"You look surprised, Traveler."
Rosalyne looked at everyone's guarded expressions, but she automatically ignored everyone except Lumine, unable to suppress the upturned corners of her mouth.
She never expected to have a chance to wash away her shame. Lumine had won by luck last time, and she was naturally very dissatisfied. Ever since she returned to this world, she had been looking for Lumine to take revenge, but Lumine wasn't in Inazuma at the time.
What? Why not take revenge on the Raiden Shogun?
Are you sure that would be revenge and not just delivering herself for free?
Although Rosalyne felt that her strength had become even more powerful after crossing life and death, she still had self-awareness. As for the Raiden Shogun, there would be someone to help her take revenge.
Rosalyne looked down at Lumine, and the light around her body was even distorted because of the high temperature, causing the nearby temperature to quickly rise to a level that was difficult for ordinary people to endure.
Seeing this, Kamisato Ayato turned and gestured for Kamisato Ayaka to take the others to safety. He knew that Lumine was definitely stronger now, but Rosalyne was the same. He wasn't sure Lumine could still defeat her this time, so he worried for Kamisato Ayaka's safety. However, Kamisato Ayaka stubbornly shook her head and refused.
Kamisato Ayato sighed softly, then had Aoba, who was following behind Kamisato Ayaka, take the others to safety.
For a battle at this level, they would only be walking to their deaths if they stayed.
And at this moment, Paimon finally recovered from her shock.
"La Signora, you've actually been resurrected too!"
"Hahaha, you never thought I would crawl back from hell to settle the score with you, did you!"
Rosalyne laughed wildly.
"I thought it would take some time for me to get my revenge, but I didn't expect you all to voluntarily return to Inazuma. Destiny itself is helping me!"
"Come, let's fight again. This time, I will burn you all to ashes with my own hands!"
As Rosalyne finished this sentence, everyone felt the air temperature rising rapidly. The surrounding trees immediately burst into raging flames, and in an instant, the area within a hundred-meter radius turned into a sea of fire.
"Burn... everything... to ashes!"
Sensing Rosalyne's power swelling without end, neither Lumine nor the other two showed the slightest panic.
Having witnessed countless grand spectacles, Lumine now considered Rosalyne to be nothing more than an elite monster, something that might take a little extra effort to defeat at most.
"Since the Traveler could defeat you once, she can defeat you a second time!"
"Go get her, Traveler! Teach her a lesson!"
Paimon waved her small fist, shouting with confidence. Just as her words fell, Lumine shielded Paimon with a portion of Hydro Elemental Power, then immediately charged toward Rosalyne with the Dull Blade in hand.
"Aren't you going to step in and help?"
Seeing Enjou show no intention of intervening, combined with the utterly relaxed expressions on his and Paimon's faces, Kamisato Ayato vaguely sensed something.
"There's no need for that. This kind of minor character is someone Her Highness, the Princess, could handle without even using her trump cards," Enjou said, waving his hand at Kamisato Ayato. Paimon nodded repeatedly beside him.
"That's right, Ayato and Ayaka, don't you worry. The Traveler is incredibly strong now!"
Just as Paimon finished her sentence, Lumine, unleashing five types of Elemental Power simultaneously, blasted Rosalyne directly into the ground, leaving only a bottomless pit several meters wide.
The strike was so fierce that Kamisato Ayato felt the air temperature drop significantly. Rosalyne had clearly suffered a severe blow, unable to even maintain her own Domain.
Watching Lumine's figure unleash a relentless assault, Kamisato Ayato felt a surge of emotion. He never expected Lumine's strength to have reached such a level.
It wasn't that Rosalyne was weak. Having returned from another world, Rosalyne possessed power that surely approached that of a god. Yet, Lumine, now mastering five types of Elemental Power, had firmly taken that next step. The gap between her and Rosalyne was like heaven and earth!
Moreover, Lumine had been training in the Spiral Abyss for some time. Even against an opponent of equal strength, she could utterly dominate Rosalyne, perhaps even taking no damage at all.
"This is impossible!"
A towering pillar of orange-red fire suddenly erupted from the pit in the ground, and Lumine temporarily retreated to avoid its edge.
Soon, Rosalyne's utterly disheveled figure reappeared before everyone, her eyes now filled with disbelief and fury.
"How could you possibly be this strong?!"
