Chapter 327

By then, the Tarihono Temple will probably be completely demolished and turned into something else.

It's even possible that some of his relatives will already be involved with certain real estate companies before that happens; all he needs now is an excuse. Hearing the abbot's explanation, Belldandy initially thought that everything here was simply afraid of demolition, so all that was needed was to renovate the place.

But it seems that's not the case now, in the temple.

No, this isn't just within the temple; the crisis facing the temple isn't limited to what the abbot mentioned. In the darkness, certain evil entities are already lurking, yet they haven't done anything to the temple yet. But now, my actions seem to have ignited all of this.

The evil creatures lurking here have all started to move and are heading towards the temple.

It was stronger and more numerous than the enormous evil creature they encountered at school the first time.

But at this crucial moment, Vivian, the Battle Goddess, has disappeared without a trace, which is truly worrying.

A strange, long howl was about to signal the start of the attack on the temple.

"I, Belldandy!" Belldandy summoned her staff and declared without flinching, "I will absolutely not allow any evil creature to set foot in the temple!"

Absolutely! We absolutely cannot let them harm this place, and we especially cannot let them harm Ying Yi Sang!

Chapter 372 The Honkai of the Native Land

"What's wrong?"

A long howl that pierced the night sky startled Ying Yi awake from his sleep, and he sprang out of bed. Because of his experience with the evil creature during the day, he was now particularly sensitive to these strange and eerie sounds.

He wasn't particularly interested in myths and legends, but he had heard quite a few stories like that.

In the story, nighttime is always the best time for those strange monsters and ghosts to make their moves.

So this sound must also be the sound of some kind of evil entity, right?

Ying Yi open the paper sliding door to the room, and the first thing she saw was...

"Abbot?!" Ying Yi looked at the abbot, who shouldn't have been standing in front of her door, with some surprise.

There was nothing he could do; the abbot's bald head was simply too conspicuous. Bathed in moonlight, it was so striking that it was impossible for Ying Yi not to notice it. But the next second, his attention was drawn to something else.

Something even shinier than the abbot's bald head.

A light screen that looks like an upside-down bowl.

"This... this is such incredible power!" The abbot stared in shock at everything. His many years of cultivation had allowed him to see things that ordinary people could not.

But he had never seen such a powerful display of strength before. When he was awakened by that strange shriek, the sky was shrouded in such a strange light curtain.

"Belldandy!" Ying Yi was anxious; he didn't know what he could do here.

Vivian isn't here either, and she's probably still angry because we didn't take her with us when we ran away today. Perhaps the only way to find out what happened here is to go to Belldandy first.

Ying Yi rudely pushed the abbot away; at this moment, she didn't care about anything else.

"It's that woman!" The abbot seemed to snap out of his daze after being pushed by Ying Yi, and ran towards the main hall with Ying Yi.

The closer he got to the main hall, the more startled he became. If what he had seen in his bedroom was just a strange light screen, now he could see strange creatures repeatedly crashing into it.

"What are those things?" The abbot stared at the strange objects, speechless with astonishment.

"That's the legendary evil thing." Ying Yi said anxiously, "It seems that Belldandy is the one protecting us from these things. This is terrible! Where did Vivian go?"

Although it's not entirely clear how the Goddess divide their roles, judging from today's self-introductions and battles, Vivian seems to be specifically tasked with resolving all of this.

So what exactly is Vivian doing in this situation?

Ying Yi didn't know what to do; he was just anxious. It was understandable that Vivian was angry because he'd left her at KFC, but now wasn't the time to continue throwing a tantrum, was it?

There will be danger on Belldandy's side.

Ying Yi rushed anxiously toward the main hall, and soon she saw Belldandy struggling to maintain her position by releasing a barrier at the entrance of the hall.

"Ying Yi- san!" Belldandy also saw Ying Yi and said, looking very alarmed, "Ying Yi- san! Why are you here too? The situation here is very bad. I'm not Combat Goddess, and I can only barely hold on to ensure the safety of this place."

"But if we can't eliminate these things as soon as possible, things will only get more and more complicated."

Belldandy looked worriedly at the ever-growing number of things and said, "There are more and more of these evil creatures."

"Has Vivian not returned yet?" Ying Yi asked anxiously, "Things have already come to this point."

"Vivian ..." Belldandy looked up at the clouds in the sky and said, "Actually, we've always been here. It was Vivian who guided us here. She's been watching our every move."

