Paimon asked Anzai, "Why were you following him? Aren't you fellow disciples?"
Lumine looked at him. "You were fellow disciples, right?"
Anzai lowered his head.
In the end, this matter was his own fault—his mentality had been flawed.
Before Domon arrived at the Meikyou Shisui school,
Anzai had been certain he would inherit the dojo.
After all, among all of his master's disciples,
he had the best talent, had trained the longest, and carried everyone's expectations.
"But Domon's arrival changed everything. I lost to him in a duel, humiliated and stripped of my status, fleeing the school in disgrace."
Paimon: "You just had too many distractions in your heart..."
[Paimon's Precise Roast]
[Wanted to inherit the school, wanted to be the strongest—wanted everything, yet still claimed to be free of worldly desires?]
[No wonder he lost. It was inevitable.]
Anzai didn't refute Paimon's words.
Back then, his heart truly had been impure, so losing to Domon was only natural.
But what Anzai could never forgive Domon for was this:
Domon, in his pursuit of becoming the strongest, challenged their master.
Their master was already advanced in years, and that duel drained the last of his vitality.
"After that, I never wanted anything to do with him again."
"But if I'm being honest with myself... I still respect his swordsmanship, his dedication to the path of the sword."
Lumine: "So you chose to visit him in secret?"
Anzai admitted that he hadn't believed Domon could have gone mad at first.
"How could he possibly lose his mind? He was the one who embodied 'Meikyou Shisui' to its absolute extreme."
"What surprised me the most was that... he still remembered my name..."
At this point, Anzai's expression grew complicated.
"I thought he'd forgotten me long ago."
Mu Yang, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
He told Lumine that Anzai meant no harm.
Lumine agreed—she believed Anzai's account as well.
Otherwise, she would've already dealt with him harshly when they caught him.
Just then, Kamisato Ayaka emerged from the shrine.
She announced that Yae Miko, the Guuji, had finished preparing the ritual.
The group moved inside the shrine, with Anzai following as well.
This was Lumine's first time seeing the Sacred Sakura.
It was... hard to describe. The shrine was full of fox statues, sure,
but why did the sacred tree itself also look like a fox?
Domon's condition remained unstable.
His two disciples stood by his side.
Then, Yae Miko stepped out from the building.
Her demeanor, her aura—Paimon couldn't handle it.
"Th-That's Lady Yae, right? Just like Junpei said... her presence is overwhelming."
The camera slowly zoomed in, giving Yae a dramatic close-up.
——————
[Yae Sakura (dog head)]
[That mysterious smile—where's the 'overwhelming presence'? LMAO]
[Wifey~]
[Everyone's your wifey, huh?]
[Fox sister's gaze is so alluring…]
Guinaifen admired Yae's devastating beauty.
"Tsk tsk, I almost went gay."
[Really? My yuri senses are tingling!]
[Ugh, Su Shang forgot to switch accounts again. So cringe.]
[Mu Yang's just staying in the shrine—what if the fox spirit kidnaps him?!]
"Don't worry, folks. Aside from us, Mu Yang treats everyone the same."
Guinaifen said, "I can already picture their dynamic—Yae says ten sentences, and Mu Yang just replies with an 'Mhm.'"
[LMAO, I can see it now.]
[Fox: Mu Yang, I hate how dense you are.]
——————
Back in Teyvat, Paimon whispered into Lumine's ear.
"Is it just me, or did she sneak a glance at us just now?"
Lumine had sensed Yae Miko's gaze too.
"Maybe Mu Yang told her about us."
Paimon thought that made sense.
After emerging, Yae Miko had only glanced at Lumine once
before turning her attention to Domon.
The latter was clutching his ears, muttering incessantly.
"Don't come any closer... Stay away from me..."
"I've stopped practicing swordsmanship... Please, just leave me alone..."
The shrine maiden who had been preparing the ritual spoke up.
"As you can see, Lady Yae..."
"Mr. Domon has been in this state the entire time. It seems he can see the people he defeated in the past, now surrounding him, hurling curses at him. It's causing him immense distress."
Nanako asked worriedly, "Lady Yae, is my master... possessed by an evil spirit?"
When she had first come to the shrine, Yae had only told her to bring Domon over.
She hadn't explained the true cause of his condition.
"Master... he was never like this before. No matter what happened, he always faced it with a smile..."
Despite Nanako's anxiety, Yae remained unhurried.
She spoke slowly, "I'm afraid your master is not possessed by any evil spirit."
"Then... what's wrong with him?"
Yae Miko crossed her arms, watching Domon tremble uncontrollably.
"That's right. He brought this upon himself."
"Unable to withstand immense pressure, his mind fractured, his sanity collapsed, and he descended into madness."
"Like a drowning man, flailing desperately, only to sink deeper into the cold, dark abyss."
Yae paused.
"As for the trigger... I suspect it was losing his Vision. Having one's Vision taken means having one's 'ambition' stolen."
After hearing Yae's words, Lumine thought to herself—this aligned almost perfectly with her own analysis.
Paimon didn't quite understand. "His ambition was stolen? But Domon's ambition was..."
Lumine: "'To become the strongest in the world.'"
"Right, that's what his senior disciple said earlier."
Paimon voiced her confusion.
"But if his ambition to be 'the strongest' was taken, shouldn't he just want to live as an ordinary person?"
"Exactly, Lady Yae. Why would my master suddenly go mad?"
Yae turned to the two disciples of the Meikyou Shisui school.
"Your school is called 'Meikyou Shisui', correct?"
They nodded.
"It's a fine name. But in this world... does 'Meikyou Shisui' truly exist?"
[Mu Yang: I think it can.]
[Are you a pro gamer? I think I am.]
Yae began 'praising' the members of the Meikyou Shisui school one by one.
"Those who claim to be free of worldly desires still leave in anger after losing to a junior."
"Aged swordsmen still cling to resentment, eager to duel their own disciples one last time."
"And those who seem untroubled by distractions—when they defeat their masters and seniors, are they truly unaffected?"
The two disciples only half-understood—they were still newcomers.
"Lady Yae, you mean..."
"The path of the sword is ever-changing. For a mortal to claim the title of 'the world's strongest swordsman'... is no easy feat."
After saying this, Yae deliberately glanced at Mu Yang.
The camera cut to him—he was leaning against a pillar near Lumine,
his expression completely unmoved by Yae's words.
Perhaps this was what 'a heart free of distractions' truly looked like.