"Damn it. Damn it! Damn it! What is that guy doing here causing trouble! Why interfere in other nations' affairs!"
On a secluded beach somewhere in Inazuma, The Lady was cursing someone with an ugly expression. Because of that person's small actions, the Fatui's entire plan was affected.
She hadn't considered that the Fatui had always interfered in other nations' affairs, even doing far worse things than Durandal, but she never cared about those things.
In her heart, everything the Fatui did was correct, while what Durandal did was wrong, deserving of condemnation and denunciation.
If it were anyone else, she could use diplomatic means to criticize them, using moral blackmail from a position of superiority to criticize Durandal.
But Durandal didn't fall for that. She wasn't like others who would be influenced by so-called conscience.
She might have kindness, but conscience was definitely something she lacked, or rather, at Durandal's level, so-called conscience was completely superfluous.
Moreover, this was not the time to worry about those things. The Lady should be more concerned about herself. She had already made an enemy of Durandal back in Mondstadt. If the Tsaritsa hadn't intervened in time, she would probably have been a puddle of mud.
She knew very well that Durandal wanted to kill her, and Durandal didn't need to care about Snezhnaya or the Tsaritsa's feelings. Even if she killed her, the Tsaritsa wouldn't make any moves.
To avoid being caught by that guy, The Lady had to escape before the other party found her, return to Snezhnaya first, and then apply to the Tsaritsa to go to another nation to avoid Durandal.
"Aren't you ready yet? Can't you move faster?!"
"We apologize, Lady. Because you suddenly decided to leave Inazuma, we could only hastily prepare the departing ship."
An Electro Cicin Mage nervously said, "My Lady, you also know about the thunderstorms surrounding Inazuma. If we don't prepare properly, forcing our way through them would be suicide. Please give us a little more time; we will have the ships ready very soon."
Although Ei agreed to cancel the Vision Hunt Decree, the sakoku decree had not yet been lifted, and the thunderstorms around Inazuma persisted.
Not all ships could pass through the thunderstorm area like the Alcor. Although the Fatui had developed corresponding devices to deal with this situation, The Lady's request to leave was too urgent. They didn't have time to install the equipment on the ships, so they needed more time.
"Give you more time? That's equivalent to giving her time."
Normally, The Lady wouldn't mind giving those people time to prepare, but at a time like this, there was no more time for them.
The Lady's ominous premonition grew stronger. That guy... that guy was almost here, almost here.
"Ahhh!!!"
In extreme unease, a shrill scream echoed. It came from an Agent.
After that scream, a continuous series of screams followed, and the atmosphere on the scene immediately became heavy.
Enemy attack! This thought flashed through the minds of all the Fatui members present.
They ran rampant in other nations, and besides official organizations disliking them, some unofficial organizations also wanted to deal with them. Occasionally, they would encounter attacks.
But they could resolve all those troubles, and even if there were sacrifices, they were within an acceptable range, not to mention they had a Harbinger with them this time.
One must know that The Lady was very powerful. As long as The Lady was present, no matter who came, they believed there would be no... Hmm? My Lady, what's wrong with you? Why do you look so terrible?
Eh~ Wait a minute, what do you mean by looking like you're about to run away? Are you really going to run away? Have you really betrayed us?
Under the gaze of the Fatui, The Lady quickly ran towards a certain spot, clearly intending to leave this place.
On her escape route, a black shadow emerged from the ground, and a terrifying beast crawled out from within. Its terrifying red eyes stared at The Lady, blocking her path.
"Get out of the way! Beast!"
She didn't have time to waste on such a thing now. She had to leave here as quickly as possible while the other Fatui members held off Durandal.
The power of the Cryo Element continuously spread. The Lady tried to freeze it, just like she had dealt with others in the past.
"Roar!!!"
Facing the oncoming cold wind, the beast did not flinch. It let out a furious roar, and then its body transformed into a pitch-black hurricane, with countless ominous liquids splashing from it.
These liquids did not fall towards the sea but landed within the land area, targeting the Fatui.
The Lady's heart trembled. These liquids reminded her of her past experience in Mondstadt. Not daring to face them, she directly enveloped herself in the Cryo Element, thus avoiding the liquids.
The other Fatui did not have such means. The liquids more or less stained their bodies.
At first, they didn't take it seriously. Those who frequently carried out dangerous missions like them had rolled in mud before. Such dirt was nothing to them.
This thought did not last long. They quickly discovered the problem: these stains were not as simple as they imagined. They... they were corroding their armor! Corroding their skin.
Their bodies were completely unable to resist, and even using the power of their Delusion was ineffective.
