Bonus Chapter!
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The next day.To ensure he could act at a moment's notice, Luo Qing stopped concerning himself with the fate of the captured samurai and summoned his four subordinates back to Inazuma City.
Early that morning, Luo Qing woke to find Rosalyne's door wide open and her room empty. It was clear—she had already left to meet the Raiden Shogun.
Acting quickly, he gathered his subordinates and rushed toward the Tenshukaku.
If he arrived too late, he might find nothing left of Rosalyne but ashes scattered across the floor.
Before the Raiden Shogun's memories had been altered, she had given Luo Qing a pass that granted him unrestricted access to the Tenshukaku. With it, he could roam anywhere—even the private baths reserved for the Yashiro Commission's women—without anyone daring to stop him.
Thus, the group encountered no obstacles as Luo Qing led his subordinates toward the top floor of the Tenshukaku.
They had only reached the halfway point when a furious roar echoed down from above.
Rosalyne's voice.
It seemed the battle had entered the second phase.
"You all have one job," Luo Qing said as they paused on the stairs. "Once I give the signal, your task is to take Rosalyne out of the city and hide her. Make sure no one finds out she's still alive. Got it?"
"Uh… Master…" Natalia hesitated, her expression troubled.
"With Rosalyne's strength, I'm afraid we…"
As one of the Fatui's Harbingers, Rosalyne could crush even Teresa, their strongest, with a single hand. Asking them to subdue and transport her felt like an impossible task.
"Don't worry." Luo Qing smiled slyly. "She won't disobey your orders."
Before they could ask what he meant, Luo Qing's figure blurred and vanished.
In an instant, he reappeared on the top floor, hidden within the shadows of the rafters in the Raiden Shogun's chamber.
For his plan to work, no one could know he was involved in Rosalyne's disappearance. Cloaked in invisibility, he perched silently above, waiting for the fight between Lumine and Rosalyne to conclude.
Lumine had absorbed three elemental powers on her journey, and her strength had mostly recovered.
Even though Rosalyne had broken free from the Tsaritsa's granted ice powers and reignited her original Crimson Witch flames, she was still defeated by Lumine's dull blade.
"How… how could I lose… to someone like you?!"
Rosalyne fell to her knees, panting heavily. Her body was covered in cuts inflicted by Lumine's blade.
Had Lumine not held back, Rosalyne might already have been dead—without the Raiden Shogun needing to intervene.
In her current witch form, accentuated by the fiery crimson glow, Rosalyne was even more dazzling than usual. Her twisted expression, however, added a manic edge to her beauty.
"You've lost."
The Raiden Shogun opened her eyes slowly, her deep violet irises shimmering with a faint electric glow.
She reached into her chest and drew forth the Musou Isshin, her gaze as cold as the death sentence she was about to deliver.
Just as Kazuha's friend had perished in a duel years ago, the defeated in a Tenryou Commission duel would meet the same fate—death.
"You dare kill me?!" Rosalyne bellowed in defiance. "I am the Tsaritsa's envoy!"
Her voice grew shrill.
"If you strike me down, I swear, your nation—your entire Inazuma—will perish alongside me!"
She hadn't expected Lumine to invoke a public duel to foil her plans, let alone to be defeated so utterly.
Now, staring up at the Raiden Shogun atop her dais, an unfamiliar sensation welled up within her—fear. Fear of a god.
"Hmph."
The Raiden Shogun's cold snort reverberated through the room. Sword in hand, she began to approach Rosalyne.
Above, Luo Qing watched from the rafters.
For a moment, he felt a sense of unfamiliarity from the Raiden Shogun.
That distant, icy gaze. That merciless air of authority.
It reminded him of the first time he had seen her from afar in the Tenshukaku, long before he had used his Favorability Boost Card. Back then, she had been untouchable, indifferent, and imperious.
Since then, her demeanor had softened, leaning more toward that of a gentle housewife. The aloofness and pride had long since faded.
"…Her…"
Feeling an instinctive sense of caution, Luo Qing decided not to reveal himself just yet.
With a thought, he activated his Guardian Angel ability, locking it onto Rosalyne.
As long as he didn't change the target, Rosalyne would resurrect in a weakened state a few minutes after any form of death—except for old age. The ability had a one-year cooldown, but it was his trump card for now.
"Alright… that should do it," Luo Qing muttered to himself.
Below, Rosalyne had devolved into hysterical shouting, cursing the Raiden Shogun and all of Inazuma.
Yet the Raiden Shogun's gaze remained unchanged—calm, unyielding, and resolute.
When only ten steps separated them, the Raiden Shogun moved.
Her form blurred as lightning flashed, filling the room with blinding brilliance.
When the light faded, Rosalyne was gone.
Not even ash remained.
"…What…"
Lumine and Paimon stared, wide-eyed, in utter shock.
One of the Fatui Harbingers, Rosalyne, had just been obliterated.
The Raiden Shogun turned to Lumine, her impassive gaze making Lumine grip her dull blade tightly in defense.
"Raiden Shogun…"
"As the victor…"
The Raiden Shogun spoke, her tone devoid of warmth.
"I told you—you may leave the Tenshukaku standing."
"…"
Lumine said nothing. Exchanging a glance with Paimon, she cautiously retreated, disappearing down the corridor moments later.
"Who's there?"
The Raiden Shogun's cold voice rang out, and a bolt of lightning struck the rafters where Luo Qing was hiding.
During the chaotic battle between Lumine and Rosalyne, the elemental energy in the room had masked Luo Qing's presence.
Now that Rosalyne was dead and Lumine had left, Luo Qing's aura stood out like a beacon in the night.
It only took an instant for the Raiden Shogun to sense him.
"Cough… cough… It's me! It's me!"
Realizing he had been discovered, Luo Qing dropped his invisibility and revealed himself before the Raiden Shogun.
"You…"
The Raiden Shogun frowned slightly.
"Who are you?"
"…Huh?"
Luo Qing froze, baffled.
Is she joking? he thought. Or has she actually lost her memory?
"You don't remember me?"
"I have never seen you before. But…"
The Raiden Shogun's right hand rose slowly, the Musou Isshin crackling with lightning.
"Breaking into the Tenshukaku, disrupting a formal duel, and speaking disrespectfully to me… By the laws of Inazuma, you must face the judgment of thunder."
The blade of Musou Isshin pointed directly at Luo Qing.
For some reason, the Raiden Shogun felt her heartbeat quicken as their gazes locked. A wave of heat surged through her, followed by a singular, obsessive thought.
This man… I must… cut him down in one strike!
Just as she prepared to attack, Luo Qing quickly pulled out his Tenshukaku access pass, waving it as if to stave off the impending doom.
"Wait, Shogun-sama! This is the pass you gave me! Did you forget?"
A quick glance at his system confirmed that the Raiden Shogun's favorability rating hadn't dropped or reset.
If she's just lost her memory… this might not be so bad… right?
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