At this moment, the Raiden Shogun had already entered a state of system failure. A massive error that violated her underlying programming had even caused her body to lose the ability to move.
Within the Plane of Euthymia, Raiden Ei had stopped her "loving education" of Yae Miko and sighed softly as she looked at the Raiden Shogun's current state.
Her initial settings for the Raiden Shogun had been far too rigid. She had already suffered for this before, fighting the Raiden Shogun for a full five hundred years, and now the Raiden Shogun herself was the one experiencing a problem.
It was normal and unavoidable for battles at the God-level to affect ordinary people, unless one's strength completely overwhelmed the opponent.
She had actually failed to consider this point back then, which resulted in the Raiden Shogun experiencing a logical error, leaving her body unable to even move.
Because she had left no way out when setting up the Raiden Shogun, specifically to prevent herself from changing her mind, this had also become a problem.
Now, for the Raiden Shogun to recover from this logical confusion, either she had to defeat the Raiden Shogun again, or the Raiden Shogun had to evolve on her own, transcend her nature as a puppet, and possess a "heart" of her own.
The first possibility was almost non-existent. Her previous victory over the Raiden Shogun had been largely due to luck, and at that time, her conviction had been incredibly firm.
But now, even she was lost in deep confusion, making it impossible to defeat the Raiden Shogun.
As for the second possibility, she had once discarded Scaramouche, who possessed emotions, as a defective product!
And the Raiden Shogun, as her most perfect creation, could execute her programmed instructions perfectly, without being interfered with by emotions.
Scaramouche, whom she had once considered to have a major flaw, had managed to obtain such immense power on his own, while the Raiden Shogun, whom she considered most perfect, had lost the ability to move due to a logical error. How was this not a form of irony for her?
She might have been truly wrong.
From the moment her friends left her one by one, until she finally heard the news of her sister Raiden Makoto's death, she had already completely set foot on the wrong path.
However, this only strengthened her inner conviction. Raiden Ei believed that as long as Raiden Makoto returned to her side and to Inazuma, she could once again guide everyone onto the right path, and everything would get better!
At this point, Raiden Ei could only comfort herself this way. The repeated losses had completely frozen her heart, so when she saw this glimmer of hope, she wanted to seize it at all costs.
"Miko, the reason you are here is because of Kitsune Saiguu, isn't it?"
Raiden Ei suddenly spoke to Yae Miko. Of course, she did not sense Kitsune Saiguu's aura in Tatarasuna.
As for why Raiden Ei would ask this question, it was because she sensed the auras of Higashiyama-no-Ou and the Moyun Sisters here. This way, the reason why Yae Miko would leave Narukami Island could also be deduced.
"Oh dear, Ei, please don't make things difficult for me."
Yae Miko rubbed her faintly aching buttocks and spoke with a hint of helplessness.
However, even though she did not say it explicitly, Raiden Ei had already basically known the answer.
If Yae Miko would not say it directly, the reason she spoke such words was because the other party was her subordinate and also a member of the Yokai Fox Clan.
A surge of emotion welled up in Raiden Ei's heart. As expected, even Kitsune Saiguu had returned.
If so, wouldn't Sasayuri and Torachiyo be close? And wouldn't her sister, Raiden Makoto, also be returning to her side soon?
An indescribably excited emotion welled up in Raiden Ei's heart. If all this came true, it would be like a beautiful dream for her.
"Where is Kitsune Saiguu now? Why does she refuse to see me?"
Raiden Ei spoke with some urgency, then shook her head. She actually already knew the reason.
"Forget it, she has always been very set in her ways. Just let her be."
Raiden Ei sighed softly again, then prepared to take back control of the body and end today's farce.
However, what Raiden Ei never expected was that the Raiden Shogun was gradually regaining control of the body.
Raiden Ei was suddenly startled. Beside her, Yae Miko also wore a look of astonishment. This outcome was not within their expectations.
Terrifying lightning erupted from the Raiden Shogun's body, sending a deafening roar through the mountain that had buried her. Then, several huge, visible cracks slowly appeared.
A bolt of terrifying purple-black lightning struck that mountain peak, instantly smashing the entire mountain to pieces.