Screams continued to ring out. These Fatui could only watch in endless pain as their bodies dissolved, eventually turning into a puddle of mud.
This scene was exactly the same as what happened in Mondstadt. When The Lady emerged from her frozen state and saw this, her face turned pale. She could confirm that the other party had truly arrived, and she had come to settle the score with her!
"Long time no see, The Lady. You... you really made me search for you."
The Lady's body trembled violently. She spun around abruptly and saw a dark figure dragging a great scythe walking towards her.
Each time she passed a Fatui member, their remains would be swallowed by the black shadows surging from behind her, leaving no trace.
"Durandal... you persistent nuisance, do you really want to oppose Snezhnaya so much?"
"Always the same words. Every time you encounter a difficult opponent, you like to bring up Snezhnaya and the Tsaritsa, don't you? The last Doctor I killed also showed this tendency, but he wasn't as lucky as you; he's already dead by my hand."
The Lady's breathing hitched. She had heard rumors of the Doctor's death before, but she didn't know who had killed him, only that he had been eliminated in Mondstadt.
Because the Doctor had done such things and was discovered, Snezhnaya didn't dare to use this matter to threaten Mondstadt. Now that she thought about it, only Durandal had the strength to deal with the Doctor and even kill him under the Tsaritsa's protection.
Now, it was her turn. This time, Durandal had come for her with a resolute killing intent. Whatever she said would be useless.
"Do you think... you can still manipulate me like before? Don't underestimate me too much! Do you think you're a God, so you can do whatever you want?!"
"I never thought of doing whatever I want; it's always you people from Snezhnaya who want to do whatever you want. I came for you this time because of a personal grudge. These Fatui didn't have to die, but they were with you, so they can only blame their bad luck."
Durandal suddenly frowned. Did she talk a bit too much this time? She used to not talk so much when she wanted to deal with someone.
Indeed, after traveling with Lumine for a long time, she had also become verbose. She used to just act directly; when did she become so fond of talking?
Shaking her head, Durandal decided not to discuss those things with The Lady. She would just solve the problem quickly and go back. If she didn't deal with this guy this time, who knew when she would see her again.
To prevent her from escaping, Durandal summoned several clones, having them surround the area, giving The Lady no chance to escape.
At the same time, she also connected to the sacred sakura tree through Raiden Makoto's power, disrupting the surrounding ley lines through the sacred sakura tree, preventing The Lady from escaping via the ley lines.
With all this, The Lady basically had no chance of escaping. The next step was to settle the score.
The main point was what she had done to Venti. Although Venti voluntarily gave up his Gnosis, her actions to harm Durandal were real. Lumine was also present at the time and saw what The Lady did to Venti, making it even more impossible to let her go.
Dragging her great scythe, Durandal walked towards The Lady without a word. Along the way, The Lady continuously summoned the Cryo Element to attack, but these attacks were destroyed by the black shadows Durandal summoned before they even got close.
Such a level of attack couldn't DMG Durandal. If she hadn't been worried that too strong a plague would affect the surrounding ecology, The Lady would have died long ago, and it wouldn't be this troublesome.
The Lady was strictly speaking a mage. Faced with Durandal's attacks, she could only flee in disarray. Even if the Tsaritsa granted her power, allowing her to temporarily increase her strength, it would only prolong her resistance under Durandal for a short while.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! You're an eyesore, an eyesore! You're really too much of an eyesore!"
The frustration of battle made The Lady recall some past events. Those long-buried memories gradually made her irritable, and everything around her began to change with The Lady's emotions.
"Hmm? Is this... a butterfly?"
Butterflies made of the Pyro element. This was clearly not something that would appear in Inazuma; if anything, it should be butterflies made of the Electro Element.
So, the only possible reason for these things to appear here was... Durandal didn't have to wait too long. Around The Lady, who was originally still controlling the Cryo Element, a large amount of the Pyro element appeared.
As if to incinerate everything around her, even her body underwent a different change.
"Is this what they call a'second phase'? Or is this actually her true form?"
Perhaps she had been pushed too hard, forcing her to reveal this appearance. Now, she looked like something out of a story... a "witch."
It was just a casual remark, but The Lady reacted very strongly.
"Don't you dare call me… a witch!?"
The commotion was a bit too loud. Even though this place was somewhat secluded, the noise The Lady was making was excessive. Sooner or later, they would be discovered.
"I need to finish this quickly. I originally wanted to play with you slowly, but it seems you're not in the mood, so never mind."
Durandal summoned a giant claw, which held an even larger scythe, casting a shadow large enough to cover The Lady's entire face.
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