CXnovel Chapter 589 More people, more ideas
Chapter 589 More people, more ideas
"I think this is probably the highest-level meeting in history."
"...Is that so? It would be even better if we could bring Asher and that other guy along too."
The crimson-haired girl sat at the round table and spoke to the golden-haired fox girl beside her.
The remaining few didn't say much, silently reading the itinerary report that the familiars had worked overtime to produce, and then looked up at the entire battle being projected on the magical screen:
The crimson star, wielding a hunting rifle, confronted the dark winged human avatar head-on. With the help of the gray wolf and the fox, they managed to defeat and destroy the dark winged human before it could unleash an unknown spell, thus successfully escaping from the Dreamscape.
"Let me confirm this first." The azure-blue girl across the table put down her report and looked at Xin Yuehu. "Miss Xin Yuehu, are you sure you witnessed the hatching of a giant egg in the Dreamlike Vision today?"
""right.""
Chi Xue and Xin Yuehu nodded in unison, acknowledging each other's words.
Everything that happened in the dreamlike vision was recorded in that report. To prevent any omissions, Su Tianqing even had several familiars record and correct the errors, for fear of forgetting any details.
The red-haired fox sat to the side, squinting its eyes. After thinking for a moment, it spoke:
"If that's the case... could you please repeat all the changes that occurred after the giant egg hatched?"
"I share Inari's opinion; more details would help in understanding the overall context of the event," another girl in red chimed in.
Red Rose, Inari, and Mercury, who had almost never participated in the operation, also appeared at the round table temporarily set up on the villain's rooftop, discussing all the details of what happened last night.
But compared to the sense of security brought by Red Rose's ultimate seniority and Inari's Doraemon-level reliable helper, Su Tianqing was more interested in the astral sights that Mercury had described.
"Senior Mercury, you just said you've seen Garuda's eggshell?"
"...I initially thought that news wasn't very reliable, but after hearing what you said, I think it's quite likely."
The azure-blue girl spread her hands, tilted her head and pouted, looking as if she regretted not buying the eggshell earlier to listen to the collector's stories a few more times.
But no one said she was wrong. After all, who could have imagined that an inconspicuous eggshell fragment would hold a story that would play a crucial role in the fight against the astral behemoth?
Following Mercury's narration and Inari Red Rose's analysis, the magical girls' roundtable discussion yielded several key pieces of information that could be confirmed at present:
The true form of Garuda is unknown; some scholars speculate that it exists based on the cognitive effects of astral magic.
The egg is very important to Garuda, symbolizing its gaze; breaking the egg will invite Garuda's wrath and retaliation.
[After the giant egg hatches, its projected avatar will emerge, further deepening its invasion of the mental world.]
"We can use this as a basis to make bold guesses."
Inari said,
"When Garuda first invades the illusory mind and the present world, it breaks through the barrier and drops an 'egg,' which is the giant egg we see today."
"This giant egg will hatch its projected avatar. Once hatched, Garuda will invade that mental world and grasp its underlying logic, attempting to construct its complete form."
"...However, there are a few inexplicable problems." At this point, Inari suddenly lowered her voice, becoming much more somber.
"What's the problem?" Chi Xue asked quickly.
"All known beings that have hatched from the giant egg are different."
When Inari raised a key point, the roundtable discussion immediately fell silent.
This red fox always manages to find the most crucial points and analyze them. This time, it directly pointed out the conflict between the intelligence—the "projection avatars" hatched in the giant egg are all different.
Last night, his group encountered Shadow Wingers in the underground labyrinth, and before that, the giant bird-like monster that Chi Xue witnessed.
If we include those particularly dark shadows and other things... the pair of molten gold eyes in the sky above the Fox Gate, the raging fire burning atop the spire in Foxkov, and the shadow in the card game racing game that briefly communicated with Lily White, they could all be projections of Garuda.
"But... why are there so many different appearances? This doesn't make sense in magic!" Su Tianqing said.
Inari nodded in agreement.
"Xin Yuehu is right. If all these projections are incarnations of Garuda, then it violates the magical restrictions on 'projection.' All astral beings must create an appearance similar to their astral counterparts when projecting their shadows into the mortal world. If the appearance is different, it will be cut off by the source of the magic, and may even attract the backlash of the magic network."
She skipped over the profound conversations that touched on the essence of magic with a simple explanation, and went straight to the conclusion.
