It was now noon.
Eriri, dressed in a white dress, held Sakura Tohsaka's small hand, standing at the center of the living room, with all eyes on them. Sakura herself wore a black Lolita princess dress, looking as exquisite as a doll.
Everyone who had a phone had taken it out and was snapping photos of Eriri and Sakura, filling the room with the sound of camera shutters.
"Wow, Sakura, you look just like a princess in a castle," remarked Tamaki Gokou, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Sakura. She and Sakura had quickly become good friends.
"Yeah, but Eriri is even prettier!" added Ureirika with equal admiration.
"Absolutely."
At that moment, Aoi Kujo pushed in a five-tiered birthday cake and placed it in front of Sakura, signaling the start of the birthday celebration.
Eriri released Sakura's hand and snapped her fingers. Instantly, the living room fell into darkness, save for the warm glow of the five birthday candles atop the cake, casting a gentle light across everyone's faces.
"Sakura, make a wish," Eriri said, gently patting Sakura's head with a smile.
Making a wish was a birthday tradition, so she encouraged Sakura to follow it.
"Alright." Sakura nodded, stepping forward and floating up to meet the top of the towering five-layer cake, clasping her hands to her chest and closing her eyes to make a silent wish.
"I wish to always be with Eriri and my other sisters."
As her words ended, she slowly opened her eyes and blew out the candles, the room slipping into complete darkness.
A second snap of Eriri's fingers brought the noon light back to the living room, where the group, brought together from various worlds by the chat group, now offered their heartfelt birthday wishes to the youngest among them.
"Happy birthday, Sakura!" A chorus of laughter and cheers filled the room.
Sakura, feeling the warmth around her, shyly smiled. "Thank you, everyone."
The celebration felt especially meaningful to her. Though a belated celebration, it was the most memorable one she'd had.
As Sakura touched back down, Eriri took out the birthday gift she had prepared from her inventory: a black rabbit plushie, which she'd picked up at the arcade claw machine during her date with Megumi. The cute rabbit doll was perfect for Sakura's age.
"Sakura, here's your gift. Do you like it?" Eriri handed the plush to her.
"I love it!"
Sakura clutched the plush tightly, a bright smile on her face. While she was mature for her age after the ordeal with Zouken Matou, at heart, she was still a five-year-old girl, and Eriri's gift, no matter how ordinary, was a treasure to her.
"Oh, Eriri, your gift is a stuffed toy? I thought you might give her some kind of powerful weapon," Chika Fujiwara commented with surprise.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You just don't know, Chika. While this might look like an ordinary rabbit, it's far more than that."
"Huh?" Chika looked at the plush in puzzlement. It seemed like a regular stuffed toy.
Everyone else, including Sakura, was just as curious—except Megumi, who seemed to know better.
"Lady Eriri, does this rabbit have some kind of special power?" Kaguya Shinomiya asked, her red eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"I got this rabbit from an arcade claw machine yesterday, but I modified it a bit. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it an artifact now."
Eriri's words shifted everyone's perception of the toy. They weren't sure how she had altered it, but if Eriri called it an artifact, it had to be something extraordinary.
"Could this rabbit turn into various weapons and equipment?" Ruri Gokou immediately guessed.
The idea lit up everyone's eyes. If true, then this rabbit was far more valuable than it appeared.
"Wow, you nailed it, Ruri Gokou. A true Chuunibyou at heart—you got it exactly right!" Eriri teased.
"Hey! Are you making fun of me?"
"Not at all! I'm praising you. Chuunibyou is adorable, after all."
At Eriri and Ruri Gokou's banter, Akeno Himejima and Koneko Toujou, who stood by Rias, looked at Eriri with changed expressions. Although Rias had told them Eriri was friendly, and Eriri indeed acted as such when they met, they'd still harbored a fear of her power.
After a little teasing, Eriri continued introducing the plush rabbit in Sakura's arms.
"This plush can withstand any attack below Level 8. It also has a built-in self-repair and dust-proof system, so it'll always stay as clean as new. As for its transformation capabilities…"
Eriri took the plush from Sakura and held it up. The rabbit glowed softly before transforming into a lavishly designed longsword.
"This is Excalibur, the Sword of Promised Victory. It retains all the attributes of the original and can release its true name. However, this Excalibur is much stronger than the original. When fully released, its power exceeds the user's full strength by ten times, consuming all the user's energy. The maximum power is capped at Level 8, but the armor it transforms into can withstand any attack below Level 8."
