"Lumine, we really have to go!"
Aether immediately turned to Lumine and spoke, realizing they truly had no chance of defeating Persephone. Lumine simply shook her head stubbornly; she would never flee alone at a time like this.
"Lumine!"
Aether grew anxious, but if he tried to take her by force, he still couldn't defeat her.
"Brother, you go."
Hearing Lumine's words, Aether's body shuddered violently, and he immediately spoke with a grave expression.
"No, if you don't go with me, I won't leave alone either."
Aether heard a trace of resoluteness in Lumine's voice, as if she had made some kind of decision.
Lumine shook her head, then clashed again with Raiden Ei, who was charging toward her. Meanwhile, after Sangonomiya Kokomi's healing, the others launched a new wave of attacks.
This time, the Expeditionary Force also mounted scattered counterattacks. However, because the vast majority of their equipment and Clockwork Meka had been left on Seirai Island, the power they displayed was extremely limited.
But they wanted to do something. They had already clearly realized their status as a burden. Many of them had red eyes, partly due to the sacrifice of their comrades, and partly because they didn't want Neuvillette and Zhongli to be caught off guard by Persephone while protecting them.
"Sigh, are you really so eager to send me to the heavens?"
Persephone casually parried several attacks from the Guardian Yaksha, then crushed the extending rock ridge with a single step. Finally, she raised her hand to block the surging torrent of water rushing toward her, and looked indifferently at Zhongli and Neuvillette as she spoke.
"Actually, to ensure their safety, you don't necessarily have to force me to go to the heavens."
"We could completely change our approach... How about they go to the heavens instead?"
Persephone's words made everyone pause for a moment. Before they could even begin to ponder the meaning behind her words, they saw Persephone flash down to the ground, then bend over, burying her hands deep into the earth as the golden light on her body grew more and more dazzling.
Finally, the earth moved.
Under everyone's horrified gazes, the entire Tenshukaku in front of them began to shake violently. Accompanied by one terrifying tearing sound after another, in the end, Tenshukaku and a large chunk of the ground were actually lifted up by Persephone's hands.
Persephone's small figure formed a sharp contrast with the towering Tenshukaku, and this scene gave the people present a tremendous shock.
Then, Persephone, acting as if she were throwing out a large bag of trash, appeared completely casual and indifferent, and Tenshukaku flew backward like a meteor, carrying an unimaginable blast of air, soaring toward the sky at an utterly terrifying speed.
After flying for a period of time, the entire Tenshukaku gradually disintegrated because it could not withstand such terrible force, and as for the people on top, their bodies were completely crushed into a bloody pulp in this process.
In the end, Tenshukaku and everything atop it turned into light under everyone's horrified gazes, until they vanished completely.
After doing all this, Persephone first looked up at her masterpiece, then nodded in satisfaction, and finally looked at everyone again and asked.
"How was that? Have you learned?"
Just as Persephone's words fell, the people of Inazuma City finally woke as if from a dream, and then the scene completely spiraled out of control.
"Persephone!"
Zhongli let out a voice of extreme, suppressed fury, then used all his strength to launch a lethal strike at Persephone.
The others also followed Zhongli's actions, attacking Persephone together. A massive amount of Elemental Power gathered, and at this moment, most gods would be torn to shreds by this terrifying torrent of energy if they were in Persephone's position.
However, Persephone only laughed, as if she felt no threat at all. She first punched the Stone Spear in Zhongli's hand to pieces, then raised her hand and slapped Zhongli deep into the ground.
Next was Neuvillette. Facing the surging pillar of water coming head-on, a golden light shot out from Persephone's body, clashing with it directly.
Because Neuvillette was standing to the left, he was ultimately sent flying again by this terrifying impact.
Next were Lumine and Aether. They were briefly intercepted by Raiden Ei, after which Persephone gave each of them a kick, sending them falling directly toward the distant sea.
In the end, the impact they carried kicked up a terrifyingly huge wave in the sea, and their figures completely vanished into the water.
