"Nagami, Lumine, you two…"
Thoma looked up in shock at the sudden appearance of two familiar figures. "What are you doing here?"
"Obviously, we heard from Ayaka that you'd been captured," Lumine said with a sly smile. "So we came to rescue you, of course."
As she turned, lightning crackled across her palm—then exploded outward.
The Tenryou Commission soldiers charging toward them were instantly paralyzed, bodies twitching under brilliant arcs of electricity.
Ever since Lumine had become an Abyssal Being and learned to manipulate dimensional power, she no longer needed to wander across Teyvat collecting the seven elements to regain her strength as Aether once planned.
Still… if the elements happened to deliver themselves right to her hands, she wasn't going to say no.
When C.C. had touched the Raiden Shogun's Gnosis, Lumine had apparently gained the ability to command Electro—but she had never really bothered to use it.
Now, with elegant, unhurried steps, Lumine walked up to Thoma.
The moment she took her first step, the Raiden Shogun's raised hand flared with violet light.
A spear of pure lightning shot forth—only to vanish into a silent crack of space before it could reach them.
Lumine didn't even spare the attack a glance.
A confident smile tugged at her lips as she snapped her fingers.
The ropes binding Thoma's wrists and ankles instantly unraveled and fell to the ground.
Raiden's gaze grew colder.
The braided strands of her hair floated behind her without wind, and the pressure radiating from her body surged like a rising tide.
In her eyes, fury burned—calm and eternal.
"Spatial power… and elemental control without a Vision," she said icily. "You are an anomaly."
The air grew heavy, the temperature plummeted, and her killing intent spiked like a rocket launch.
Even Durandal—standing nearby—instinctively rose to her feet, gripping her spear as battlelust flickered in her eyes.
With her long, shapely legs wrapped in black stockings, the Raiden Shogun stepped forward from the statue's shadow, every step marked by crackling thunder, until she stood directly before Nagami and Lumine.
"Anomalies are the enemies of eternity," she declared. "They must be judged by lightning."
A storm of thunder erupted around her.
Bolts of pure Electro split the air, forcing everyone present to back away in terror.
Nagami's gaze, however, never wavered—it was fixed squarely on the Shogun's chest.
So this was the legendary master of Musou no Hitotachi? Time to see what she could really do.
'Also… that scabbard placement is not bad at all.'
"Now, now, Shogun—no need to be so hostile," Nagami said lightly. "We didn't come here to fight. We just dropped by to visit dear Ei. Why not let her say hello, hmm?"
Raiden's hand froze mid-motion.
Her gaze locked onto Nagami's face—reflected in her amethyst eyes—and for a moment, hesitation flickered.
But the hesitation soon vanished.
Ei had sealed herself within the Plane of Euthymia, lost in endless meditation.
Normally, she paid no attention to the outside world, leaving all affairs to the puppet Shogun.
Ei had programmed her creation with one absolute directive: pursue Eternity above all else.
That part worked fine.
The problem was… Ei hadn't left herself any kind of administrator access.
Worse, she'd disabled her own override authority entirely, fearing that her future self might become an obstacle to eternity.
In other words—if it's "for eternity," the Raiden Shogun could even ignore Ei's will.
What kind of broken code was that?!
Totally the mark of an unqualified shut-in programmer—single-threaded brain and all.
Nagami and Lumine's appearance—and their powers—were well beyond the Shogun's operating parameters.
Deeming them threats to Eternity, she refused to contact Ei, unwilling to risk any interference.
"Anomalies must be eradicated."
Her emotionless voice carried the weight of divine decree.
Lightning danced visibly across her slender frame, while radiant sigils flared behind her.
A majestic halo of thunder—the mark of a god—blazed to life.
Even standing near her made ordinary people feel like they were suffocating.
Nagami sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"I swear, we really need to teach Ei some coding lessons. Who writes something like shogun.exe and thinks it's stable? Next time, just… don't."
As the Raiden Shogun's hand reached for her chest to draw her blade, Nagami's lips curved into a sly, mischievous grin.
He raised his palm slowly.
Musou Isshin—a blade born from Baal's divine might, left unsharpened after her passing, later entrusted to Beelzebul.
When she created the Raiden Shogun, Beelzebul poured her own consciousness into that sword.
Musou Isshin carried Ei's soul and her will.
Which meant…
"Hand it over."
