felt a chill run down her spine. How long had this ghost been next to her? One month? Two months?
If it weren't for the white hair that had bound this ghost, Shigure Kira was certain that she would have met a tragic end.
"So I was right when I said your perception had been interfered with, wasn't I? I never went inside the coffin from start to finish, really. Do you believe me, or do you believe your own memory?"
Li Mo looked at Shigure Kira with a smirk. His words, under normal circumstances, would be incredibly unbelievable.
Believe me or believe your own memory?
Anyone with a bit of sense would choose to believe themselves.
"I believe you," Shigure Kira replied directly.
After so many days, Li Mo had proven with his actions that his words were much more reliable than her own perception. After all, she had just been deceived.
Li Mo was very satisfied with this answer. It saved him a lot of time on explanations.
"Speaking of which, you seem to have changed a lot," Shigure Kira said, shuffling her feet, stepping on a puddle.
"My hair?" Li Mo asked, puzzled, not having noticed.
"Not just your hair, but also…your emotions? Your expressions are much richer than before,"
Shigure Kira said, looking him up and down curiously, giving her honest assessment.
"These changes of mine are nothing to write home about. Because I've gained the power of a bizarre entity. There's a huge problem with this academy. Tens of thousands of bizarre entities have escaped from the infirmary. But there's no need to worry, I'll completely eradicate them, just like I eradicated this ghost infant."
Li Mo tossed the infant ghost aside, no longer paying attention to it.
It wasn't clear what kind of bizarre entity it was, but it definitely wasn't a head ghost.
Only the heads of head ghosts were bizarre. Their bodies were human. But this infant, from head to toe, was giving off the aura of a bizarre entity.
And besides, there weren't any infants who were only a few months old in St. Freya. There weren't even many men, let alone infants. So, it must have come from somewhere else.
Li Mo could now use Bizarre Kiana's power to keep bizarre entities in a state of death. He could choose to bring back the known and stable bizarre entities that could be controlled and that he had complete information on, but for such an unknown bizarre entity, the best option was to completely lock it down.
You could never be too careful when dealing with bizarre entities.
"Tens of thousands?! Then wouldn't the outside world…!"
Hearing Li Mo's words, Shigure Kira couldn't help but tense up, clenching her fists, wanting to leave this place right now to deal with those despair-inducing things.
Even though her mental state wasn't good, and she had been alone in the woods, unable to move, and even her body had become weak from the prolonged lack of food.
If it weren't for Li Mo and Kiana's "concert," she would probably have had a mental breakdown during these past three months.
"Are you going to deal with them by yourself? Take me with you. I won't be a burden. I'll listen to your commands."
Shigure Kira's gaze was resolute. She wanted Li Mo to take her with him.
Li Mo noticed Shigure Kira's current emotions, and his heart felt heavy…
She wasn't the real Shigure Kira, but she had everything that Shigure Kira had. Her consciousness, her memories, her habits, her sense of responsibility…
Then, in this case, could she still be considered as Shigure Kira?
From an absolutely objective standpoint, no.
But judging only from Li Mo's own feelings, the current Shigure Kira was Shigure Kira herself. She had inherited Shigure Kira's power, memories, and everything. From a certain perspective, she was the real Shigure Kira.
However, the power of bizarre entities to maintain life wasn't stable. Maintaining life using bizarre powers would eventually lead to contamination.
Although the current Shigure Kira looked very normal, exactly the same as before, in the near future, her behavior and habits would become increasingly twisted and distorted. She might even lose her sense of self, becoming a completely new bizarre entity.
"I'll go deal with them, but before that, there's something I have to tell you… Kira, I don't want to lie, and I can't make up a lie that would bring disaster, even if it's a white lie."
"You… are already dead, you know?"
"…"
Shigure Kira froze. She didn't even question him because this was coming from Li Mo. It was most likely true.
Her lips moved silently for a moment. Then, Shigure Kira recovered and asked, "How did I die?"
Li Mo shook his head, "It doesn't matter. Perhaps it was because of excessive blood loss after being attacked by the head ghosts on the night of the watch. But it doesn't matter. You're still alive now, and it's only because I'm still here. I inherited the power of a terrifying bizarre entity. Your continued existence comes from this power."
"From a certain perspective, you're a derivative created by my bizarre power, not the real Shigure Kira."
