Chapter Forty-Seven: Chrono Emperor – The Twelfth Bullet

Like a dream, even now Su Mo could scarcely believe he had formed a contract with Kurumi Tokisaki. This was an achievement not even the protagonist in the anime had managed to accomplish.

Although the price for contracting Kurumi was that Su Mo must make a trip to the Neighboring World—what that place held, or even how to reach it, he knew nothing of. In the anime, the Neighboring World was only a concept, never truly mentioned. He only knew that Muramasa Reine was the Original Spirit because, during the anime's airing, the barrage of comments about “Mio-mama” piqued his curiosity and led him to search online. There, he discovered that Muramasa Reine was the mastermind behind the series.

Regrettably, he had never read the Date A Live novels nor played its games, so he remained unclear about many background details. Thinking on this, a look of regret crossed Su Mo’s face. Despite being an otaku who loved anime, he had little interest in Japanese light novels. Those who have read them know—they are far from mainstream, especially when compared to Chinese web novels. Once you’ve experienced web novels, it’s hard to immerse yourself in the peculiar style of light novels.

While Su Mo was lost in thought, Kurumi stood before him with elegance and a smile. “Oh my, Mr. Su Mo, how are you feeling? Now that you’ve contracted with me, you shouldn’t doubt my words anymore, right? I truly wish to help you, you know!”

Instinctively, Su Mo nodded. The contract was proof; though he was surprised Kurumi had agreed so suddenly, the force binding him to her would not lie. At this moment, Kurumi’s life was tied to his. He could control her at will, and if she truly wished to harm him, it would bring her no benefit. If he died, Kurumi would perish as well.

As for Kurumi’s ability to reverse time with her Emperor of Time, Su Mo wasn’t too concerned. No matter how powerful the Emperor of Time was, it would be useless before the contract of the Lord God.

Looking at Kurumi, Su Mo pondered for a few seconds before speaking, “Kurumi, you said you can let me travel back in time to five years ago to save Kotori and Origami—is that really true?”

“Of course. If you go back and change Kotori and Origami’s destinies, the problems troubling you will be solved,” Kurumi replied seriously.

Five years ago, the great fire in Tenguu City caused Origami to lose her parents, which led to her antagonism towards spirits. If Origami learned that Kotori was the spirit—Flame Demon—responsible for the fire, the consequences would be unimaginable. Conflict between them would be inevitable, putting Su Mo in a difficult position: his sister on one side, his classmate on the other, both dear to him.

Of course, Su Mo knew that Origami’s parents weren’t actually killed by Kotori.

The real murderer was Origami herself.

Yes, you heard right—the one who killed Origami’s parents was Origami, or more accurately, Origami from five years in the future.

In the anime, Origami, desperate to change the tragic fate of her parents, sought out Kurumi Tokisaki and asked her to use the Emperor of Time’s Twelfth Bullet to send her back five years. She hoped to alter her parents’ deaths and uncover the real killer.

Fate played a cruel trick. Origami mistakenly believed a phantom—Mio-mama’s clone—was the culprit and pursued her relentlessly. In the chaos of battle, Origami’s wild shots ended up killing her own parents. The outcome was both dramatic and cruel.

After five years of searching for the murderer, she discovered it was herself.

This involved paradoxes of time and causality. Theoretically, as long as Kurumi didn’t send Origami back in time, her parents wouldn’t die. But in their world, Origami’s parents were already dead, so causality came into play. According to the inevitability and corrective nature of history, every coincidence is actually inevitable. Even if Kurumi didn’t send Origami back, she might inadvertently return for other reasons.

The worst part was, if Origami truly couldn't go back, given her parents’ deaths, history would correct itself, possibly making it so Origami’s parents died directly in the Tenguu City fire, thus making Kotori the true murderer in Origami’s eyes.

Facing such a complex problem, Su Mo couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed.

So, no matter what, he would have to go back to five years ago.

“Alright, Kurumi, send me to August 3rd, five years ago. Let me change history and save Kotori and Origami!”

Under the bustling city, a few stars already sparkled in the night sky.

Su Mo looked up at Kurumi standing before him, clad in a dress woven from blood and shadow, her black hair asymmetrically tied, skin as white as porcelain—each feature left an indelible mark on anyone who saw her.

Yet, most unforgettable was her distinctive eyes: heterochromatic, with the left eye gleaming gold and marked by a tiny clock face, the hands ticking incessantly.

“So—then!”

Kurumi spun gracefully on the spot, lifting her skirt with her left hand in a salute, then spoke, “Let’s begin. Before I use the Twelfth Bullet, I must warn you: while my Twelfth Bullet can send its target to the past, I’ve never used it before, so I don’t know how long you’ll be able to stay. Nor can I guarantee you’ll return to the present. Also, I can’t specify the exact moment you’ll arrive.”

“No problem, I trust you, Kurumi!”

Though Kurumi’s words sounded unreliable, Su Mo, familiar with the plot, had absolute confidence in her. His assured reply, the feeling of being trusted, made Kurumi pause, then she smiled brightly. “Alright, here it comes!”

“Emperor of Time!”

With her words, a gigantic clock face emerged from the shadows at Kurumi’s feet.

It was the first time Kurumi revealed her angel, Emperor of Time, so completely. Previously, she had only used its power through her short rifle, and few knew the clock face was integral, unlocking even greater strength.

“Emperor of Time—Twelfth Bullet!”

Kurumi slowly raised her right hand, the clock face behind her spinning frantically until it stopped at the number twelve. Her firearm pointed at Su Mo, and as she called out the bullet’s name, an unfamiliar sound echoed from the Emperor of Time, followed by a burst of black light, its spiritual energy crackling like lightning.

Dense shadows erupted from the clock face, drawn into Kurumi’s gun. Once the bullet was loaded, the overwhelming spiritual energy raged within the barrel.

Kurumi’s lips curled into a smile, and she pulled the trigger.

“Then, I wish you a safe journey, Mr. Su Mo!”

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