Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s words, the man did not give up resisting; instead, he suddenly raised his right hand, aimed a gun at Fang Zheng, but Fang Zheng merely gave a gentle pat, and then the man’s entire arm instantly shattered, turning into a heap of dust and dispersing. Meanwhile, Fang Zheng also noticed the Terminator-like mechanical form beneath the skin...

”Oh? This is truly interesting.”

Looking at the robot in his hand, Fang Zheng curiously widened his eyes, feeling that this was a product of a mix between Magic and technology. This man was not human; his appearance was created by something similar to an Alchemical Doll, but the core component housed Academy City’s mechanical devices... In other words, was this a blend of science and Magic?

Oh my, I’ve been in this world for so long, and I’ve finally seen someone accurately utilizing Magic and technology.

Thinking of this, Fang Zheng squeezed his right hand tightly, and the head of the robot doll in his hand exploded completely. Then the doll trembled slightly, limp and collapsed on the ground. At this moment, Fang Zheng also stood up, snapped his fingers, and soon, Ratziel appeared out of thin air, landing in Fang Zheng’s hand.

”Come, let me see who created this thing...”

After carefully observing the records on the pages in front of him, Fang Zheng furrowed his brows, then ”snap” closed the Ratziel. In the next moment, flames appeared from beneath Fang Zheng’s feet, engulfing the robot doll and vanishing into the air along with Fang Zheng.

Meanwhile, atop Endymion’s tower, a ten-year-old girl wearing gothic Lolita fashion stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass window, revealing a mysterious smile as she watched the girl singing and dancing onstage below.

”Very well, like this... Like this, come to me, my miracle...”

As she spoke, the girl murmured to herself, reaching out, trying to touch something. Just then, a sudden voice came from behind her.

”If I were you, I’d consider backing off at this point.”

”Who are you!?”

Startled by the sudden voice from behind, the girl swiftly turned her head and saw a young man sitting on the sofa not far away, smiling as he looked at her, though she hadn’t noticed when he had appeared.

”Hello, um... Sky Rail Gate Company’s current Chief Executive Leti, right? That’s your name, isn’t it?”

”That’s right, who are you?”

”My name is Fang Zheng, and I’m Elisa Minori’s producer.”

Fang Zheng shrugged, then picked up an apple from the table beside him.

”Actually, I wasn’t planning on interfering, because even though you seem to have some ideas, at least you’ve given the little girl an opportunity to realize her dream, right? But, well, if you go too far, that’s a different story...”

”So, are you trying to stop me?”

Hearing this, the girl’s expression turned slightly gloomy, and Fang Zheng looked at her again.

”Up until now, no. Actually, I came to negotiate with you.”

”Negotiate?”

”Exactly. You want to use Elisa Minori for a certain purpose, right? Why not tell me your idea; maybe I can help you. If I can help you achieve your wish, then you wouldn’t need to use Elisa Minori, right? Let the little girl continue on her path, wouldn’t that be nice?”

”Haha, just you?”

Hearing this, Leti chuckled.

”Do you really think you can fulfill my wish?”

”Go ahead, as long as it’s not too outrageous, I’m open to considering it.”

As he spoke, Fang Zheng took a bite of the apple.

”You see, some things may be as difficult as climbing the sky for a beggar, but it’s a walk in the park for a millionaire. Solving it smoothly is best; I don’t want to end up with everyone unhappy. If you carry out your plan, regardless of success or failure, Elisa would be a mere tool, and her dream would never materialize. Your plan might involve others too, ending up with everyone displeased—why bother? If we can sort it out easily, wouldn’t that be a happy ending? Although the trope of a protagonist achieving their wish after much struggle is classic comic storyline, in real life, if we can have a happy ending, who would want unnecessary trouble?”

”Haha, interesting indeed.”

Listening to Fang Zheng’s words, Leti burst into laughter, then narrowed her eyes at Fang Zheng.

”Very well, no harm in telling you. I wish to die truly! To die completely! I’ve lived for over a millennium, and I’m tired of this long life!”

”Uh...”

Facing Leti’s answer, Fang Zheng’s expression slightly changed.

”Are you certain?”

”I am certain, is there a problem?”

”No, I met someone like you before...”

Casually tossing the apple core into the trash bin, Fang Zheng looked at Leti, puzzled.

”That one was green-haired, like you, claimed to be cursed to remain immortal, seeking someone who could kill her. At that time, I was willing to help her, but once she realized I could indeed kill her, she chickened out. Now, she doesn’t dare say a word in front of me... You’re not going to be the same, are you?”

”Nonsense!”

Hearing this, Leti suddenly jumped up.

”I genuinely seek death, willing to sacrifice the entire Earth for it!”

”You’re sure? Anyway, talking is pointless now. Let me give you a glimpse first.”

As he said this, Fang Zheng clapped his hands, then pointed casually at Leti.

In the next moment, Leti’s eyes turned empty and blank, and she collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut, ceasing all response.

Fang Zheng waited for ten seconds, then snapped his fingers again. Instantly, Leti, who had seemingly become a corpse, gasped for breath like a drowning victim rescued, then opened her eyes, looking around blankly.

”This, this is...”

”I just killed you once—how did it feel?”

”But, I seem to be revived now, don’t I?”