Everyone was stunned by her explanation. With a weapon like this, they could fight well above their level. If it transformed into full-body armor, even attacks from Level 8 opponents wouldn't harm them.
"Excalibur, the Holy Sword?" Rias gasped.
In the High School DxD world, the original Excalibur had been destroyed and split into seven fragments, creating seven holy swords with unique abilities. The strongest fragment, "Excalibur Ruler," could sever space itself, a testament to the power of the original.
Then Eriri transformed Excalibur into several other weapons, including Avalon, Ea, the Lance of Longinus, the Spear of Twilight, and even a Gundam, stunning everyone watching.
"Isn't it incredible?" Eriri asked, grinning as she handed the rabbit plush back to Sakura.
"Amazing!" Ruri Gokou's eyes sparkled with admiration. For her, the transformation feature was more enticing than the weapon's power.
"Eriri… could you make me one too?" Ruri Gokou asked, her eyes hopeful.
"Nope, it's way too complicated to make." Eriri shook her head without hesitation. It had taken her considerable effort to create this armament last night. Without control over cosmic energy, crafting such a weapon would be impossible.
"Oh…" Ruri Gokou looked deflated but didn't press the matter.
Akino Yukinoshita looked enviously at the plush in Sakura's hands, asking her system quietly, "Can you make a weapon like that?"
"No. To be honest, it's baffling that Eriri could create such a thing," replied the system, sounding unusually serious. The anomaly of Eriri's existence defied every law the system knew across the multiverse.
"Is making such a weapon that hard?"
"Absolutely. From what I know, only a Level 9 entity could do it. Could Eriri actually be a Level 9 instead of the Level 8 she claims?"
Before Akino could fully process this, her system added, "On second thought, it doesn't matter; it's beyond my reach anyway."
"Alright then…"
Lala, meanwhile, studied the rabbit plush curiously, asking Eriri with excitement, "Eriri, how did you make this universal armament?"
Since Lala often made unusual weapons and gadgets, she assumed Eriri had used scientific means to create the rabbit plush.
"Universal Armament? That's a good name. Very fitting! From now on, this black bunny plush will be called 'Universal Armament: Black Bunny,'" Eriri said, nodding approvingly.
Turning to Lala, she explained, "I didn't use science to make Black Bunny, Lala. The method is hard to explain, but even if I did, you wouldn't be able to make one without cosmic energy."
"Wait, really?" Upon learning that science hadn't created the Black Bunny, Lala's interest waned somewhat.
The witch, Elaina, however, looked at the plush greedily, her eyes shining with golden stars.
Though Elaina had overcome her previous need for a wand to cast spells, thanks to the chat group's ample points, her abilities had soared. However, she was still primarily a long-range magic user, so weapons generally didn't hold much interest.
To her, this universal armament was worth billions in points. A weapon that could block attacks below Level 8 was easily worth over a hundred billion points.
If she could obtain one, she'd be set for life! Of course, she'd never resort to stealing or tricking Sakura out of her birthday gift; she'd find her own way to acquire an armament from Eriri if she could.
"Eriri, how can I turn Black Bunny into a weapon?" Sakura asked, trying out various ways to transform it with no success.
"Oh right, I almost forgot. You need authorization first."
To prevent the Black Bunny from being stolen or misused, Eriri had implemented a security system that only allowed those she authorized to use it. Without permission, it was simply an indestructible plush.
After adjusting its settings, Eriri returned it to Sakura.
"Alright, it's good to go. You can either think of the weapon you want it to become or say it out loud."
"Thank you, Eriri!" Sakura nodded happily, eagerly trying out the transformation.
The Black Bunny in her hands shimmered, instantly transforming into the Holy Sword Excalibur again. She touched the sword's metallic surface, marveling at how different it felt from the plush's soft texture.
Seeing how thrilled Sakura was, Ruri Gokou's face filled with envy.
"How about this: I'll make another Universal Armament and put it in the chat group," Eriri suggested, sighing slightly. "I'll grant access to all chat members, and you can pay some points to use it temporarily."
"Yay!" Ruri Gokou leaped forward and hugged Eriri tightly. "You're the best, Eriri! Love you so much!"
The point cost didn't bother her; she'd only use it when she wanted to show off, so it wouldn't be too expensive.
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