Inside the livestream.
[Jing Yuan: Is this… using someone else to kill?]
[Yanqing: No way, right? The enemy is at the gates, and they're still fighting internally?]
[Fu Xuan: Knowing the Kujou Clan isn't trustworthy and still assigning them responsibility—could it be more obvious?]
[Valerius: Acheron is ruthless. If I were Kujou Takayuki, I'd open the gates and switch sides immediately. Maybe I could even get a decent position under Miss Kokomi afterward.]
[Sangonomiya Kokomi: ...…]
[Kujou Sara: Uh… the head of the clan wouldn't… sigh…]
[Yae Miko: Oh my, this is going to be entertaining.]
[Yelan: And you can still laugh? Your Grand Narukami Shrine is under attack too.]
[Yae Miko: What's there to worry about? Worst case, I'll just surrender.]
[Raiden Ei: Miko… you…]
She was furious. As the Guuji, how could she think about surrender at a time like this?
[Jing Yuan: It feels like the Grand Narukami Shrine needs to be secured immediately, or Miss Yae might actually surrender.]
[Caesar: If you don't surrender, what else can you do? That's called valuing your life.]
[Yae Miko: You'd do well to keep quiet.]
[Lin: What Caesar means is… choosing the light over darkness.]
[Caesar: Right, right, that's exactly what I meant.]
[Sushang: Your word choice is worse than mine.]
[Guinaifen: You two are about the same.]
Tenshukaku.
After Kujou Takayuki left, Acheron turned to Kujou Sara.
"You're a tengu. You can fly?"
Sara nodded.
Taking out a map, Acheron pointed to a forest. "Go here and search for members of the Kamisato Clan. If you don't find any, follow the path up toward the Grand Narukami Shrine. You must find them."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
After checking the map, Kujou Sara immediately departed, spreading her wings and flying into the distance.
Once everyone had left, Acheron stepped outside and looked down at the battlefield below.
Her vision was filled with monsters laying siege. Kujou Takayuki was indeed commanding the troops, but his coordination was abysmal. Aside from plugging holes wherever they appeared, he had no real strategy at all.
"…Someone like this leads the Tenryou Commission?"
She was genuinely surprised. How could someone like this be in charge of Inazuma's military? This was far too incompetent.
Was this just the game, or was it like this in reality too?
[Raiden Ei: Sara, after this game ends, bring Kujou Takayuki to me.]
Even Ei couldn't stand watching anymore. She decided to personally evaluate him—if he was truly this incompetent, the Tenryou Commission might need a new leader.
[Kujou Sara: …Understood, Your Excellency.]
Seeing the battle line on the verge of collapse, Acheron let out a helpless sigh. Raising her hand, thunderclouds gathered in the sky, rumbling ominously.
Boom!
As her hand came down, countless bolts of lightning struck from above, crashing into the monsters outside.
In an instant, large swathes of them were wiped out.
[Jing Yuan: Wait… she can use combat abilities too?]
[Caesar: That's not fair.]
[Sushang: Not fair, not fair.]
[Kaeya: Then what's there to fear? That's basically invincible.]
[Zhongli: Not quite. The Shogun is likely being corrupted as we speak.]
As Acheron acted, black mist began to seep from the Raiden Shogun's body. A twisted shadow formed behind her.
Acheron felt her mind falter, her thoughts slowing, as if something was obstructing them.
"So this is the infection…"
The sensation reminded her of stepping into the Void—her mind dulled, her limbs heavy.
At the same time, an ominous aura began to appear around Raiden Ei as well.
She, too, was being infected.
At the critical moment, Acheron pulled out a pill and tossed it into her mouth.
As it dissolved, all the unpleasant sensations vanished. The Raiden Shogun's state returned to normal.
[Feixiao: Oh? That's not bad. She wiped out so many monsters and still recovered her condition. Big win.]
[Bronya: There are still two pills left. If used carefully, they'll be extremely helpful.]
[Neuvillette: As long as no more large-scale sieges occur, there's still a chance.]
[Furina: This is so unfair. She's using combat power.]
Everyone else had to clear the game as ordinary people—why did she get to be the Raiden Shogun?
[Valerius: Sigh… if Acheron hasn't realized it yet, the next one can get ready.]
[Yanqing: What do you mean?]
[Nahida: If the Shogun is infected, then the Electro Archon will also be infected. But Miss Acheron only cured the Shogun.]
[Keqing: Which means… the Electro Archon is currently infected, and she's in the Plane of Euthymia with Miss Acheron!]
[March 7th: It's over. I can already see Miss Acheron getting eliminated.]
[Welt: Sigh… just a little more attention… looks like she's about to suffer a setback.]
Welt shook his head. Watching Acheron reminded him of an old acquaintance. That tendency to run into trouble early on… it was just like Mei.
Inside the Plane of Euthymia, Ei had already stood up.
Dragging her slightly distorted body, she staggered toward Acheron and reached out to touch her neck.
"Don't mess around."
Acheron casually slapped her hand away. She was busy commanding the Shogun—what was Ei interrupting for?
[Valerius: Pfft—she's definitely going to get wrecked.]
Valerius sighed. Just like Mei—early on, she was bound to take losses. Back in Honkai, Mei had been beaten again and again until she became the Herrscher of Thunder. Now Acheron had already become an Emanator, yet nothing had changed.
After her hand was slapped away, Ei paused for a moment.
Then she reached out again—this time grabbing Acheron by the throat.
Acheron's body trembled. Her connection to the Shogun was severed, and her consciousness returned to the Plane of Euthymia.
She was already being lifted into the air.
…This is bad.
She had completely forgotten—if the Shogun was infected, Ei would be as well.
Quickly, she pulled out another pill.
But to her despair, Ei's expression was blank, her mouth tightly shut. There was no way to get the pill in.
"Cough… cough… eat… eat candy… something sweet…"
At the critical moment, she remembered that Ei loved sweets and forced the words out.
"Sweet!"
Ei clearly reacted to the word. Her lips parted slightly.
Seizing the opportunity, Acheron flicked the pill into her mouth.
"…Bitter."
The moment she tasted it, Ei immediately spat it out. This time, her eyes were no longer vacant—they turned sharp and hostile.
"Where did you put my candy?"
Her grip tightened.
Crack.
[Player Acheron eliminated. Game over.]
[Yae Miko: Pfft—died because the pill was bitter.]
[Sparkle: I can't—this is too funny.]
[Silver Wolf: Why are your eliminations always so… creative?]
[Stelle: If I don't stir things up, I feel uncomfortable.]
[Sushang: Great! If another one goes out quickly, I can escape punishment!]
[Caesar: Make it two.]
[Eula: Don't even think about it. Trying to use me as a scapegoat? I'll remember this.]
[Xiangling: I definitely won't get eliminated that fast.]
[Navia: Not me either. You can take your own punishment.]
[Sushang: It's fine, there's still Huohuo. I should be able to escape.]
[Huohuo: ...…]
What did that mean?
She hadn't even participated yet, and they already thought she was doomed?
Thinking back on what she'd seen before…
Huohuo suddenly felt like they weren't wrong.
If she went in, she probably wouldn't last even a minute.
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