"Halt! Don't let them escape!"
Glancing back at the massive swarm of pursuers, Lumine and her two companions redoubled their efforts, running even faster.
This is bizarre, Lumine thought. It's as if these people are connected by some invisible network. No matter which way we turn, there's always someone ahead of us, pinpointing our location.
What baffled Lumine and her companions even more was the sheer number of skilled fighters among the pursuers. While they were no match for Lumine individually, their coordinated attacks were enough to make Enjou break out in a cold sweat.
Crap, Enjou thought, feeling more like a small fry by the second. I'm almost getting beaten by a bunch of ordinary people. Next time you evolve, please bring me along. Thanks.
Lumine swung her sword, deflecting the barrage of arrows aimed at them. The more she fought, the more Inazuma felt like a stranger to her.
She could understand a few rogue elements, but a force this large—at least a hundred strong—was incomprehensible. Did they not know about the great deeds she had performed for Inazuma?
No, they must know, she realized. But it's as if the narrative of those events has been rewritten.
This was even stranger. Both the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree had been the Fatui's grand deception, orchestrated in collusion with Inazuma's great clans to fool the Raiden Shogun. Even after the truth came out, Raiden Ei had confronted Snezhnaya, but the matter was settled when Snezhnaya lost one of their own—Lady Rosalyne. The two nations had agreed to call it even and sever all ties.
But now this conclusion had been overturned? How was that possible?
Though it was hard to believe, considering the drastic changes in the Three Great Clans managed by the Tri-Commission, Lumine could only accept this reality in the end.
Right now, she needed to figure out how to escape this army of pursuers.
Just as Lumine was lost in thought, a sudden sense of crisis erupted before her. She immediately snapped back to her senses and pulled Paimon behind her.
The next second, several bolts of lightning descended from the sky, striking simultaneously with several nearly transparent Debt Collectors who had emerged from the shadows.
Lumine swung her sword to counter, but to her shock, these Debt Collectors were so powerful. Their combined attack actually blocked her strike, and then a powerful bolt of lightning struck Lumine's head, instantly wiping her mind blank.
"Save—!"
Enjou only managed to utter a single word before the Debt Collector's Death Mark and the lightning from above shattered his disguise and directly forced him into his second phase.
Enjou was completely stunned. One moment he was lamenting how he was becoming more and more like a mere minion, and the next, he was almost sent to meet his maker.
"Traveler!"
Paimon cried out in alarm after coming to her senses, and this cry brought Lumine's consciousness back.
Looking at the Debt Collectors who had revealed themselves, the Electro Cicin Mage behind them, and the other Fatui soldiers gradually emerging from all directions, Lumine finally understood why her previous conclusion had been overturned.
"Traveler, are you okay?"
Paimon asked with some concern, then cried out in alarm again.
"Fatui? Why are there so many Fatui soldiers here?!"
Lumine shook her head.
Inazuma was actually cooperating with the Fatui again. No wonder the previous conclusion was overturned, otherwise, would they be arresting their own people?!
After realizing this, Lumine calmed her mind, and the five types of Elemental Power within her body began to circulate rapidly.
Lumine had no intention of using the Power of Void for now; these people weren't worth her playing her trump card.
When it came to dealing with the Fatui, Lumine had no intention of holding back. She used Geo Elemental Power to extend the Dull Blade to a full forty meters. Then, many images appeared in her mind, each showing Noelle spinning with a Geo-infused claymore. A glimmer of enlightenment appeared in Lumine's eyes as she imitated the Maguu Kenki and unleashed a Circular Slash!
Although the learning gap was a bit large, as a Traveler, she had to integrate the strengths of all kinds of fighters!
Lumine unleashed this move in an attempt to clear the field, but the scene before her made her eyes twitch twice.
The Debt Collectors, who had been swinging their weapons only to have both their weapons and bodies sliced in half at the waist by Lumine's attack, found their upper halves falling to the ground. They immediately dropped their weapons, grabbed their own lower bodies, and reattached their upper halves, then appeared before Lumine, lively and jumping about.
Lumine, Paimon, Enjou: "???"
"Ghosts!"
Paimon covered her mouth with both hands and shouted in panic.
No, they are [Heroic Spirits]!
The utterly bewildered Lumine suddenly realized this, and her expression immediately turned serious.
