"Ningguang—look!"
Keqing's small hand trembled as she pointed at the glowing screen.
Ningguang's pupils shook violently. She rose to her feet in shock.
"…Bones."
"Golden bones."
"Does that mean the Fifth Descender can also use the same power Bella gave the Electro Archon?"
The words slipped out instinctively—but Ningguang immediately realized the flaw and corrected herself.
"No… that's not right."
"Everything Bella granted to the Electro Archon was copied from Aerin."
"Because Bella herself is too weak, she couldn't perfectly reproduce his power."
"That's why the power Raiden Ei received was flawed."
Inside the Storm-Ravaged Imaginary Space
The instant the golden skeletal arm blocked Musou no Hitotachi, Raiden Ei staggered back several steps, her breathing erratic.
"That's impossible…!"
"How could you stop my full-power strike?"
She knew better than anyone how terrifying the Stigmata Elixir was.
With Susanoo amplifying her strength multiple times—
With the storm-filled Imaginary Space constantly recharging her—
With every possible enhancement stacked—
Her strongest blow had been stopped effortlessly.
What shattered her composure most was this:
Aerin possessed the same power as her—only vastly more refined.
"Damn it…!"
Golden light flooded her vision.
Raiden Ei raised her slender arms to shield her eyes, barely able to glimpse what was happening through the glare.
The golden radiance condensed, just as her lightning once had—
Taking shape.
Forming structure.
Circling Aerin.
"…He really can use Susanoo."
"Then everything he said was true?"
"I was deceived… Bella only gave me a copy of his power?"
The thought surfaced unbidden—and once it did, it refused to fade.
Aerin's golden Susanoo, after forming bones and armor, manifested into a giant nearly thirty meters tall—identical in structure to hers.
Raiden Ei frowned, recalling his words.
Legs… wings…
And then—
The golden giant changed again.
Aerin's body rose with it, bathed in blinding radiance.
"T-This is—!"
Raiden Ei lifted her head, staring upward in pure horror.
It was still growing.
And growing.
The Imaginary Space trembled violently under its expansion.
"Even this space… can't contain his power?"
"Our gap… is this vast?"
Her composure finally collapsed.
Her own Susanoo retreated repeatedly.
Like a sky-covering deity, the golden giant spread its wings, its shadow swallowing Raiden Ei entirely.
Panicked, she desperately searched around—
For Bella.
For help.
"Stop looking."
A voice thundered through every corner of the collapsing space.
That voice belonged to Aerin.
"She was never in your Imaginary Space to begin with."
"At this very moment, she's probably hiding somewhere—using the Stigmata Elixir's resonance—watching you lose."
"Beelzebul."
The name fell from the heavens like a death sentence.
"N-No… stop…!"
The Imaginary Space began collapsing.
Raiden Ei looked once more at the golden giant—nearly ten times larger than her own.
Despair crushed her heart.
Once the space shattered, they would reappear above Inazuma.
She could feel it—
If that giant struck…
Inazuma would be erased.
Perhaps even neighboring nations.
"Aerin—STOP!"
She flew toward him in madness.
At that instant—
The Imaginary Space shattered completely.
Golden light tore through the thunderclouds, raining down upon all of Inazuma.
"STOP! You'll destroy Inazuma!"
As she screamed—
The golden giant raised its sword.
"You're wrong, Beelzebul."
"If I wished it—"
"This strike would shatter not just Inazuma…"
"But the entire world."
After the Heavenfire Judgment that once shattered Teyvat's crust—
Aerin once again revealed power capable of ending the world.
The golden Susanoo—ten times larger than Raiden Ei's—stood upon the firmament like a calamity god.
Raiden Ei's thunderous Susanoo, charging toward it, looked no larger than a gnat.
If not for the stark contrast between gold and violet—
People might not even have seen her.
Zhongli gazed quietly toward the sea beyond Liyue Harbor.
There slept Osial, a god of enormous stature.
Yet even through the screen—
Zhongli felt suffocated by the presence of Aerin's Susanoo.
Grand Narukami Shrine
"S-So… big…"
"His Susanoo is more than ten times larger than mine…"
Raiden Ei collapsed to the ground in shock, waving her hands frantically.
"Miko—Miko! Is he going to destroy Teyvat?!"
Even Yae Miko's pink fur stood on end.
Swallowing hard, she forced calm into her voice.
"No. He's showing you how overwhelming the gap is."
"He wants Teyvat reshaped—not destroyed."
Only then did Raiden Ei breathe again.
But before Yae Miko could relax—
Raiden Ei's face flushed crimson.
"…Miko. I feel so embarrassed."
"I actually told him my full-power Musou no Hitotachi could erase a continental plate…"
Yae Miko nearly lost her sanity.
Aerin's original intent had been simple—
To teach Raiden Ei.
But Bella's interference turned everything uncontrollable.
Raiden Ei not only accepted Bella's power—
She postured before Aerin, utterly ignorant of the gulf between them.
Yae Miko rolled her eyes.
Her best friend had avoided every possible survival route—
And sprinted full speed down the road of self-destruction.
