Chapter 114. Battle Part 4
"Are you a pufferfish?"
Futsu Mitama stared at the suddenly "swollen" Scaramouche and, for a rare moment, found himself at a loss for words.
Only moments ago, this man had been on the verge of being cut down. Now, with more than half his body gone, he still wore the look of someone who believed victory was already in his grasp?
To be honest, Scaramouche's baffling confidence left Futsu Mitama genuinely confused. Most people would not behave like this.
But Scaramouche had always carried himself with that same infuriating arrogance, as though he were the greatest being in the world, ever since the first time they met.
It was just—with such an obvious difference in strength between them now, did he really think a single mech could bridge that gap?
Futsu Mitama acknowledged that Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, did have some ability. But to think it could completely suppress him was still a little too arrogant.
"Pufferfish?"
Scaramouche's face darkened at once. He had clearly been about to speak, but the moment he heard Futsu Mitama's assessment, his expression turned ugly.
He, an Archon, had been called a pufferfish? Was the other party saying he was swollen?
Ridiculous.
"Fine. Fine!" Scaramouche's expression turned terrifying. He stared at Futsu Mitama and said, "I'll show you what real terror looks like!"
The moment he spoke, Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, raised its hand and elemental shields rose one after another.
At some unknown point, Futsu Mitama had already reappeared before Scaramouche, Seven Thunder of Retribution: Narukami descending in a clean, merciless arc.
"Crack!!!"
The elemental shield shattered instantly. Futsu Mitama looked at Scaramouche with calm eyes, clearly intent on killing him.
Seeing this, Scaramouche was like a startled cat. Without saying a word, he controlled Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, to lift him upward.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
The face of Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, shifted and split open, creating an opening that swallowed Scaramouche inside.
"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!!!"
Inside the mech's face, one pipe after another extended out, directly piercing into Scaramouche's back. A terrifying surge of energy began to flood into his body.
"Buzz—!!!"
Purple lightning flashed in Scaramouche's eyes. His aura intensified violently, and the severed half of his body began to wriggling and connecting with the mech at a visible speed.
Futsu Mitama frowned slightly and stepped back several paces. He looked at Scaramouche with curiosity.
So this was probably the final boss of the Sumeru chapter, was it?
He had not finished the Sumeru storyline before transmigrating, but he did know one thing: Scaramouche would eventually become an Archon with the aid of the Sumeru Akademiya.
And the only ones who could stop him were Lumine and Nahida.
At this point, it seemed basically impossible for Nahida to defeat Scaramouche head-on. Her only possible path to victory would be to use her authority to influence him.
But even with that, the gap in raw power could not be ignored.
So then what about the four-element Lumine? Did she have enough strength to barely contend with an Archon?
If so, then Lumine's progress needed to be accelerated.
She had to get to Inazuma and Sumeru quickly, because if Lumine's strength kept rising, that would be a good thing for the Chat Group as well.
As Futsu Mitama was thinking this, La Signora and Shenhe were locked in an intense battle on another front.
"Damn it!"
La Signora's face was dark with frustration, but when she saw Scaramouche enter Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, her expression finally eased a little.
So he had finally realized he was useless, and only now decided to crawl into the mech after being beaten by Futsu Mitama for so long.
She had to be careful now.
Just as La Signora was thinking this, Shenhe suddenly thrust her spear forward, and the ice puppet beside her charged at the same time, spear in hand.
La Signora narrowly avoided the strike, quickly regaining her composure and whipping out her own weapon while simultaneously using the Empress's authority to force them back.
This guy is a monster.
Looking at Shenhe's expressionless face, La Signora kept cursing inwardly.
Her opponent was far too abnormal. In just a few minutes of fighting, she could already feel the pressure slowly rising.
To keep an eye on Sangonomiya Kokomi and the hidden Kuki Shinobu, La Signora could not go all out.
Even so, with her Archon authority, she was still a relatively strong existence in the Demon God Realm.
Not to mention she had lived for nearly five hundred years. Her combat experience, and everything else, was far richer than Shenhe's.
She was one of the Fatui Harbingers stationed in the Abyss. There was no way her experience or strength could be weak.
But Shenhe, this "junior," was truly a monster. She seemed born for combat, growing stronger as the battle dragged on.
If this continued, she might really be killed.
So La Signora had to place her hopes on Scaramouche. If he was completely suppressed by Futsu Mitama, then next year would be her death day.
But if Scaramouche and Futsu Mitama engaged in a true Demon Gods-level clash, she might be able to use the shockwaves to escape successfully, even if injured or badly wounded.
Her goal, of course, was escape.
Preserve her strength, and keep it for the world the Empress had spoken of.
Soon, Scaramouche's states had completely stable and fully connected. Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, specially built for him by the Akademiya, had many functions.
Now, inside the mech, he looked down at Futsu Mitama below, a mocking smile on his lips.