Leti frowned, watching her own body with dissatisfaction.

”That’s because I returned your soul. After all, a pre-sale experience is always necessary, right? In case you regret it, you still have a choice.”

Saying this, Fang Zheng looked at Leti again.

”So then? What’s your decision now?”

”......Who are you, really?”

At this moment, Leti’s expression as she gazed at Fang Zheng changed completely, while Fang Zheng just shrugged.

”A god, at least for now I am a god. As for my divine position, I won’t say more. Anyway, what I’m trying to convey is, as you’ve seen, although I’m not sure whether your body has become ageless and immortal due to a curse or some ghostly influence, for me, taking your soul is as easy as flicking a switch, so you understand?”

”A god... That’s impossible, no, never mind.”

Leti shook her head. She didn’t care about these things; she was already determined to die. She couldn’t be bothered to inquire if this world would turn upside down or if there truly exist deities.

”I want to die, I’ve already made my decision!”

”Oh, since that’s the case, let’s discuss the terms then.”

”Terms?”

Faced with Fang Zheng’s words, Leti was even more confused.

”What terms?”

”Your death isn’t an issue, but if you die now, then Elisa’s debut concert will be ruined. And you organized this selection event specifically to find Elisa, didn’t you?”

Fang Zheng certainly wasn’t a fool; in fact, he had noticed someone constantly observing Elisa ever since he first brought her to participate in the selection. Judging from now, Elisa was apparently pre-selected.

”To you, she’s just a pawn to be used and discarded. But to me, this is the beginning of Elisa’s career; it can’t just end like this. So you have to clean up this mess for me... Also, your body must be given to me.”

”What, you have such interests? A deity actually likes this kind of thing?”

When she heard Fang Zheng’s request, Leti raised her eyebrows in puzzlement, but soon she smiled.

”Never mind, it’s whatever, if you like it, then...”

Saying this, Leti reached out, but Fang Zheng hastily waved his hand.

”Stop, stop, stop. Hold on, that’s not what I meant. What I meant is, after you die, your body must be left to me.”

”What do you want it for?”

Leti looked at Fang Zheng, puzzled, then her expression changed again.

”Could it be, you enjoy being with the dead...?”

”Are we done here or not?”

Fang Zheng’s face was turning blue.

”I’m saying, since you plan to die one way or another, your immortality-infused body is intended for Elisa... Do you understand?”

Upon hearing this, Leti raised her eyebrows.

”So... you’ve already known?”

”Of course, do you think I come knocking without studying the facts first?”

After killing that alchemical doll earlier, Fang Zheng used the ”Ratziel” to investigate the mastermind behind it, and uncovered Leti. Not only that, Fang Zheng also extracted information about Elisa from the records of the Omniscient Angel.

Previously, Hatsuharu mentioned that three years ago, Sky Rail Gate Company experienced an incident where their ”Orion” plane malfunctioned and eventually crashed. However, all eighty-eight passengers survived, leading to the event being called the Miracle of Eighty-Eight. But in truth, it wasn’t an accident; three years ago, Leti tried to use the ”Orion” plane to cast a spell to kill herself, but the spell failed, and Leti didn’t die. Instead, Elisa appeared.

That’s right, Elisa isn’t human; strictly speaking, she should belong to the ”Holy Spirit.”

In fact, from Fang Zheng’s perspective, there is no magic in this world at all. The magic used by Stiyl and the others falls under Divine Arts according to Fang Zheng’s classification in the Main World.

Yes, this world is basically written as magic but is actually Divine Arts!

They call out magic, but it’s not magic at all, just like the superpowers from Academy City claim to be science, but they aren’t scientific at all.

That’s also why Superpower Users or Mages in this world explode when they try to learn each other’s skills.

Because fundamentally — you, a Believer, intend to betray the Deity, won’t they give you a hard hit to send you home?

You betrayed your faith, the next step is to get shot, right?

Still hoping to learn both superpowers and Divine Arts?

You think being a fence-sitter is easy?

Don’t you have any AC awareness of how traitors end up?

And Elisa was birthed among this ”Divine Arts” as a Holy Spirit, that’s why she doesn’t remember the events of three years ago, because she technically wasn’t human. Elisa didn’t even exist in this world three years ago, so having memories would be ridiculous.

Right now, Elisa is somewhat similar to a ”Torch” in the World of Shana, like the part left after being devoured by a Follower of the Crimson Realm, only because she’s born of Divine Arts in this world, the duration is relatively longer. However, Fang Zheng knows, this is definitely only a temporary solution.

According to what he saw from the ”Ratziel,” Elisa was birthed from someone’s wish, with ”miracle” as the core. Elisa herself also mentioned she doesn’t know why she has such good luck, and Saten Reiko also said, according to urban legend, people who listen to Elisa’s song will have good luck...

Hmm, since Saten Reiko said so, then it’s definitely not an urban legend.

In any case, if Elisa were to encounter the person who made that wish, there’s a great possibility they would merge back into one person, which is why Fang Zheng plans ahead, preparing a body for Elisa. Right now, Leti happens to be the Prime Culprit of all this, and she doesn’t actually plan to keep it... so why not profit himself?

Thinking this, Fang Zheng looked at the girl in front of him with a smile.

”Then next, let’s have a proper discussion.”