At This Moment
Bathed in golden light, Inazuma's people felt their souls leave their bodies.
For mortals—
This was their first time witnessing such majesty.
A golden god stood above the sky, gazing down upon the land—
Warning of mortal insignificance.
And yet—
Cleansing their ignorance with light.
"STOP—!"
As Raiden Ei screamed—
The golden blade descended.
The light spread silently.
Sweeping across all of Inazuma.
Mountains collapsed—then vanished.
The seas surged into towering waves.
The eternal lightning over Tatarasuna disappeared.
The fog over Tsurumi Island dispersed.
Storms above Seirai Island cleared.
Even the ancient lightning scars in Musoujin Gorge were purified.
Damaged ley lines—ruined by centuries of war—were sealed and restored.
The people of Inazuma trembled.
This sword was apocalyptic—
Yet not a single mortal was harmed.
Except—
Raiden Ei.
The golden power behaved as if it possessed will.
Violence was erased.
Corruption purified.
Ley lines healed.
Even Rifthounds roaming Tsurumi were annihilated on contact.
The only living being injured—
Was the Electro Archon before Aerin.
Zhongli: "What… terrifying power."
Neuvillette: "This exceeds all known frameworks of law."
Barbatos: "A single slash… with consciousness of its own?"
Jean: "Eula… do you know what power this is?"
Eula: "No… perhaps Benales would."
Lumine: "She's probably asleep."
Furina: "The corruption obeyed the light and vanished…"
Navia: "This is… overwhelming."
Yoimiya: "Inazuma looks brighter—but our Shogun…"
Ayaka: "He showed mercy. Her Excellency still lives."
The battle ended.
Without suspense.
Raiden Ei was utterly defeated.
That sword—
Even Heavenly Principles might not endure it.
Grand Narukami Shrine
Yae Miko stared at the screen, tense.
Had Aerin truly held back?
She knew that sword—
It was identical to the one that shattered Mondstadt's defenses.
He hadn't used full power.
Yet—
She remembered his words.
If defeated, Raiden Ei would suffer backlash.
"…Wait."
Cold dread crawled up her spine.
"He spared her… because he knew the backlash would be worse than death?"
Her gaze fell on Raiden Ei's back.
That foolish friend of hers was still awestruck—
Completely unaware of what was about to happen.
"Ah—!"
Raiden Ei fell from the sky, crashing hard into the ground.
Blood spilled from her lips.
Her Magatsu Mitake Narukami form faded.
Armor dissolved into her usual kimono.
"Aerin—!"
She raised her head—
Only to find a golden sword at her throat.
Aerin looked down at her calmly.
After a moment—
He withdrew the Xuanyuan Sword.
"I used the Primordial Void Sword Intent to cleanse Inazuma."
"The offshore storms."
"Tatarasuna's lingering lightning."
"Seirai's thunder."
"Musoujin Gorge's scars."
"Tsurumi's damaged ley lines."
"For centuries, your people lived under these conditions."
"You, as an Archon—"
He stopped.
"…It doesn't matter."
"You're finished."
"From this moment onward, Inazuma will have no Electro Archon."
"I will appoint Sangonomiya Kokomi, empowered as a Valkyrie, to govern Inazuma."
"It will take time to reshape belief."
"But time—"
"Is the cheapest thing we possess."
Mt. Aocang
Cloud Retainer trembled violently.
"…Primordial Void Sword Intent."
Shenhe and Ganyu stared at their master in confusion.
"Why are you so excited now?" Ganyu asked.
Cloud Retainer adjusted her glasses.
"It's not excitement."
"I was stunned earlier—speechless."
"This sword intent… resembles Adepti cultivation."
Shenhe frowned. "I don't feel that."
Cloud Retainer shot her a look.
"The name alone—Primordial Void."
"This is destiny between Adepti and the Fifth Descender."
Ganyu & Shenhe: "..."
Master might be losing it.
Aerin turned away, uninterested in Raiden Ei's state.
In his eyes, she was already at the end.
As he left—
"Ei!"
Yae Miko rushed to her side.
Ayaka and Ayato drew their blades, standing before Aerin.
"…Hm?" Aerin paused.
"You two should be hiding in the Yashiro Commission—waiting for the victor."
"I even thought I might enjoy the White Heron Princess's dance tonight."
"Instead—steel?"
"Watch your mouth!" Ayaka's hands shook violently.
"You harmed our Shogun. We cannot let this go."
Aerin understood.
They still believed in the Raiden Shogun.
Even if it meant death.
"How ironic," he smiled.
"My visit earned me enemies."
Yae Miko stepped in front of Ei urgently.
"I'm not killing her," Aerin said calmly.
"I spared her because I know what's coming."
"Bella's power to Beelzebul is like a mortal using a Delusion."
"No—far worse."
"If I'm right—"
"Her organs are already rotting."
"You're lying—!" Yae Miko shouted—
Then froze.
Black lightning flashed across Raiden Ei's body.
"Ei!"
Aerin nodded slightly.
"…The backlash has begun."
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