"We're in!"
A hurried shush came from Aether as Asmodeus gave Yoimiya a bewildered stare. If the Naganohara girl said any more, there was a good chance they would be out as quickly as they'd got in.
Are all Pyro Vision bearers like this? The Goddess hasn't met many of them, and even less that she actually got to interact with, but the girl that accompanied them in their infiltration to the police station to help an old man was a lot like the fireworks that their family specialized in.
If Asmodeus focused hard enough, she could replace Yoimiya's face for Xiangling's and their attitude would be the exact same. Minus a Guoba, obviously.
Aether took the lead in navigating the surprisingly spacious interior of the station. What was this, a dungeon?
Yoimiya followed closely behind, while the Goddess stayed at the rear, keeping an eye on the guards outside with her ability. The headache she got was noticeable, but it was minor in comparison to what would happen if they got caught now.
Every now and then, the Traveller would glance back at her, as if silently asking on the situation outside, and she would try her best to answer back. Every time this exchange happened, he would just continue moving forward, so he got the message, or so she hoped.
Yoimiya noticed this and would give them a look whenever the two outlanders would do it. What that look meant, Asmodeus did not want to know.
Silence reigned supreme as they made more progress to reaching the jail. Seeing the gloomy atmosphere, the rotting wooden planks, and the cobwebs everywhere, the place felt like a dungeon more than a police station.
The majority of the nation's resources were funneled into the military in order to squash any resistance like the one currently spearheaded by Watatsumi Island. In doing so, other departments, such as law enforcement, were basically shafted.
Inazuma could be a bit careless so long as an immortal judge like an Archon reigned supreme, and the same could be said for Celestia and their usage of her as the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
Aether lifted a finger, beckoning them to stop as he poked his head up from behind a pile of crates to get a clear view of the commotion happening nearby.
"–Really think that little trick of yours could fool us?" A brutal, wet noise echoed throughout the empty corridors of the police station, never to escape and reach the light of day.
Another hit came, this time accompanied by the coughing and wheezing of an old man. Yoimiya clasped a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp.
Asmodeus frowned, peering through the outside through the rift caused by her ability. A chill crawled up her spine as she noticed someone enter the police station, clearly not your average grunt.
The Goddess gave Aether a panicked look to convey the message, and he nodded. They had to move now.
"Yoimiya," The Traveller whispered, "Can you use it?"
The Naganohara nodded in understanding, pulling out a comically large, plain red button. With a swift press of the contraption, the tremors of an explosion rocked the inside of the station, even knocking one of the people torturing Master Masakatsu.
The guards scrambled to their feet and booked it for the outside, which they capitalized on and checked up on the Masakatsu's condition.
Bruises and cuts covered the man's arms, one of their eyes was swollen, and water that was almost freezing to the touch was dripping off his face.
Yoimiya gave treatment to whatever she could while Aether acted as her assistant, concealing the little trinket he had that replicated the Statue of the Seven's healing abilities. Perhaps he could hide it from the girl, but not to her, especially after…
…Nevermind.
Asmodeus had her full attention on the outside now. The soldiers were tearing the entire courtyard up just to try and find the culprit of the mysterious explosions that were strangely reminiscent of fireworks, though she doubted they knew of their actual purpose. The most beautiful of things could also be dangerous.
Aether lifted Masakatsu on his back and they were poised to make their escape through a backdoor. The Naganohara took full confidence in taking over from here, as various families– them included had planned this before the Alcor even touched down to port.
The Goddess raised an eyebrow as she noticed something odd. There was someone missing.
"You there, what are you doing?" Well, that missing someone wasn't missing anymore, at least the fault wasn't hers entirely.
In came the woman Asmodeus had seen enter the station. Her appearance looked eerily familiar, though she had no recollection of ever seeing this person or someone like them in her entire life.
The Traveller was unfazed by the new arrival. Did he know they were there? "It is what you think it is."
The woman nodded, sighing, "Very well, be sure he gets immediate medical attention."
