Chapter 117. Battle Part 7
"Rumble!!!"
A terrifying blast, carrying an indescribable Electro shockwave, surged toward Shenhe, Sangonomiya Kokomi, Kuki Shinobu, and the others battling Signora not far away.
"Not good!"
Kuki Shinobu's expression changed instantly. One glance at the aftermath was enough for her to understand what was about to happen.
"Everyone, be careful!!! Stop Signora!!!"
Because everything had happened too quickly, she could not warn Sangonomiya Kokomi and Shenhe through the chat group. She could only shout at the top of her lungs to alert them in advance.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!!!!"
The next second, like shattered glass, the barrier Kuki Shinobu had set up was torn apart by the residual force of Scaramouche's attack.
Even the lingering shockwave from Shouki no Kami had destroyed most of her earlier barrier.
That alone showed just how terrifying Scaramouche's power really was. He looked pitiful before Futsu Mitama, but in front of Kuki Shinobu and the others, he was as dreadful as an Archon.
There were differences even among Archons, but below the Demon God Realm, that gap was an unbridgeable chasm.
No matter how hard one tried, resistance was impossible.
"Good opportunity!"
Signora seized the chance at once.
She had been waiting for exactly this moment.
That Scaramouche fellow actually did quite well! So he finally noticed her side?!
Right now, Signora was in a rather miserable state. Several new wounds covered her body, and although none were fatal, they continually disrupted her condition.
Sangonomiya Kokomi and Shenhe had intended to wear her down slowly.
Signora understood that, but she had no choice but to buy time.
She was hoping her teammates, Dottore and Scaramouche, could do something and turn the situation around.
So until this opening appeared, Signora had remained unusually calm, even willing to take losses to stall.
Fortunately, it had all been worth it.
Scaramouche was not completely useless after all.
As long as the barrier was broken, Signora would be like a bird out of a cage.
She would be free.
"You won't succeed!"
Sangonomiya Kokomi also sensed the danger and immediately moved to block her.
She invoked her ceremonial garment, her aura swelling with a Demon God's majesty. She extended her hand toward Signora and clenched it sharply.
Hydro element power gathered around her, condensing into water dragons that lunged toward Signora one after another.
Not only that, Kokomi also spun out countless Hydro threads, weaving them into a cage to trap Signora in place.
She did not need to hold her for long, only a dozen seconds.
That was enough for Kuki Shinobu to repair the barrier.
And once a new barrier formed, Signora would be trapped again.
This little trick of forming a cage with Hydro threads was something Kokomi had learned from Yelan during her time in Liyue.
According to Yelan, Hydro had many marvelous uses, and when paired with Cryo users, its power became even more effective.
So Kokomi's attack was not only creating an opening for Kuki Shinobu, but also setting the stage for Shenhe.
"Hmph!"
Signora did not hesitate.
She fully unleashed the Cryo Archon's authority, and an icy chill spread out in all directions.
In an instant, the water dragons rushing toward her froze into ice dragons.
Even the Hydro threads that had not yet finished forming the cage were frozen in place.
"Take this!"
Kokomi was unsurprised.
The Cryo Archon had dispersed divine power and turned it into authority, then bestowed it upon the Fatui Harbingers.
Wasn't that simply a way to enhance their strength?
As a Divine Priestess, Kokomi understood all too well how terrifying the power left behind by an Archon could be.
On Watatsumi Island, she herself could draw on a portion of Orobashi no Mikoto's remaining power.
Although it was only about thirty to forty percent of Orobashi's strength, it was still enough for her to handle all sorts of disasters on Watatsumi.
So now, in a place lacking water, Kokomi still managed to conjure an unimaginable tide and send it crashing toward Signora.
Signora's eyes flickered with shock.
She had clearly not expected Kokomi to reach this level.
This woman is dangerous. To be able to create such a massive tide in a place without water—
If she were on Watatsumi Island, with the terrain advantage and the power left by the deceased Demon God, wouldn't she possess strength rivaling a Demon God herself?
To be honest, Signora was genuinely alarmed.
What was going on in Inazuma? First Futsu Mitama, now this Sangonomiya Kokomi.
It was fortunate she had never gone to Inazuma again after that incident.
With her small frame, a third trip there might have meant facing two and a half Demon Gods.
As for why she called it 2.5 Archons, Signora believed Sangonomiya Kokomi only possessed Demon God-level combat power under special conditions.
Kokomi could count as half an Demon God, while Futsu Mitama and the Shogun were true Demon Gods.
And their hostility toward her— well~~, that hardly needed saying.
Still, this Kokomi had no home-field advantage right now, while Signora had been gathering strength for a long time, waiting for this exact opening.
She was not going to be stopped here.
Signora fully used the Cryo Archon's authority, but she did not try to freeze the oncoming tide.
Instead, she condensed a giant ice spear and hurled it forward.
The spear collided with the tide, creating a brief freezing effect, but the wave was far too large. Only a small portion of it was frozen.
Signora immediately swung her long whip, now blazing with heat, shattering the frozen section before slipping through the opening in the tide.
"Hm?!"
But the moment she passed through, Shenhe was already standing before her, holding Calamity Queller and thrusting directly at her.
Signora frowned.
She knew Shenhe had been behind her just moments ago. So how had she suddenly appeared in front of her?
Did she teleport?
While thinking this, Signora waved her hand, and countless ice-forged weapons appeared around her, slashing toward Shenhe.
She only had half a minute.
If she could not break through by then, she would be trapped here forever.
"..."
Shenhe continued her silent assault with Calamity Queller.
A blue light shone in her eyes, and a chilling murderous aura radiated from her body.
The ice-forged weapons were shattered one after another by Shenhe's spear.