Lumine had no intention of answering Rosalyne's question. She brandished the Dull Blade again and launched a relentless attack on Rosalyne.
At this moment, Lumine felt a surge of delight. After playing in high-level matches for so long, she finally had a noob to vent her frustrations on. Those unbearable days in the past had even made her doubt if her own strength had regressed.
But this time, against Rosalyne, she regained her confidence!
It really wasn't that she had grown weaker, but that her enemies were simply too broken!
The more Lumine fought, the more satisfied she became. Her attacks rained down like a storm, suppressing Rosalyne to the point where she could barely breathe. Rosalyne's heart sank as she fought, Lumine's effortless composure causing her mental state to crumble.
Rosalyne found it hard to accept. The insignificant character she could have crushed with a snap of her fingers had now grown into a towering giant. In the end, would she fail to achieve a single one of her revenge targets?!
"How could this be?!"
Rosalyne refused to accept it. Her eyes burned with fury, and the resentment and rage within her were suppressed to the absolute limit.
The heat waves in the air surged outward in all directions once again. Now, the area for a thousand meters was engulfed in flames. The fire surrounding Rosalyne's body had turned so red it was almost black, yet the expression on Lumine's face remained utterly calm.
It's time to end this.
Having vented enough, Lumine had no intention of playing with Rosalyne any longer.
If it were anyone else, Lumine might have shown mercy, but not to Rosalyne.
The pain the other woman had inflicted upon Mondstadt and Inazuma was simply too great. She had no right to forgive Rosalyne's actions on behalf of others. All she could do was send Rosalyne out of this world once again!
Lumine slowly closed her eyes, then quickly reopened them. This time, a layer of ashen-white had tinged her gaze.
Seeing Lumine in this state, Rosalyne actually felt a sense of mortal crisis so intense it choked her.
Run, I must run!
When Rosalyne faced death once again, she wasn't as carefree as she had imagined. Instead, a colossal fear surged in her heart.
She had only just managed to return to this world. She still had so much left to do. How could she die again!
At this point, pride and hatred could be set aside. The only thought remaining in Rosalyne's mind was to escape Lumine's grasp at any cost.
"La Signora... is running away?!"
Seeing Rosalyne turn and flee, Kamisato Ayato's mind went blank for a moment. Someone of Rosalyne's stature was actually fleeing in panic before Lumine after such a short exchange. Beside him, Kamisato Ayaka wore an expression of utter shock, her gaze upon Lumine filled with reverence and longing.
After not seeing her for a while, Lumine had somehow become countless times stronger than before.
Seeing Rosalyne flee, Lumine showed no intention of pursuing. She had already completely locked onto Rosalyne's figure; even if the other woman escaped by hundreds of thousands of meters, she would still be within Lumine's attack range!
Lumine slowly rested the Dull Blade diagonally at her waist, her aura gradually receding. Yet, the deathly aura she emanated grew ever more intense.
Sensing this aura while fleeing, Rosalyne suppressed her extreme inner turmoil and unleashed her full power, hurling a massive Spirit Butterfly composed of the Pyro Element toward Lumine.
The Spirit Butterfly blotted out the sky. Upon its appearance, it seemed as if even the sun dimmed slightly, as it lunged toward Lumine with a berserk aura capable of incinerating everything. Yet, faced with this scene, Lumine's expression remained unchanged. She simply drew her sword.
With a gentle upward flick, everyone's gaze was instantly drawn to this single strike.
In that moment, it was as if heaven and earth themselves were cleaved anew!
The Spirit Butterfly had no room to resist and was instantly sliced in two by this strike. Next was Rosalyne.
Under Rosalyne's terrified gaze, this terrible sword strike left her with absolutely no chance to dodge. At this moment, her heart had turned completely cold.
But just then, a sudden change occurred. A terrifying torrent of purple lightning washed over the sword light. Although its fearsome power could not stop the sword light from continuing forward, it still slightly slowed its speed. Taking advantage of this opportunity, a huge arm directly grabbed Rosalyne, snatching her away at the last possible moment. The next instant, the grayish-white sword light grazed past that massive arm.
"Hahahaha, Rosalyne, why have you become so pathetic after not seeing each other for a while?"
Shouki no Kami suddenly appeared before everyone. That familiar and crazed laughter instantly raised Lumine's vigilance to the maximum.