They spun on their heel, glancing at the unwelcome trio before making their exit, "Leave before I let my judgment get the better of me."
Well, they certainly did. The moment the woman was out of sight, Yoimiya led the way out through the back. The sunlight stung the Goddess' eyes as she slowly adjusted to the setting sun on the horizon.
The city's police station was built right underneath a river, and it was on that river that they'd set up a canoe beforehand to make a quick getaway. They'd have to take the long route back to Komore Teahouse to make sure no one else would spot them.
Before that, though, they stopped halfway. Yoimiya tied the boat to a conveniently placed pole as Aether carried an unconscious Master Masakatsu to a nearby infirmary.
Asmodeus spoke up, "Hey, who was that?"
"Kujou Sara, she's pretty intense." The Naganohara girl quickly answered, shivering.
The Goddess remembered Thoma mentioning the Kujou clan when he gave her the rundown on the Inazuma's Tri-Commission. For all of the clan's reputation as the spearhead of the Shogun's army, Aether had added his own to Mora, claiming that they prided themselves on that honor as if it were their lifeline.
The Traveller had been right to an unexpected degree. Asmodeus didn't know how Aether had picked up on Kujou Sara being there, but she could see well enough that the treatment of Masakatsu sickened the leader of the Shogun's Army.
Before she could dwell on the topic any longer, Aether dropped down on the canoe, shaking the old boat and throwing her off balance. He ignored her glare and just untied the rope keeping the canoe still, taking up the paddles.
Yoimiya poked at his back, "How'd you convince Kujou Sara to let us go?"
"I didn't," He answered, keeping his eyes on the river, "She was going to let us go anyways."
The girl tilted her head, "I don't get it."
"Kujou Sara was hidden just out of sight when the fireworks you set up went off," Aether explained, "She was probably here to do the same thing we did."
Yoimiya looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but the next stop was Naganohara Fireworks, so the little firecracker of a girl left. Asmodeus saw it as a blessing, as another thing she had to learn the hard way was that a conversation with Yoimiya could last hours. The Naganohara had probably said more words in her short life thus far than Asmodeus had in thousands of years.
Not a word was exchanged between those who remained on the canoe, the rushing of the river tickling her ears as they gently floated towards their little refuge in the nation.
Asmodeus' and Aether's return to Komore Teahouse was met with huge fanfare from the three occupants inside. At Thoma's invitation, a little game was played.
The rest of the day was chaos. Thoma's expertise in the game was to be expected, but the little Kamisato he took care of had a competitive streak that surprised the Goddess. Her pride wouldn't allow defeat so easily, however, and the two battled blow for blow, leaving poor Aether in the dust. He didn't seem to mind, a content smile on his face as they fought in a battle for the ages.
Alas, as the last of daylight faded and the moon ascended, it ended in a three-way tie, better than defeat, Asmodeus supposed. They tidied the place up and bid farewell as Thoma and Ayaka left for the Kamisato Estate.
And then there were two. Not including the dog, of course.
Asmodeus stifled a yawn as she rested her head on the counter. It was at the suggestion of Ayaka that the Goddess and Aether make this place their little hideout for their stay at Inazuma. It beat having to pay two million Mora, that was for sure.
Aether took a seat as well, leaving a comfortable gap of one chair separating the Traveller and the Goddess.
"Have you made your choice?" Aether asked, taking a sip out of a glass of milk that he'd conjured out of nowhere. She didn't remember any milk that copied the colors of the famous dango treat, though.
"On helping that little resistance?" Asmodeus asked in a muffled tone, not bothering to move her head away from the wooden counter, "I've got nothing better to do, so I may as well."
"I see," He nodded, "Thank you."
She raised an eyebrow, "You're awfully invested in this."
"...Perhaps."
Aether took another swig at his glass, "Don't kill anyone if you can help it."
…Is he serious? "That sounds impossible to do in a conflict like this."
"For the average person, probably." The Traveller chuckled as he stared down an empty glass, his eye lost in thought.