"Your consciousness had already dissipated before the real Shigure Kira died. This bizarre power just took Shigure Kira's life experiences and memories, combined them with her habits and personality, and derived the current you."
Even the usually frivolous Li Mo wasn't joking now, stating the facts seriously.
After he gained Bizarre Kiana's power, he felt an inexplicable familiarity with many bizarre entities, as if these bizarre entities were all derived from him.
There seemed to be countless invisible threads connecting him to those bizarre entities, intertwining and inseparable.
No, that wasn't right… Those bizarre entities weren't derived from him, they were derived from Bizarre Kiana. Didn't that mean that Kiana was the source of the bizarre entities in this world?
Shigure Kira fell silent. She slowly extended her hands, looking at them again and again, and finally, she revealed a relieved smile.
Perhaps it wasn't relief, but rather, a helpless acceptance.
Whether she was the real Shigure Kira or the Shigure Kira derived from a bizarre entity, she had inherited everything that Shigure Kira had. So there was only one thing that she had to do: stop the bizarre entities from spreading.
She was a bizarre entity, so she would need to kill herself. There was no need to think too much about this.
"That's really not good news, but… thanks."
"I know this truth is cruel to you, but I can give you two choices."
Li Mo raised his right hand, extending his index finger. "The first choice is for me to reset your time, returning you to the day before you entered St. Freya Academy."
"Don't doubt my words. If I say I can do it, then I can. I will directly send you back to that day. You won't be a derivative of a bizarre entity, but rather, the real Shigure Kira. As for cleaning up the aftermath, I can do that by myself. I'll deal with all the bizarre entities in this world, returning this world to its original state. This includes myself."
"And the price you'll have to pay is…no, this can't even be called a price. You could even say that this price is a blessing and a dream that many people yearn for. You'll lose all the memories from these past few months and return to your normal life. You'll become an S-rank Valkyrie, and during your vacation, you can pursue your hobbies, continuing on the path that you were supposed to be on."
"You won't feel disgusted by the memories of these past few months when you were struggling against the bizarre entities. And you won't have to feel self-blame or guilt over your teammates' sacrifices."
"Because after I deal with all the bizarre entities in the academy, I will also reset them, but they don't have a choice. I will only return their memories to the day before they entered St. Freya."
Li Mo said calmly, explaining every action and every consequence clearly.
He was always someone who returned favors and took revenge.
On the night of the first day's entombment, Shigure Kira had made a promise with him that she would protect him until she collapsed.
And when the head ghost horde attacked, she had indeed done that. She hadn't let any head ghost get close to him before he died.
So Li Mo would give her a choice, even if Shigure Kira herself didn't know what she had done.
"I want to hear the second choice," Shigure Kira said, not hesitating for too long. She looked up, staring intently at Li Mo.
Li Mo extended his middle finger, making a peace sign.
"The second choice is for me to still reset your time, but you will return to a different point in time."
"Your memory will remain up until the morning after the entombment on the first day."
Shigure Kira bit her lip and asked, "Why not the night before I died?"
Li Mo said apologetically, "Because on that day, I forced my ideas onto you. I'm not sure if that would affect you, so the best method is to make it so that you never experienced it. A Valkyrie is a symbol of protection. I am the executioner."
"You should be purer, because you have always been that kind of person."
"…"
"…"
"Is there a third choice?" Shigure Kira asked in a low voice.
"There's no need to ask such an obvious question. I prefer the first choice, but this time, I won't force my ideas onto you. You're free to choose. Either choice is fine."
Shigure Kira didn't answer, lowering her eyes, her head bowed, as if lost in thought.
But her expression was very serious. It didn't seem as if she was struggling to make a decision.
Li Mo thought that Shigure Kira was considering the truth of the matter. After all, her perception had been interfered with before. Perhaps she even thought that their current interaction was fake.
"There's no need to doubt whether I'm real or not. Your perception isn't contaminated by any bizarre entity right now. If you don't believe me, then you can dig up my grave and see if my body is still inside." After he finished speaking, Li Mo walked to his grave and used the Herrscher of Reason's power to create a simple, unadorned shovel.
Of course, Li Mo was only demonstrating his resolve, and wasn't really going to dig up his own grave. (physical and social way)