"Spiral Abyss seventh floor cleared. Time taken: 24 minutes, 52 seconds."
Hu Tao and Xingqiu were so exhausted that they sat on the ground, while Arataki Itto gritted his teeth and forced himself to remain standing.
[Arataki Itto: Hahahaha! I really am the greatest in the world! Well? Now you know how awesome I am!]
[Kuki Shinobu: All right, all right, boss. You still have three arrows stuck in your butt.]
Only then did Arataki Itto notice. "Huh? What? Ow, ow, ow!"
[Xiangling: We didn't realize we only had half an hour in total.]
[Sucrose: There are only five minutes left.]
[Rosaria: We did our best.]
They knew time was running short, too.
The camera shifted to the ninth floor, a purplish-black space that already felt intensely oppressive.
The timer began ticking.
Kamisato Ayato and Kujou Sara immediately charged forward.
Knowing they had little time left, they had to reach the center to trigger the monsters' appearance.
The ley lines surged, accompanied by a series of mechanical clanks.
Ten machines glowing purple emerged from the ground.
[Ganyu: They're Ruin Guards! Be careful!]
[Lisa: They can't hear us. There are only five minutes left.]
All the Ruin Guards stood up, turned around, and launched the homing missiles mounted on their backs.
Paimon shouted, "Watch out! Homing missiles!"
Paimon flew straight upward to dodge them.
"Thunder Flash!" Kujou Sara used the Crowfeather Tengu Thunderclap Summoning Incantation, evading the attack while summoning the protection of a crowfeather.
In the same motion, she drew her bow and fired a lightning arrow straight at a Ruin Guard's core eye.
A precise hit.
Electricity coursed wildly through the Ruin Guard's body. It dropped to its knees, temporarily immobilized.
Kamisato Ayato dared not let his guard down either, leaving something where he had stood. "Azure Flowing Water Shadow."
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom... All the homing missiles struck the water shadow.
He charged toward three Ruin Guards. Knowing time was short, Kamisato Ayato drew his sword. "Kamisato Art: Kyouka!"
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish! His swordplay was blindingly fast. Entering the Taki Meguri Kanka state, he slashed all three Ruin Guards at once.
His water blade pierced through them, slicing open their bodies.
Under his relentless attacks, the three Ruin Guards' bodies had already begun splitting apart. He should be able to destroy these three.
With her exceptionally precise archery, Kujou Sara had already immobilized a second one.
[Kamisato Ayaka: Keep going, Brother!]
[Xingqiu: There's still a chance! Work together!]
[Amber: There should be enough time...]
Just as everyone in the livestream room anxiously watched the timer and Paimon cheered them on at the scene-
Clang-
The entire livestream screen turned purple for three seconds.
That sound seemed to cleave the very air.
Grinning, Venti reached for Master Diluc's wine bottle and filled his own cup while Diluc wasn't looking.
Zhongli sat in the Xinyue Pavilion, sipping fragrant tea.
Paimon stammered, "Wh-what happened?"
[Jean: What happened?]
[Ningguang: What happened?]
[Keqing: What happened?]
When the picture returned, the entire floor of the Spiral Abyss was awash in lightning.
[Kaedehara Kazuha: It's... the Shogun.]
[Kaeya: How did we forget about the Shogun?]
The alluring woman in purple walked toward them with a naginata in hand. Behind Ei lay the Ruin Guards, including the two Kujou Sara had immobilized.
All seven had been reduced to shattered parts strewn across the ground, and their black and purple corruption had been completely purified by the lightning.
Kamisato Ayato destroyed three.
On the Raiden Shogun's side, it had taken only a single slash.
[Keqing: Was that the Raiden Shogun's legendary Musou no Hitotachi?]
[Yae Miko: No, no, not at all. That was just an ordinary slash from Ei.]
People swallowed hard. Was this the power of a god?
Holding her naginata, Ei asked, "Do we need to finish before time runs out?"
Kujou Sara nodded. "Y-yes, Shogun. Otherwise, all twelve of us will be punished."
The ley lines surged. This time, eight even larger Mutated Ruin Graders appeared!
Ei gripped her naginata and turned into lightning. "Unforgiving Radiance!"
A flash of purple lightning cleaved a Ruin Grader in half.
"Pierce the Illusion!"
"No Escape!"
Two more fell, so swiftly that the livestream viewers were left dumbfounded.
Kujou Sara glanced at Kamisato Ayato. "Let's take one each!"
Both immediately sprang into action. They couldn't leave all the hard work to the Shogun.
[Chongyun: Kamisato Ayato and Kujou Sara are highly skilled, too. Inazuma is full of experts.]
[Thoma: Of course. I'm the only one who's just a housekeeper.]
[Kaeya: This is the Elite Livestream Room, after all. Anyone invited here probably has something special about them.]
[Bennett: They're amazing. I'm so jealous. If I were that strong, my Benny's Adventure Team would definitely grow.]
With the Electro Archon holding the field, they wiped out every enemy in less than two minutes.
There was no need to use Musou no Hitotachi.
"Ding-ninth floor cleared. Total time taken: 27 minutes, 45 seconds." "All participants in the collective punishment have completed their penalty. They will be teleported back to their original locations in five minutes." "For completing the punishment within the allotted time and thoroughly cleansing the corruption, each participant will receive an additional gift box of Red Bean Buns. Arataki Itto will receive glutinous rice treats instead."
A brimming gift box appeared in front of each of the twelve.
Xiangling said, "Wonderful! I love these Red Bean Buns."
[Yanfei: Xiangling, save a few for me.]
[Yun Jin: I have some here, too.]
[Kamisato Ayaka: Sh-Shogun...]
Ei sat down cross-legged, opened her box, and immediately began eating.
[Ei: What? Are we not allowed to eat these rewards?]
Kujou Sara slid over on her knees, her face burning red. "Shogun, let's eat together. Together."
Ei kept eating, finishing each Red Bean Bun in a single bite. They suited her tastes perfectly.
"Kujou Sara, why is your face so red? Are you feeling unwell?"
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