This Trainee Fatui Harbinger is Too Unreliable [79]
The wooden beams of the ceiling were gone, replaced by a deep crimson sky under a blood-red moon. The wooden floor beneath his feet had become a stone platform engraved with circular patterns, surrounded by countless shattered torii gates.
Floating in the air before him was a figure identical to the Raiden Shogun. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
"Luo Qing..."
Ei's voice was soft as she rose to her feet.
"Are you... the Shogun?" Luo Qing asked, feigning ignorance.
As always, if he didn't admit to anything, no one could prove that he had used his special item cards.
But before he could continue, Ei's hand moved, and a sword crackling with electricity materialized. She approached him and pressed the blade to his throat.
"Uh..."
Luo Qing was momentarily speechless, Why were both of them so quick to draw their swords?
"No bonds or emotions appear out of thin air," Ei said, the blade hovering just centimeters from his neck. "I'm curious—how did you plant the seeds of attachment within my body?"
"Lady Shogun, I—"
Luo Qing began to speak, attempting to use the same tactics he had with the Raiden Shogun, but Ei cut him off.
"Don't bother pretending. Your eyes betrayed you long ago—you know who I am, don't you?"
"Ah..." Luo Qing sighed.
"Alright, I know who you are... Lady Ei."
Of course, someone who had lived for over a thousand years would be far more perceptive than that emotionless puppet.
"Hmph, I'll give you one more chance to answer."
"There's nothing to explain. What do you want me to say?" Luo Qing responded casually.
Even the emotionless Raiden Shogun hadn't managed to draw her sword against him. He didn't believe Ei—who had experienced sisterhood, friendship, and familial love—would truly strike him down.
"You think I won't do it?"
"If I tell you a lie, do you think you'll just let me go, Lady Ei?" Luo Qing countered.
Different women required different approaches, and as a former player, Luo Qing knew one thing:
Ei likes it a bit rough.
"Hmph, interesting."
Without another word, Ei's arm moved, and her blade sliced toward Luo Qing's neck.
"What?!"
Ei, are you really going for it?!
Luo Qing was genuinely taken aback. He hadn't expected Ei to actually attack.
Who still gets slashed when the affection points are over 30?! If it reaches 90, will she commit murder?! These girls are seriously nuts!
Thankfully, Luo Qing was always on high alert. The moment he noticed the shift in Ei's stance, he activated his Time Zero Field.
In an instant, he dodged her strike, appearing at the edge of the platform, his back pressed against a torii pillar. He was about ten meters away from Ei when he yelled:
"Lady Ei, are you seriously going for it?!"
"Hmph."
Ei didn't waste time with words. She transformed into a bolt of lightning, closing the distance in a flash and swinging her blade at him again.
"Damn it..."
Luo Qing barely had time to complain before activating his Time Zero Field once more, evading another lethal slash.
"You're quick, I'll give you that," Ei said calmly, her eyes locked onto him like a predator eyeing prey. "But is running away all you can do?"
Luo Qing could feel her probing gaze, as if she were a hunter toying with her prey. She clearly sensed his sudden bursts of speed. If she exerted her full power, she could probably catch up. But that wasn't her intention—she seemed to be testing his limits, not aiming to kill him outright.
"Lady Ei, I'm warning you, don't push me..."
"Oh?"
Another flash of lightning—Ei's blade formed a cage of electricity around Luo Qing, attempting to lock him in.
"Alright, that's it..."
Cornered, Luo Qing had no choice but to activate Time Zero again, searching for gaps in the electric prison to dodge her strikes. He noticed that her speed was gradually increasing, matching his own adjustments, as if she were gauging the limits of his abilities.
Is she testing me like in the Moment of Wholeness challenge...
After evading another attack, Luo Qing realized that this game of cat and mouse couldn't continue forever. He needed to counterattack or she would keep pursuing him without end.
With a flick of his thoughts, the Millelith Spear materialized in his hand.
Time Zero activated once more.
Luo Qing thrust his spear at Ei, but she was ready. Even within his slowed-time domain, she deflected his thrust with her katana.
"So, you're finally willing to fight back?" Ei asked, her tone neutral.
"Only because I didn't want to embarrass you if you lost too quickly, Lady Ei," Luo Qing retorted.
"Hmph, let's see about that."
Electric shadows flared as lightning surged around the platform. Luo Qing's figure vanished again.
To an observer in normal time, the platform in the Plane of Euthymia seemed empty, save for the intermittent flashes of lightning and the pale yellow glints of a spear in the clash of their battle.
Even at a hundredfold time dilation, Ei managed to keep up with Luo Qing, leaving him wondering how the Traveler, with the strength displayed during the Osial fight, could ever compete with Ei.
But now wasn't the time for such questions.
He realized that relying purely on his physical capabilities wasn't enough. Unfortunately, he couldn't harness any elemental power in the Plane of Euthymia.
Through their exchanges, he began to understand her strategy. She kept pressuring him, denying him any chance to counter, likely to gauge his abilities rather than kill him outright.
If he wanted to end this duel, he would have to land a decisive blow.
Taking a deep breath, Luo Qing concentrated all his focus. He pushed the time dilation of Time Zero to its absolute limit—two hundredfold.
In that moment, Ei's blade, which had been hurtling towards him, froze mid-air. Yet before Luo Qing could launch his counterattack, Ei adjusted to the increased time dilation and continued her assault.
At two hundredfold, she's still this fast?!
With no other option, Luo Qing summoned a risky move.
[Using 'Learn to Meow' Item Card x5]
This card had barely caused a momentary distraction for Zhongli, but within the two-hundredfold slowed time, even a second's hesitation would stretch into an eternity.
As expected, in the slowed domain, Ei's expression shifted—her body wavered for a heartbeat.
Luo Qing seized the opportunity. He lunged forward with his Millelith Spear.
But just before the spear made contact with her face, Luo Qing pulled back. Instead, he reached out with his left hand, which he'd kept hidden, his middle finger bent, and flicked her forehead.
Tap!
A crisp sound echoed through the Plane of Euthymia.
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