"Young Miss, the carriage is ready!"
Shao, who had left, returned, and the carriage was waiting near Hanamizaka. After all, there was a flight of stairs in between, and the carriage couldn't go up.
Ayaka nodded to Shao, then said, "Let's go down too."
The trio arrived at Hanamizaka, boarded the carriage, and sped towards Ritou.
As for why they didn't use the Traveler's Waverider… wasn't it too small?
…
"Traveler, please eat something." Paimon said, placing a plate of pizza in front of Lumine.
"I don't have the heart to eat, Paimon…"
"We're trapped here, Shiki's fate is unknown, and we don't even know if Xavier managed to escape successfully."
Lumine let out a soft sigh. If her elemental power hadn't been sealed by that unfamiliar white-haired deity, it would have been fine. Unfortunately, there were no 'ifs'.
"But you still have to eat, right? Only with a full stomach do we have a chance, don't we?" Paimon said with a serious expression.
"It's fine… just leave it there. If I get hungry, I'll eat it myself."
…
Inside the carriage, Yae Miko looked at Xavier's face with a curious expression. At first, she hadn't noticed, but Xavier was not human…
To be precise, his current body was not one a normal person would possess.
She knew this; it was puppet technology from a lost ancient nation. From the looks of it, Balladeer's mastery of the technique wasn't low, though he wasn't as powerful as Raiden Ei.
However, the other party had only created him as a pawn to lure Shiki to Yashiori Island, so it couldn't be ruled out that he hadn't used his true abilities.
She just wasn't sure if Xavier knew his own condition.
He was currently in a half-dead state. From the puppet body, it could be confirmed that Xavier's original body should be gone, and his consciousness had entered the puppet's body, making him mistakenly believe he was still alive.
Simply put, he hadn't realized he was already dead, so he was still alive.
Hmm, it sounded a bit absurd, but sometimes that was just how things were.
Like a certain old man who forgot he had Alzheimer's and thus cured his Alzheimer's.
However, this state wouldn't last long. As time passed, he would slowly realize his death, and his body would then collapse.
"Um… Yae Miko, why are you looking at me like that…"
Xavier felt Yae Miko's gaze and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, as if some earth-shattering secret of his had been discovered by her.
"Nothing, just discovered a few things."
Yae Miko decided to keep it a secret for now. What if he just collapsed on the spot if she told him?
Then she began to examine the slender katana in Ayaka's hand… well, it would be better to say in her embrace.
Because this blade was simply too long, a full 1.4 meters. It couldn't be laid out on the seat at all, and placing it directly on the floor was also very inconvenient, so she could only hold it like this.
At a glance, Yae Miko had a sense of déjà vu with Musou Isshin. After all, the hilt and the tsuba were too similar; apart from the color, the shape and style were exactly the same.
The slender blade was housed in a simple black scabbard, forming a stark contrast with the hilt, which was primarily white-gold with purple accents.
This gave the impression of a fine jade placed in a mediocre wooden box—a very poor match.
As for why such an unremarkable scabbard was prepared, Raiden Ei stated that it was only temporary and would be useless once it reached Shiki's hands.
After all, for a divine weapon, wasn't it normal for it to decompose and disappear into its master's body when not needed?
If you want to use it, just take it out, just like her Musou Isshin.
Moreover, Raiden Ei didn't mind teaching a few tricks of drawing a katana from her chest, but whether the latter was willing to learn was another matter.
Ayaka lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking, her fair, small hands gripping the katana's scabbard tightly, as if only that could give her peace of mind.
And that was indeed the case; all hope now rested on this katana.
Furthermore, what Yae Miko said was quite reasonable; after all, she could personally hand this katana, which she had forged herself, to Shiki.
But the reality was that she had to run an errand for her, and the reason, of course, would be as Yae Miko said: she had expended too much and needed to rest.
Inazuma's Archons needed to rest and couldn't make a move, and they couldn't defeat the enemies, so didn't they have to place their hopes on this katana?
'Shiki, wait for me...'
...
In the evening, on the beach southwest of Yashiori Island, three people stealthily approached.
Oh no, to be precise, it should be one Fox and two people.
Under Xavier's lead, they successfully arrived at the entrance of the Fatui Evil Eye Factory. Perhaps it was because Shiki had been too ruthless yesterday, but there were no patrols outside.
"You two, come here."
Yae Miko waved at the two, then pulled out two talismans from somewhere and stuck them on their backs.