Although [Heroic Spirits] had occasionally appeared in Liyue before she left, she hadn't noticed any similar situations in Mondstadt during her time there. However, now the even more distant Inazuma had [Heroic Spirits] present. This meant that if nothing unexpected happened, No. 3 Persephone was in Inazuma!
At least she had been to Inazuma before!
Continuing to reason in this direction, Inazuma's current situation wasn't strange at all. After all, that woman's methods and strength were extremely terrifying, and even Zhongli had suffered a major loss at her hands.
With this thought, Lumine clenched her right hand and slammed it onto the ground.
Suddenly, countless vines began to grow wildly, eventually restricting the movements of everyone within a thousand-meter radius.
After doing this, Lumine immediately signaled Enjou to run away quickly. It wasn't that she couldn't clear out these Fatui soldiers, but unless she directly used the Power of Void, she would be held up here for a short time.
And if she used the Power of Void, she would be completely exposed. Lumine was very afraid that Persephone would appear before her the next moment and then give her a few more punches.
After taking a punch last time, her head was still buzzing now, and she really didn't want to take a few more hits from the other party.
The gap in strength was a bit too obvious, and she didn't plan to have a direct conflict with her in the short term, after all, she wasn't a masochist.
So after careful consideration, Lumine decided to run away first.
After restricting the movements of the pursuers around them, the escape of the three of them was a little easier, but the good times did not last long, and not long after, Lumine heard the sound of movement coming from a distance again.
"Traveler, what should we do now? It seems like more pursuers are coming!"
"And I'm so tired, I can barely fly anymore."
Paimon spoke to Lumine urgently, but Lumine had no better solution and could only prepare to continue breaking through using the previous method.
However, just at this moment, a stone statue they were about to pass suddenly moved, then turned into a figure with a leaf resting on its head.
"Sayu?!"
This scene immediately startled the three of them, and after seeing the other person's appearance clearly, the surprise on their faces immediately turned into pleasant surprise.
"Everyone, please follow me. I will help you hide from the pursuers."
After hearing Sayu's words, Lumine and Paimon did not hesitate and directly followed behind Sayu, and Enjou seeing this situation also hastily followed.
"Where are they?!"
"Are they over here?"
"There's no one here!"
"Damn it, they definitely haven't run far, everyone search all around!"
-
After searching for a long time without finding any sign of Lumine and her companions, the surrounding samurai and Fatui soldiers began to search further afield.
Not long after the group left, a huge rock suddenly shuddered twice. Then, Sayu pulled away a camouflage cloth that matched the stone's color and texture, folded it, and put it away.
At this moment, Lumine and her companions also emerged from behind Sayu. On the huge rock behind them, four humanoid indentations had appeared; they had just stood in those indentations, which prevented the searchers from discovering them.
"Sigh, overtime again. I'm so sleepy."
Sayu yawned while putting her things away, her eyes barely able to stay open.
In fact, she had already fallen asleep just now. Fortunately, Lumine noticed the situation was wrong and held onto the camouflage cloth tightly, which prevented them from being exposed.
"Sayu, thank you so much for your help this time. Are Ayato and Ayaka doing well?"
Paimon first looked around, and after seeing no one else, breathed a sigh of relief. Then she spoke gratefully to Sayu.
"My Lord and Milady are both in a safe place. There's no need to worry about their safety for now."
Hearing Sayu's answer, Lumine and Paimon both felt much more at ease. Then Paimon asked Sayu impatiently.
"Sayu, what exactly happened during this time? Why has Inazuma changed so much?"
Hearing Paimon's question, Sayu forced herself to stay awake and began to briefly recount the events that had unfolded in Inazuma.
After listening to Sayu's narration, Lumine and Paimon exchanged a glance, their expressions turning grave before they knew it. They immediately thought of the reason why Raiden Ei had not made a move until now.
This is bad. The last time she fought Raiden Ei, it was only thanks to Yae Miko's help.
This time, I'm afraid even Yae Miko has turned against her!
This wasn't impossible. Sayu had said that the Grand Narukami Shrine was now closed and Yae Miko had been missing for some time, so this possibility was clearly very high.
If Yae Miko no longer helped her, then even if her strength was much greater than back then, she would still be no match for Raiden Ei!
Moreover, this time Raiden Ei would definitely not hold back. Everything that stood in her way would be cut down!