The sky suddenly grew dark, and dense Electro Elemental Power continuously gathered in the air. Feeling the terrifying aura that Shouki no Kami was now emanating, Lumine's expression turned slightly solemn.
"To seek revenge on the Traveler with this level of strength is truly absurd."
"She is my prey, after all!"
Scaramouche placed his gaze on Lumine through Shouki no Kami, his eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
Lumine had played a significant role in him falling into such a state back then, but the order of revenge would have to be pushed back.
"Bastard, Scaramouche, you knew about the Traveler's strength all along, so why didn't you tell me?!"
Rosalyne, who had narrowly survived, spoke with exasperation. The other party's appearance here clearly meant they knew the outcome of this battle, yet they had deliberately kept her in the dark, only to show up now to mock her.
"Heh heh heh, I have no obligation to inform you in advance, you fool!"
Scaramouche sneered.
"As an ant, you should know your place. You should be thanking me, for otherwise, you would have been completely erased from this world long ago."
"To be weak and yet unaware, only capable of impotent rage."
"Scaramouche!!!"
Scaramouche's torrent of insults successfully sent Rosalyne into a rage. However, faced with the absolute power gap, even though Rosalyne unleashed strength beyond her limits, Scaramouche still completely disregarded her.
"How come even [The Balladeer] has come back to life?!"
Paimon spoke in confusion, recognizing the familiar insults.
"And didn't [The Balladeer] die in Sumeru?"
"Could Persephone have also gone to Sumeru?"
Hearing Paimon's words, Lumine felt the aura of the Gnosis emanating from [Shouki no Kami]. The answer was already self-evident.
But if Persephone had already been to Sumeru, then why did she still come to Inazuma?
What exactly in Inazuma was attracting her?
While Lumine pondered this, she rapidly approached Shouki no Kami.
However, Scaramouche had no intention of continuing the fight with Lumine. It wasn't that he was afraid of her; for now, their strength was not far apart. Scaramouche was worried that Raiden Ei would intervene, after all, this location was too close to Inazuma City.
Although the possibility of Raiden Ei intervening was not high, it wasn't completely impossible, and Scaramouche couldn't gamble with his own life.
"Today is not a good time to relive our battle, but that time will not be too far off."
"Until then, entertain me to your heart's content, ant!"
"Hahaha..."
Scaramouche left, and Lumine tried to swing her sword to block him, but he parried each attack one by one. Only two dark furrows were left on the ground, and all the plants near the furrows instantly withered, leaving no grass to grow.
Even though it wasn't the first time she had seen it, Lumine still felt that the Power of Void was too tyrannical. This was also the reason why she tried her best not to use the Power of Void.
But at this moment, both Kamisato Ayato and Kamisato Ayaka felt their bodies go numb. The level of this battle had obviously already far exceeded their imagination, and the looks they gave Lumine even held a hint of awe!
And at this moment, Enjou's gaze was very simple: reverence, excitement, exhilaration... all kinds of emotions intertwined in his heart, and finally, his eyes glowed as he looked at Lumine.
"This is great, Traveler! You drove them all away!"
Seeing Lumine return, Paimon immediately flew over excitedly and spoke.
"It's just a shame that Rosalyne was rescued at the end, otherwise we could have had one less enemy later."
Hearing Paimon's words, Lumine also felt a bit disappointed. Rosalyne's strength was not weak, and she really liked to stir up trouble. This could be seen from the fact that she used to work for Snezhnaya; while the other [Harbingers] each took charge of one country, she on the other hand ran across three countries alone, earning her the title of a model worker.
After this kind of character was put back, who knows what kind of trouble she would stir up again.
But it was meaningless to think about this now, after all, the person had already escaped.
The most urgent priority was to quickly understand Inazuma's current situation. If possible, she would prefer to talk with Raiden Ei.
Thinking of this, Lumine walked toward Kamisato Ayato. Just as she was about to ask, she suddenly heard the sound of fighting in the distance.
Kamisato Ayato also heard it. He turned to look in that direction and discovered that the fighting sounds seemed to be coming from the exact direction he had sent Aoba and the others to evacuate. His expression immediately changed.
Without hesitation, the group immediately moved quickly toward the location of the fight, soon arriving at the battlefield.
However, what surprised everyone was that the expected situation of being surrounded did not happen. On the contrary, their own team had surrounded a Fatui squad, unhurriedly wearing down the enemy's stamina to minimize their own casualties to the greatest extent.