Raiden Ei's eyes flickered with sharp coldness. She fixed her icy gaze on Lin Yide. "Mortal, why do you stand against eternity?"
Lin Yide's expression was calm. He replied indifferently, "Because your path of eternity has brought deep suffering to the people of Inazuma."
Raiden Ei let out a cold snort. "On the path to eternity, sacrifice is unavoidable. But all these costs are so that they can permanently enjoy happy lives in the future."
"So you approve of the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree?" Lin Yide questioned. "Even though these two decrees have brought immense suffering to the people?"
Raiden Ei admitted this frankly. "I am not ignorant. I am naturally aware of the possible consequences of these two decrees. Without my instruction, the Raiden Shogun would never have agreed to promulgate these decrees."
"No! You are not aware!" Lin Yide's voice was serious and firm. "You have no idea of the far-reaching consequences brought about by these two evil decrees. The year the Sakoku Decree was implemented, over ten thousand people on Watatsumi Island died of hunger. Afterwards, Watatsumi Island was forced to wage war out of desperation. The consequence of the war was that the population of Yashiori Island plummeted from the original tens of thousands to less than eight thousand. Do you truly think such a tragic cost is worth it?"
There was a moment of wavering in Raiden Ei's eyes, but it quickly became resolute again. "It is worth it! As long as eternity can be ultimately achieved, these sacrifices are necessary."
Lin Yide knew her personality was stubborn to the point of being fanatical, so he didn't expect to convince her with words. After all, the power of words is always limited. He raised the black sword in his hand. "Raiden Ei, let our swords do the talking!"
"As it should be!"
Before her words fell, Raiden Ei tightly gripped the Musou Isshin. As she moved, a giant Electro Ring appeared behind her, shining with dazzling light and emanating a heart-stopping pressure. At this moment, the sky over Inazuma City seemed to sense the impending duel. Instantly, dark clouds gathered, and thunder roared. The turbulent Electro element, as if summoned, surged madly towards Tenshukaku. Raiden Ei raised the Musou Isshin high, the tip of the blade pointing directly at the sky. With a low cry, purple lightning shot up along the blade, piercing through the roof of Tenshukaku like a giant dragon, a breathtaking sight.
Facing this unprecedented and terrifying might, Lin Yide did not retreat in the slightest. The four Visions at his waist—Electro, Cryo, Hydro, Pyro—shone with brilliant light. Four elemental powers surged wildly into the black sword in his hand. As the two forces continuously accumulated and collided, the interior space of the entire Tenshukaku began to tremble violently. Turbulent elemental currents raged wildly within this confined space. Items within Tenshukaku were like paper in the face of this power, easily torn apart and thrown around. Even the sturdy Tenshukaku itself began to shake under this force, as if it could collapse at any moment.
Soon after, the Musou no Hitachi in Raiden Ei's hand had condensed into form. This single slash gathered the power of all the lightning in the world, surging forward with the force to destroy heaven and earth. At the same time, Lin Yide's Decisive Blade was also complete. The hundred-meter-long blade was surrounded by four elements, its light brilliant and dazzling, simultaneously breathtaking and awe-inspiring.
Outside Tenshukaku, Kaedehara Kazuha and the others felt these two unprecedented terrifying pressures. They couldn't help but tremble. "Is this the true power of a god?" Kaedehara Kazuha exclaimed, his voice filled with awe. Kamisato Ayato quickly recovered from his brief astonishment. "We must immediately get away from Tenshukaku and urgently evacuate the nearby civilians," he ordered decisively. As soon as his words fell, the others immediately took action, without any delay.
In an instant, centered around Tenshukaku, an unprecedented dazzling light burst forth. Then, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted, the entire world shaken by the immense sound. At the same time, the ground began to shake violently, like an earthquake had struck. People were unsteady on their feet, scrambling to find support to steady themselves. The aftershocks of the explosion surged like a tsunami, instantly engulfing everything within Tenshukaku. The formerly sturdy buildings and exquisite decorations were all reduced to nothing in this moment. Even though Kaedehara Kazuha and the others had tried their best to evade, they were still struck by the powerful shockwave, sent flying tens of meters away. They struggled to get up, seeing the surrounding devastation, and couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.
Within Inazuma City, countless dilapidated houses instantly collapsed under this powerful shockwave. Fortunately, most of these houses were made of wood. Although they collapsed, they did not cause a large number of casualties.
At the distant Grand Narukami Shrine, Yae Miko gazed towards Tenshukaku, her face filled with shock. This guy, Lin Yide, had actually done it. As a mortal, he stood shoulder to shoulder with a god. She had originally planned to lend him a hand at the critical moment, but now it seemed that idea was superfluous and even somewhat ridiculous.
The aftershocks of the explosion gradually dissipated. The once towering and magnificent Tenshukaku was now a ruin, filled with smoke and silence amidst broken walls and debris. In the midst of this ruin, Lin Yide stood alone, his figure appearing solitary and resilient. His clothes were tattered, with only a few rags barely covering the key parts of his body. His skin was covered in wounds of varying depths. Blood stained his body, making him look unusually miserable.
Raiden Ei, facing him, gripped the Musou Isshin tightly with both hands, struggling to maintain her stance. There was no part of her body left unscathed; she was covered in bloodstains, but she still stood stubbornly, unwilling to fall.
"You lost!" he said in a calm tone.
Raiden Ei cried out, weary and weak, "No!" Saying this, she struggled to steady herself, using all her strength to raise the Musou Isshin in her hand, staggering towards Lin Yide. "As long as I am alive, I will never admit defeat. Sister entrusted Inazuma to me. I have not yet brought eternity to my subjects. I cannot fall here!"
Each step she took was incredibly difficult, but she did not give up, approaching Lin Yide step by step. When she finally reached Lin Yide, her body had reached its limit and could no longer support her. She slowly fell towards the ground. Just as she was about to hit the ground, a warm embrace steadily caught her.
"What a stubborn blockhead."
This was the last sound she heard before losing consciousness.