A moment of silence passed, then he looked at her, "The lines of impossibility tend to blur when Gods are involved."
Asmodeus rolled her eyes, "I can't imagine you holding back that much." She wasn't lying. In every battle of Aether that she'd witnessed, they were against beings that were far from ordinary. Trying to picture the Traveller as just another soldier on the battlefield was not something she could do.
"...We'll have to see."
The tense air blew past Aether as he made a mad dash through the city, with Asmodeus close behind. The Traveller inwardly cursed for letting his guard down, even if it was just for one day.
The ceremony that Thoma used as an excuse to relax turned out to be one that could spell the end of his ambitions.
Both the Traveller and the Goddess had just slept on the counter shortly after their conversation in the night. That uncomfortable sleep was interrupted by a pint-sized ninja named Sayu, sent by Ayaka. The urgent message she sent through the ninja was what had them scrambling to the Statue of the Omnipresent God.
Forcing his way to the front of the crowd, the ceremony was already in progress. With the assistance of Elemental Sight, he could see the Pyro energy in Thoma's Vision flicker as an invisible force pulled at it. He had an inkling of who was responsible, but he had his priorities.
"Asmodeus," Aether said, "Take Thoma back to the teahouse."
He didn't wait for a response. The soldiers surrounding Thoma crumpled to the floor in a flash, and Aether picked the caretaker up and chucked him at Asmodeus.
With his main priority out of the way, he could face the presence watching over the ceremony in the eye.
Ei? The Archon looked down upon him without emotion. Without hesitation, she drew the Musou Isshin and descended upon steps of their dominant element, each foot forward like a lightning strike drumming at his ears.
Aether drew his own sword in response, pointing it towards the approaching God. The citizens and warriors present at the ceremony gasped audibly, for no one had ever drawn their blade towards the Raiden Shogun before and lived to tell the tale.
To them, this was treason of the highest order.
To the Traveller, he was saving one of his dearest friends.
It's not her. He realized. The Raiden Shogun responded to him in kind, thunder pouring down as the element of the world responded to its God.
A blood-red light crept in from behind the Archon, something Aether had never seen before. A new technique?
Another Musou Isshin revealed itself, cutting through the space behind the Raiden Shogun and drawing God's attention, even she looked confused.
The crack the second sword created allowed even more of that crimson light to bleed through, painting the world red as stones began to pour out of the rift in space. Ginormous structures of rock erected themselves from nothing, and people watching disappeared in a flash of lightning. Even the Raiden Shogun disappeared.
In their place was a familiar face, eyes closed.
Aether took a second to calmly inspect his surroundings. The location was barren, devoid of life, a solitary island where the only source of light came from its master.
The Traveller stepped forward, "It's been a while, Ei."
So the Raiden Shogun and Raiden Ei were completely separate entities. Did that mean the Shogun could operate independently from the Ei? This was a bigger gamble than he'd expected.
His entire gamble was reliant on the fact that Ei would certainly use the Musou no Hitotachi to isolate their battle from Inazuma, allowing no destruction to come to the land, and giving him a chance to talk her down or stall for the Watatsumi Resistance to end the war.
The true Electro Archon opened her eyes, scanning her field of view until she landed upon him, "Aether."
"Why have you returned?" She asked, yet the expression on her face told him that she had been expecting this to happen.
"To convince you to stop this," He answered earnestly, "This is not what Makoto would have wanted for you."
"It is not, but it is what I must do," Ai nodded sadly, "How do you intend to convince me?"
"Preferably a civil discussion with your favorite Dango Milk." The Traveller responded. He didn't have any Dango milk at hand, but it was pretty easy to make anyway.
Raiden Ei closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she took a step forward, "I'm afraid that isn't possible."
"Then," Aether raised his sword, "I'll convince you a different way."
The Archon sighed, answering him in kind with the Musou Isshin, "Need I remind you of the last time we sparred?"
He let out a hollow laugh. Like he could ever forget those days. Despite the constant defeats at her hand, those times were some of the best memories of his life.
