"Just as I thought!"
Ellin rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
She had long expected Ei to appear.
The Shogun was a puppet Ei had created in pursuit of Eternity. This immensely powerful puppet would unwaveringly carry out the Eternity Ei had defined.
But the Shogun was not a mindless puppet. She had a will of her own.
Thus, Eternity could be said to be a pursuit shared by both the Shogun and Ei.
How could shaking Eternity ever be easy?
To change Eternity, Ellin naturally had to prove her resolve to both of its pursuers and enforcers.
So Ellin had already anticipated having to fight Ei as well.
"I'm sorry."
Ei looked at Ellin. "You have just fought the Shogun. Even if I won by fighting you now, it would be an unfair victory, contrary to my principles as a warrior."
"But if you wish to change Eternity, you must face both the Shogun and me."
"And most importantly..."
Ei looked at Ellin earnestly. "If you cannot even endure fighting the Shogun and me in succession, how can you speak of facing the Heavenly Principles?"
"Yes, I understand!"
Ellin nodded silently.
"You needn't look like that, either."
Though Ei was exceedingly stubborn when it came to Eternity, she saw the pained expression Ellin wore at the prospect of these consecutive battles.
As a warrior, she could not help feeling somewhat guilty.
She hesitated, then finally explained it to Ellin.
The Shogun was a puppet Ei had made, one who would faithfully execute the directives Ei had set.
Of course, as the Shogun's creator, Ei could have appeared at the outset and fought Ellin herself, agreeing to alter Eternity as long as Ellin defeated her.
The problem, however, was that the Shogun actually had a will of her