"Huh?" Ying Yi little confused and said, "Then why did she...?"

Is it because he's angry?

"Although we've only just met, I don't think Vivian is petty at all." Belldandy shook her head and said, "I think she must have her own reasons, and I guess she'll be here soon."

They're not really petty; for example, they don't write down grudges in a little notebook...

It's not that I'm wrong; Li Pu is indeed observing these local Honkai.

If the first Honkai Beast that injured her made her realize that the Honkai Beast in this world were not the Honkai Beast she knew, then the Honkai Beast that have appeared now have truly opened Li Pu's eyes.

If the Honkai Beast in her previous world were largely similar, then the Honkai Beast in this world can be described as a hundred demons parading at night.

Aside from the fact that its power level basically confirms it's Honkai Beast, there's nothing else that they have in common.

There were Honkai Girl and Honkai Beast that Li Pu had seen before, but there were many more Honkai Beast that Li Pu had never seen before, with bizarre appearances. But if these Honkai Beasts had anything in common...

That probably means they all have white, hard objects on their bodies, and they always have a hole in their body.

Hole?

Yes, it's a hole. These Honkai Beast come in all shapes and sizes, but regardless of size, they all have one thing in common: a hole in their body. And these holes aren't all the same size.

The larger the object, the larger the hole; the smaller the object, the smaller the hole.

But these holes, along with those white, hard objects that looked like masks, always reminded Li Pu of something else.

'False!'

Yes! It's that Hollow from the completed shonen manga "Bleach," which Li Pu only read a few chapters of! Hollows are a strange species that are transformed from the souls of the dead.

Its main features are a hole in its body and a mask on its face.

'That's strange. Has the Grim Reaper entered this world?' Li Pu felt a little confused.

'But then again, incorporating it into the Grim Reaper isn't impossible. The Karakura Town theater, a model for the Grim Reaper anime, seems to be based in Tokyo, and Nekomi Institute of Technology is supposedly based on Waseda University.' Li Pu tried to explain to himself: 'Theoretically, it all happened in the same place.'

'So it's not surprising, is it? Since this world has already experienced Honkai, another Hollow undergoing Honkai isn't a problem.'

"Maybe..." Li Pu stood up, rubbed his shoulders, and said, "Mihoyo really might ruin the collaboration with Bleach."

"Next, we need to deal with these Honkai Beasts!"

"It would be best to resolve everything at once!"

"We must not let it drag into a war of attrition."

Chapter 373 True Name Release

That's about it; Li Pu knew that Belldandy wouldn't last much longer.

Belldandy's fighting strength is a mystery; these kinds of settings are just for fun, and in reality, you'll have to see how she acts. In any case, Belldandy's strength hasn't been shown to be particularly impressive in the anime and manga.

Although there were times when they managed to turn the tide, overall they were still far inferior.

Furthermore, Li Pu himself believed that overly naive people weren't particularly strong in combat, for a simple reason. Combat strength is a combined assessment of intelligence and physical ability, and truly high-level combatants are generally high in both. Those with high intelligence and physical ability also enjoy playing tactics, and it's well known that tacticians are often cunning. Someone as naive as Belldandy certainly wouldn't be adept at many tactics, and those who aren't adept at many tactics aren't particularly strong either.

Furthermore, Belldandy's power has been largely sealed away, so things can only get worse now.

If I don't intervene soon, Belldandy probably won't last much longer.

"With such a large quantity, a swift victory is best." Li Pu took a deep breath and said, "Use Excalibur!"

"Speaking of which, shouldn't this thing have a real name, 'Liberation'?"

True Name Release is considered a skill of Heroic Spirit. If it weren't for seeing those Honkai Beasts that look like Hollows, Li Pu wouldn't have remembered it. In the Bleach universe Zanpakuto have a similar special ability called True Name Release.

There is also a similar skill in Fate.

Although Li Pu had used the Curry Cannon quite a few times, now that he thinks back on it, could his own be considered True Name Release?

It looks like they're all Curry Cannon, but they're quite different from the magnificent Saber unleashes her true name in Fate/Zero. If we look at it by that standard, I only used Curry Cannon and didn't unleash my true name, right?

Why don't you try it yourself and have a real True Name Release?

'What should I do?' Li Pu drew the Holy Sword, closed his eyes, and muttered to himself, 'Shouldn't I first try to feel the Holy Sword?'

