Upon seeing the Musou Isshin slowly drawn, Ei's eyes widened as if she had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
As the Musou Isshin blazed with dazzling light in Fu's hand, a ring formed of six magatama materialized behind Fu. At this moment, she, too, was an Electro Archon!
With the Musou Isshin fully drawn and slashed outward into empty space, a pitch-black fissure instantly ripped open before Ei and rapidly engulfed the surroundings. After a brief shift in scenery, the landscape transformed into the Plane of Euthymia—only this Plane of Euthymia seemed rather different.
A gentle sunset replaced the gloomy sky, bathing the ground in a golden glow. Golden maple leaves drifted in the wind. This dojo, which ought to have been eerie and foreboding, actually carried a hint of warmth. Was this the world within Fu's heart?
The environment of the Plane of Euthymia depended on the creator's state of mind. If the creator's heart was filled with agony, the environment of the plane would naturally become suffocatingly oppressive, and vice versa.
However, no one had the leisure to appreciate this beautiful scenery. On the battlefield, two identical Raiden Shoguns stood face to face, each wielding an identical Engulfing Lightning.
"Hand over the Musou Isshin to this body! I shall grant you a swift release!"
"You want it? No way! Lift the Sakoku Decree and maybe I'll consider it."
"Insolent! Even if you were born of me, you cannot shake my eternity!"
The space around Ei suddenly plunged into grayness, reverting to the original, dreary appearance of the Plane of Euthymia. The maple leaves on the ground instantly turned to fine powder upon touching this ashen gloom.
An irresistible, murderous aura swept across the area. Fu's expression began to panic. The gloomy Plane of Euthymia retained only a faint glimmer of light around her, flickering like a flame caught in a storm.
The space began to tremor, countless dilapidated torii gates rose from the ground, and a blood-red moon slowly emerged in the sky.
Fu's heart went ice cold. Raiden Ei possessed home-field advantage when drawing her blade, effortlessly beating the Traveler to a pulp; when she drew her blade, it turned out to be walking right into a trap.
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have tried to act so cool just now..."
Accompanied by the flashing lightning in Ei's hand, a suffocating pressure rushed toward her. With a bitter grimace, Fu could only brace herself and engage the enemy.
Outside the Plane of Euthymia, upon a lushly vegetated wasteland, lay Fu, unconscious. She lacked the Shogun's artificial intelligence to pilot her body; once the Plane of Euthymia was used, she was out cold.
At her waist, an inconspicuous amulet flashed abruptly. Yae Miko suddenly materialized nearby, flashing a bewitching smile at the corpse-like Fu.
A phantom flashed within the Plane of Euthymia, and Yae Miko entered as well—but the next second, her calm and collected expression vanished.
The moment she stepped inside, an Engulfing Lightning came flying straight at her face. Yae Miko's expression changed in alarm as she swiftly dodged aside, only to collide with Fu, who was sent flying backward from the impact.
At this moment, Fu was covered in wounds, blood staining the corner of her mouth, and was in no condition to recover anytime soon. Supported by Yae Miko, she managed to stagger to her feet.
In stark contrast, aside from a few harmless fractures, Ei was virtually unblemished, a sharp contrast to Fu's battered state.
"My other self... Just one day of existence, and your strength has already reached half of this body's. I shall forge your physical form into the foundation of eternity. To contribute to the cause of eternity, your death will not be in vain!"
If this vessel could become her puppet, its strength would undoubtedly reach even greater heights. At this thought, the lightning crackling around Ei's Engulfing Lightning grew even more biting.
Yae Miko panicked as well. She had forgotten the fact that Fu had only been born yesterday. Compared to three thousand years, even with extraordinary talent and the home-field advantage, this battle was still bound to end in defeat.
Ei stood expressionless in place, a powerful aura erupting from around her. Even without the Musou Isshin, she could still unleash that ultimate slash.
Fu's expression began to darken as she slowly pulled the Musou Isshin from her chest, facing the surging lightning before her head-on. Suddenly, a few wisps of golden lightning actually sparked across Fu's body.
At the same time, a fissure opened beneath Yae Miko's feet, hurling her right out of the Plane of Euthymia.
"Eternity!? Eternity, my foot! You're nothing more than a coward who deceives herself!"
Suddenly, the aura around Fu surged dramatically, and ultimate energy accumulated upon the Musou Isshin. Yes, who said a good temper meant someone couldn't get angry?
Though her swordsmanship fell short, when it came to this kind of sheer, brute force, Fu's current physical vessel was by no means inferior.