"This talisman can reduce your visibility. As long as you don't get too close, generally, you won't be seen."
"However, this is useless against those with particularly strong perception, so you should try your best to avoid people."
"I understand, Yae Miko." Ayaka nodded, then prepared to enter the cave.
"Wait a moment, I'll go in first. You two follow behind me, and when I create a disturbance, you run straight inside."
Yae Miko said, taking out her Gohei from her Vision, and at the same time, a purple Kagura Bell appeared in mid-air.
This was the Catalyst she had been using ever since she took on her human form. It was of extraordinary quality to begin with, and over the long years, it had accumulated a considerable amount of essence. Although it couldn't compare to a divine weapon, it was still a legendary weapon.
And the so-called Kagura Bell was a bell used when performing Kagura dance, consisting of a stick and several circular plates of varying sizes, numbering from one to four.
When the Kagura Bell was waved, the bells hanging below the plates would make a jingling sound.
As for her Kagura Bell, its name was 'Kagura's Verity'.
Hmm... It is said that the Kagura dance is a dance to please the Archons, but Fox pleasing Raiden Ei... it just seems strange no matter how you look at it.
It should be the Fox finding amusement from Raiden Ei; Raiden Ei is such a dignified Archon, yet her character design was completely messed up by the Fox.
"Let's go."
Yae Miko was the first to step into the cave, followed closely by Ayaka and Xavier. Soon, they arrived at the initial room.
Archon Quest: Contradictory Spiral has been updated.
Quest Description: Xavier has brought reinforcements from Inazuma City. You need to deliver the divine weapon forged by Raiden Ei into Shiki's hands.
Note: This Domain will not allow the use of owned characters. Only Yae Miko, Ayaka, and Xavier can be used, and it will be divided into two routes.
Route One Objective: Use Yae Miko to create a disturbance, reducing the infiltration pressure for Ayaka and Xavier. The greater the disturbance created, the less pressure they will face.
Route Two Objective: Use Ayaka and Xavier to infiltrate the Evil Eye Factory and find Shiki (the greater the disturbance created by Yae Miko, the fewer enemies encountered).
Quest Rewards: Sixty Primogems, Shiki character awakening material.
...
Although there were no Fatui patrols outside, there were still some here, so they were naturally discovered.
"More intruders!"
Eh, wait, why did I say 'more'?
However, at this moment, Yae Miko had already made a move. Since she intended to create a disturbance, she started with a big one.
A small purple fox made of electro element appeared in her hand, then whoosh (whoosh) flew towards the Fatui.
A small fox itself was nothing, but please don't ignore the electro element that followed closely behind.
Several purple electro elements lined up, destroying everything in their path. The Fatui hit instantly became charred black.
This was already bad enough, but what the Fatui found most unbearable was that Yae Miko provocatively stood still, forming her hand into the shape of a fox.
"Ahhhhh!"
The Fatui were furious, calling for reinforcements and launching attacks at Yae Miko.
Too bad...
"Heh heh..."
Yae Miko let out a soft laugh, then vanished from her spot like a ghost, leaving behind only a purple object with a fox head.
'What is this thing?'
The Fatui stared at each other, and then a electro element instantly Swirled from it.
Boom!
The charging Fatui were instantly electrocuted and eliminated. In just two moves, the patrolling Fatui in the room were completely dealt with.
Seeing this, Ayaka and Xavier also made their escape, taking another path to search for Shiki's whereabouts.
Jingle, jingle...
A rhythmic bell sound began to Swirl deeper into the Evil Eye Factory. This was the sound of the Kagura dance. Balladeer knew this, and Yae Miko's reason for doing this was to lure him out.
However, Balladeer, who was in the research lab, did not stop what he was doing.
It wasn't that he had anticipated anything... it was purely because the research lab's soundproofing was too good...
No one would like to conduct research in a noisy environment, so installing soundproof walls was a natural thing to do.
Only...
"Tsk, why is it still not working?"
Balladeer clicked his tongue in displeasure. It had been almost a full day, yet he still couldn't find the girl's soul?
If he only erased the consciousness and not the soul, his consciousness would conflict with the girl's soul, and then he wouldn't be able to control the girl as he controlled his own body.
The scene returns to Yae Miko. After shaking the Kagura Bell for a long time, she didn't wait for Balladeer, but instead waited for the true Snezhnaya people.
"This is a rare opportunity, so let me enjoy it!"
---------------------------------
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