Yae Miko wasn't sure what to do now,
For the first time in her life, she felt really lost...
...
Starting from Ei's sudden emotional breakdown and running away,
The Abyss Order diabolical schemes and the sudden Rifthound invasion,
And the realization about Makoto's fate and her connection to the Sacred Sakura...
...
It was just too much mind blowing information all at once,
And now they are even short on time, literally...
...
Not only is the Sacred Sakura, Makoto, is rapidly dying (again),
But Ei, being as stubborn as she is, decided to do everything in her power in order to keep it alive...
"It doesn't matter what happens to me...I can't stand to see Makoto die again..."
"...Makoto, she always looked after me...Even after dying as a god and turning into a tree...And in her own way, she strived to teach me how to be a better Archon for Inazuma and its people..."
"...I can't just leave her, Miko...Especially not now...Please, understand…"
...
Even if she might kill herself by doing so...
*Stupid, stubborn Ei, why did she have to go so far...?
...
Yet Yae couldn't really stop her stubborn friend either,
Realizing that if the Sacred Sakura dies, the darkness would resurface and swallow Inazuma,
A second Cataclysm might as well happen and this time, they wouldn't be able to do anything to stop it...
*The Kitsune still clearly remembered the first one, which they all (as they thought at the time) miraculously survived...
...
If it happens again, would they all be able to survive...?
...
...
All Yae wanted is for her friend to realize her mistakes and change for the better,
For her and the people of Inazuma to be able to "make up" and live together in harmony...
...
For things to turn out like this...
...
...
-...It's all my fault...It's really all my fault that it went to this...-Yae couldn't help but regretfully mumble, realizing how they even got to this situation. -...If only I took the situation more seriously at the time and actually checked on the Sacred Sakura's condition, things wouldn't have turned so horribly...-Her voice was getting more and more regretful with each word. -...If only I was a better priestess and a better friend...If only I put my duties first instead of second to my novels...This whole situation would have been avoided and...
She continued to brokenly and guilt-strikingly mumble,
Her words soon getting too quiet to hear...
*Even to Sara, who was secretly listening to her every word,
Feeling conflicted about this whole situation herself...
...
She wanted to save the Shogun from sacrificing herself,
But to go against her Archon's decision, one so grave, as well...
*As the General of the Tenryou Commission and the Almighty Shogun's devout follower,
She should know what to do and yet...
...
She would have given up all her energy to her god, even if it killed her, if only she knew how,
But all she could do now was watch over her Archon, making sure to be ready incase of an attack...
*Which she was sure was bound to happen soon, considering how the Shogun was halting the tree's demise...
...
"...Close your eyes and listen to any change in the wind..."
"...Any weird movement made could be a matter of life or death..."
She remembered hearing her teacher tell her, while doing just that,
As she soon summoned her bow and took it in her hands...
"...Be prepared to strike at any moment..."
"...To protect yourself and those you care about..."
She quietly drew an arrow and prepared it on her bowstring,
Readying it for a strike, as Electro started to gather at its tip...
...
...
No matter what came their way and when,
Kujou Sara was ready to protect her Archon from harm...
*This was the only way she could do so, as the warrior that she was,
One she was taught to be ever since she was adopted into the Kujou clan...
...
...
...
-There! -She yelled out while letting go of the arrow, it soon finding its mark and hurting the suddenly appeared Golden Wolflord with Electro damage, before she started to rapidly shoot at it more and more. -Get away from the Almighty Shogun, you fiend!
She couldn't help yelling out, as it was too close to the other for her comfort...
*If only she had enough energy, she could have activated her burst and zapped it right from the sky!
-Get away from Ei, now. -A cold sounding voice was soon heard, as the Wolflord was soon attacked by three Kitsune spirits, Yae was seen glaring towards it with a cold expression on her face. -...I apologize for losing myself like that again, Sara. -She continued in a calmer voice upon walking towards and standing by the other's right side, soon taking on a battle stance and glaring towards the appearing Rifthounds and pups. -Let me join your fight against this mutt and it's followers~
And with these words, Yae's and Sara's battle against the Golden Wolflord and its minions had started!
"...And this is the end of our report regarding the situation.", the Inazumian Winds respectfully finished, before there was a pause, "...We are reluctant to admit it but if things continue as they are the whole of Inazuma will get destroyed and everyone in it killed."
They admitted, sounding really conflicted,
And Barbatos couldn't really blame them for that...
*As their current situation and especially the one with the Sacred Sakura was really bad,
And not only due to the Golden Wolflord and its minions that suddenly attacked…
…
If the tree, which purified the corruption of the land all this time dies, Inazuma would soon be overrun,
Though with Ei relentlessly siphoning her energy into it, she would be the first one to go...
...
And just when she started changing for the better...
"Yeah, she is not our Archon, but it's still a real shame. All that character development and she might just die soon.", the Mondstadtian Winds commented, having been quietly listening to the other's report until now, "By keeping the tree(which is basically her sister) alive, she is indirectly keeping Inazuma safe. So even the people who hate her now might not take her demise too well. Talk about feeling conflicted about what they should be feeling about her and her sacrifice. "
They quietly added, before becoming silent too,
As Barbatos now wondered even more about the whole situation...