Detecting the abnormal surge of energy in her opponent, Ei could not help but speed up the casting time for her strike. The next second, a slash of ultimate power fiercely cleaved outward.
The six magatama behind Fu flickered as well. The energy compressed to its absolute limit caused the Musou Isshin to tremor, and the next moment, it erupted with tidal wave-like energy, meeting Ei's ultimate slash head-on.
"Now—perish!"
"Shinmyouhou—All-Narukami Ogosho!"
Though this move was identical to Raiden Ei's technique, Fu still chose to give it a new name.
Like a heavy bomb dropped into a calm lake, the Plane of Euthymia disintegrated under the massive shockwave, shattering like water's surface.
With the Plane of Euthymia shattered, Ei plummeted straight back into reality, and Fu returned to her own physical body. However, the one constant was that neither side continued fighting. For no other reason—both of them were severely injured.
Fu's condition was much better. Her consciousness was not completely bound to the Plane of Euthymia; while she received very little elemental amplification, she also avoided suffering crippling mental trauma when the plane was destroyed.
"Did you see that! Not even an ant like me, born just yesterday, could be defeated by your ultimate slash! And you still want to protect eternity? How arrogant!"
Upon hearing these words, Ei was practically bursting with fury, but since her opponent's condition was far superior to her own, she could only glare at Fu with a look that wished she could devour her alive.
"Still angry!? What are you even getting mad about! Look at what Inazuma has become—no hope, no future, only endless misery. Your people must have had the worst eight lifetimes of bad luck to encounter a god like you!"
Yae Miko crossed her arms, watching the two of them, unsure of whose side to take. Fu drew the Musou Isshin once more and brandished it at Ei.
"Look! This is the Inazuma your sister left behind: the people living in destitution, officials running amok. Look! This is the Musou Isshin your sister left behind: it chose me! Look, if you just keep going a little longer, your eternity will truly be realized. Once the people of Inazuma have all died or fled, leaving it an empty, lifeless ghost country, then it will truly be eternity!"
Ei's expression grew increasingly ferocious. Disregarding her injuries, she slashed forward with her blade. Fu's temper flared as well, and she struck back without yielding an inch. As steel clashed against steel, Ei was actually knocked back by a tremendous force, her eyes filled with confusion and shock.
"You stubborn mule! What kind of Raiden Shogun are you? You might as well be called the Electric Dull-Aid!"
Fu swung her Engulfing Lightning, hacking wildly at Ei blow after blow. There was no swordsmanship here, only pure, unadulterated brute force, and with every strike she landed, she let out a roar.
"Granting your subjects a dream!? An eternity spanning ten thousand generations!? I call it a ten-thousand-generation pipe dream!"
A succession of sharp metallic crashes rang out, only this time the roles were reversed. Ei was driven back step by step by Fu's onslaught, desperately blocking with the hilt of her polearm.
"If not for your protection, how could officials run amok!? If not for your Sakoku Decree, how could Inazuma's people suffer so?! You are the root! The sole! Culprit!"
Fu practically roared the final four words. With every roared syllable, the Engulfing Lightning came crashing down with the weight of a thousand jun. It was pure, ultimate physical damage, devoid of any elemental energy, so overwhelming that the hilt of the blade Ei used to block was dented in several places.
"Insolent! How dare you question—"
"Shut your trap!"
Finishing her roar, Fu executed a powerful upward parry, instantly knocking the Engulfing Lightning right out of Raiden Ei's hands. Ei stood there helplessly, watching as her opponent pointed accusing fingers at her.
"If you ask me, someone of your caliber deserves a good slap across the face. The Inazuma your sister sacrificed her life to uphold, you've ruined it until it looks like a pile of crap. If your sister knew, she'd be angry enough to come back to life! This position of Electro Archon—if you can do the job, do it; if you can't, get the hell out!"
Raiden Ei stood silently in place, uttering not a word. This was somewhat unexpected. Had she actually seen the light?
"Did you hear me? You know what needs to be done now."
After a long while, as if having made some agonizing choice, Ei replied in a slow, deliberate tone, word by word:
"I... understand. From this moment on, you are the new Electro Archon..."
Instantly, a tidal wave of God's essence emanated unhindered from Ei as the center, while countless purple specks of light continuously flew out from her body. Her physical form was dissolving.
"I'm sorry... Sister... I have let you down... I am coming to find you now..."
Fu, who had just wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, looked back and caught sight of Ei committing suicide and Yae Miko panicking so hard her fur stood on end. At that moment, she had the urge to die right then and there.
"What kind of rotten luck is this..."