"!"
Aether, who was rapidly running across a sandy beach, suddenly felt a pang of anxiety. He immediately halted his steps, his expression extremely grave.
"Lumine!"
Aether felt it again. Lumine was currently facing an extremely perilous situation.
Aether scanned his surroundings, then looked toward Seirai Island.
The mysterious bond between the siblings allowed him to vaguely sense her location.
This was already the second time. What exactly was happening in Inazuma now?
Aether couldn't understand. Along the way, he had already sensed two battlefields emitting terrible power, the kind of fluctuations that came from at least God-level combat.
Adding Neuvillette and Dainsleif to the mix, as well as Lumine's current location, when did Inazuma ever become so lively? I'm afraid even the Dark Beast Tide from five hundred years ago would be unremarkable compared to the present.
Aether couldn't understand what was happening in Inazuma. Could all of this be caused by that Numbered Member of the mysterious faction? Was their influence truly so terrifying?
But regardless, Inazuma had now abruptly become an extremely dangerous place, and even Lumine had faced danger several times.
Previously, no matter how much Lumine went wild, Aether was completely unconcerned.
Although much of Lumine's power had been sealed, her body would not become any more fragile because of it, and there couldn't be many beings on the Teyvat continent capable of harming her.
But at this moment, Aether was genuinely starting to worry about Lumine's safety. He guessed Lumine was doing something dangerous right now, and he couldn't let her continue venturing on her own this time. He had to get her out of Inazuma.
And Dainsleif was also a problem. He couldn't let that man mislead his sister, otherwise it would be quite a mess if she ended up opposing him instead.
The thought of Dainsleif sent a surge of anger through Aether's heart.
Ziyan had died in the end. Why did he have to die at Dainsleif's hands?
If it had been any other Abyss Monster, Aether wouldn't have felt a flicker of emotion no matter how many Dainsleif slaughtered. But Ziyan was special.
Dainsleif was forcing him to completely freeze his heart!
Aether took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and then began to consider whether to call in reinforcements from the main base.
The Abyss Monsters currently by his side were less than a tenth of what he had before. Dainsleif's outburst at that moment had been too powerful, completely crushing these Abyss Monsters, whose strength was merely passable, with no way to resist.
Aether hadn't expected them to be of any use in a battle of this level anyway. Their main purpose was to search for intelligence. He couldn't be the one to personally handle such a task, could he?
After a moment, Aether still decided to call in another batch of manpower. However, the quality of this batch of Abyss Monsters would only be worse. Without a capable commander to meticulously direct and assign tasks, their effectiveness would be very limited.
Aether suddenly remembered Ziyan mentioning that he seemed to have two younger cousins. After hesitating for a long time, Aether finally decided to summon them for an assessment to see if they could shoulder the burden.
Although they weren't blood relatives, after spending so much time together and being influenced by his example, perhaps these two could also be entrusted with important duties.
With this thought, Aether sent the Abyss Mage beside him back to convey the order.
After completing this task, Aether recalled the names Ziyan had mentioned. They seemed to be Lan Yu and Lan Yun...
-
The perspective returns to Seirai Island.
Of course, whether Seirai Island could still be called Seirai Island at this moment remained a question mark.
The towering peaks had been directly leveled, and a massive hole spanning hundreds of thousands of meters had been gouged out of the island's center. A vast amount of seawater had poured into it for quite some time, yet there was still no sign of it filling up.
The thunderclouds above had also been torn open, and sunlight once again spilled onto this place.
Large and small fragments of rock continuously fell from the sky toward the ground, and the dull sound of collisions echoed endlessly.
Even space itself had directly collapsed in the explosion area, forming an extremely unstable zone. Here, time and direction became completely chaotic, and light could not pass through normally.
And on one of the most remote islets of Seirai Island, there was a shrine that was not too large.
In the open ground in front of the shrine, there were several human-shaped pits, surrounded by numerous cracks.
Many cats had been frightened and hid in the shadows. Only one cat boldly approached the pits, keeping a wary eye on the danger within while remaining ready to alert the others.
Suddenly, a sound came from one of the pits. The cat's fur immediately bristled, and it retreated to a distance to watch tensely, while the other cats remained hidden in their various hide-and-seek spots as usual.
A hand reached out from one of the pits, and then with a forceful pull, Lumine pulled herself back to her feet, holding the still-unconscious Paimon in her arms.
Lumine hurriedly and tensely checked Paimon's body. After finally sensing that she was not seriously injured, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Afterward, Daphne and Sangonomiya Kokomi also returned to the surface one after another. Both of them bore traces of blood on their bodies; the previous impact had caused them significant injuries.
However, they showed no concern for their own wounds at all. Instead, they hurriedly used their power to pull the others out of the ground.
Before long, everyone was brought back to the surface one by one, but except for the three of them, everyone else was still unconscious.
Moreover, the others' faces were extremely pale, their clothes were stained red with blood, and in such a short period of time, another small pool of blood had formed beneath them, and their breathing was also very weak.
Even several people's bodies showed abnormal twisting, most likely because many of the bones inside their bodies were broken, and their breath was like a thin thread.