Although she had never truly unleashed the Holy Sword before, the Shinigami's actions provided Li Pu with an idea and direction. The Shinigami's Zanpakuto possess their own personalities and names, and are capable of communicating with their wielders.

Generally speaking, this isn't an isolated case. One reason why many mythical or fantasy artifacts are called divine is that they possess a certain degree of sentience. If we extrapolate from this theory, then the Holy Sword should also possess its own true name and will, and Li Pu had once sensed the Holy Sword's will. It was that time on the ship when he threw the Holy Sword to the floor and it was used as an exhibit by the cabbage (a character in the novel) to make money.

The moment he drew the Holy Sword, he felt Holy Sword protest against his actions.

Therefore, the Holy Sword must also possess its own will.

From this perspective, I've never truly understood the Holy Sword; I've only ever used it as a powerful weapon. Or perhaps I've only acted because of the character Artoria Pendragon, because Artoria Pendragon is the wielder of the Holy Sword, and therefore the Holy Sword has to obey my commands. I've never truly become the wielder of the Holy Sword, nor have I ever wanted to bear the burdens it carries like Artoria does.

Let's start now. I may not be like Artoria, but since I've already drawn the Holy Sword, I'll start to seriously understand and listen to its voice.

Li Pu calmed himself down, just like when he first entered his sea of consciousness into the system space.

This time, he calmed himself down, trying his best to eliminate all distractions and understand the Holy Sword he had never truly understood before. When his mind was clear, Li Pu suddenly noticed a beam of light appearing before his eyes.

'So fast?' Li Pu was somewhat surprised.

She originally thought that talking to the Holy Sword wouldn't be easy, but now it seems that her advantage in the character's role allows her to talk to the Holy Sword much faster.

So what's next?

Next, Li Pu reached out to touch the light, but it darted away as if it didn't want to be touched. It seemed things weren't as simple as he'd imagined after all.

So what exactly am I missing?

Like Saber's character? Is that it? It doesn't seem so. Li Pu doesn't think he and Saber are the same kind of people, but if he's too bad, even the Holy Sword with the advantage of Saber's role can still reject him.

This wasn't extracted from the system, nor was it an accessory to the character; he retrieved it from the secret realm.

Therefore Li Pu was certain that the sword had chosen not only Artoria, its former wielder, but also him Li Pu, as its current wielder. So what was he still missing?

What makes me feel somewhat estranged from this Holy Sword?

Hmm, that's probably the goal.

It's unclear, but what he's most clearly lacking right now is probably a goal. Since arriving in the Honkai World, Li Pu has been led by the nose in many things. He's hardly done anything on his own initiative, nor has he set any goals for himself.

What are your goals?

I don't know, but Li Pu doesn't have a long-term goal, though he does have short-term goals.

That means becoming stronger! At least now, no matter which character I use in battle, even if it's my own body, I won't be a weakling anymore!

"Excalibur!"

The wind was a fierce gust! The wind scattered the clouds in the sky, and even Ying Yi, who was inside the barrier, could feel a gust of wind that made it hard for him to open his eyes. He had to raise his arm to shield his face.

What is that?

The gale did not subside, but tiny points of starlight rose from the ground, like fireflies, their silvery light flying into the sky. Countless lights formed a ribbon of light, like the Milky Way, that entwined and converged in the sky.

"Is that... Vivian?" Ying Yi looked up at the sky.

It must be her, right? Although I don't know what happened, this kind of holy and powerful light shouldn't be the light of some evil thing, right?

"Yes," Belldandy said, finally relieved as she looked up at the sky. "It is light shining."

"That is the glory and radiance of warriors," Belldandy said. "To see warriors from ancient times to the present gather their glory and splendor here, waiting for the Goddess to call their true names."

The real name.

"Where the sword points, the heart follows!" For the first time, Li Pu felt the powerful force and will emanating from the Holy Sword.

As expected of the legendary Holy Sword, even though it was the first time he had called out its true name, and even though Li Pu might not have found his true direction and path, the power and will displayed by the Holy Sword were enough to give Li Pu a sense of awe.

This is the Holy Sword, the true Holy Sword.

"Excalibur!"

Li Pu shouted the name of the Holy Sword and swung his hands downwards with force! The torrent of golden light poured down from the sky like a waterfall, instantly covering the entire earth.

A golden torrent swept across the land, wiping out the Honkai Beast that roamed like a hundred demons in the night. Then, the light shot into the sky and exploded.

The intense light spread across the earth, blinding everyone.