After escaping the collapse underground without incident, Lu Chen remained on high alert.
He turned back and saw the filth surging from the cave entrance, spreading outward. Countless black claws stretched out from within.
"They're coming out! They're coming out!" Paimon, still shaken, pointed at the cave.
Lu Chen quickly waved everyone back, then summoned his sword array and drove them into the ground.
Over twenty Traveler's Handy Swords stabbed into the earth like gravestones. He pushed his Primordial Energy to its limit, and brilliant blue light surged forth.
The monsters trying to crawl out were all forced back underground. The tremors beneath the earth lasted for a long while before finally subsiding.
"We're safe..." Lu Chen wiped the cold sweat from his brow and looked at the stunned group.
His sword array had the same suppressive effect as the "demon-sealing" force used on Yashiori Island. It had to be said—Celestia's technology was truly remarkable. Just the Primordial Energy extracted from the small shard Ei brought back was enough to suppress a crisis that could have consumed the entire island.
When it became clear that no more monsters would emerge, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
"But we still can't let our guard down..." Nahida said calmly. "There are still many remnants of the Archons inside the collapsed Delusion Factory. What Lu Chen did only served as a temporary suppression."
"Exactly," Lu Chen added. "The crisis of the malevolent spirits on Yashiori Island isn't over yet. We'll need to keep clearing out the remaining filth, or the island will end up a wasteland."
"The Fatui..." Ei's voice turned cold.
Lu Chen looked at her and saw a barely contained killing intent in her violet eyes.
After this, she had undoubtedly placed the Fatui on her blacklist. The Delusion Factory hadn't just sabotaged the Watatsumi Army—if the filth spread, it would endanger all of Inazuma. As the ruler of the nation, Ei wouldn't let the Fatui off so easily.
Next time they encountered La Signora, she probably wouldn't even wait for him to act—she'd go for the kill herself.
And there was something else—La Signora had been unexpectedly saved by the outbreak. In hindsight, it was likely no coincidence.
The Delusion Factory's self-destruct protocol could only be initiated by a Harbinger-level command. It had to have been Scaramouche. Otherwise, in that situation, La Signora had no chance of escaping from either him or Ei.
If Ei ever learned what Scaramouche had done... he wasn't sure how she'd react.
"Huh?" Nahida suddenly looked at Lumine with a puzzled expression. "Why are you two standing so far away?"
Lu Chen turned to see Lumine gripping her weapon tightly, with Paimon hiding behind her. The pair—one large, one small—were watching Ei warily, steadily retreating.
They looked more terrified than when they were surrounded by endless monsters.
"Lu Chen, get away from her! There's something off about the woman next to you!" Lumine shouted.
"Huh?" Lu Chen blinked, caught off guard.
Paimon nodded furiously. Back underground, she had seen the familiar blade crackling with purple lightning—the same sword used by Raiden Shogun beneath the Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed God statue. But in the chaos, she hadn't made the connection.
Not to mention the terrifying power Ei had just unleashed—splitting a mountain with a single blow. There was no mistaking it. That had to be the real Raiden Shogun.
"It's her! She's the one! That awful woman who killed you in one strike!"
Seeing Lu Chen still frozen in place, Lumine grew frantic. "Lu Chen, get over here! She's definitely using a disguise! That's Raiden Shogun!"
"Raiden Shogun!?" Gorou was stunned. He and the three soldiers with him instantly raised their weapons toward Ei.
"Uh..." Lu Chen sighed. "There's been a misunderstanding. First off, she didn't kill me. And second, she has no hostility toward any of you..."
"So it is Raiden Shogun?" Gorou's face changed. He turned to his soldiers. "Quick! Report to the camp! Raiden Shogun has appeared on Yashiori Island! Full alert, now!"
Nahida, who had been silently observing, couldn't help but chuckle. She had expected this would happen if Ei showed up among the Watatsumi troops. Now she was curious how Lu Chen planned to smooth this over.
"I told you—she doesn't mean you any harm. This war isn't what she wants," Lu Chen said to Lumine. "Think back to everything that's happened. If she really wanted you dead, she's had countless chances. But she never acted."
Ei scanned the crowd expressionlessly, arms crossed, offering no explanations. But she also made no threatening moves.
The tension in the air slowly eased as Lumine's steps finally halted.
"Really?"
She was seriously weighing Lu Chen's words. But everything she had experienced in Inazuma made it hard to drop her guard so quickly.
"It's true. The real enemy here is the Fatui—they're the ones who caused all this," Lu Chen said frankly.
Then he turned to Ei. The neat-freak noticed her clothes were a bit dirty and frowned slightly.
Lu Chen pulled a handkerchief from his system and handed it to her.
After she wiped her face, his cosmetic disguise faded. The plain village girl transformed into the elegant Raiden Shogun.
Now revealed, Nahida noticed that Gorou and his men had become even more guarded.
"Your Excellency..." Gorou spoke up. He knew Lu Chen was right, but as a general, diplomacy couldn't be taken lightly. "Since you've come to the Watatsumi Army and shown such sincerity, why don't we set aside our differences for now and arrange a safe location to discuss terms related to the war?"
"Very well." Ei agreed without hesitation.
With that, the tense atmosphere finally eased.
But just then, something disrupted the moment of calm.
Everyone felt a faint tremor beneath their feet.
"Is the filth underground coming back up?" Nahida quickly looked down.
"No..." Lu Chen's senses expanded outward. They were on the eastern shore of Yashiori Island, across the water from Tatarasuna. A massive number of people were approaching from that direction.
He flew up to a reef for a better view—and saw a dense black formation advancing on the horizon.
"General Gorou! We've finally found you!" A group of Watatsumi scouts came running over. Their captain was panting as he spoke. "The Shogunate Army's vanguard is launching a major assault! You must return to command immediately!"
"What!" Gorou scowled, thinking aloud. "At a time like this? Could it be they realized Lumine and I were away from camp... and took advantage of the leadership gap?"
Ei flashed over to Lu Chen's side to observe the situation with him.
"It's Kujou Sara's forces," she said.
Lu Chen spotted the Kujou clan's banner and nodded. Then he turned to the Watatsumi Army, who were quickly rallying. He and Ei stood at the exact midpoint between the two forces.
"War... is coming?" Nahida now saw the distant black line—the Shogunate Army—marching swiftly.
"Kujou Sara… that child knows how to seize the moment," Ei murmured.
"It's time for you to take the stage," Lu Chen said, glancing at her. At this point, only Raiden Shogun herself could prevent bloodshed.
But Ei shook her head. "No. It's time we take the stage."
"Huh?"
She locked eyes with Lu Chen and said, word by word, "The uncrowned king of Inazuma... it's time you stepped into the light."