"Boom!"
A deafening roar echoed through the sky. The terrifying impact sent Lumine flying, her small body crashing heavily to the ground. The Puppet Sword Demon was also flipped over by the intense strike, and a cloud of black smoke rose.
"Hoh..."
At this moment, Tore and Scaramouche had retreated to a safe area. Witnessing the power unleashed by both sides, Tore couldn't help but exclaim,
"This reputation is truly not just for show..."
"Hmph... it seems this mechanism you modified is not her match either," Scaramouche said more casually. Despite the fearsome blow, he had witnessed more terrifying existences before.
"Hehehe... Don't rush, it hasn't even shown its full strength yet~" Tore said with a smile, his eyes gleaming with anticipation to see Lumine continue to battle his creation. Neither of them had any intention of joining the fray. Tore was confident in his mechanism, while Scaramouche refused to play second fiddle to Tore.
"Cough... cough..."
Lumine struggled to stand up, the pain in her body causing her to cough uncontrollably. She clutched her chest, gasping for breath. A smear of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her exquisitely beautiful face was covered in bloodstains, looking utterly disheveled. The collision had dealt a significant blow to her internal organs.
Seeing the mechanism on the other side stand up again, Lumine couldn't help but mutter,
"I didn't expect that wouldn't be enough to take down that mechanism..."
Lumine's battered state brought Scaramouche great pleasure.
"Hehehe... What's wrong, my Honorary Knight? Are you already exhausted facing just one mechanism? In your current state, you won't be able to save your precious little sister~"
Ying...
"Hoo..."
Hearing Scaramouche's words, Lumine took a deep breath and raised the Wind Rider's Longbow in her hand, aiming it in his direction.
"Ying is not as fragile as you think!"
"Hmph..."
Scaramouche did not reply to Lumine's statement. Inwardly, however, he acknowledged the truth of her words.
Hehehe... she is indeed difficult to deal with. Although the chances are slim, I truly anticipate her making that scoundrel Tore suffer...
With that thought, Scaramouche cast a cold glance at Tore, only retracting his gaze when Tore noticed.
Hmph... whatever. It doesn't matter if she can make that scoundrel Tore anxious or not. The Electro Archon's Heart is mine to claim. Once I obtain it, Tore and the Honorary Knight... will merely be slightly larger stepping stones on my path...
The scene shifted to the other side...
After trying various methods to escape the wind barrier and failing, Ying could only choose to defeat the young Tore first and then quickly rendezvous with Lumine.
Gazing at Tore, who wore a playful expression, Ying's voice turned cold as she stared at him sternly.
"This is your final warning. Disband the wind barrier, and you can still walk out of here unharmed..."
"Hehehe... What? Getting serious?"
Seeing how important Lumine was to Ying, Tore couldn't help but become more playful, intending to shatter her resolve with words.
"Ultimately, didn't you cause this yourself? If not for your arrogant overconfidence, that legendary Honorary Knight wouldn't have been so easily taken advantage of by us."
"Because of your blind kindness, for the sake of a group of Inazumans you've never met and have no connection with, you attacked our territory."
"Kind, generous, selfless... Hehehe... You are kind, but the one you treated may not be."
"Heroes become heroes for one reason only: their divine, superhuman strength. And you, clearly, do not possess that ability."
"Therefore, a personality that only brings weakness and offers no help, and someone with such a personality, truly makes me laugh..."
...
"Hm?"
After some time, the scene of Ying flying into a rage, which Tore had imagined, did not materialize. Tore looked at Ying with curiosity, finding her standing in place, her hand outstretched, gazing quietly at her palm.
Was she struck by his words?
Tore unconsciously assumed this, but then Ying's soft voice came.
"Perhaps I am a strange person. Even though I don't know those strangers at all, I can't help but step in when I see them in danger."
"Even though I'm not as powerful as Lumine and Paimon compared to them, I still want to act tough, wanting to bear the responsibility of protecting them alone in secret..."
"You are right, this kind of personality might have brought me a lot of trouble..."
As she spoke, Ying's gaze gradually became resolute.
"Even so, I will follow my own path. I am foolish, so foolish that I fall into the same trap set by you twice. So foolish that sometimes I can't even distinguish between those who are good to me and those who are not."
"But I never thought of myself as a perfect hero. In my eyes, I am merely an ordinary person who cannot stand by and watch the weak being bullied and wants to help them."
"Hmph... You say nice things, but you're just putting up a brave front..."
Tore was about to continue his taunts when he discovered that the spot where Ying had been standing was empty. Startled, he quickly turned to look behind him, only to collide with Ying's already charged Gale Vortex Sword.
"Hah!"
The Gale Vortex Sword erupted the moment it contacted Tore, the powerful impact sending him flying far away. He rolled uncontrollably on the ground countless times before finally stopping.
"Damn it."
Tore endured the pain and quickly tried to stand up, but Ying, who had instantly appeared beside him, punched him away again.
"You're asking for death!"
Mid-air, Tore forcibly twisted his body, landing on his feet. But before he could counterattack, Ying, who had instantly appeared before him again, kicked him in the chest, sending him flying hard. He crashed into the wall he had created.
"Ahhhh!!"
Tore knelt on the ground, trying to counter the girl standing before him, but the pain in his body prevented him from making any move. He could only let out a heart-wrenching howl. The recent attacks were undoubtedly a great humiliation.
Ying quietly watched the young man kneeling before her, condensed a larger Gale Vortex Sword in her right hand, and spoke indifferently.
"I said before, I am not a hero. Although I help others out of kindness, nothing is more important than my family and my friends."
"If anyone dares to plot against them, then their fate will be only one..."
With that, Ying forcefully pressed her outstretched hand downwards. The Gale Vortex Sword, following her command, descended upon Tore with immense destructive power...