「Spiral Abyss Floor 7 Cleared. Total Cumulative Time: 24 minutes 52 seconds.」
Hu Tao and Xingqiu sat on the ground, panting heavily, while Arataki Itto gritted his teeth, forcing himself to remain standing.
[Arataki Itto: Hahahaha! As expected of the world's number one! Well? Do you see how powerful this young master is now?]
[Kuki Shinobu: Alright, alright, Boss. You still have three arrows stuck in your backside. Maybe pull those out first?]
Itto finally noticed: "Huh? What? OW! OW OW OW!"
[Xiangling: We had no idea the thirty-minute limit was for all three teams combined!]
[Sucrose: Only five minutes left...]
[Rosaria: We did our best.]
They all realized the situation was dire. The camera shifted to the ninth floor—a void of swirling violet and black energy. The pressure here was immense. The timer began to tick.
Kamisato Ayato and Kujou Sara immediately sprinted forward. Knowing time was scarce, they had to reach the center to trigger the monsters.
The Ley Lines erupted with a mechanical clack-clack-clack. Ten machines glowing with purple malice rose from the ground.
[Ganyu: Ruin Guards! Be careful!]
[Lisa: They can't hear us. Only five minutes left.]
The Ruin Guards stood tall, spinning their torsos as homing missiles launched from their backs.
Paimon: "Watch out! Homing missiles incoming!" Paimon zipped upward to dodge.
"Electro-flash!" Kujou Sara used her Tengu Stormcall, summoning the protection of the Crowfeather while blinking away from the attack. In one smooth motion, she drew her bow and fired a bolt of lightning straight into a Ruin Guard's core eye. A perfect hit. The machine spasmed with electricity and slumped to the ground, temporarily disabled.
Kamisato Ayato didn't stay idle either. At his original position, he left behind a "Shunsuiken" water illusion.
Boom boom boom boom... The missiles slammed into the watery image.
Ayato charged toward three Ruin Guards. Knowing every second counted, he unsheathed his blade: "Kamisato Art: Kyouka!"
Slash-slash-slash-slash! His swordplay was blindingly fast as he entered the Takameguru Kanka state, cutting through three Ruin Guards simultaneously. His watery blades sliced deep into their metal carapaces. Under his relentless assault, the three machines began to crack and fall apart.
Kujou Sara's precision archery had already neutralized a second machine.
[Kamisato Ayaka: Go, Brother! You can do it!]
[Xingqiu: There's a chance! Work together!]
[Amber: The time is...]
Just as everyone in the live room was tensely watching the clock and Paimon was cheering on-site...
CLANG—
The entire broadcast screen turned a brilliant violet for three seconds. The sound was like the air itself being sliced in two.
In Mondstadt, Venti chuckled as he reached out, waiting for Master Diluc to look away so he could refill his glass from a wine bottle. In Liyue, Zhongli sat at Xinyue Kiosk, taking a slow, calm sip of fragrant tea.
Paimon: "Wha... what happened?"
[Jean: What just happened?]
[Ningguang: What happened?]
[Keqing: What happened?]
As the vision cleared, the entire floor of the Spiral Abyss was awash in the lingering glow of lightning.
[Kaedehara Kazuha: It's... it's the Almighty Shogun.]
[Kaeya: How could we have forgotten about the Shogun?]
Clad in purple and wielding her naginata, the beautiful and imposing Ei walked forward. Behind her, seven Ruin Guards—including the two Sara had restricted—lay in shattered pieces on the floor. Every trace of black and purple filth had been purified by the lightning.
Ayato had destroyed three. The Raiden Shogun had handled the other seven with a single strike.
[Keqing: Is that the legendary Musou no Hitotachi?]
[Yae Miko: No, no, not quite. That was just a casual swing from Ei.]
The sound of people swallowing hard filled the chat. This was the power of a God.
Ei gripped her naginata and asked: "Must this be finished before the time expires?"
Kujou Sara nodded, her voice filled with awe: "Y-yes, Your Excellency. Otherwise, all twelve of us would face punishment."
The Ley Lines surged again. This time, eight even larger, mutated Ruin Graders emerged!
Ei gripped her weapon as lightning coiled around her: "Illumination... Aeternum!"
A flash of purple lightning, and a Ruin Grader was sliced clean in two.
"Illusions shattered!"
"Nowhere to hide!"
Two more fell. The speed was so fast it left the viewers speechless. Sara glanced at Ayato: "We take one each!" The two immediately went into action; they couldn't let the Shogun do all the heavy lifting.
[Chongyun: Kamisato Ayato and Kujou Sara are incredible too. Inazuma is full of masters.]
[Thoma: Of course! I'm the only one who's just a housekeeper.]
[Kaeya: This is the Elite Live Room, after all. Anyone invited shouldn't be underestimated.]
[Bennett: So amazing... I'm so jealous. If I had that kind of strength, Benny's Adventure Team would definitely grow huge!]
With an Archon present, it took less than two minutes to wipe them all out. There was no need for the Musou no Hitotachi.
「Ding—Floor 9 cleared. Total time: 27 minutes 45 seconds.」
「Collective punishment complete. Participants will be teleported back in five minutes.」
「Extra Reward for completing the task within the time limit and purifying the filth: A luxury Anpan (bean bun) gift box for everyone. Arataki Itto receives glutinous rice snacks.」
Reward boxes appeared in front of all twelve people.
Xiangling: "Awesome! I love these bean buns!"
[Yanfei: Xiangling, save some for me!]
[Yun Jin: I have some here too!]
[Kamisato Ayaka: Al... Almighty Shogun...]
Ei sat down cross-legged and immediately opened her box to start eating.
[Ei: What? Is this reward not meant for consumption?]
Kujou Sara slid across the floor to her side, her face flushing deep red: "Your Excellency, let us eat... let us eat together!"
Ei continued eating, finishing the buns in one bite each. They were perfectly suited to her tastes.
"Kujou Sara, why is your face so red? Are you feeling unwell?"