Seeing this, the three of them immediately changed their expressions, Sangonomiya Kokomi immediately used all her remaining strength to summon jellyfish to heal everyone.
Daphne also drew a magic array, and a dense life aura surged out of it, pouring into everyone's bodies.
Fortunately, the rescue was timely, and combined with Sangonomiya Kokomi and Daphne's abundant healing power, everyone's originally paper-white faces quickly turned rosy at a speed visible to the naked eye, and their breathing also became much steadier.
At this moment, the three of them finally breathed a sigh of relief, Sangonomiya Kokomi almost fell to the ground because her strength was exhausted, but she was timely supported by Daphne to find a place to sit down.
Only now did Lumine have the extra energy to observe the surrounding environment, and then she saw that familiar shrine, and a surprised expression appeared on her face.
This is Asase Shrine! It's still here!
If so, maybe Neko and the other cats are also...
As Lumine thought, she looked around and indeed saw Neko, who also had a surprised expression on her face. Her heart beat a little faster with excitement.
Lumine had previously thought that Neko and the others had either met with disaster or fled Seirai Island. She never expected them to still be on Seirai Island, and in good health.
Seeing a familiar face, the cats finally emerged from various corners out of curiosity and slowly walked toward the group.
Neko even came in front of Lumine and asked curiously.
"Traveler, why did you come here? It's very dangerous here right now."
"By the way, the commotion up there just now was probably caused by you, wasn't it?"
Hearing Neko's question, Lumine subconsciously looked at her spokesperson. However, the spokesperson was currently unconscious. Lumine immediately scratched her head in anxiety, but fortunately, Sangonomiya Kokomi spoke up to help her out of the predicament.
"We were fighting a dangerous enemy just now, so the commotion from the battle was a bit loud. Are you all unhurt?"
Sangonomiya Kokomi also knew about Neko, so she wasn't curious about the other party being able to speak.
Neko shook her head and spoke.
"The little ones are all fine. Because we were far away, although a few stray rocks fell here, we were lucky and it didn't cause much trouble."
"The lightning from the sky didn't strike this place either, perhaps because of the Shrine's protection."
Hearing Neko's explanation, the three were a bit surprised but didn't think much of it.
"Even so, it's still too dangerous here. How about you evacuate with us?"
At this moment, Sangonomiya Kokomi had absolutely no intention of going back to fight. Except for Lumine, they had all lost their combat effectiveness, and the Marks on their bodies were completely exhausted. Persephone, on the other hand, had barely used any of her strength and hadn't even unleashed her true power, yet she had easily toyed with them in the palm of her hand. Going back now would be completely futile.
Moreover, if they wanted to run, they had to hurry, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to leave once Persephone returned!
Hearing Sangonomiya Kokomi's proposal, Neko shook her head.
"I'll pass, I need to stay here. But I'll let the little ones leave with you. I believe you can protect them well."
After speaking, Neko leaped over to the other cats and let out a series of long and short "meows." Before long, all the cats emerged from their hiding spots, gathered before Neko, and looked at the three with nimble and curious eyes.
Then Neko began to persuade all the cats, but from her somewhat agitated "meows," it could be felt that the persuasion was not going particularly smoothly.
The rising and falling meows merged into a beautiful melody, and the unconscious people gradually woke up one by one.
"Traveler!"
When Paimon shook her head and fully woke up, she immediately threw herself into Lumine's arms and wailed loudly.
"That was so terrifying just now! I thought I was a goner and would never see you again!"
Lumine gently stroked Paimon's head, her face full of tenderness.
"Princess, I'm so glad you're okay!"
Seeing this scene, Enjou felt a bit jealous, and then he also followed Paimon's example, throwing himself at Lumine while crying loudly.
Lumine's eye twitched, and then she gave Enjou a big slap without hesitation, sending him lying back on the ground.
Being treated differently, Enjou silently drew circles on the ground with a face full of resentment.
"Milady, are you okay?"
After waking up, Thoma's first instinct was to look around for Kamisato Ayaka. Seeing that she had already awakened and seemed to be in good condition, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm fine, Thoma. Thank you for everything earlier."
Hearing Thoma's words, Kamisato Ayaka immediately turned to face him with a reassuring smile.
Just before, Thoma had thrown himself in front of her, taking many of the impacts for her. It could be said that aside from the three who had awakened first, Kamisato Ayaka had the lightest injuries.
"There's no need to be so formal, Milady. Protecting you is my duty!"
Thoma patted his chest as he spoke, then turned his gaze to Arataki Itto.
At this moment, Arataki Itto also slowly woke up. As soon as he did, he used his booming voice to shout,
"Shinobu, Shinobu, Shinobu, where are you?! Shinobu, wake up!"
Kuki Shinobu, unable to endure the noise any longer, raised her hand without even opening her eyes and accurately stuffed a wad of towels into Arataki Itto's mouth, sealing it shut. Only then did she stretch her incredibly stiff body amidst Arataki Itto's muffled whimpers and stand back up.
Seeing that everyone was safe and sound, Kuki Shinobu couldn't help but sigh with relief.