The air crackled.
Nagami's body shot forward like an arrow, motion mirroring a blade being drawn.
From the core of the void itself, a sigil of royal authority flared to life—a radiant streak of starlight stretching toward the Shogun's chest, where a violet-blue circle began to glow…
The moment the violet blade was slowly drawn from its sheath, the air itself began to hum.
Lightning surged along the sword's edge, crackling violently enough to make the surrounding air hiss with static.
An expression of pure shock crossed Ei's flawless face.
Her usually composed eyes widened, filled with disbelief, their purple glow flickering with arcs of thunder.
'That sword…!'
The radiant blade, alive with lightning, floated gracefully into Nagami's hand—delivered by shimmering bands of starlight from the void itself.
He twirled it once in a flourish before cutting forward in one smooth, confident motion.
Of course, it wasn't really Musou no Hitotachi.
The blade carried no such built-in divine skill.
If anything, it merely enhanced the user's connection to Electro energy.
'Clang!'
Sparks burst like miniature storms as the blades collided—thunder crackling through the air with each impact.
A distortion rippled outward, bending the very space around them.
The scenery shifted in an instant—from the plaza before the Statue of a Thousand Arms and Eyes—to a dim, oppressive arena-like domain.
They had entered the Plane of Euthymia.
By forcibly drawing out Musou Isshin using the King of the Void's power, Nagami had naturally awakened the meditating Ei.
Well… "awakened" was putting it lightly.
From the dark scowl shadowing her beautiful face, and the suffocating killing intent rolling off her body, it was clear: Miss Ei was furious.
In her hands gleamed a naginata—crackling with the same violet lightning.
This was Engulfing Lightning, her personal weapon forged from her divine might during the Archon War.
Whenever Ei fought seriously, this was the weapon she wielded.
"Outsider," she said coldly, her tone regal yet sharp as ice. "What have you done?"
"What did I do? Isn't it obvious?" Nagami replied casually, still wearing that faint smile. "Or are you wondering how I managed to draw this blade?"
The violet sword in his grasp trembled slightly, its spirit resisting—Ei's will struggling to reclaim control of Musou Isshin.
But compared to Nagami—whose consciousness carried the might of the Apocalypse Virus—even a god of Teyvat was little more than a flickering spark.
After a brief hesitation, he tightened his grip. The stars etched along the blade shimmered once—and the sword fell silent, subdued.
Why the hesitation?
To be honest, even though the King's Power allowed him to command weapons infused with souls, this situation was… different.
Using Musou Isshin meant holding Ei's will directly in his hands.
"Why?"
Her voice grew sharper, the cold edge of embarrassment hidden beneath divine authority.
Through the strange energy linking their souls, Ei could feel Nagami's grasp on her blade—like warm hands clutching her very essence.
For any ordinary woman, it would've been unbearable.
Luckily for her, Ei had lived for centuries. She could handle… unconventional contact.
"Why, you ask? I'm still figuring that out myself." Nagami chuckled lightly, then added, "I'm joking, joking—don't get mad."
A flash of lightning ripped through the air as Ei's temper finally broke.
In an instant, she blinked away—moving faster than thunder.
Her blade descended in a blur, unleashing a storm of a hundred slashes within seconds, each one carrying the full fury of Electro.
Sparks flew, arcs of lightning scorched the arena floor, and the air itself trembled from the pressure.
Nagami met her onslaught head-on, parrying every blow with effortless precision, Musou Isshin singing with radiant arcs.
"The power of thunder… feels so familiar," Ei murmured under her breath, leaping back after another clash.
Her brows furrowed, eyes narrowing on Nagami.
He wasn't using his full strength—only a fragment of his "Herrscher of Thunder" authority, amplified through the divine energy once stored within Raiden's own Gnosis.
"My Gnosis… why is it inside you?"
Realization flashed across her face. She pointed her naginata accusingly at him.
"Oh, that?" Nagami grinned. "A lovely gift from the ever-charming, ever-brilliant Lady Yae Miko."
A spark of irritation flickered in Ei's eyes.
That explanation did make sense.
It sounded exactly like something that sly fox would do.
Still, another question arose.
While Yae Miko's mischievous nature often tested her patience, the kitsune priestess was no fool when it came to serious matters.
So why… why would Miko give her Gnosis to Nagami of all people?
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