Time resumed, and the Balladeer's twisted smile froze with the sharp pain from his chest.
He couldn't remember how Shenhe had appeared before him; in just the blink of an eye, Shenhe had completed the action.
How did she do it? Was she feigning attacks all along, just waiting for him to expose a weakness to deliver a fatal blow?
A pierced heart would be a fatal injury for most people, but don't forget, he wasn't human! He was a puppet created by Raiden Ei; a heart wasn't that important to him!
"Die."
"What?"
Shenhe didn't expect the Balladeer to be unaffected by a pierced heart; at this moment, the Balladeer had already re-gathered his strength, and she, having expended too much energy Freezing spacetime, couldn't dodge this attack.
Watching the Balladeer's attack about to land, Shenhe felt no fear; not because she had given up resistance, but because she knew someone would protect her.
Although she hadn't defeated the Balladeer, she had proven herself, and Durandal should be satisfied with her performance.
Because his face was covered by armor, only through the Balladeer's ferocious pupils could his current state be discerned: he was actually injured by Shenhe, whom he looked down upon.
No matter what, Shenhe had to die here today; this thought was clearly conveyed through his eyes.
Just as his hand was about to pierce Shenhe's chest, a slender hand firmly gripped his palm, preventing him from moving an inch forward.
"You! Don't get in the way!"
Perhaps too enraged, seeing Durandal block his attack, the Balladeer not only showed no fear but roared at Durandal, telling her not to interfere.
Durandal would not obey his command; with a slight exertion of force, the armor on his wrist was crushed by her.
Her right leg swept the Balladeer's legs, and the unbalanced Balladeer fell heavily to the ground; before he could get up, Durandal summoned two claws, clenched her fists, and hammered them onto the Balladeer's body.
Durandal didn't even lay a hand on him; just relying on the two materialized great scythes, she pinned the Balladeer to the ground and brutally pounded him. This was with controlled force, after all, she had to bring him before Raiden Ei, and dismantling him here wouldn't be easy to explain.
While the great scythes were 'entertaining' the Balladeer, Durandal looked at the weak Shenhe; due to overexertion, she was extremely frail.
Only after Durandal took her hand and linked her own power with Shenhe's did her condition slightly improve.
"How… how did I do? Durandal."
Shenhe looked at Durandal somewhat nervously and asked, "Are you satisfied… with my performance?"
"There's still much room for improvement, but you successfully used that move, which makes me quite satisfied."
In truth, Durandal had tampered with calamitys bane, allowing it to provide some assistance when Shenhe needed it; the ability to Freeze spacetime this time was also due to calamitys bane assisting her.
But even with calamitys bane's assistance, if Shenhe herself wasn't capable, no amount of help would have allowed her to repeat the feat of ending spacetime.
Therefore, Durandal was very satisfied with Shenhe's performance; the reason she didn't defeat the Balladeer was entirely because of the Balladeer's unique nature. If it were an ordinary person, Shenhe's previous attack would have completely taken their life.
Looking at Shenhe, who was panting and smiling happily despite her exhaustion, Durandal took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
The scene of their intimate interaction formed a stark contrast with the Balladeer being brutally beaten by the great scythes nearby. At this moment, the Balladeer was still holding on with his consciousness; if he fainted here, everything would be over.
He hadn't achieved his goal; he hadn't defeated that woman, hadn't replaced her as the Electro Archon.
He had clearly made up his mind, so why did such a terrifying individual appear before him before his goal was realized? Was his goal destined to be unattainable?
He… was so unwilling.
Finally, with another attack from the great scythes, the Balladeer fainted, and the power of the Delusion was dispelled with his unconsciousness, revealing the Balladeer's original appearance.
Durandal went over and kicked him a few times, confirming that the Balladeer had fainted, then grabbed him by the back of his collar and, along with Shenhe, transformed into black mist, flying towards the Tenshukaku.
At this moment, Raiden Makoto's miniature form was assisting the Raiden Shogun with various official duties. Just as the Raiden Shogun was about to pick up another document, the familiar black mist flew into the Tenshukaku. Realizing Durandal's arrival, the Raiden Shogun put down her pen and stood up from her seat.
"I've brought a very special person this time; I think you should know him."
"A special person?"
The Raiden Shogun frowned, looking perplexed at the Balladeer who was thrown out. Her eyebrows rose, and she quickly found information about him in her memory.
"It's him…"
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