Upon hearing Ayano Kōura's request, Natsumi Kyouno eyes flickered slightly, not immediately giving a response.
Of course, she could replicate the Mystic Code of Telling.
In fact, she had already used it twice before.
However, if they really believed she could replicate things based only on images and written descriptions, then they would surely start asking her to copy even more items next.
Things like the Keys of God, Star of Disjunction that Split Heaven and Earth, or the Infinity Gauntlet...
But the problem was—how could she possibly replicate those kinds of weapons with nothing more than images and textual data?
At the very least, it would need to be like Altair Holopsicon, requiring firsthand observation before being able to replicate anything.
"Hm…"
Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, Natsumi Kyouno summoned the False Witch, going through the motions as if she were genuinely trying something.
Several flashes of light flickered, yet the False Witch failed to change its form no matter how she tried.
After several attempts, Natsumi Kyouno finally sighed and said helplessly, "No good. It seems like images and text alone aren't enough."
"How can that be…"
"Though… it's within expectations."
"Damn it!"
The reactions varied, but everyone was clearly disappointed.
This was especially true for several of the creations—just moments ago, they had already started crafting plans to deal with Military Uniform Princess based on the ten angelic artifacts. And now, not only had the execution of the plan failed, even the most basic prerequisites couldn't be met.
Even though Natsumi Kyouno combat strength was still above theirs, without the ability to replicate the remaining nine angelic artifacts, she was far from a game-changer.
After all that effort, they had returned to square one.
"No, it's still too early to give up."
Meteora brows relaxed slightly as if something had come to her, then she turned to look at Selesia: "Do you remember the experiment we did before?"
"What experiment?"
"The one about whether creators can add new settings to characters who've descended into the real world."
"Ah, right," Selesia suddenly recalled. "But didn't that experiment fail? Why bring it up now?"
At that time, to increase their side's combat strength, Meteora had suggested letting creators add new settings to creations.
To grant Selesia the ability to use magic, her creator, Matsubara Takashi, even spent an entire day writing a side story and had an illustrator draw matching visuals.
However, the result was disappointing.
Even with new plot and illustrations, Selesia abilities and settings remained unchanged.
"I thought it over again. I believe creators should be able to add settings to their creations. The reason for our failure might've been because certain prerequisites weren't met." Meteora eyes sparkled with thoughtful light. "All of the creations who've descended so far—you, me, Rui Kanoya, Mamika, Natsumi, and the others—are all from highly popular anime or games. In other words, they're characters recognized by the people of this world."
"So what?" Selesia still didn't quite get it.
"So, I'm thinking—if we publicly announce the new settings, and the people of this world accept them, then we creations might actually change."
She finally voiced the theory!
Natsumi Kyouno let a faint smile curve her lips but quickly concealed it.
As a transmigrator, she naturally knew the basic rules of this world.
In this world, three forces were closely tied to the creations.
First, there's Restorative Power.
During Natsumi previous fight with Altair, the latter clearly had stronger abilities but couldn't use them. That was because of the restorative power.
The world's laws possess restorative power, which forcibly ejects individuals whose power exceeds the world's limits—this is the mechanism of restorative force.
Second, there's Interference Power.
While restorative power is the world's way of protecting itself, interference power is what Altair pursues.
She pulls fictional characters into reality and incites conflicts among them to gradually amplify interference power, compressing the tolerance range of the world's rules.
And third, there's Recognition Power.
This one is far more metaphysical.
For creations to grow stronger through new settings, they must be recognized by fans and readers—only then can the image of the character change in the minds of the people.
Once a new setting receives widespread acknowledgment, the creation can then use that new ability in the real world.
In other words...
"If we can get Mr. Tachibana to revise the setting and make it so that the original Natsumi could replicate the other nine angelic artifacts, then the real-world Natsumi should be able to do it too!" Meteora declared. "It's just a theory, but I believe the chance of success is fairly high—we should try it."
"That's easy for you to say." Matsubara Takashi rubbed his forehead, looking a little distressed. "If it were just adding something new, like a side story, that wouldn't be so bad. But what you're asking for is to modify an already established setting. That's on a whole other level of difficulty."
As a fellow creator, he knew exactly how hard it was to alter a canon setting.
Never mind how much of the earlier story would be affected—future plotlines would have to be overhauled too, and maybe even the entire framework rewritten.
"I know this would be hard on Mr. Tachibana. But if it works, we'll gain an incomparable advantage." Meteora remained firm. "At the very least, we should consult her. If it's really not doable, then we can think of alternatives."
"Hmm… fine. I'll go talk to her later."
Matsubara Takashi thought for a moment and eventually nodded.
After all, the final say didn't rest with him—it was up to Tachibana and her publisher.
Thinking it through again, perhaps because Natsumi wasn't really known for combat in the original story, her False Witch replication ability had only appeared a few times. Changing that setting might not be too difficult.
"If we're going to change the setting, we'll need to coordinate with the publisher. 'Date A Live' is currently in its third season of updates—we might also have to talk to the animation studio. It could take some time."
As he spoke, Matsubara paused and looked at Natsumi Kyouno and Mamika: "Do you two have anywhere else to go for now?"
Natsumi Kyouno and Mamika exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison.
"In that case, why don't you come live with us for now," Matsubara said. "The Military Uniform Princess is already targeting Natsumi, and she sees Mamika as a traitor. It's only a matter of time before she acts against you two. So, why not join forces with us?"
"I really don't want to live under the same roof with that woman, but I also don't want to be constantly on edge," Natsumi Kyouno said coldly, frowning.
"Sigh… I guess we have no better choice," Mamika said with resignation, unable to refuse in the end.
"I'm sure we'll get along just fine."
With two more powerful allies joining their side, a smile finally appeared on Matsubara Takashi's face.
"Well then—let's work well together from now on."