I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit

Merry Christmas!

---

How many people have seen JoJo's Bizarre Adventure? There's a Stand in the series called Crazy Diamond—a forceful and powerful Stand, yet possessing what could be considered the gentlest ability in the entire show: restoration.

Whether it's living beings or inanimate objects, anything damaged or destroyed could be restored by Crazy Diamond.

Its user, Josuke Higashikata, even found creative ways to utilize this ability. For instance, during his battle against the villain Yoshikage Kira, Josuke restored a shard of glass stained with Kira's blood. The restored glass and blood were drawn straight back into Kira's body, dealing him a critical blow.

The spell Kiichi used on the diary had a similar principle. She leveraged the diary's desire to be whole as a medium to guide her toward its missing pages.

But after walking for a while, Kiichi realized something.

"Isn't this the path to the Western Mountain?"

The village was flanked by two mountains, one to the east and one to the west, each housing a key array point.

Kiichi had intended to deal with the array points eventually, but her discovery of the potentially crucial diary had delayed her plans.

Her chronic procrastination didn't help matters either. After becoming an immortal like herself, someone with a distorted sense of time, her symptoms of procrastination seemed to have worsened.

Now, though...

"Well, looks like the objectives align. What should I do?"

Might as well tackle both at once.

Whether it was recovering the missing pages while disabling the array or disabling the array while recovering the missing pages, both were inevitable tasks.

As she walked, Kiichi casually kicked a nearby tree. A vibrant, juicy fruit fell neatly into her hand.

Tree: What did I ever do to you?

The fruit resembled an eggplant, yet its crisp sweetness made it taste more like an apple.

Of course, Kiichi knew it was neither an apple nor an eggplant but rather a local delicacy of Teyvat: the lavender melon, a specialty of Inazuma.

Some even claimed it was a miraculous cure-all, akin to one of Lü Ziqiao's miracle pills.

---

The array's location was deep within the mountain, which naturally required an entrance—a cave mouth. Thankfully, the designer hadn't skimped on this detail.

The cave entrance was obvious, standing in an open area devoid of shrubs or tall trees.

But just as it often went in RPGs, important locations were always guarded by something.

"So, negotiating to let me through isn't an option, huh?" Kiichi muttered. "Why is it always this 'get close enough to trigger a battle' mechanic? Old-school game design is so tiresome. Give me more freedom and branching storylines!"

Blocking the cave entrance was a figure eerily similar to the armored entity Kiichi had encountered the previous night.

This one, however, bore heavily damaged armor, scarred by countless battles and hardships.

At a glance, it was clear: the phrase "battle-hardened" wasn't just flattery—it was fact.

Kiichi's gaze shifted from its armor to its face—or where its face should have been.

As expected, it was obscured by an amorphous black mist.

Yet this time, something was different: there were no glowing red points resembling eyes.

Could it… close its eyes? Kiichi wondered. Why? Do these things sleep too?

The figure sat cross-legged at the cave entrance, exuding no aura, as though genuinely asleep.

Perhaps she could sneak past it into the cave without disturbing it…

Yeah, no. That won't work.

"So… I guess it's a head-on fight."

Though it seemed like an unavoidable choice, Kiichi's expression betrayed her excitement.

Instead of her usual naginata, she drew a katana.

The reason was simple—her opponent wielded a sword too, and the competitive streak in her couldn't resist the challenge.

Sensing her approach, the armored figure tensed, its entire frame brimming with readiness. Slowly, it reached for the katana at its waist.

By contrast, Kiichi remained relaxed.

However, if one looked closely at her face, they'd notice a spark of battle hunger glinting in her smile the moment her opponent gripped its weapon.

Kiichi stopped a short distance away, blade in hand, while the armored figure rose to its full height.

It must have been over two meters tall, towering over Kiichi's 170 cm frame by a full half-meter.

Raising its katana high, the figure cast a shadow that engulfed Kiichi.

Then… it swung down with the weight of a thousand mountains!

"Boom!"

The ground beneath Kiichi's feet caved under the pressure, while the surrounding trees swayed violently in the resulting shockwave.

Kiichi held her katana above her head, intercepting the strike. With a slight tilt of her blade, she redirected the force, sparks flying as she countered with a slash of her own.

The armored figure reacted swiftly, parrying her attack by shifting its katana just enough to deflect her blade.

As it prepared to swing again, Kiichi's eyes narrowed.

In an instant, their blades clashed in a frenzied storm, creating a whirlpool of lethal energy.

A falling leaf drifted into the maelstrom and was promptly shredded by a single slash of light.

When the armored figure stepped forward to strike, Kiichi sidestepped and stomped on its knee, forcing it off balance. She followed up with a quick slash toward its neck.

"Clang!"

Sword met sword, the resulting impact sending waves of energy rippling outward.

As the battle raged on, Kiichi's expression grew increasingly serious.

"Simply flawless…"

Fighting this opponent was like encountering the perfect solution to an intricate problem.

Its rhythm, technique, and angles were impeccable—even from her expert perspective, no flaws could be found.

"Even its combat instincts…"

Facing another barrage of blade strikes, Kiichi leapt back three steps before vanishing in a blur. A heartbeat later, she reappeared behind the armored figure, her katana reversed for a stabbing thrust at its neck.

But the sharp clang of metal told her the attack had failed.

Without turning, the armored figure somehow intercepted her blade, its movement unnervingly precise, as if it had eyes on the back of its head.

"Not even its blind spots are vulnerable? This thing…"

Something about its swordsmanship felt off to Kiichi.

Its defense was as immovable as a mountain, yet its offense flowed like an endless river.

While she pondered this, the battle reached a tipping point.

Kiichi's eyes widened as she caught sight of something inexplicable.

In the next moment, a surge of sword energy shattered her defenses, sending her hurtling backward.

---

I, WiseTL, in my infinite grace and generosity, have bestowed upon you an extra 2 chapters as my holiday gift. 🎁 Consider it a glimpse of my benevolence—cherish it well.

May your festivities be as golden as my treasury and as plentiful as my updates. Farewell, mortals, until the next chapter. 😉

Now, bow in gratitude. 🌟