Treading upon endless lightning, the Raiden Shogun slowly emerged from the continuously collapsing mountain. Her aura was as vast as an abyss and a sea, and the confusion had vanished from her eyes.
The Raiden Shogun did not know how to resolve the loopholes in her programming, but she knew that if she continued to let things go unchecked, Inazuma would be completely ruined, and the people she sought to protect would also be finished.
No longer struggling with the contradiction between her actions and her programming, she bypassed the previous logical loop by directly guiding her subsequent actions with her ultimate goal. However... such a thing should have been impossible for the Raiden Shogun to achieve.
Suddenly, Raiden Ei recalled some of the Raiden Shogun's previous anomalies in speech and emotion, and a hypothesis formed in her mind.
"Shogun, could it be that you have already developed a 'heart'?"
A rigid program could never have escaped the previous predicament. Only by gaining the emotions she had once regarded as a flaw could she break free from her original framework.
"I do not know what 'heart' you are referring to."
"I only know that all of this must stop."
"Otherwise, I will lose the very meaning of my existence."
As soon as her words fell, the Raiden Shogun gave chase to Scaramouche in the direction he had last fled, her speed astonishing.
Scaramouche, who was fleeing ahead, suddenly felt a pang of dread. His face changed drastically as he looked back in disbelief, only to feel an aura of destruction rapidly closing in on him.
Scaramouche's face twisted with rage as his speed surged once more.
No, he couldn't fall here!
Before he had completed all his revenge, he could not stop here!
Although the enemy had already tasted a sliver of bitterness, it wasn't enough, far from enough!
Scaramouche controlled the Shouki no Kami to hurtle forward through the sky, causing the sea below to sink dozens of meters and sending colossal waves crashing outward.
Yet even as Scaramouche pushed his speed to the absolute limit, the aura of destruction behind him drew closer and closer.
At this moment, a look of venomous resentment appeared on Scaramouche's face. With so many people present, why was she relentlessly hunting only him? She truly intended to exterminate him without the slightest mercy!
Before long, Scaramouche once again entered the Raiden Shogun's attack range.
When Scaramouche turned around and saw the purple Lightning Sun in the sky, sliced open by a single blade, the madness on his face reached its peak.
"You'll never kill me!!!"
Scaramouche knew he couldn't escape, so he gave up trying to flee and gathered all his strength to fight the Raiden Shogun to the death.
But just then, a fair-skinned fist abruptly appeared in their field of vision.
Although there was no light or aura emanating from that fist, it seemed to become the only thing in this world, impossible to ignore.
"Hahahahaha!"
When Scaramouche saw that fist, he froze for a moment, then burst into wild laughter.
"That one has finally made a move. It's all over!"
As Scaramouche finished his sentence, the fist seemed to transcend time and space, striking directly at the Raiden Shogun.
The Raiden Shogun's expression turned grave as she controlled the Oni Armor surrounding her body to swing the forty-meter blade in front of her.
A series of crisp cracks rang out as the weapon, the Oni Armor, and even the Raiden Shogun's very resolve were shattered by this single punch.
With a single punch, the Raiden Shogun's body suffered an unimaginable impact, hurtling toward the sea's surface and kicking up a massive wave over a hundred meters high.
A contemptuous sneer seemed to echo from the high sky, after which the clenched fist unfurled, grabbed Scaramouche, and directly departed.
Shortly after Scaramouche's figure vanished, the seawater was split apart by absolute power, revealing the Raiden Shogun within, her expression grave.
Just now, she had felt an extremely violent power from that punch, a power that far surpassed her own, leaving her utterly powerless to resist.
Who exactly was the opponent?
Within the Plane of Euthymia, Raiden Ei and Yae Miko's pupils suddenly constricted, clearly showing that the scene just now had a significant impact on them as well.
Raiden Ei's heart sank. She had originally thought that this entire incident was simply a matter of her being manipulated, otherwise the opponent could never have been so arrogant. However, she now realized she had no choice from the very beginning.
As for Yae Miko, she recalled the letter Ganyu had written to her. She had originally thought the contents of the letter were somewhat exaggerated by Ganyu, but at this moment, she realized Ganyu had actually held back quite a bit when writing the letter.
-
"Lady Sangonomiya, the Bathysmal Vishap's bloodline has been extracted."
