"Has everyone rested well?"
Inside a certain cave on Seirai Island, Sangonomiya Kokomi asked the others after they had finished resting.
"Next, we must face our final enemy."
Hearing Sangonomiya Kokomi's words, everyone stood up one by one. Though their hearts were incredibly anxious, they showed no trace of worry on their faces to avoid adding to the pressure.
"This time will be extremely dangerous. Will anyone choose to stay behind?"
"I know none of you are afraid of dying, but this is truly no time to be reckless."
Sangonomiya Kokomi looked at everyone and asked, but their eyes were all firm... Well, Enjou didn't really want to go, but he couldn't persuade Lumine not to take the risk. He could only bite the bullet and follow along.
If something were to happen to Lumine, Aether would come in person to send him on his way. He wouldn't survive for long.
"Alright, alright, you've said that kind of talk eight hundred times already!"
"Let's set off, this Great One can't wait any longer!"
Arataki Itto clenched his fists and struck them together, creating a dull thud in the air.
"As long as this Great One steps up, victory will be as easy as taking it with his hands!"
"Shinobu, have you set the stage for this Great One's heroic return? The spectacle must be grand enough, and the venue must be spacious and bright! If you haven't prepared, go and arrange it quickly!"
Hearing Arataki Itto's words, Kuki Shinobu couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Give it a rest, Boss. Setting aside how obvious your intentions are..."
"Do we have the money?"
"Ah, this..."
Hearing Kuki Shinobu's words, Arataki Itto smiled awkwardly.
"Shinobu, how about you stay behind? The Arataki Gang can't do without you!"
"And it definitely can't do without you!"
"You're the Boss of the Arataki Gang. If you don't go, how could I?"
Arataki Itto tried to persuade Kuki Shinobu a few more times, but in the end, he was completely outmatched in the argument and could only give up.
"Milady..."
"Thoma, there's no need to say more. This is my choice."
Just as Thoma was hesitating whether to persuade Kamisato Ayaka, she interrupted him directly. Now Thoma was at his wit's end and could only remind himself in his heart that he must do his utmost to protect Kamisato Ayaka later. He must not let her get hurt before he fell!
If that Aoba kid could do it, how could he not be able to do it?!
At this moment, Sangonomiya Kokomi looked at Lumine and spoke softly.
"Traveler, you might have to bear the greatest pressure and be in the most danger this time. I'm counting on you."
Lumine nodded, and thinking about the upcoming battle with Persephone, she felt a little nervous.
"Don't worry, Kokomi, the Traveler is very strong!"
"We'll win, right, Traveler?"
Faced with Paimon's words, Lumine hesitated for a moment before nodding seriously.
They would win. They had been through this before, and they had ultimately defeated all the powerful enemies they faced.
Seeing Lumine and Paimon so full of confidence, Sangonomiya Kokomi breathed a slight sigh of relief, then turned her gaze to the miniature version of Daphne standing on Gorou's shoulder.
"Daphne, I'm counting on you this time as well."
"Don't worry, I was just caught off guard by that woman last time!"
"Otherwise, with her mediocre skills, she's completely no match for me, Daphne!"
Hearing Daphne's words, Sangonomiya Kokomi's smile stiffened a little.
Although she really wanted to believe Daphne's words, if the facts were truly as she claimed, given Daphne's personality, she would have definitely gone to cause trouble for Persephone long ago.
Moreover, looking closely, one could see that Daphne's expression at this moment was a little stiff, and her gaze was also a bit evasive.
Immediately, Sangonomiya Kokomi felt a bit worried about this operation again.
Now, they chose to directly launch a challenge against Persephone, because if they continued according to the original rules, they would simply not get a result that could satisfy everyone, and in the end, they could only continuously consume themselves internally, and even turn against each other.
The original siege posture against Persephone also collapsed in an instant, and they no longer posed a threat to Persephone.
So in order to avoid this situation, they needed to end this farce as quickly as possible.
Of course, everyone present knew that they had chosen the most difficult path, and at this time there was not even a single God standing beside them fighting together, all the pressure was on them.
And the only person they could rely on was Lumine, and under the strengthening of the Mark, they might have a sliver of a chance.