At the same time, she threw several ominous-looking talismans at Signora.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
Signora did not want to keep tangling with Shenhe.
The chill around her body had already weakened significantly.
She had fully unleashed the Cryo Archon's authority just now to break through Kokomi's attack, and to activate it again would take time.
So Signora was in a very awkward state now, with her old power exhausted and her new power not yet replenished.
But she still had one trump card.
Crack!
Something shattered.
A Cryo-infused Delusion was completely destroyed.
Shenhe's brow furrowed, and her sense of danger made her immediately retreat instead of pressing forward.
A violent flame burst out from Signora's body, the liquid fire swallowing her form.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
Signora laughed wildly.
For other Fatui Harbingers, Delusions were tools that amplified power.
But for Signora, this intensely cold Delusion was the thing that restrained her strength.
An almost incomprehensible blaze surged forward, instantly engulfing the talismans Shenhe had thrown.
Without slowing even slightly, it rushed straight toward Shenhe.
"Boom—!!!!"
The talismans exploded inside the flames.
The power of ice surged only to be swallowed by the fire in the next instant.
"This power isn't ordinary," Sangonomiya Kokomi warned.
She immediately used Hydro power to form a barrier for Shenhe.
Kuki Shinobu looked at Signora laughing amid the flames and could not help recalling the Mondstadt legend.
"The Crimson Witch of Flames..."
"Boom—!!!!"
The blistering fire swallowed Shenhe, though with Kokomi's support, she herself suffered little damage.
On the contrary, Shenhe's fighting spirit burned even brighter.
Yes, this was how it should be.
Earlier, Signora had only been passively defending like a turtle, unwilling to fight head-on.
This was better.
If she was going to fight this desperately, then Shenhe would stop her just as fiercely.
With that thought, Shenhe did not dodge.
She tightened her grip on Calamity Queller, and several talismans floated from her body and attached themselves to different parts of her form.
"Buzz——!!"
Under the enhancement of the talismans, Shenhe's aura steadily rose, and the Vision she carried shone with dazzling light.
Cryo energy began to revolve around her, and even the searing flames could no longer approach.
"Deep Sea's Blessing!"
Kokomi, not far away, immediately recognized Shenhe's intent.
Without another word, she fully unleashed the Hydro energy in the surrounding area and created another towering tidal wave that crashed toward Signora.
Meanwhile, Kuki Shinobu was still repairing the barrier, but to her frustration, a second shockwave hit again and utterly destroyed the barrier she had painstakingly restored.
"Rumble——!!!"
A loud explosion sounded in the distance.
Kuki Shinobu did not even have time to watch the chat group's live stream, so she had no idea what was happening on Futsu Mitama's side.
But she knew she could not keep repairing the barrier now.
Since it had already been completely destroyed, she might as well join the battle and help Shenhe bring Signora down.
Thinking that, Kuki Shinobu took a stack of talismans from her chest. She bit her finger, drew symbols with blood, and began chanting.
"In the name of the Narukami Great Lord, descend thunder to destroy all evil!"
"Boom——!!!"
Purple lightning struck Signora one after another.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
Signora still laughed loudly.
She was in an unprecedentedly excellent state.
After releasing the power of the Delusion, it felt as though everything had returned.
SHE WOULD BURN EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD TO ASHES WITH HER LIFE.
Signora turned into a blazing tornado and rushed straight at Shenhe, completely ignoring Kuki Shinobu's attacks.
"..."
Kuki Shinobu watched that familiar scene and her expression turned complicated.
For a moment, she could not tell whether she was too weak or Signora was simply too strong.
Shenhe, meanwhile, threw Calamity Queller toward Signora, trying to see whether she could pierce through the true body hidden inside the flame tornado.
But Calamity Queller passed straight through.
There seemed to be no living being inside at all.
Shenhe's brow twitched slightly.
Realizing something, she immediately formed hand seals, channeled all the surrounding Cryo energy into a talisman, and hurled it out.
"Cryo Transformation!"
The talisman erupted with astonishing cold, then transformed into an icy tornado that slammed directly into Signora.
Ice and fire collided, canceling each other out.
Within the flaming vortex, Signora's figure became faintly visible.
"Insane—she actually transformed herself into an elemental lifeform."
Kokomi realized why Kuki Shinobu's and Shenhe's physical attacks had failed earlier.
It was because Signora had become an elemental lifeform in her tornado state.
In other words, the flaming tornado was Signora herself.
If that tornado were extinguished instantly, Signora's life would end then and there.
"Indeed insane. As expected of the Fatui Harbingers, they're all madmen."
Kuki Shinobu nodded in grim agreement.
Right now, Signora was burning her life away to fight. When those flames finally died out, so would she.
She was fighting so desperately, and all for the sake of escape.
Kuki Shinobu was left speechless.
Shenhe's combat sense was extremely sharp.
The moment she saw Signora's figure appear within the flame tornado, she rushed forward without hesitation.
Calamity Queller returned to her hand of its own accord.
Pfft!
Shenhe did not hold back.
She drove Calamity Queller straight through Signora's abdomen and immediately followed up by pulling out several more talismans to seal her enemy's movements.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
But Signora grabbed Shenhe by the shoulder.
She looked up, her beautifully twisted face filled with madness, and shouted,
"GOT YOU! NOW YOU CAN'T ESCAPE!!!"
As she spoke, the scorching flames around her gradually vanished, replaced by an icy chill.
She wants to self-destruct.
Seeing this, Shenhe immediately understood that Signora intended to detonate the Cryo Archon's authority within herself and force a mutual destruction.
And Shenhe knew exactly how, because Scaramouche had used the same move in the previous chat-group livestream to avoid Futsu Mitama's killing blow.