God Cutter unsheathed. Lightning coursed over the blade, and Seino Fugin launched a sudden attack, his sword light bursting forth in a horizontal slash aimed at La Signora's neck.
La Signora tilted her body slightly, avoiding the incoming sword wind. Thunder burned her cheek, and she narrowed her eyes.
Electro…
A cold gleam erupted in her right hand, as terrifying, freezing elemental power condensed in an instant. She pressed it toward Seino's chest.
Fatui: La Signora
Level: 79–80
According to the system's division, level 80 is Archon-level, while level 90 corresponds to the Seven.
That is a realm infinitely close to "God" status.
Seino Fugin felt his limbs stiffen, as if they were blocked somehow.
Favonius Bladework.
He reversed God Cutter in a counter-slash, cutting off the stream of frost. He backed up several steps, lowering his stance. Clear wind coiled around his toes. He exhaled softly—white vapor and crackling lightning leaked through his clenched teeth.
He had no intention of giving up.
Using his full power was his final show of respect to Rosalyne.
McCa's death was no exception.
La Signora walked a cruel path; in the days ahead, she would sacrifice more people, more mortals. Perhaps her path was righteous in her own eyes, but Seino Fugin did not agree. That was where they diverged.
They stood on different roads. The gap between them would always be there, with only each other's silent blessings.
He would never tell La Signora that he had once been Rostam.
In the end, there were only two possibilities:
He would be killed, or he would kill La Signora.
If it came to the first outcome, he didn't want La Signora to feel remorse for slaying the one she had once loved. If it was the second, he didn't want her to grieve over being killed by someone who once loved her.
But as things stood, the first outcome was much more likely.
This battle should be pure: just an ordinary Knight of Favonius against an ordinary Fatui Harbinger, with no other baggage.
"Fudoshin."
He slashed again with God Cutter, the strike brutally sharp.
Seino Fugin's silhouette became a flurry of afterimages, the blade of God Cutter churning with thunder and storms, hacking again and again at the thick walls of ice La Signora had conjured. Wind and frost surged, lightning burst forth; shards of ice and trailing gusts scattered in all directions.
God Cutter had once slain a deity.
Even with a nine-level difference, perhaps the sword could bridge that gap.
The heart of a "god" within his chest had never throbbed so fiercely. Seino Fugin felt powerful life surging in him, boiling in his rib cage.
La Signora frowned. She hadn't expected this young man to be so troublesome.
From the looks of it, his strength had skyrocketed since he stopped the dragon crisis last time. She had never seen progress at such a terrifying pace.
And that sword of his—there was something mysterious in the aura entwining its blade.
Layer after layer of ice crumbled. Seino Fugin swung out horizontally once more, relying on God Cutter's keen edge to destroy every barrier in his path, aiming for La Signora's neck!
Within his unwavering heart, everything else faded; in Seino's eyes, the world narrowed to that single point.
La Signora took half a step back, turning her face aside. The biting sword wind skimmed across her cheek, drawing droplets of blood.
Her gaze was calm, as though unperturbed.
Her old memories still haunted her.
But La Signora had to move forward.
She recalled that dusk—when a monstrous tide rose to the heavens, devastating her homeland in an instant. That was when the girl was buried, her tears turning to ash. From the ashes rose La Signora. She would burn to cinders every foul monster in the world and build a pure-white world!
Someone had to burn away all pain to bring new hope. She did not need understanding. She did not need comfort. Nor did she need anyone's sympathy.
No matter the cost.
No one could stop her ambition.
Splattering in midair—besides bright droplets of blood—were fragments of a shimmering golden mask. Pieces of the mask on La Signora's cheek cracked and fell, drifting through the air before igniting. They fluttered like fiery butterflies in flight.
And beneath them lay her scars, flame-like markings across her skin.
