On the battlefield, Umbral Scion stood motionless atop the scorched earth, her presence radiating a bone-chilling stillness and the foul taint of the Abyss. The cold, mechanical head affixed to her neck flickered with ruthless crimson light, projecting an eerie, inhuman dread.
The surrounding terrain had been ravaged repeatedly—mountains leveled, and the land scarred with jagged ravines.
From Umbral Scion's flank, a colossal column of water surged directly toward her.
This was no ordinary water column; its shockwaves alone could shatter mountains, and its piercing force was utterly devastating!
Among all the enemies Umbral Scion faced, Neuvillette undoubtedly posed the greatest challenge.
Yet... even Neuvillette's immense power was no match for her.
Without so much as a glance at Neuvillette's water column, she raised her right hand, fingers slightly splayed. Her palm, etched with ominous dark patterns, extended, completely blocking the immense column with a single gesture!
But it didn't end there. Endless streams of black-purple energy surged along the water column, rapidly engulfing Neuvillette's position.
Neuvillette's scepter vanished as he extended his right hand, summoning another colossal column of water that hurtled toward Umbral Scion.
The Umbral Scion extended her other hand, repeating the maneuver. Another surge of ominous energy surged along the second water column toward Neuvillette.
Just as both of the Umbral Scion's hands were occupied, Ei materialized behind her in an almost instantaneous teleportation.
A blinding radiance coalesced within the Musou Isshin, silently cleaving through space.
This strike transcended the concept of speed itself, embodying the true essence of Musou—the ability to sever all things—and aimed directly for the Umbral Scion's unguarded nape.
That was the vulnerable point where machine and flesh connected!
Yet, as if she had eyes in the back of her head, the Umbral Scion didn't even fully turn. Instead, she twisted her left arm backward at an impossible angle, preparing to meet the Musou no Hitotachi head-on.
The Umbral Scion retracted her hands, but the energy coating the water columns didn't dissipate.
As if possessed of life, it surged along the water column in the blink of an eye, slamming into Neuvillette with crushing force.
"Ugh!"
Neuvillette grunted, the condensed impact piercing his defenses and striking his chest.
He was sent flying backward, arcing through the air, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
-
At the same moment, Umbral Scion's left claw clashed against Ei's blade.
Clang—!
A deafening metallic clang reverberated through the air!
Blinding Electro energy and dark purple energy violently collided and annihilated each other.
Ei's pupils constricted sharply. Beyond the recoil from the impact, she sensed something far more profound: a void that devoured all existence. The strange force field that had spontaneously materialized on Umbral Scion's arm was rapidly absorbing her Thunderbolts.
Using the momentum from the block, Umbral Scion twisted her body halfway around. Her right claw, tensed to its limit, shot straight for Ei's heart with impossible speed!
In the nick of time...
"Freeze."
The Tsaritsa's icy voice rang out. Ahead of Umbral Scion's lunging arm, the very fabric of space was forcibly altered, becoming as hard and sluggish as ten-thousand-year-old glacial ice, attempting to freeze her movements.
Umbral Scion's arm faltered momentarily.
But this pause lasted less than an instant. The red light in her mechanical head flickered urgently, and the dark purple energy on her arm surged explosively, like a wild beast tearing free from a spiderweb. It shattered the frozen space with brute force, and her right claw continued its lethal course toward Ei!
Ei retreated swiftly, her blade whirling to parry. Yet the erupting shockwave still sent her blood surging, her sword-wielding hand tingling numbly.
Behind the others, Nahida closed her eyes, focusing all her mental power into a psychic assault. Just as she would tap into the Ley Line's information flow, she attempted to forcibly connect with any residual fragments of Chu Xi's consciousness that might remain within the mechanical head—even a single thread!
Having recognized the body's origin, she sought to seize control.
Even if she failed, briefly immobilizing the creature would create an opening for the other Gods to strike.
But the moment her consciousness touched the cold, mechanical barrier, she sensed not a lingering soul, but an endless, frenzied darkness!
A massive, frigid, ravenous will, burning with the desire for destruction, surged back through her mental connection!
!
Nahida's small face drained of color as her body convulsed violently. She severed the connection as if electrocuted, a trickle of pale golden blood sliding from her nose.
Psychic combat proved far more perilous than physical warfare.
Enraged by Nahida's intrusion, the Umbral Scion abandoned her pursuit of Ei. With a ghostly flicker, she shed the spatial restraints and materialized directly before Nahida, her five fingers curled into claws, lunging toward her head!
"Not if I can help it!"
Neuvillette, suppressing his injuries, conjured his scepter and unleashed a torrent of water to intercept the attack.
The Tsaritsa instantly conjured an ice spike and hurled it at the Umbral Scion with blinding speed. Ei's lightning blade struck again!
Faced with the combined assault of three gods, the Umbral Scion emitted an inhuman, low-pitched hum.
The black-purple energy around her surged like a living thing, expanding to form a momentary Absolute Domain.
The invading water currents evaporated into nothingness.
The ice spike melted instantly into vapor.
The lightning blade struck the Domain, creating only ripples.
Undeterred, the Umbral Scion's hand continued its relentless approach toward Nahida.
Nahida desperately conjured a shield in the form of Irminsul's ethereal silhouette.
Crack!
The shield shattered upon contact, the sound of unbearable strain ringing through the air. Just as the claw was about to strike Nahida, a gust of wind swept her away from danger.
Her claw missed its mark. The Umbral Scion withdrew her hand, and her mechanical head rotated once more, crimson eyes sweeping over the wind itself—revealing Barbatos in his Divine Regalia—as well as Neuvillette, blood trickling from his lips; Raiden Ei, her breathing ragged; and the Tsaritsa, her face frozen with icy fury.
The wind revealed its true form: Barbatos, clad in his Divine Regalia.
Barbatos cradled Nahida in his arms, his face etched with lingering terror.
So close... Just a hair's breadth from Nahida being gravely wounded! If that had happened, how could I face Buer?
"Apologies for the delay," he said. "Some matters held me up."
Venti had sensed the Pillar of Light the moment it appeared, and later, the shattering of the flowers as well. He was unable to leave at the time, but fortunately, Ei and the others had also sensed the moment the flowers were crushed.
At that moment, the Umbral Scion ceased her attacks, granting the Gods a rare moment to catch their breath.
"Barbatos—"
Ei was the most puzzled. Barbatos and the others couldn't possibly have missed the commotion in Natlan. As the Anemo Archon, he should have been the first to arrive; after all, no God could match his speed when he exerted his full power.
Moreover, not only Barbatos was missing, but all three Original Archons were absent, which puzzled her most of all.
Barbatos noticed Ei's confusion. Instead of explaining, he glanced up at Celestia, hovering high above, before saying:
"I came ahead. Old Man and Rukkhadevata will be here shortly."
No sooner had Barbatos spoken than the dark clouds overhead shattered, bathing the battlefield in light once more. Morax descended, Geo Spear in hand, while Rukkhadevata floated down with a blank book in her grasp, both gazing down at the Umbral Scion below.