As for the attacks from the others, it went without saying. Persephone didn't even bother to act herself, merely giving Raiden Ei a glance, and the other immediately stepped forward to block all the attacks.
As the battle proceeded to this point, Yae Miko couldn't help but feel somewhat fortunate that she had surrendered quickly. Otherwise, she might have been among those lying on the ground or those who had already departed for another world.
Moreover, now that Raiden Makoto had also been resurrected, if she and Kitsune Saiguu worked a bit harder and made Persephone feel good, Kitsune Saiguu, Sasayuri, and Torachiyo would not be without a chance of resurrection.
Although Raiden Makoto was not currently standing on Persephone's side, it was obvious that because of Raiden Ei, Persephone would not do anything too drastic to her, and there was basically no need to worry about her safety.
As for the ordinary people of Inazuma and other familiar faces, especially her dear friend Ganyu... Yae Miko could only say that there are no such perfect things in this world.
To get something, one must inevitably pay a price.
Oh right, there was one more thing: watching the battle from a first-person perspective was truly thrilling!
Raiden Ei first swept away all the others, finally facing Raiden Makoto.
If everyone had fought from the beginning, they might have been able to contend with Raiden Ei for a while, but by now they had already been wounded countless times, and their stamina was almost completely depleted, making it impossible to deal with the current Raiden Ei.
When Raiden Ei and Raiden Makoto clashed, Raiden Makoto looked at Raiden Ei's indifferent expression, her face full of sorrow.
How she wished she could reach out and touch the other's face, even though this was a scene of a long-awaited reunion, their positions now were completely different.
"Ei, will you stop?"
After hearing Raiden Makoto's words, Raiden Ei's body flinched slightly, and then she spoke faintly.
"Sister, we can't go back."
"Her shadow has already been branded upon me, and now I am her blade."
"This is a tampering of cognition; she has already become the most important existence to me."
"Even though I clearly know that all of this is the influence of her power on me, I still willingly embrace it."
Hearing Raiden Ei's words, Raiden Makoto was utterly shocked.
To alter the cognition of a god, Persephone's strength could undoubtedly already be compared to the world, and could even influence the Ley Lines and Irminsul to some extent.
At this moment, Raiden Ei spoke to Raiden Makoto again.
"Sister, you should leave."
"I don't want to fight you, but if she orders me to, I cannot refuse."
After hearing Raiden Ei's words, Raiden Makoto's vision blurred once more.
As Raiden Ei's sister, how could she bear to see Raiden Ei lose herself like this? And the other had become like this for her sake.
"Ei, where else can I go?"
"This is Inazuma, the Inazuma that we have jointly protected for thousands of years!"
"We are rooted here, almost all of our memories are related to this place, and the people we know were born here, and entombed here."
Raiden Makoto spoke with tears streaming from her eyes, shaking her head continuously.
"Ei, you shouldn't have done this, you shouldn't have given up your self for me, and even betrayed those who believe in you and follow you."
"Clearly, clearly there should have been a better way..."
After hearing these words, Raiden Ei's heart was not very touched, because in her cognition, the things Raiden Makoto said were not very important.
"This is the best way I could find."
Raiden Ei spoke softly, then used a slightly gentler force to push Raiden Makoto away.
Afterward, Raiden Ei's figure turned into a streak of light, once again intercepting Lumine and Aether who were returning to the battlefield.
"We are finished..."
Someone's face was full of despair, the scene before their eyes was no longer something they could easily deceive themselves about, they could not see a sliver of hope of defeating Persephone.
At this moment, not many people were running around anymore, because they had seen with their own eyes how those who left the barrier fell before them in such agony, their expressions twisted. Not many of the remaining people had the courage or confidence to personally try going outside the barrier.
As the battle continued, the environment in Inazuma City became worse and worse. Not only was the air filled with all kinds of raging Elemental Power, but even a hint of Abyss Aura had appeared.
However, many people did not know where this Abyss Aura came from, but they had an extremely ominous premonition in their hearts, feeling that something big was about to happen.
