"What are you doing here?"
The Raiden Shogun stood tense, gripping the Musou no Hitotachi, pointing its tip directly at the white-haired girl standing atop the shrine roof.
Wendi had said she would leave this world—now she had appeared in Inazuma, silently, without warning. Ei didn't know what she planned, but nothing about it felt good.
"Ei, who is she?"
Yae Miko stared at her friend in shock. It had been a long time since she had seen Ei wear an expression like this. In fact, she wasn't sure she'd ever seen Ei look this shaken.
Wait… behind that girl…
That strange sigil—floating behind the white-haired girl's back—was the same shape as the golden diamond that had appeared in the sky earlier… just a different color.
Yae Miko's heart tightened.
Whatever this girl was, she was involved in what happened outside. But how? What happened between the moment Ei left and the moment she returned?
Did Ei lose and retreat back to Inazuma for protection?
Or… had she been chased all the way here?
No—Ei's first words were "What are you doing here?"
What did that mean…?
Since Ei clearly wasn't going to explain, Miko could only guess.
"Raiden Shogun, are you really this unhappy to see me? And speaking of which—you did try to sneak-attack me from behind earlier… no, wait, not 'try.' You did attack me. You just failed."
Su Mo spoke lazily from the rooftop, recalling how Ei had appeared behind her blade drawn.
Though in truth, she wasn't here to settle that tiny "sneak attack." According to the System, the black corruption on the Musou no Hitotachi hadn't been fully removed. If left alone, not only would it eventually erode Ei, but everything around her as well.
That was one reason she'd come.
Only one.
Because the System could've cleaned it off with a single command. She didn't have to come here.
But Su Mo wanted to scout the place out in advance. She knew she and Lumine would end up in Inazuma sooner or later. And she strongly suspected the System would eventually give her missions like "Herrscher of Thunder vs. Raiden Shogun" or "Disguise yourself as the Shogun."
Maybe even Yae Sakura vs. Yae Miko.
She had already learned the System's personality. Nothing was too absurd.
If the mission was "impersonate the Raiden Shogun"… would the prerequisite really be tying her up first?
The more Su Mo thought, the wilder the possibilities became. And the more she thought… the more she felt it was entirely possible.
"Yae Miko. Get everyone out of here."
Ei's voice was taut with urgency.
Hearing Wendi's tone, Ei had already guessed the true reason she had come.
She wasn't attacking Inazuma. She wasn't here to fight.
She was here because of earlier—when Ei had struck from behind.
A childlike personality. Unpredictable. Easily offended. Capable of erasing nations.
If she had come to seek revenge…
Would Inazuma survive?
For the first time, Ei felt a stab of something dangerously close to despair.
Even the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles couldn't subdue this girl. What chance did she have?
But Ei was not someone who surrendered quietly.
"Ei, are you that eager to chase me off? I am your shrine maiden, you know."
Callously dangling her legs over the rooftop, Su Mo finally caught on to what they were imagining.
These two think I'm here to wipe them out?
Right when she was about to speak, Miko interrupted—her expression serious for once.
If her guess was right, the girl on the roof was the one behind today's world-shaking anomalies. But she still didn't understand why she had come to Inazuma.
Had Ei retreated? Had she been chased?
But Ei's words earlier didn't match that at all.
"Yae Miko. Leave. Now. I will not repeat myself."
Ei's tone sharpened—firmer than Miko had heard in a very long time.
Miko froze.
Ei never spoke like this to her.
Which could only mean one thing—
This time… things were truly serious.
"Hey. Do I really look that dangerous to you? But anyway… I didn't expect human 'movies' to be this accurate. Turns out everything except the self-insert power fantasies is actually real. Huh. Humans are kind of amusing."
Su Mo's eyes narrowed with irritation. She hadn't even done anything yet and these two were already imagining doomsday scenarios.
But what surprised her more was that the ridiculous scenes she'd seen in movies—the misunderstandings, the dramatic tension, the misread intentions—apparently all happened in real life too.
She thought humans made those up for fun.
Wait… she doesn't seem hostile?
And… "movies"…? Calling Ei's name? Liyue surnames are usually single-character names…
That word caught Yae Miko's attention immediately.
"Movies?"
"Movie as in film?"
"Film as in… captured images…?"
Her fox-brain went into overdrive.
Is someone filming Ei?
Is someone using her image to pretend they're strong?
Is this about the Snezhnayan Kamera technology?
What kind of weird scam is this?
The more she tried to interpret the girl's words, the worse her guesses became.
Ei ignored every guess Miko made—and that only made Miko more curious.
"So why are you here?"
Ei finally asked directly. Wendi's words had startled her—she wasn't here to take revenge. That meant there was hope.
"Don't know what the two of you are imagining, but I'm not here to deal with you. I'm here because of your weapon.
Huh… you even have an older sister?"
Su Mo had just noticed the traces of Ei's twin, Makoto, on the blade.
"What do you mean?"
Ei was caught completely off guard.
Why had Wendi suddenly mentioned Makoto?
And how did she know Makoto existed?
Why bring her up now?
Oh no. Not this again. She isn't going to say "Electric Makoto," is she…?
Yae Miko was lost entirely.
Then—
"Honestly… how boring.
You waited five hundred years…
For something this stupid?"
Ei: "?!!"
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