"You no longer have a chance, Futsu Mitama."
"I am complete now. This world has always been impatient for my birth. But I know too that you fear my birth. You fear my power."
"If only it had taken a little longer, I would have become even more perfect."
As he spoke, Scaramouche crossed his arms. The embarrassment and fear from before had vanished entirely. It was as if entering Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, had transformed his entire mindset.
Now, with this enormous power swelling through him, with his wounds healed and Futsu Mitama looking tiny as an ant below, Scaramouche genuinely felt there was no need to continue fighting.
He had already won too much.
Of course, that thought lasted only an instant. He would not let Futsu Mitama go.
After all, this man had given him humiliation beyond imagination.
Such humiliation had to be washed away with blood.
"?"
Futsu Mitama slowly typed a question mark in his mind. For a moment, he truly did not know what to say.
Finally, he sighed and spoke with helplessness.
"I say, Kunikuzushi, aren't you a little too self-satisfied? We're not stopping the God Creation Project because we fear your birth. We're stopping it because we don't think it's worth wasting time on. We have our own things to do."
Scaramouche only responded with a sarcastic smile, as though he had already seen through everything.
Plans? Other matters? All excuses.
If there were truly such important things to do, then why stop him from becoming an Archon?
"But… Kunikuzushi? You still call me that even now?"
Scaramouche felt the power surging through his body, spread his arms, and said proudly,
"That is an ancient code name to me. When the spirit sublimates into an Archon, it feels as though I have lived for ages. Looking back from this body, the existence called Kunikuzushi is so small, so ugly."
As he spoke, the face of Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, lowered slightly, shielding Scaramouche within.
At that moment, a pressure even more terrifying than before swept toward Futsu Mitama.
It had to be said that Scaramouche, now fused with Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, did have some tricks. If the two were separated, Futsu Mitama was confident he could kill them in a few moves.
But now, it would take a little more time.
Futsu Mitama looked at him and teased,
"So you think your name is no good? Then what if I call you Raiden Cannon? Would you answer to that?"
"Heh, a childish trick."
Scaramouche assumed Futsu Mitama was trying to provoke him, but he did not care. Instead, he said calmly,
"Just right. I acknowledge your strength."
"Every Archons born into this world, every Gnosis, should carry the word 'strife.'"
"To be honest, your arrival made me feel destiny."
"This Gnosis should have been yours, but fate brought it to my side."
Futsu Mitama did not even know which part of that to mock first.
The Electro Gnosis had been painstakingly obtained by Dottore. How did Scaramouche make it sound like fate's arrangement?
Besides, Raiden Ei disliked it. Yae Miko disliked it too. And Futsu Mitama himself did not particularly want it.
It did improve combat power somewhat, but only a little.
Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, lowered its head, "watching" Futsu Mitama as it spoke proudly,
"I know you truly want this Gnosis, and Beelzebub also doesn't want it to leave Inazuma."
"But I think this is inevitable. I will become an Archon, and you will stand before me, trying to take my Gnosis."
"You and I are both Archons. I believe you should understand that feeling too—that urge to speak the truth after being born as an Archon."
Futsu Mitama scratched his head. For some reason, Scaramouche suddenly felt a bit "high" to him.
He had been fairly normal before, but after entering Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, he gave off an increasingly strange feeling, as though every emotion had been amplified.
Does forcing yourself into the Demon God Realm with a Gnosis make you this inflated?
But Scaramouche took Futsu Mitama's silence as agreement and continued,
"I know that feeling very well. It is the desire to prove one's birth into this world."
"We crave battle. Strife like the Archon War. That was an era meant for 'us.'"
"Archons are the rulers of Teyvat. We are the masters of that war, and the world should go mad for us."
Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, clenched its fists, seeming to express something, and Scaramouche said in an excited voice,
"I believe you must deeply regret not being able to take part in the true Archon War."
"When I saw Buer, I was very, very disappointed. There are truly Archons in this world who do not crave power. Her strength is too weak—too weak."
"So weak I can't bear to look at her. Archon Buer is the God of Wisdom, yet she has no wisdom and no power. No wonder her people abandoned her."
"But you are different, Futsu Mitama. You control Beelzebub, everything except the Gnosis, and possess the faith of the people of Inazuma."
"You are my true opponent. Your existence is proof of my birth."
"Now, let us recreate a corner of the Archon War and legitimize my birth as an Archon!"
By the end, Scaramouche's voice had grown almost mad with joy, like a child about to receive a favorite toy.
But Futsu Mitama only shook his head slightly. Standing on the ground, he looked up at Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal—at Scaramouche within—and raised Seven Thunder of Retribution: Narukami, pointing it straight at him.
"You are wrong," Futsu Mitama said seriously. "I don't feel the way you describe. After becoming an Archon, I only felt how small I was."