Raiden Ei would never allow anyone to stop her from bringing her sister back to this world. But Lumine knew the truth. She knew that although it was indeed possible for Raiden Makoto to return to this world, she would fall under Persephone's control. This was the price she would have to pay.
If Persephone used Raiden Makoto as a hostage, then Raiden Ei would have almost no other choice but to become a blade in her hand.
Lumine was anxious. She wanted to change this outcome as quickly as possible, but she also knew that even if she told Raiden Ei all of this, the other would still proceed without hesitation. Her obsession was simply too deep; before Raiden Makoto's incident, she was the reason Raiden Ei wielded the sword.
"Sayu, the situation is urgent. Please take us to see Ayato and Ayaka quickly."
After Paimon and Lumine exchanged a few words, they spoke to Sayu with some urgency.
"Alright, please follow me, everyone."
Sayu nodded, then led the three of them through the encirclement without incident, finally reaching the outside through a secret passage.
"I didn't expect the arrangements this time to be so thorough."
"This was all Mr. Aoba's arrangement."
Sayu explained to the three of them while leading the way, a look of respect appearing on her face as she looked back.
"Mr. Aoba predicted you would escape in this direction, so he asked me to wait here in advance to help you get away."
Hearing Sayu's words, Lumine finally understood why Sayu had turned into a statue waiting for them to pass by. It turned out it had been arranged all along!
At this moment, Lumine and Paimon developed a strong curiosity about the "Aoba" Sayu mentioned and asked.
"Could that Mr. Aoba actually predict which direction we would escape?"
"Mr. Aoba said that if you don't want to keep being wanted, your only choice is to find Lady Guuji and Lady Raiden Shogun."
"In comparison, the possibility of you going to find Lady Guuji is higher. The last time, we also collaborated with Lady Guuji to solve Inazuma's problems."
"So Mr. Aoba asked me to wait there."
Sayu explained as she led the three of them toward the camp's location.
Not long after, Sayu brought the three of them to a cave, where they met Kamisato Ayato, Kamisato Ayaka, and the samurai who were willing to continue following them.
Seeing Lumine's appearance, Kamisato Ayato and Kamisato Ayaka clearly revealed smiles on their faces.
"Traveler, I didn't expect you to return to Inazuma at this time. You are truly our great savior!"
Immediately after, Kamisato Ayato showed Lumine a helpless smile.
"Inazuma is in internal chaos now, and we can't even contact the Almighty Shogun. I'm afraid we can only trouble you to help us again."
"Ayato, you're being too polite!"
"Even if it weren't for ourselves, you are our friends. I and the Traveler will definitely help out!"
After saying this, Paimon turned her gaze to Lumine.
"Right, Traveler?"
Lumine nodded, although she was speechless about Paimon including herself in this.
After hearing this, Kamisato Ayato smiled and withdrew his gaze, then turned to look at Enjou, who was beside them, and frowned imperceptibly.
He felt a very evil aura on Enjou, which seemed to come from the Abyss.
"And who is this?"
Hearing Kamisato Ayato's question, Paimon immediately explained.
"Ayato and Ayaka, let me introduce you. This is Enjou."
"Although he was previously a member of the Abyss Order, he has already decided to turn over a new leaf and start anew, and now he is following us."
When Ayato heard that Enjou was actually a member of the Abyss Order, although he had already mentally prepared himself, he still felt somewhat surprised and couldn't help but lament that Lumine's connections were truly extensive, even having ties to the Abyss Order.
Although the Abyss Order had a bad reputation and it was generally hard for people to accept Enjou as a member of the Abyss Order, because of Lumine's guarantee, neither Ayato nor Ayaka had any extra emotions in their eyes as they looked at Enjou.
Just as Kamisato Ayato was about to call Aoba over for an introduction, he suddenly felt that the temperature inside the cave was rising a bit too quickly.
"Not good, someone has followed us!"
Kamisato Ayato's expression changed, and he immediately released the Hydro Elemental Power on his body at full force. However, it had no great effect, and the temperature inside the cave was still rising rapidly.
Seeing this, Lumine quickly helped out, and a powerful surge of Hydro Elemental Power began to emanate from her as well.
With the two of them working together, they finally managed to stabilize the temperature inside the cave before immediately heading outside.
And when Lumine clearly saw the figure before her, she was stunned for a long time.
Because the person appearing before her right now was an old acquaintance of hers!
[La Signora] Rosalyne!