"Things have changed," Ei saw what had become of his left eye and visibly winced, "I've changed, and so have you."
"So be it," The Electro Archon relented, "Let us–"
She stopped, her attention fixed on something. He followed her gaze and ended up doing the same.
A rift in space appeared, vastly different from the ones created by the Musou no Hitotachi, and thus alien to Ei, who regarded the anomaly with suspicion. The Traveller recognized it. The person responsible for the forced entry was someone who had stubbornly stuck to him for a while now, after all.
Aether theorized that it was possible, but he didn't know if she was aware of such a possibility. It turns out that she absolutely was. It was her own ability, after all.
Asmodeus had to really give it her all to keep up with Aether as they ran down the streets of the city to the Statue of the Omnipresent God, where Thoma was about to fall victim to the Vision Hunt Decree.
If the Goddess' gut feeling was right, then the Electro Archon was going to be there, too.
There were a lot less people in the way than she'd thought there would be. Inazuma's respect for their Archon stemmed from their God's power, it wasn't a surprise that respect would also branch out to fear, especially to the average mortal.
What little of the city that did gather was easy for them to slip through, giving them a full view of what was about to happen.
On his knees, eyes wide as he looked at the sky, was Thoma.
Asmodeus followed his gaze, finding none other than the Electro Archon in the flesh.
She closed her eyes, awaiting the impending flash of memories that came with each encounter with an Archon, yet none came, much to her disappointment. Did that mean that the previous two cases of it happening involving Morax and Barbatos were mere coincidences?
Thoma's Pyro Vision, attached to his belt with nothing more than a chain, started to gravitate towards the Electro Archon. The smooth, glasslike surface that held the power of fire started to flicker, its owner breathing heavily as the God took their ambition.
Do I go in?
A rebellious thought wormed its way into the Goddess' head. She scolded herself for even thinking about it. She barely even knew the Kamisato's caretaker beyond his carefree exterior. Her ability was not suited for combat without any preparations. Going in now would be meaningless.
Right, that's what would happen.
Meaningless as it all may be, I'd like to give it a meaning of my own.
The Goddess gritted her teeth when the words of a friend echoed through her head. Not now.
"Asmodeus."
Aether's voice intruded on her internal monologue, the look in his eyes telling her he was seconds away from doing something foolish, "Take Thoma back to the teahouse."
"What?" The Traveller had already disappeared when she uttered those words, knocking the soldiers next to Thoma unconscious and swiftly tossing the caretaker towards her in one smooth motion.
The superhuman strength Aether exhibited shocked Thoma, his mouth agape as he got up and shook his head, "Wha-"
"No time." Asmodeus interjected, pulling at his arm. The soldiers patrolling at the perimeter were already arriving after hearing the commotion. Left with no choice, she quickly tore through space with her ability, shoving Thoma into the portal and jumping through herself, crashing onto the wooden floor of Komore Teahouse.
Ayaka came barreling in from a different part of the building, her eyes going wide upon seeing who'd just come back, "Thoma!"
"Mila–" Thoma couldn't even get one word out before he got caught in Ayaka's bear hug, "...I've returned."
It must be deeply touching for them to see each other safe and sound after barely escaping peril, but the same could not be said for Asmodeus. As quietly as possible, she tried to make her leave and go to wherever they weren't.
"Kaslana!" It didn't work.
Sighing, the Goddess prepared herself for the oncoming onslaught of questions they would throw at her. A flash of purple light forced its way through the thick blinds of the teahouse. Seeing as someone hadn't come back yet, the reason for it was clear.
"Aether's still fighting the Raiden Shogun," Asmodeus said, "Save it for later."
Could the Goddess really contribute anything to a fight like that? The best way of doing so that she could think of consisted of hurling everything she had at the Raiden Shogun, from fireballs, explosives, and even the watery projectiles Osial had used.
Asmodeus pushed back against that idea. Had she had a God for an opponent, there was a chance it would work. But they weren't just a God, they were an Archon.