"Because being an Archon is only the beginning. The Archon War you speak of was never an Archon feast. It was a war that swept across all Teyvat. War should not be glorified. Back then, Demon Gods were only Demon Gods. Now Demon Gods are called Archons. Think carefully about that."
As he spoke, Futsu Mitama gave the blade in his hand a slight wave. A terrifying aura burst outward, purple lightning wrapping around him as The Omnipresent God's Wheel slowly rotated behind him.
"Hahahahahaha?! Demon Gods?!"
"I am an Archon! Under the Seven Leaves, only I will endure!!!"
Scaramouche laughed wildly and roared,
"If you win, I'll admit what you say is correct! Take this!"
Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, moved.
Its enormous hand gathered the light of Water and Electro Elements and fired purple-blue beams toward Futsu Mitama.
"Swish—!"
Futsu Mitama did not dodge. He rushed straight toward Scaramouche, swinging Seven Thunder of Retribution: Narukami fiercely and cutting down the beams of Water and Electro.
"By the way," Futsu Mitama said calmly, looking at Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, "if you and I really returned to the Archon War, we'd only be among the weakest Demon Gods."
"One must know one's limits, Kunikuzushi. Do you really think you could defeat Beelzebub and Morax?"
Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, swung its giant hand downward, trying to knock Futsu Mitama out of the air.
Scaramouche did not answer, because he knew it was impossible.
No one understood Beelzebub's terror better than him.
And Beelzebub might not Morax's opponent either—he knew that possibilty too.
That was the Geo Archon who had lived to this day, the most terrifying existence on Teyvat now. Even during the Archon War, he alone had been able to contend with numerous Demon Gods.
But even knowing that, even knowing that if he returned to the Archon War he would not stand a chance against those two, Scaramouche still could not accept Futsu Mitama's words.
If he agreed, then he would lose.
"Buzz—!!"
A spatial rift opened, and a giant hand made of pure Electro Element emerged from it, forcibly gripping Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal's hand.
Another rift opened, and a hand holding a tachi reached out, slashing at Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal.
"Boom—!!"
Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal's chest was blown open, and violent purple energy surged out from within, colliding with the tachi and triggering a terrifying explosion.
The ground shook.
Futsu Mitama and Scaramouche were locked in ferocious combat. In just a few exchanges, this God Creation Project experimental site was already on the verge of collapse.
"However, one thing you said is correct," Futsu Mitama said, looking directly at Scaramouche. "The victor can do everything he wants. I will take you back to Inazuma, and Ei will decide your fate."
To be honest, at that moment, Futsu Mitama was suddenly curious how the usually arrogant Scaramouche would react when he saw Raiden Ei.
In the Chat Group, Raiden Ei had also @-ed him, saying that if possible, he should bring Scaramouche back to Inazuma and hand him over.
Later, she had also told him not to hesitate because of her, and to fight normally.
Even if Scaramouche were left with only a head, she could repair him. She was very, very skilled at that.
She was terrible at cooking, but extremely good at puppetry.
As for what Raiden Ei wanted to do, Futsu Mitama would not ask. He only needed to capture Scaramouche and bring him back.
"Delusional!"
Scaramouche's voice sharpened, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"I will never be taken back by you!!!!!"
As he spoke, Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, grew even more berserk, its movements becoming faster.
If Futsu Mitama had said he would kill Scaramouche or humiliate him, Scaramouche would not have reacted much. In his view, that was only proper for an enemy.
If Futsu Mitama did not even think of him as a worthy enemy, then he was not fit to stand against him.
But what was Futsu Mitama saying now?
Take him back to Inazuma? Hand him over to Beelzebub to decide his fate?
What a joke.
Scaramouche had an innate fear of Beelzebub—Raiden Ei.
Even now that he had become an Archon, that fear remained. Perhaps only when his own strength truly surpassed hers would he be able to face the shadow she had cast over him.
But now it was different. If Futsu Mitama really defeated him and brought him back to Inazuma for Beelzebub to judge, then he might as well be killed outright.
"Hehehehehe, that's not up to you."
Futsu Mitama saw Scaramouche's attitude and let out a villainous laugh, his own strength intensifying in his grip.
For a time, the battle between Futsu Mitama and Scaramouche grew even fiercer.
—
On another battlefield a little distance away, Shenhe and La Signora were feeling the pressure as well.
The clash between Demon Gods, even just the aftermath, was enough to keep them on edge.
La Signora's heart lifted.
Good. This was it. Fight more fiercely. The more intense, the better.
That way, she could seize the chance to escape this hell.
I can't drag this out any longer.
Shenhe was once again forced back by La Signora. A strange light flashed in her eyes.
She knew Futsu Mitama's battlefield had officially erupted into full-scale combat, which meant their own fight could not be delayed any longer. It had to be resolved quickly.
So Shenhe charged at La Signora again, while simultaneously mentioning Sangonomiya Kokomi and Kuki Shinobu in the Chat Group, telling them to act according to the situation and ambush La Signora to take her down.