After La Signora completed her transformation, the temperature inside the hall spiked dramatically.
Waves of searing heat came rushing in, and crimson flames spread outward as if trying to devour everything in their path.
"Burn! Burn!"
"Reduce your souls to ash!!"
Lu Chen saw that La Signora's eyes were now completely hidden behind a black mask. She had unfurled her fiery red wings, and even the hem of her skirt was ablaze. The entire image was like a moth drawn to flame, exuding an eerie, scorching aura of death.
Suddenly, her flaming whip lashed out toward him.
Lu Chen's figure vanished in an instant. The moment he disappeared, the spot he had just been standing on melted from the extreme heat, flames erupting upward like a volcanic explosion.
"So hot! So hot!" Paimon cried out, nearly at her limit. Even with her small frame, there was nowhere to hide in the battle-ridden castle tower.
Lumine wasn't faring much better. She had initially set her sights on La Signora as her target, but ever since the transformation, she could barely get close.
Lu Chen, on the other hand, reacted with lightning speed, dodging every attack with ease. After repeatedly failing to land a hit on him, La Signora shifted her focus to Lumine instead.
Lumine was forced to dart and weave under the barrage of flaming whips. Her clothes were nearly ignited by the intense heat, becoming scorched and curled, and her body was burning up. She looked absolutely miserable.
"Lu Chen, you actually said I defeated this woman? Are you serious?!"
Suddenly it hit her—was Lu Chen messing with her? How had she ended up tangled in a battle between Harbingers, demigods, and actual gods?
"Believe in yourself. You can do it!" Lu Chen called out, trying to comfort the frantic Lumine as he scanned the battlefield for the missing Scaramouche.
That guy had slipped away the moment the battle began. Knowing him, Scaramouche hadn't fled—he was lying in wait like a snake in the shadows, biding his time for a sneak attack.
As he stayed alert for Scaramouche, Lu Chen glanced at the exhausted Lumine and Paimon. Both were flushed red from the heat, sweat pouring down their foreheads.
So he summoned Cryo and Anemo elements, letting the two forces collide and spread. In an instant, a wide, refreshing area formed in the midst of the chaos.
Paimon and Lumine quickly dashed over, visibly relieved the moment the cool air washed over them.
"You had that kind of trick and didn't use it earlier?!" Paimon snapped, hands on her hips.
"Lu Chen, are you lying to me? Can I really beat that crazy woman?!" Lumine's eyes were full of doubt and frustration.
"Of course it's true..." Lu Chen wasn't bluffing. In the original storyline, Lumine had indeed defeated La Signora in a duel before the throne—but things seemed to have shifted a bit this time.
La Signora's flowing skirt burned wildly as she laughed maniacally. Butterflies formed from flame swarmed toward the trio in a nonstop assault, creating a truly spectacular sight.
Perhaps still haunted by the humiliation at the Delusion Factory, La Signora seemed to be going all-out, recklessly attacking even at the cost of her own life.
She knew the terrifying strength of Lu Chen—this was her only option. Compared to her earlier duel with Lumine, this fight was far more intense.
"So many fire butterflies!!" Paimon screamed in panic, staring up at the ceiling.
The butterflies of flame surged from every direction toward the three of them. Lu Chen didn't hesitate. With a wave of his hand, he summoned the Jade Shield, blocking the chain of explosive flames before they could reach them.
Once the explosions ceased, the Jade Shield disintegrated. Lu Chen rarely saw that happen—proof of just how powerful the attack had been.
Though they'd blocked the onslaught, the brief reprieve brought by the cool air had vanished. The heat surged once again.
Paimon fanned herself desperately, only to find even the wind was hot.
"Ahhh, it's so hot...
"We're really gonna cook at this rate..."
Lu Chen glanced at the two of them and focused his energy again, summoning more Cryo and Anemo elements to restore the cooling field.
But just then, a sinister bolt of Electro energy shot toward him from behind—Scaramouche had somehow circled around unnoticed.
Lu Chen had been wary of him all along, but while he was distracted helping Paimon and Lumine cool down, his focus had slipped. Scaramouche had seized that exact moment.
"Die—"
Lu Chen didn't even need to turn around to sense the smug, sinister grin on the boy's face.
Hiding behind the Jade Shield, Lumine was the first to notice the sneak attack.
The lightning strike was aimed directly at Lu Chen's vital spot. Without a second thought, without time to even cry out, she instinctively raised the Traveler's Handy Sword to block the attack.
But Scaramouche hadn't put all his cards on the table.
He was also a puppet created by the gods—the first of his kind. His potential was on par with Raiden Shogun's puppet form, though it had long been sealed.
After joining the Fatui, that seal began to weaken. In a short time, he rose to become the Sixth Harbinger.
Lu Chen turned just in time to see Lumine flung away from the impact, hurtling straight toward La Signora's position.
Scaramouche was already in front of him, his face—strikingly similar to Ei and her puppet—mere inches away.
"Kagami: Sentence of No Mercy!"
A burst of purple lightning exploded, casting Lu Chen's face in a flickering glow.
In Scaramouche's hand was a finely forged steel naginata made from Tatarasuna's tamahagane, and his movements eerily mirrored Ei's martial forms.
Though Lu Chen had never seen him fight before he obtained his Vision, he could deduce most of his abilities from his background.
He had innate Electro affinity, mastered both Catalyst and close-quarters combat, and the weapon in his hand was likely forged by his own hands during his time in Tatarasuna—crafted in the style Ei favored...
"Lu Chen!" Lumine cried out in fear. From her perspective, the naginata had already pierced through him.
But with La Signora still relentlessly attacking, she had no choice but to keep dodging. Still, her heart was consumed by worry over what she'd just seen.
One of La Signora's fiery whips was barely deflected by her elemental power. Gritting her teeth, she glared up at the towering woman, cold fury radiating from her eyes.
"Enough already!?"
Without hesitation, Lumine charged toward the blazing La Signora.
Meanwhile, Lu Chen stood firm, gripping the naginata with one hand, staring coldly at the person before him.
Crimson blood streamed from the base of his palm, but the weapon's blade didn't budge an inch—frozen in place, unable to advance further.
"What?! How is that possible?!" Scaramouche was stunned. That strike should've had seventy percent of the puppet general's power. According to the intel, this man was still human—at most a demigod. How could a demigod stop such an attack with ease?
"You..." Lu Chen stared calmly into those widening violet eyes and tightened his grip.
The weapon, forged by Tatarasuna's finest blacksmith clan and tempered countless times, was crushed effortlessly in Lu Chen's hand.
"You've pissed me off."
With those quiet words, Lu Chen unleashed his full strength.
This time, he was going to teach this kid a proper lesson—for Ei's sake.