In fact, their feeling was not wrong. As the environment further deteriorated, the Sacred Sakura Tree had gradually lost its power to suppress the Abyss, and this Abyss Aura was drifting over from Mt. Yougou.
Inazuma City was still okay, but many Abyss Monsters had already appeared near Mt. Yougou.
They could not keep wasting time like this, otherwise all of them would die here before long!
After Neuvillette assessed his current physical condition, he finally gave up the last shred of hope in his heart and decided to retreat.
But Neuvillette also knew that retreating would be extremely difficult. If no one blocked Persephone, not a single person would be able to leave.
After a brief moment of thought, Neuvillette made up his mind.
Then, Neuvillette secretly shared his plan with the others.
At this very moment, Keqing, who had experienced the collapse of her faith, the heavy casualties of her soldiers, and the near hopelessness of victory, was finding it increasingly difficult to resist the demonic voice in her mind.
"Accept me, and you will be reborn!"
"I will give you the power, and then you will fight!"
"Tear that woman apart completely, slice her limbs! Chop her to pieces!"
Keqing clutched her head, resisting the temptation of Aatrox's words.
"You are no match for Persephone at all, stop talking to me!"
"Heh, that's because no one can truly unleash my power, otherwise my blade could cleave the stars!"
Although Keqing was very reluctant to believe Aatrox's words, the more desperate a person becomes, the more they will grasp at some ethereal hope.
"No, I won't let you out!"
"Your existence is not a good thing for this world!"
"What a joke! You're about to die here, what's the point of talking about the world?!"
Aatrox's words made Keqing's body tremble, and her heart wavered more and more.
Yes, if she had to consider the safety of the world, it should at least be after defeating Persephone.
After all, Persephone was far more terrifying than Aatrox.
Just as this thought arose in Keqing's mind, a dense blood-red aura and an extremely ominous aura suddenly erupted from her body, and Aatrox's wildly mocking voice echoed in her ears.
"Ha... ha... ha... ha!"
"You wavered, you finally wavered, you weak, pitiful worm!"
Upon hearing Aatrox's words, Keqing immediately realized something was wrong. However, when she tried to suppress Aatrox's will with all her might, she failed.
Boom! A blood-red light erupted from Keqing's body, and a dense, bloody stench filled the air around her. The others even saw another world filled with corpses and architectural ruins appearing beside her.
A dark red Demon Sword had appeared in Keqing's hand at some unknown point, radiating an extremely ominous light that sent a chill through anyone who looked at it.
"Keqing!"
The others noticed Keqing's strange state and immediately cried out in alarm.
"Keqing, are you okay?!"
Paimon flew toward Keqing, but before she could get far, she felt a hair-raisingly evil aura and immediately fled.
Although Keqing could hear the others calling her name and see the worry on their faces, she could no longer respond.
Keqing was gradually losing control of her body as a terrifying, bloodthirsty demon was awakening within her.
Seeing this scene, Zhongli's expression turned extremely complex. As expected, the trouble he had caused by showing mercy back then had erupted at the worst possible moment.
At this moment, he was already giving his all just to maintain the barrier covering all of Inazuma City and fight Persephone, leaving him with no extra strength to deal with this problem.
But if Keqing were allowed to lose control at this time, the barely maintained situation would collapse in an instant.
Sangonomiya Kokomi had already reached her limit. Though her head was spinning, she dared not collapse at this moment, and even had to search with all her might for a way to break the deadlock.
Think, Sangonomiya Kokomi!
You've read so many books before, there must be a way to change the current situation!
But no matter what, Sangonomiya Kokomi couldn't think of that way. Persephone's strength made her feel despair.
In their previous battle against them, the opponent had not even used her full strength.
She wasn't even sure if the power Persephone was displaying now was her full strength.
Why, why is Persephone so strong?!
This made no sense. The strength of the other Numbered Members was at most at the level of an ordinary god.
Even if such a being truly existed, it should be No. 1.
Or was it that No. 1's strength had already surpassed the world...
The thought that sprouted in Sangonomiya Kokomi's mind made her heart skip a beat.