Of course, there was still Daphne as a final safeguard, but since she had yet to fully reveal her strength, and considering her unreliable personality, they didn't have much confidence in their hearts.
After making a few more preparations, everyone left the cave and rushed toward the center of the thunderstorm.
In fact, everyone knew they were already right under Persephone's nose; perhaps she was even watching them at this moment, looking down from high in the sky as they climbed up step by step, the corner of her mouth curving into a smile that mocked their overestimation of their own strength.
Yes, she simply didn't take them seriously at all. Otherwise, after Scaramouche and Rosalyne had returned to report the news so long ago, why had no new enemies appeared before them?
But everyone also had to admit that Persephone indeed had the right to look down on them. Every one of her previous moves had been so astonishing; Persephone possessed a strength they could not comprehend.
Even so, they still had to issue a challenge to her, because behind them were Inazuma and the countless ordinary citizens of the continent of Teyvat.
As they drew closer, the pressure they felt grew even heavier.
Besides the terrifying Electro Elemental Power leaking out, there was also an aura as heavy as mountains, eventually pressing down on them so much that they found it difficult to breathe. The weaker members of the group even broke out in a dense layer of sweat on their foreheads, which finally mixed with the rain and slid down.
The thunderstorm in the sky also grew more intense. If Sangonomiya Kokomi hadn't intervened to divert the lightning elsewhere, the situation for the weaker members would have been even worse, but they did not retreat.
Perhaps in the upcoming battle, the help they could provide would be minimal, or they might even lose their lives here forever, but they did not want to hide in a safe place and reap the rewards of others' desperate struggles.
As long as their efforts could make even a tiny difference, it would be worth it.
After much effort, everyone finally arrived on the highest, massive floating island. Just as when Lumine and Paimon had visited before, there was only a huge platform here, as if it had been prepared specifically for the coming battle.
However, what was different from before was that a few more figures had appeared here. The figures of Scaramouche and Rosalyne were strikingly among them, though their complexions were even worse than before.
Then there was also Yae Miko and a figure wearing a fox mask. The latter noticed their gazes and smiled faintly at them.
Besides that, an ornate throne was placed in the distance on the floating island. Persephone sat with her plump legs crossed, resting one hand on the throne's armrest and supporting her cheek with her palm, watching them all with an amused gaze.
Though it was just a normal stare, everyone felt as if they were being watched by a primeval beast, even producing the feeling that she would devour someone in the next second.
Only when they truly stood before Persephone could they clearly perceive her despair-inducing power. It even made everyone's hearts begin to doubt: since even the Raiden Shogun had easily fallen to her, did they truly have a chance to defeat her?
"You've come."
After hearing Persephone's words, Sangonomiya Kokomi stepped forward and spoke.
"Yes, we have come."
Persephone smiled.
"You shouldn't have come."
"Isn't being alive better?"
After Persephone dropped this line, everyone instantly felt an incomparably terrifying aura erupt from her body. In an instant, even heaven and earth changed color. The floating island they stood upon began to shake violently. The lightning that had been continuously falling from the sky even paused briefly, then struck all around the floating island, while not a single bolt fell upon the island itself.
Persephone lowered her leg, then slowly rose to her feet.
As she stood, a battlefield of mountains of corpses and seas of blood appeared before everyone. The bloodlust so dense it drove one mad nearly made them lose their minds and collapse directly.
"I admire your courage, and I also mock your ignorance."
"If you had allied with a few more powerful beings, perhaps you could have caused me some trouble."
"But with just you, it's far from enough."
Persephone continued to speak as she slowly walked toward everyone.
"Now you have one last chance. Back down right here, and I can pretend none of this ever happened."
"You can go find more help. I'll be waiting for you here at any time, so the battle can be a bit more fun."
"If you insist on being stubborn, then you can only stay here forever."
Just as Persephone finished speaking, Lumine took a deep breath, then without hesitation closed in and swung her Dull Blade to slash at Persephone. Only at the very beginning did Lumine use the Power of Nihility, and the gray-white light quickly wrapped the entire Dull Blade, even extending the blade by half a meter.
