Thunder rumbled, and two phantoms interwove amidst the steel jungle. The clang of metal on metal was incessant.
Elysia watched the battle in the false city from a distance. She had long understood that regardless of who won or lost, Lin would give the [Nameless] Signet to Mei, so she wasn't nervous at all, casually enjoying this battle that spanned fifty thousand years.
Currently, both were merely testing each other. Lin abandoned his most proficient fighting style, choosing to confront Mei head-on, while Mei also didn't use her Herrscher authority from the start, relying only on martial arts and swordsmanship to grapple with Lin.
After deflecting her sword one more time, Lin suddenly drew a second sword with his other hand. The two blades descended together, forcing Mei to retreat step by step.
"Clang!"
With their blades locked, Mei stood firm on both feet, staring at Lin, and said, "Your swordsmanship doesn't seem like something an ordinary person could achieve."
"Someone taught me," Lin took a large step with his right foot, flicked his wrist, breaking Mei's guard, and then kicked her vambrace, sending her flying.
"Boom!"
Mei dusted the debris off herself and walked out from the large hole in the wall, asking the Lin who wasn't eager to pursue, "Sakura? Weren't you two on bad terms?"
The masterful use of both single and dual swords, and the hint of Far Eastern swordsmanship in every move, clearly indicated that someone had guided Lin's swordsmanship.
"That has nothing to do with whether we were on good or bad terms." Lin's left hand flicked his sword back into its sheath, his right sword pointing to the ground. "Compensating for weaknesses and strengthening advantages—that is the survival method of humanity in the Previous Era. Any technique or technology can be utilized."
As his voice fell, Lin drew his pistol, and Mei activated her Herrscher power, commencing the second round of their bout.
"Oh dear, looks like they're getting serious now." Elysia, the spectator, shifted backward to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
"Sister Ellie?"
At that moment, a confused voice sounded behind Elysia. Elysia turned around and was momentarily stunned to see the cat-eared girl with heterochromia.
"Pardo? Why are you here?"
"I don't know either. Brother Lin just asked me to find something, and after I found it, I had Can to lead the way and ended up here." The cat-eared girl named Pardo was also bewildered. The commotion from below the tall building then caught her attention, and one look startled her. "Waaah! Why are people fighting! Is that... Brother Lin? Why is Brother Lin fighting the visitor?"
All the Flame-Chasers in the Elysian Realm had learned through various means that this visitor was a Herrscher, and Pardofelis was no exception. However, Lin had specifically talked to her and explained Raiden Mei's situation, probably to prevent her from doing anything unusual if she encountered Mei.
"Brother Lin has never fought anyone here before. Why is he fighting today?"
"Hmm... Perhaps he intends to give away his Signet." Elysia pretended to be deep in thought, pinching her chin. "After all, Lin has never given his Signet to a visitor before."
"Brother Lin is going to give away his Signet? But didn't he say..."
"There has to be a first time, right? These are all Lin's own choices. We just watch here, okay?" Elysia made a shushing gesture, though it seemed quite out of place with the earth-shaking battle in the distance. "Speaking of which, Lin has been asking Pardo to find things recently. What is it?"
"Uh... Brother Lin said not to show it to others." Pardo tightly hugged the large bag in her hands, giggling nervously as she backed away.
"Pardo, are Lin and I close?"
"Um..." Pardo hesitated before nodding. "Yes... I guess?"
"Of course we are!" Elysia patted her chest confidently. "And are Pardo and I also very close?"
This time Pardo honestly admitted, "Yes."
"Then Lin and Pardo are super close too, right?"
"Of course!" Pardo smiled happily at this statement.
Elysia coaxed her: "Then how can there be 'others' among us? We are all comrades. It won't hurt to let me see it."
"..." Something felt off, but Brother Lin often indulged Sister Ely's impulses. This was a rare leniency for him, so it shouldn't be a big deal to let Sister Ely take a look, right?
To Pardo, who wanted to please both sides, it seemed like there was no loss, so she took out the bag. "Only one look, okay, Sister Ely? Don't tell Brother Lin."
"So it's this..."
When Elysia saw the bag full of items, she realized that Lin was not just going through the motions.
…
Gone again.
The Herrscher of Thunder stood guard in a position where she couldn't be attacked from behind. She was familiar with this rhythm of attack; it was the psychological pressure the previous "Lin" had placed on her.
The last battleground was boundless, but she was still suppressed by the previous "Lin's" ghost-like, insidious sneak attacks. This time, she had come to Lin's home turf. Unless Mei instantly leveled all the surrounding buildings, the situation from last time would repeat.
But Mei couldn't do that. Lin wasn't that foolish. He must have anticipated Mei's idea of directly destroying the buildings. If she actually did that, she would instead fall into his trap.
Lin's raw strength wasn't particularly powerful. With the physical capabilities and powers of a Herrscher, it wouldn't be difficult to defeat him in a frontal confrontation. However, the difficulty with Lin lay in the fact that even when he engaged you head-on, he would often play some tricks.
Or rather, the "frontal confrontation" was just an illusion he created for his enemy.
"Bang!"
A bullet shot from the side. After Mei swung her sword to cut it down, a bolt of lightning struck precisely where the bullet had come from.
"Sizzle..."
Sure enough, it didn't hit anything.
Where exactly is he?
Mei felt Lin's sharp, indifferent gaze fixed on her from every direction, waiting for the moment she would let down her guard.
Cannot let down her guard—
"Give it to me."
Lin snatched the bag from Elysia's hand.
"Aren't you fighting Mei?" Elysia asked, surprised by Lin's sudden appearance.
Lin glanced at her. "Phase Shift."
"Brother Lin, I brought the stuff for you." Pardo's eyes were sparkling as she looked at Lin, her tail wagging happily.
"Mhm, well done, Pardo." Lin gently patted Pardo's head.
Just as Elysia had said, Lin's attitude towards Pardo was different from everyone else. He wasn't stingy with praise for Pardo, and the rare affability displayed by him was almost entirely given to Pardo.
Many people were confused about the close relationship between these two who seemed worlds apart in personality, and Pardo herself didn't fully understand why Lin, who was so indifferent to everyone at the time, would be so meticulously caring towards her, a latecomer to the group.
But some people understood the reason, although they all tacitly kept silent about it.
After nodding to Pardo, Lin stepped back and activated the Phase Shift device.
It was time for the second round.