As Ei spoke these words, Lin Mo could clearly feel the unease in her heart from her trembling hands and the sweat beading on her palms.
Without a doubt, Ei was afraid of losing him again, just like she had all those years ago.
"Ei, I'm here. And I always will be." Lin Mo smiled as he gently took her hand.
Ei only nodded slightly, her eyes still filled with anxiety.
It was obvious—having experienced loss once, she could never bear to lose Lin Mo a second time. If it happened again, her heart would surely shatter.
Lumine and Paimon could also sense Ei's inner turmoil.
Paimon quickly tried to change the subject with enthusiasm. "Ei, why don't you tell us about the past with Makoto? How did she—"
Paimon had really stepped in it this time. She was bringing up a painful topic without meaning to.
The moment Ei heard the question, a flicker of resentment surfaced in her eyes.
Still, she patiently explained, "Makoto… she went to Khaenri'ah on her own, hiding it from me."
"But unlike me, she was completely unskilled in combat. Every time we faced similar dangers in the past, I was the one who stepped in."
"This time, the situation left her no choice. She could only hide me behind her."
"No… I should say, she hid me behind *herself*." "By the time I realized it…"
Ei's voice wavered, pain flashing in her eyes. "It was already too late. When I reached Khaenri'ah, I only made it in time to see her on the verge of death."
"By then, she was already unconscious. The only thing I could do was enter her consciousness space… To you, it might seem like a dream-like realm."
"There, we said our final goodbyes…"
"I cried so bitterly. Even then, I still couldn't understand her reasoning."
Ei's eyes grew even more resentful as she spoke. "Why was she the one to reach Khaenri'ah first, and not me? Why did she have to hide it from me? Was this what they call 'protection'?" "It was there that I made up my mind—I would pursue eternity!"
"To bear witness to that resolve, I preserved her crumbling consciousness space and brought it back to Inazuma."
"So that's how it was…" Paimon's expression turned bitter.
She never expected that trying to steer the conversation toward something lighter would still end up touching on painful memories.
Fortunately, Makoto had already returned, so this sorrowful chapter of the past was behind them.
But Ei, still lost in memory, continued, "When I returned to Inazuma, I was astonished to find a massive sakura tree on Mt. Yougou—the Sacred Sakura you all know."
"It just appeared out of nowhere!?" Paimon looked confused.
"Wasn't the Sacred Sakura always there?" Lumine asked, equally puzzled.
Ei went on, "As you said, everyone at the time told me matter-of-factly that the Sacred Sakura had existed since ancient times. They didn't understand why I was so surprised."
"No one questioned it. The existence of the Sacred Sakura clearly contradicted my memories. It seemed only I could sense that it had appeared out of thin air."
Ei sighed as she spoke. "In the end, I could only conclude that it was a miraculous phenomenon born from that consciousness space." "With the power of the Sacred Sakura, I was able to quell the disaster of monsters that struck Inazuma."
Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances.
Could a god's memory be wrong?
That sounded utterly unbelievable.
They both turned to look at Lin Mo.
Paimon directly asked, "Foreign Envoy, back when you were in ancient Inazuma, was that Sacred Sakura tree there?"
"Of course it was," Lin Mo said matter-of-factly. "After all, we used to have picnics under the Sacred Sakura all the time back then~" He turned to Ei with a smile and asked, "Right, Ei?"
Ei didn't answer right away, hesitating.
In her memories, there were indeed fond recollections of dining together under a crimson sakura tree.
But that was just a huge crimson sakura tree, not the Sacred Sakura that pierced through Mt. Yougou.
"Mm… I suppose so." Ei nodded faintly.
After all, she was already tired of explaining this matter.
Besides, everyone had returned now. Whether the Sacred Sakura had existed since ancient times wasn't really that important anymore.
Since this topic led nowhere, Ei turned her gaze to the distance and said calmly, "According to my investigation, the last group of monsters is just ahead."
The three of them nodded.
As long as they didn't bring up any more painful subjects, everything was fine.
So they followed Ei toward the final area where Rifthounds had appeared.
A few minutes later, they arrived at a cave on the edge of the sea near Narukami Island.
Looking around, the cramped cave still housed dozens of Rifthounds.
Ei stepped forward and said calmly, "Just like before, leave them all to me."
Paimon quickly put her hands on her hips and said, "Hey, hey, are you sure you're okay? Don't scare us~" She was clearly referring to Ei's earlier physical strain.
Anyone could see that Ei's performance in the previous battle had been less than stellar.
"It's fine." Ei shook her head lightly. "Fighting is what I know best." Without waiting for a response, she gripped her longsword and charged straight at the pack of Rifthounds in the cave.
At first, Ei's movements were fluid and decisive, cutting through the enemies with ease.
But suddenly, her body stiffened.
At that same moment, a Rifthound bared its fangs and lunged at her.
"Watch out!" Lin Mo immediately stepped forward.
"Solid as a rock!!" "Rumble!!"
A pillar of rock shot up from the ground.
It sent the Rifthound that was about to sink its teeth into Ei flying backward.
"Ei, are you okay?" Paimon asked anxiously.
"I'm fine… I…" Ei's words were clearly forced.
Lin Mo was about to step forward to support her and tell her to stop fighting.
But Ei raised her longsword again and pressed forward against the Rifthounds.
The first few swings did indeed sever the heads of several Rifthounds.
But then, in the next moment, as she clashed with a large Rifthound, her body stiffened unnaturally once more.
Lin Mo was quick to react, pulling Ei into his arms.
At the same time, his golden longsword flew from his hand, cleaving the Rifthound in two.
"Howl…" The Rifthound let out a pained cry.
Lin Mo looked down at Ei in his arms and asked, "Are you okay? Maybe you should let me handle this?"
"Yeah, yeah~" Paimon chimed in. "Ei, you're not in good shape. Don't push yourself, okay?"
"I… I'm sorry…" Ei pressed a hand to her chest, her eyes filled with discomfort.
"It's alright. Rest in the back for now. I'll deal with the monsters." Lin Mo said calmly.
"Mm… okay." Ei nodded gently.
But just as she spoke, a thick white smoke suddenly rose within the cave.
A fully armed squad of the Shogunate army emerged from the smoke, appearing before them.
"This place is…?" The leading general looked around in confusion.
He scanned the area and first spotted Lumine and Paimon.
"You are…"
"Ah, it's the Shogunate army! They're here!" Paimon exclaimed.
The general immediately led his squad toward Ei, looking at her back with respect. "General, are you injured?"
"It's nothing. My body is just a little stiff." Ei tried to act strong, not wanting her soldiers to see her weakness.
But…
It was obvious. Anyone could see that the young woman before them was clearly weakened, far from the imposing and majestic Raiden Shogun.
Without a second word, the leading general led his squad to stand in front of Ei, his gaze firm. "We, the Shogunate samurai, will protect the General's safety until the very last moment!"
As he spoke, the samurai squad crouched in unison, ready to draw their swords.
Seeing this, the Rifthounds seemed provoked, baring their fangs and opening their gaping maws.
"Brothers! The monsters are charging! Let's go!" The leading general shouted first.
"No, it's too dangerous!" Ei instinctively tried to stop them.
But the leading general chose to defy the order, responding with unwavering resolve, "This is our duty! If we were afraid of danger, we would never have picked up our weapons in the first place."
A nearby soldier also looked at Ei with determined eyes and said, "Don't worry, General. It's precisely in times of adversity like this that the power granted by the divine holds greater meaning!"
"That's… a Vision!" Paimon suddenly realized that the soldier had a Electro Vision hanging at his waist.
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T/N:
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