"To have survived an impact of that scale, our lives must be pretty tough."
Hearing these words, everyone turned their gaze to Lumine.
If Lumine hadn't swung that final sword with all her strength, neutralizing part of the impact, many of them would have ended up eternally asleep here.
Thinking of this, everyone gratefully nodded to Lumine. She hastily waved her hands, signaling that there was no need to be so formal.
Just at this moment, Neko finished discussing things and came before everyone again.
"There are a few little ones who refuse to leave this place no matter what. I'd like to trouble you all to take them with you after I feed them the specially prepared food that will cause them to fall unconscious."
"They are still very young; they shouldn't stay here with me to endure the dangers."
Hearing Neko's words, Sangonomiya Kokomi tried to persuade her again, but Neko refused to leave the shrine no matter what.
Just then, Arataki Itto finally spat out the stuff in his mouth. Then, with an expression of disbelief, he pointed at Neko and stammered.
"A-A cat spoke!"
"Idiot Boss, what's so strange about that?"
"Foxes, Tanuki, and even Red Oni can speak. What's so strange about a cat speaking?"
Hearing Kuki Shinobu's words, Arataki Itto finally nodded in sudden realization.
"I guess that's true... Wait! Why are Red Oni listed last? Does that mean in your heart, Shinobu, a Red Oni speaking is more unbelievable than a fox or a Tanuki speaking?!"
"No, it's because Red Oni are more important in my heart, so I put them last."
"So that's how it is!"
"Hahaha, I never expected you to trust me, your Boss, so much, Shinobu!"
Everyone cast strange looks at the odd pair, then returned their gaze to Neko.
"Alright, maybe after this, this place will be a bit safer."
Sangonomiya Kokomi gave up trying to persuade Neko. Her words weren't entirely meant to comfort the other; she deduced that Persephone would likely change her base of operations next, after all, this place was almost completely destroyed.
Hearing Sangonomiya Kokomi's words, Neko nodded.
"I'll be troubling you."
"Traveler, Paimon, I'm sure if we're destined to meet again, we will soon."
Upon hearing Neko's words, Lumine and Paimon's faces both showed a worried expression, but they couldn't find a better solution either.
Just then, Daphne stepped forward and spoke to them.
"How about this, I will set up a defensive Magic Array here. This way, even when faced with some danger, it can protect her safety."
Seeing the arrangement left behind by Daphne, everyone felt a little more at ease.
They had seen Daphne's strength, and it could be said that as long as Persephone did not take action in person, Neko's safety should not be a problem.
Next, because they were worried Persephone would discover their traces, after completing their preparations in a very short time, everyone said goodbye to Neko, and then took all the kittens and escaped from Seirai Island, unaware that all their movements were under the gaze of three pairs of eyes.
At this moment, Persephone was sitting comfortably on a throne in the air hundreds of meters high. On her knees, a small pink fox was sitting cross-legged, and Persephone's slender fingers were gently sliding through the thick, soft fur of the pink fox one by one.
However, such a slight movement made the pink fox's body tremble uncontrollably, her eyes filled with intense fear, showing no trace of the coziness of being petted.
Of course, it was normal for her to be so frightened, after all, even if Persephone only used a single finger, she could easily crush ten of her to death.
Obedient.jpg
The pink fox was, of course, Yae Miko's prime form. This was probably the most obedient she had ever been since she grew up.
Originally, Yae Miko had been somewhat puzzled. After all, Kitsune Saiguu was not very skilled in combat, yet she could still be resurrected by Persephone and even kept by her side at all times.
But now she finally understood. Good grief, it was just to simply satisfy Persephone's personal little fetish!
Kitsune Saiguu, who was beside her, felt Yae Miko's fear and couldn't help but speak to Persephone.
"Lady Persephone, how about letting me do it."
Hearing Kitsune Saiguu's words, Yae Miko's eyes filled with tears. Lady Kitsune Saiguu was truly too good to her!
"Very well, you two can do it together."
Persephone nodded and spoke.
Kitsune Saiguu and Yae Miko: "..."
Half a minute later, a white fox and a pink fox were lying on each of Persephone's thighs, as Persephone's two hands gently stroked their bodies.
Yae Miko and Kitsune Saiguu exchanged glances, seeing the resignation and despair in each other's eyes. In the end, Kitsune Saiguu could only offer Yae Miko a comforting look, trying to reassure her.
After all, she had already grown used to the same treatment. Since they couldn't resist, they might as well enjoy it thoroughly!
Yae Miko's heart grew even more sorrowful after receiving this "senior experience" from Kitsune Saiguu.
She had originally thought Kitsune Saiguu was doing well here, only to find out she had also become a pet.
The only thing that brought Yae Miko any solace was that even Kitsune Saiguu had not escaped this fate, meaning they could at least keep this shameful secret together.
As long as no one knew, it had never happened!
While the two foxes were lost in their thoughts, they completely failed to notice Persephone's gaze turning toward another figure moving alone.
After seeing Sangonomiya Kokomi's group escape from Seirai Island, that figure immediately followed.
Seeing this, Persephone's lips curled into a slight smile. Things were getting more interesting!