Facing the overwhelming force of the Shogun, Raiden Ei felt her scalp go numb.
Never mind anything else—was now really the time to fight? Even if she were willing, would Mr. Taro be?
After all, the Shogun and she were identical in every way—consciousness, combat skill, authority—everything was the same. Worse, when she had built the puppet to pursue Eternity, she had even given the Shogun certain traits she herself did not possess. And the Shogun's will had been tempered through erosion, making it frighteningly strong.
If they truly fought, the outcome was uncertain.
Ei had thought that banishing the Shogun once had settled this kind of problem for good. But now—trouble had returned.
"Interesting."
Taro's calm voice broke the tension. "Do you need my help?"
He couldn't deny it: Raiden Ei was a unique genius. The Shogun herself was proof of that. Even if some Khaenri'ah technology was involved, the rest had clearly come from Ei's own relentless study and innovation.
The Shogun turned cold eyes on him. "So you are her reliance? One who obstructs Eternity—by this Asura body, I shall cut you down!"
Taro's faint smile and his words alone drew her full attention. The next instant, the Shogun's source of hostility shifted squarely to him.
"Uh-oh…"
Ei froze.
As expected—before she could even speak, the Shogun's naginata was already flying through the air.
Pa—
A flick of Taro's fingers. Golden chains of unknown material spiraled out of the void, catching the incoming naginata midflight and binding it tight. When the Shogun tried to move, space itself rippled—thousands of chains shot out in every direction, intertwining in impossible patterns. At the crossing points, Taro even tied a neat little butterfly bow.
For all the chaos, it looked… artistic.
The Shogun's eyes twitched as she realized her state. Ei winced, covering the corner of her face, unable to look directly. It was her own body being trussed up like that, after all. Seeing it bound so thoroughly, she couldn't help but feel as though she herself were being tied up.
He hadn't done it on purpose. Truly.
Taro shook his head once, and the physical chains turned ethereal. In an instant the Shogun was suspended upside-down in the air—bound but unharmed—like some delicate ornament.
Ei's face darkened. The more she looked, the stranger it seemed. The chains fading left behind only implication—a graceful, almost elegant scene that somehow made it worse.
"Too embarrassing…" Ei muttered into her hand.
Even the Shogun's stoic composure cracked. Yet after a single clenched jaw, she cooled again.
Defeat was defeat. There was nothing to say.
"I yield," the Shogun said quietly. "Go, and greet your new Eternity."
Her eyes closed. She no longer struggled. There was no point; she had already tried, and could not move.
No wonder the Inner One was fearless. With such a being standing behind her, what meaning did their "Eternity" even have? It was a laughable dream. They couldn't even protect themselves. What law of the unchanging Eternal could exist? A bubble that bursts at a touch.
The boomerang she had once thrown had now struck her head squarely.
Total defeat.
"I won?" Ei murmured.
But despite the words, she felt no joy. The Shogun's loss was too absolute. If she had been the one facing Taro instead, would she have fared any better?
Even though she had once seen Mr. Taro face the Ruler of Death, Ronova, with her own eyes—had witnessed that golden power crush Ronova's might—those battles had always been distant from her own body. Now she could finally understand, in some small measure, what Ronova must have felt then.
She looked at the bound Shogun and felt… strange. Uneasy. A mix of respect and helplessness.
Enough of that.
She took a steadying breath and focused her gaze.
"Musou Isshin—lend me your power."
Taro raised a hand. The blade in Ei's grasp rose and floated to him of its own accord.
"This…" Ei hesitated only a second. "All right."
Makoto's sword was precious to her, but for Mr. Taro, it likely meant little. She extended it, and he accepted it with closed eyes. Then he gently tapped the blade.
A pure white glow flared. Root Skill: Radiant Heart.
Soft light enveloped Musou Isshin as immense spiritual will flooded in.
The consciousness sealed within the sword—the one that could awaken only at specific times—was forced awake.
A blur of violet gathered, coalescing before their eyes into a softly glowing form.
"...Sister?"
Recognizing the aura instantly, Ei's pupils widened.
Impossible. She had held Musou Isshin for five hundred years and never once sensed this presence.
"Hello, Ei—and, um… huh?"
Makoto blinked, confused. Something wasn't matching what Istaroth had told her.
She'd been prepared to meet her sister, accompanied by two young girls as witnesses to the reunion. But why was there a man here? And what in the world had happened to the Shogun puppet?
"Makoto…" Ei's voice trembled, the softness in her heart struck.
The script could wait.
"I'm happy, Ei," Makoto said gently. "I knew you would come this far."
"Huh?" Ei froze.
What had she done? What step had she taken?
Sensing her sister's confusion, Makoto's expression tightened.
Wait—why was Musou Isshin in that man's hands? What had happened while her consciousness slept?
Why was the scene before her entirely different from the future Istaroth had shown her?
A chilling thought struck. Her voice grew stern.
"Ei. Tell me first—how did I… come back?"
"…"
Ei fell silent. With her intellect, she immediately grasped what her sister implied. Makoto should not have awakened now. That meant something was wrong—deeply wrong. Her death was not as simple as Ei had long believed.
She had been kept in the dark all along.
And remembering everything that had just happened, the answer became painfully clear.
It was Istaroth's doing, wasn't it?
(End of Chapter)
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