Fire replaced ice, transforming into rippling layers of brilliant veils and fine silks that draped naturally around her ankles. Rolling clouds of fire spread around her. She was, by nature, a crimson witch of flames. The ice bestowed by the Tsaritsa had merely sealed her inner blaze. Now that the ice was melting away, La Signora blazed anew!
Seino Fugin let out a gentle sigh, a trace of helpless laughter escaping his lips.
Seriously…
She has a second form?
One of ice and fire, both extremes.
Flames raged, licking the leaden sky. A sea of fire lit the world, glowing a scorching red. Seino Fugin took a step back, halting his offense. He plunged God Cutter into the ground. Gales gathered around him, swirling rapidly into a massive cyclone barrier, layering upon itself to enclose him.
Flames coiled around the swirling winds. Fiery serpents wrapped again and again, finally covering everything.
An unending inferno imprisoned Seino inside. The surrounding temperature shot up instantly. The sudden heat made the air ripple, thick waves of scorching heat erupting.
Sweat slid down Seino Fugin's cheek, dripping onto the ground.
He clenched his teeth; both hands on God Cutter trembled slightly.
His soul was eroding. His body was roasting. But he had to endure; only thus would he not betray the deaths of others.
Regardless of the outcome, he would accept it wholeheartedly.
Bit by bit, the cage of flames devoured Seino Fugin's wind barrier. Holding out became more difficult. In the gaps of the blaze, he caught a glimpse of La Signora's face.
Rosalyne.
Fiery butterflies circled and danced around the hem of her gown, the grand flame itself a crown upon her head.
"Huff…huff."
Seino Fugin closed his eyes.
He needed to calm his heart.
His mind drifted back to that stormy night. Sheets of rain poured down, a heavy mist of rain cloaking Mondstadt. Somewhere in the distance, a girl's song echoed. He stood among dandelions, the downpour cutting off his sight. He could no longer find her.
Cut through the rain—cut every drop of water in that storm.
Cut through this fire—cut every blazing butterfly. At this moment, the true essence of the Knights of Favonius swordsmanship merged seamlessly with Seino Reimei's unwavering spirit. Seino Fugin exhaled one last breath.
Thunder rumbled. Far off, rolling thunder boomed.
A serpent-like pattern on God Cutter began to move. Those lines slid from the sword's hilt onto Seino's arm, covering his shoulder, tracing down across his chest to his heart.
God Cutter fully unsheathed.
"Fudoshin."
Lightning and wind raged in tandem, shattering the flames. The coiling fire snake was cut clean in half. Everything vanished except for that one point.
His steadfast heart and the Favonius blade technique intertwined here.
He dropped his body low and became the wind itself.
La Signora watched him quietly, coldly. She lifted her hand slightly, gathering all her flames at a single point. The roaring sea of fire pulled back and shrank, condensing into a single radiant fire butterfly in her palm.
That butterfly fluttered softly, yet carried a power enough to incinerate Mondstadt—winging its way toward Seino Fugin!
Fire butterfly and wind fought and tangled, waging a final duel. The wind tore at the butterfly's splendid wings, while the butterfly's flame scorched the wind itself.
This was their last dance.
Seino Fugin cut through the fire butterfly.
La Signora was struck by the backlash. Her body jolted, blood trickling from her lips, her chest tight as the unending blaze roared within her, turning on her own body.
God Cutter streaked through the silent night sky, aiming for La Signora—but the wind came to an abrupt stop. Even the sound of it ceased.
Seino Fugin stood motionless, his eyes lowered, body wavering.
He looked down. His chest felt hollow, as though something vital was missing.
La Signora held his heart in her hand.
A godlike heart does not resemble a mortal's fleshy organ. Instead, it was crystalline—translucent, shimmering softly in a cerulean glow, so beautiful.
"You are quite strong," La Signora said.
Death drew near.
The breeze that had blown for three short months was coming to an end.
Seino Fugin did not look sorrowful. He raised his head and smiled faintly:
"Please remember our promise."
He said, "Give my heart…to Kunikuzushi."