The young woman named Yue had still lost most of her memories, but she showed great respect for Sangonomiya Kokomi's status as the Divine Priestess.
Because the complete research data had been preserved, Yue, one of the suspected researchers, was able to easily implement it after reviewing the materials.
However, Daphne had proposed a new approach, changing the original research direction, which cost some extra time.
"I have already removed the redundant other bloodlines, leaving only the purest Dragon Blood."
Upon hearing Yue's words, expressions of pleasant surprise appeared on everyone's faces.
The more complex the bloodline, the easier it was to lose control, and the harder it would be to improve oneself in the later stages.
This point was recorded in the research data, but it had never been solved until Daphne proposed the impurity removal method from her own world, which was finally perfected by Yue.
Now that the results were achieved, the next step was to select a few people for a trial.
"Lady Sangonomiya, please let me do it."
Gorou stepped forward without hesitation, clenching his small fists.
The catastrophic changes on Yashiori Island had dealt a devastating blow to him. Now, after parting ways with his comrades and donning the miko attire, Gorou felt a constant, unvented frustration simmering within.
He wanted to grow stronger!
Gorou had never craved power so urgently. He had replayed the past countless times, thinking that if he had been stronger, perhaps fewer lives would have been lost.
Furthermore, the first trial was always fraught with immense risk, and Gorou was unwilling to let anyone else take that gamble.
"I want to try as well."
Thoma also stepped forward, addressing Sangonomiya Kokomi.
The previous trip to Yashiori Island had shaken him as much as it had Gorou. To think that, with his current strength, he had already been reduced to a mere spectator, perhaps even a burden. This realization had filled Thoma with a powerful sense of urgency.
"Very well."
Sangonomiya Kokomi agreed after a brief moment of hesitation.
On one hand, the research data was complete, and the presence of the powerful Daphne meant that any accidents could be remedied.
On the other hand, Inazuma had no more time to slowly eliminate all risks; they had to select testers immediately. When choosing volunteers, no one person was necessarily more indispensable than another.
Another reason was that Gorou, in his current appearance as Miss Hina, would be much easier to promote.
Sangonomiya Kokomi turned to Daphne and spoke.
"Daphne, if any accidents occur, I'll need you to step in."
"Alright, alright, let's just get started!"
"With me here, Kokomi, you can rest a million percent assured!"
Daphne's miniature figure waved her hand impatiently, then looked at Gorou and Thoma with a face full of anticipation, as if she were watching two lively little white mice.
Gorou and Thoma felt a chill run down their spines from Daphne's gaze. They forced a smile at her, then turned their eyes to Yue.
"Miss Yue, you may begin."
Upon hearing this, Yue placed two tubes of golden blood into their hands. As they observed them, the golden blood in their hands seemed to emanate an aura that demanded their submission. It was the absolute crushing power of a higher lifeform; the Dragon King was the absolute overlord of the Teyvat continent.
Of course, that referred to a long time ago.
"This is a five percent dose. If the data is correct, you should be able to withstand it easily."
Hearing Yue's words, the two felt a bit more at ease. Then, without hesitation, they drank the golden blood in one gulp. The next second, their blood and qi surged throughout their bodies, their skin gradually turning red, and their entire bodies seemed to be on fire.
What they had drunk was no mere blood; it was pure magma!
"Refine your bloodlines!"
Sangonomiya Kokomi reminded them, and only then did the two snap back to their senses. Forcing themselves to endure the physical discomfort, they began to refine their bloodlines using Daphne's method. By harnessing the overwhelming power of the Dragon Blood, they would cleanse the impurities in their own bloodlines, allowing the two types of blood to merge more seamlessly.
This was the benefit of injecting a powerful bloodline into the body; it would be far too difficult to perform the refinement directly.
Since the amount of Dragon Blood they drank was not much, and combined with Daphne's refinement method, Gorou and Thoma soon managed to gradually suppress the burning sensation in their bodies. What followed was an endless surge of power.
When this sense of power reached its peak, Gorou and Thoma opened their eyes one after the other. Sangonomiya Kokomi discovered to her astonishment that their pupils had completely changed; they now had two pairs of pale gold slit pupils.
A noble and indifferent aura suddenly erupted from the two of them, and the pressure they now displayed even made Sangonomiya Kokomi's heart tremble.