"But if what hatches from these giant eggs isn't a projection, then what form does it take? Or does the giant egg not necessarily hatch a Garuda projection, but rather requires certain specific conditions to be met?" Mercury pressed.
"I think it's unlikely. Those things are definitely incarnations of Garuda. Their methods for summoning dark shadows are all the same," Chi Xue objected.
A heated discussion broke out around the round table, with everyone pondering the information they presented and the possible relationships between them. However, no matter what the explanation was, there were intractable contradictions.
Su Tianqing frowned, her fox tail swaying slightly, a hint of anxiety in her expression.
The intelligence itself has become conflicting, which is the last thing I want to see. It will make things more complicated and troublesome than anyone imagined.
Thinking of this, the golden-haired fox girl turned around and looked at the neat sofa and coffee table not far away.
Several familiar figures were sitting on the sofa, staring blankly at the discussion and debate around the round table:
Hellcat, Cheshire Rabbit, and their friends sat on a sofa. Hyacinth, Iris, and Nightingale sat side by side, looking at each other. Arum, Alice, and Jack found a small sofa by themselves and were now staring at the pile of snacks on the coffee table, reaching out their hands furiously.
In addition, Bai Lili and several of her companions were also sitting on a sofa listening to the meeting, along with a few other helpers who had been temporarily called in to lend a hand.
The Aquamarine Squad, the Wheat Squad, and two pink-haired rabbit girls sitting around the round table as scribes.
There's also Marigold, caught in the middle by various bigwigs, feeling lost and confused. She's sharing a sofa with Arisaema and Alice.
"...Calendula, won't you have some?"
Noticing Marigold's trembling movements beside her, Tian Nanxing looked down at the half-full bag of preserved plums in her hand and handed the bag to her.
"Thank you, xi—"
The girl pinched a preserved plum and put it in her mouth. Almost immediately, she was sour that her face scrunched up and tears welled up in her eyes. She looked in horror at the Bernese Mountain Dog Girl next to her, who could easily eat two plums at once.
"In short, although the current intelligence is conflicting, there is one point in common," Red Rose's voice came from around the round table.
Everyone turned to look at her. This veteran was standing up from beside the round table, using magic to write a temporary conclusion on the light screen.
"Garuda has now been confirmed to have broken through the barrier between the astral plane and the mortal world, but it is 'stuck' in the gap between the celestial realm and the mental world by the Heart Moon Fox's mental world. Multiple dream visions have verified this conjecture."
"We have very limited intelligence at the moment, which is why we have gathered everyone here to prepare for a grand plan."
After speaking, Red Rose moved the magic light screen on the conference table to the people listening on the sofa and showed them the contents of the plan displayed on it.
"Now that we've confirmed Garuda's existence within the illusionary mind, we can't just sit here and wait to die; we must take the initiative."
"Take the initiative..." "Launch...?"
Upon hearing Red Rose's words, the magical girls exchanged bewildered glances. Although they held this veteran in high esteem and respect, they still looked puzzled when they heard an unexpected term.
"Um, senior Red Rose, may I ask a question?" Aquamarine was the first to raise her hand and speak.
"Of course, Aquamarine, is there anything you're worried about or concerned about?"
"It's not that I'm worried, it's just that..." Hearing the senior's words, Aquamarine became slightly nervous, but still managed to voice her thoughts:
"Garuda's methods of dragging victims into illusory mental images are subtle and beyond our control. So how can we take the initiative?"
"Good question."
Red Rose nodded in approval of Aquamarine's question and then said:
"So far, there has been no discernible pattern among the victims who have been dragged into the dreamlike mental landscape by Garuda. However, we now have the mental landscape created by Marigold and that new recruit. By starting from this perspective, we can meet the conditions for proactive investigation."
At this point, Red Rose turned to look at Heart Moon Fox and Inari, who had proposed the solution. She wondered if she should bring it up herself, but seeing the two little foxes' eager expressions, she decided to let them have the chance.
"Let us explain the specific plan for this operation!" Xin Yuehu stepped forward, full of confidence.
"The plan was drafted by Ms. Kokoro and me. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them after we finish speaking," Inari said.
With the endorsement of Red Rose and Inari, even Hyacinth calmed down and decided to listen carefully.
"The plan is—"
"We'll stake out those mental images before Garuda invades them!"
After concisely explaining the plan, Su Tianqing looked at the wide-eyed, slightly agape magical girls, puffed out her flat fox-like chest, and loudly declared:
"We've laid an ambush on Garuda beforehand!"