*And the fact that even if he wanted to help out, he couldn't...
...
If he left now the shield would be broken and many would be killed by the surrounding monsters,
So he couldn't teleport away to help anyone, no matter how much he wanted to...
...
And who knows when the Traveler will be able to reach Enkanomiya and take care of the situation there...
*Which they hopefully will be able to solve, or this whole nation is truly doomed...
...
...
Why does this situation just keep getting worse and worse?!
...
...
IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR THINGS TO STAY PEACEFUL?!
...
...
...
"...Barbatos, we just checked around and noticed that not everyone is present at the "areas of concern".", the Inazumian Winds suddenly said, sounding mostly calm, with a tint of annoyance in their voice, "We promise to "bring" the two subje...Vision users as reinforcements to the Narukami Shrine."
Back at Watatsumi island, the situation finally calmed down,
With only a few lone Rifthounds remaining in different corners of the place...
*Thankfully, it didn't look like anyone died during this surprise attack,
But there were still a lot of wounded people around...
...
The Traveler knew that they had to leave for Enkanomiya,
But what if by leaving them now, the people will...?
-You need not worry, Captain! We are going to deal with the remaining monsters!
-That's right, Captain! We of the Swordfish II unit are going to make sure that everything is under control!
-Yes, Captain! We are going to find and eliminate all of the remaining monsters!
-Take care, Captain. Wherever happens in Enkanomiya, know that we pray for your success.
They were soon reassured by Koutoku, Yoshihisa and the other members of Swordfish II,
All of whom, while being in different states of injury, promised to take care of things here…
*This sense of comradeship actually felt quite nice,
If the Traveler had to admit to themselves...
...
But they didn't have much more time to think more of it,
Wherever they were tired or wounded, they already took a long enough break...
*If they don't leave for Enkanomiya right now...!
...
-Thank you, everyone. -They soon told them with a small nod of their head, getting a similar response. -I will be sure to take care of everything.
They soon promised, realizing that if the corruption/corrosion is left as is, more monsters might appear later,
And they already lost so much time that...
-Wait, Traveler! You should take these with you. -Their thoughts were suddenly interrupted, as Tsuyuko ran up to and stood before them, soon giving them some talismans. -While not much, these charms should give you some protection from the corrosion.
-Paimon is going to stay here. -The Pixie said before they could ask her about it, soon floating towards the Swordfish II members. -Paimon doesn't really like that place and this way Paimon can help the people here to get rid of these pecky monsters! -She admitted, before her expression became amused. -Paimon wonders what those Rifthounds taste like, so Paimon is going to eat them!
...
The Traveler didn't really understand what their "bestest companion" was currently saying,
Nor did they have any time to contemplate it further...
-Thank you for your help, Tsuyuko. -They gratefully told her, upon "equipping" some of the talismans on themselves while putting the rest in their "Hammerspace" for now, before they turned to look towards the floating and currently slightly-unnerving-feeling "pancake". It reminded them of "Attack on Paimon"...-Paimon...Be sure to only eat the monsters, okay...? Humans are off limits.
Having said that and soon completely ignoring Paimon's indigenous yell,
They turned around and proceeded to make their small "trek" to Enkanomiya...
...
Soon getting completely shocked at what they saw...
-They weren't kidding when they said there's a bunch of corrosion here...BUT STILL, WHY IS THERE SO MANY?! -They couldn't help yelling in rising shock, upon looking over the almost pitch black area. -...How am I supposed to purify all of it, especially with most of my power still sealed...?! -They almost felt themselves start crying about this whole situation. Seriously, why, how and when did their Twin become so coldblooded...? Just why did they decide to go to this extent in order to...? -There is no use thinking about this now. I have to do something about this and fast. -They reprimanded themselves, before sighing to calm down. -...There should be a source to all this corrosion, I just have to find and purify it.
Which was easier said than done, as much as the Traveler was reluctant to admit,
This will surely be as hard as finding a needle in a needlestack, if not harder...
*And what's worse, they didn't have much time, based on the sheer amount of the corrosion around...
...
Would they be able to do this...?
How much time do they actually have...?
*And can they find anyone to help them out...?
...
They could have asked Xiao for help, he would come if they called him...
...
...
No, even if he was the Conqueror of Demons and used to corruption,
Even with his resistance and the talismans Tsuyuko gave, with this amount of corrosion...
...
It might increase his Karmic Debt and kill him...
...
Asking Xiao for help was out of the question, as this was their "mission" and their alone...
*And they were short on time, so why did things have to be so hard...?
...
...
...
As bleak as things looked, they still had to try,
Everyone depended on their success now…
*Even though it was so much responsibility…
…
Maybe turning on the Whitenight can help find the source faster…?
What if there are some shades remaining that they could ask for help…?
If they try hard enough, can they pinpoint the way in which the source is located…?
…
…
-I am not leaving this place until I make things right, even if it would make my Twin mad. -The Traveler promised, looking determined. -...I don't want to be in a "Home" built upon others' sufferings…