The violet glow outside finally dimmed, and in its place was a sensation all too familiar to her. A gaping maw in her chest where a heart once was, wailing as a force of the world that was not meant to be tampered with was being torn apart.
The famed Musou no Hitotachi. It had to be. While the Goddess had never seen the Electro Archon use it themselves, it was famed for being a technique that could rip through the fabric of space.
A smirk found its way to Asmodeus' lips. It was a mere technique, a key used in unlocking a door to new possibilities. The power to do so was infused with her very being. There was no need for a key, she could open that door with her own two hands.
Closing her eyes, the Goddess could feel it. The hole in reality that the Raiden Shogun created and where it led. If she had to guess, it was for dispatching any threats without implicating the city in the destruction such a battle may bring.
Tracing the exact alterations the Raiden Shogun's famed technique did to achieve this feat was possible. As for what Asmodeus would do once she got there, it all fell down to how the Traveller reacted, as much as she hated it.
Her incessant finger-snapping had become a habit of hers before she knew it. Focusing on the steady rhythmic noises cleared the Goddess' mind, allowing her to visualize the Musou no Hitotachi's cut through space.
Asmodeus' ability birthed a shortcut between space, as it had done so many times before. The key difference lies within its destination. Not another location at Teyvat, this was a domain separate from time, a personal space created by the Electro Archon to resist the erosion that came from all Gods.
She grunted as the information flooded her brain, the essence of the Raiden Shogun's domain was its entire purpose, and that essence poured out in droves into her and her surroundings. It was best that the Goddess went through and cut the gateway before it started to affect the real world.
The Goddess leaped through, unsure of what to expect from intruding on an Archon's domain like this. The sight of Aether and the Raiden Shogun staring each other down came into focus as her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the world she found herself in.
Both of their eyes were on Asmodeus. As the opportunity presented itself, she narrowed her eyes at the Archon, trying to get a clear view of their face in another attempt at triggering a memory.
…
"Are you alright?"
…
The barest snippet of something familiar intruded into the Goddess' head, and then her entire mind just seemed to explode in pain.
She fell on one knee, breathing heavily as she clutched her head. It had never been this bad before!
Something wet fell onto her hands. Was it blood? Asmodeus looked down at her palms, yet only found a clear liquid dripping down from somewhere on her head, was it sweat? Saliva?
The crackle of thunder broke her chain of thoughts. The Raiden Shogun knocked themselves out of their stupor, taking one step towards her. That one movement was all the motivation she needed to get back up on shaky legs.
It wasn't enough. Asmodeus' body collapsed as she fell unconscious, unsure of her fate.
Even as the Goddess fell unconscious, Aether dared not to say a word, cautiously watching Ei, anticipating her next move.
The Traveller slowed his breathing, gathering Starlight to call upon. Revealing his trump card so early on in what should have been an extended fight was risky, but there was no other way for him to match surpass Ei in speed.
Raiden Ei took a step forward, the Musou Isshin in her right hand glowing dangerously.
Aether was about to dash in and get between the unconscious Asmodeus and Ei when an oddity gave him pause. The Electro Archon's expression darkened as she looked down on the unconscious woman on the floor.
With what looked to be a single tear in her eye, she raised her left arm.
Death was a lot noisier than Asmodeus thought it would be. The adrenaline rush she felt as the Raiden Shogun took one step towards her had long faded away, replaced by the inner turmoil of her thoughts as she found herself stuck in this weird limbo.
Moving wasn't possible, there was no light in the dark to guide her way. It felt like a much more severe version of failing to fulfill her contract with Celestia.
On the bright side, the pain that assaulted the Goddess' mind had also gone, letting her think unobstructed about what she saw.
Are you alright? No matter how hard Asmodeus tried, that was the only thing she could pull from the tidal wave of memories that had hit earlier. Her eyes grew heavier the longer she thought about it, was she actually dying?
"–Ana!" The noise came back again. She shifted her body to turn away from it, wanting to just lie down and die in peace. Maybe.