And the moment Lumine made her move, the others also immediately sprang into action, not rushing directly at Persephone but circling her to find an opportunity.
Sangonomiya Kokomi once again drew upon the power of the sea, and then applied it to the others separately, greatly enhancing their strength.
Gorou also knew that now was not the time to be reluctant to let go of Little Gorou and his integrity. The Geo Vision on his body emitted a dazzling light, and a battle flag appeared behind him, then connected everyone present, further strengthening them.
"Form the formation!"
After doing this, Gorou didn't dare to look at everyone else's faces, then once again endured the shame that seeped into his marrow and took out the heart-shaped bow and arrow from before.
"Keep it up, everyone!"
Paimon waved her little fists behind everyone to cheer them on, then quickly found a safe place to watch the fight.
"Sigh..."
Persephone shook her head and sighed.
"It seems this is your answer."
Afterwards, Persephone smiled, her smile extremely cold.
"Then it seems I can only respond to your wishes."
After dropping this sentence, Persephone slowly raised her hand and directly grabbed the Dull Blade that Lumine slashed toward her neck.
After seeing this scene, Lumine's pupils suddenly dilated, she completely didn't expect Persephone to be able to block her attack so easily.
What made her feel even more horrified was that the Power of Nihility actually couldn't produce any influence on the other party's physical body?!
No, it is not like this!
Lumine looked closely and found that Persephone happened to grab the two sides of the Dull Blade, not letting the blade edge make direct contact with her palm, even so a layer of golden light still adhered to her palm, obviously the Power of Nihility also posed a great threat to Persephone.
But to be able to do this, just how terrifying a power did Persephone possess?
Before Lumine could think further, Persephone suddenly released the Dull Blade, then her arm flicked her finger against the blade's body with extreme speed, and then a terrifying force directly sent Lumine's body uncontrollably off to the side, instantly leaving her front wide open.
Lumine's expression changed, a huge sense of crisis surged in her heart at this moment, and she reacted extremely quickly by lifting her leg to block this punch from Persephone aimed at her abdomen, instantly Lumine felt her leg lose sensation, then an irresistible force transmitted through her whole body, and Lumine's body instantly flew backward, in an instant flying out of this floating island and crashing toward the pile of rubble floating in the sky.
Even with this result, Sangonomiya Kokomi still used Elemental Power to mitigate some of the impact, otherwise Lumine would have suffered even greater damage.
At this time, the attacks of the others also arrived one after another, Kuki Shinobu's kunai were imbued with Exorcism Lightning, shooting toward Persephone.
Persephone simply blew a breath toward the kunai, and the lightning power imbued upon them was instantly scattered. The kunai then flew back toward Kuki Shinobu at more than several times their original speed.
Kuki Shinobu's expression changed, and she immediately dodged, while simultaneously throwing out more kunai to block them.
However, the kunai thrown by Kuki Shinobu couldn't block them in the slightest. They were directly knocked away the moment they collided, while the kunai flying back at her did not lose any momentum as they came toward her. Even though Kuki Shinobu dodged desperately, two scratches still appeared on her body.
Yet, from just a scratch, Kuki Shinobu was severely injured by the destructive power contained within the kunai, and a mist of blood sprayed from her mouth.
"Shinobu!"
Arataki Itto cried out in shock from behind, then stared at Persephone with a face full of rage.
"You dare to hurt the second-in-command of our Arataki Gang!"
"Itto, it's up to you to decide!"
"Give her a good thrashing!"
Arataki Itto angrily threw Ushi at Persephone.
At this moment, Ushi was utterly bewildered. Looking at the smiling Persephone, who radiated an absolute and overwhelming power, he once again felt the urge to find a new friend.
Being friends with Arataki Itto was way too life-threatening!
If you're angry, go on and fight her yourself! What kind of skill is it to throw me?!
Although Ushi had a thick hide and strong flesh, he knew he couldn't withstand a single punch from Persephone. His body struggled in the air for a long time before he finally chose to present his meatiest part, his rear end, to her.
Then Persephone delivered a punch, and Ushi let out a pained and resentful "Moo" as he directly ascended to heaven.