Hang on… Asmodeus wasn't able to move earlier. What changed?
Before she could figure it out herself, a painful cold abruptly stuck to her cheek and didn't go away. Letting out an indignant yelp, she instinctively sat up, her forehead bumping into something hard.
The Goddess finally opened her eyes and saw the not-so-familiar ceiling of Komore Teahouse. She'd been lying on the floor, a block of ice that had been placed atop her cheek pathetically sliding down onto the floor, leaving a trail of water she wiped away.
"Ow…" In front of Asmodeus in a similar position was Kamisato Ayaka, also rubbing her forehead.
As the pieces clicked together in her head, she breathed a sigh of aggravation, "Can't let someone sleep these days…"
Thoma knelt by Ayaka's side, "Are you alright, Kaslana?"
Asmodeus tried to stand up, only for her muscles to give up after barely putting in effort, "I've seen better days."
The caretaker smiled in relief as he helped the Kamisato stand up, "If you can talk like that, then you're alright, thank the Gods…"
They quickly filled the Goddess in on what had happened. Shortly after she first disappeared on them in dramatic fashion, she then reappeared right back at the same spot, unconscious but lacking any visible injuries.
She closed her eyes in thought. Did the Raiden Shogun just spare her? Did Aether manage to open another pathway back and get her through?
The answers didn't make sense at all in her mind, prompting her to just give up for now. Regardless of what happened back there, there was no way she was going to waltz back in.
Asmodeus was entirely oblivious to the other people in the room until they made themselves known again by unfurling a paper fan.
Maybe it was the flat expression on their faces, but something told her that the ensuing conversation wasn't one she would enjoy. "What?"
"Excuse us for our curiosity," Ayaka cleared her throat, "But what exactly did you do earlier?"
"Earlier?" Right, that.
"Yeah," Thoma continued the Kamisato's question, "Was it a Vision?"
"No." Despite the single, reasonable voice that told the Goddess to just stop talking, she did otherwise. Compare her ability with a measly Vision? There was no way in the whole of Teyvat that she'd let that insult slide.
"It's just something I have," She internally winced at inadvertently insulting herself with that excuse, "No big deal."
Well, to them, it certainly was a big deal, and they continued to probe Asmodeus for answers that she didn't even have.
Eventually, through sheer stubbornness, Ayaka and Thoma gave up. Relief flooded her, they could finally move to a different topic, maybe Aether? She had no qualms with giving up all of his secrets right here and now if only to annoy him.
"What do you plan to do next?" Wait, this wasn't part of the plan.
"Don't know," Asmodeus shrugged, "I didn't go here with a concrete plan in mind." That much was true, she would admit. Outside of meeting the Raiden Shogun face to face, there wasn't much else on her list of things to do in Inazuma.
"How about you go meet the Watatsumi Army?"
"Looks like intelligence was on point."
The man put down the spyglass, his eyesight adjusting perfectly to the new perspective he was now viewing. It was one of the many things he'd been built for, after all.
His lips curved up to a smile as he grabbed the conical hat he set down on the floor and stood up from the hill, descending the landform and following a narrow path he'd marked for himself.
There was a tiny spark of purple floating near the Statue of the Omnipresent God, so difficult to spot it would take one capable of controlling the elements to see properly. Fortunately for them, there were plenty.
And it was thanks to that fortune that they were aware of this opportunity presented to them. A nation so reliant on the will of its Archon was now at a loss without it. Should Tartaglia and Signora's praises of the Traveller facing the Raiden Shogun at present, then there was no need to rush.
The Eight Harbinger, in particular, was quite keen on going to Inazuma after her success in Liyue. At first, he thought it was pointless to do so, seeing as there already was one here.
When Scaramouche pondered on the subject a little longer. However, his anticipation for what was to come skyrocketed. With a second Fatui Harbinger, his workload was cut in half, and he could use his free time for other matters. But, as of now, the operation depended on the Balladeer's careful movement behind the scenes.
He'd done this entire game before, he could do it again.
On the sandy beach, a small skirmish was about to reach its end. The soldiers of the Inazuma Shogunate had a band of unfamiliar warriors cornered. Going off of their equipment, it was likely the resistance soldiers of Watatsumi they'd told her of back at Komore Teahouse.
On the side of the resistance, most of their soldiers were groaning on the ground or knocked unconscious, with a single brave– if not foolish– man going head to head and failing spectacularly.
Those of the Shogun's army, meanwhile, were still quite well. Winded, but the fact that all of them were standing showed the difference between well-trained soldiers and common folk quite well.
Don't kill anyone if you can help it.
Asmodeus sighed, taking a step forward. It wouldn't really do her any favors if she went around killing every enemy in sight, so might as well.
However, a problem presented itself. A quick peek into her realm showed that everything she had at hand was lethal, if not downright destructive. She'd have to make do.
The lone Watatsumi soldier was surrounded. She had to act fast. Thinking quickly, she grabbed a few seashells off the sand and dropped them into her dimension through a rift and back out through another directly above it. The small, harmless seashells rapidly accelerated with a little nudge from her own ability.
Once their velocity was to Asmodeus' satisfaction, she carefully transported a single shell each right above the heads of the Shogunate soldiers. Any more, and she couldn't guarantee that they'd wake up with their head working straight.
It worked as intended, leaving a puzzled soldier of the resistance as the last man standing once the battle concluded.
Unsure of how to proceed without being overly weird or dramatic, she settled on just stepping through a portal right behind the confused man.
"Are you al–" Asmodeus paused, "Are you okay?"
How well articulated of me. She internally facepalmed at her choice of words. The unfortunate guy has just gone through what was probably the most intense battle of his life, and that was what she'd first say?
The soldier sluggishly turned around and jumped back a step once he saw just how close she was without making so much as a single sound. He raised a spear towards her.
"Was this your doing?" His eyes flickered to the unconscious warriors of the Shogun's Army.
"You could say that." The Goddess briskly nodded, "Are you from that Watatsumi resistance?"
The man's eyes shone in a way that was unnatural, not with the moon starting to reach the sky again. Without so much as a word, he let go of the spear and clasped his hands against hers.
"Are you the assistance the Divine Priestess mentioned?" He was filled with newfound energy, jittering in joy with a dopey look on his face.
The Goddess' face was heating up, no creature, divine or mortal, had ever acted like this towards her. Didn't Aether say something about Inazumans seeing honor and respect as the most important thing above all?
"I–I'd assume so." She stammered out, breaking free from his feeble grip and crossing her arms.
"My apologies," He quickly realized his transgression, "It's just that– never mind, you already know."
"C-Can I have your name, at least?"
Asmodeus sighed. This question was going to haunt her for the rest of her days, "Kaslana."
"It's an honor to meet you, Kaslana." A toothy grin was sent her way, "I'm Teppei."
She nodded, "What do we do with all of this?" Her thumb pointed at the carnage before them. While there didn't seem to be any casualties, the fact of the matter is that there were dozens of people lying unconscious, and only two of them conscious.
"Fort Mumei is not far from here," Teppei answered, "Once they notice that we've been gone too long, they'll send a squadron to check."
Asmodeus tilted her head, "You're not actually part of the fighting force?"
"Afraid not," He let out a bitter laugh, "We were just transporting this load to the fort when the Shogun's Army ambushed us. Our escorts fought well, but there were just too many of them."
…Right. Going off of what she'd seen earlier, they were tied in numbers.
"Enough of that, though." Teppei got up in her face again, "How did you do that earlier? Was it a Vision?"
Archons, he noticed it. Asmodeus bit back a curse, preparing herself for another long explanation.
Another person knowing wouldn't hurt, right?
"...Tiniest tenderness, might it melt the ice into tears…"
AN:
Guess I'm just on a roll with these updates now, and I'm also running out of things to put here, so here goes.