As soon as Lumine returned, Sangonomiya Kokomi anxiously asked, "Traveler, how's Teppei?"
Lumine lowered her gaze. "Teppei… he's not breathing anymore…"
Kokomi fell silent for a moment before finally speaking. "I've already ordered a full confiscation of all Delusions from our troops."
"Most of the soldiers are showing signs of life force depletion, but their conditions aren't critical… yet."
"But… a small number of them…"
Another silence.
Gorou stepped forward.
"Lady Sangonomiya, I plan to set up a separate field camp for the wounded to monitor their condition."
"The soldiers are in turmoil. Even knowing these are Delusions, some still want to keep using them."
Kokomi nodded.
"Very well. I'll leave that to you. As for me… I need to head to the front lines."
"This incident has surely shaken morale. If the Shogunate Army launches a sudden assault, we'll lose everything we've built."
She turned to Lumine, who had remained silent all this time.
"Traveler, what are you planning to do?"
Lumine finally raised her head, her voice firm.
"I'm going to stop the Fatui."
Kokomi immediately shook her head.
"No. It's too dangerous."
"The Sakoku Decree is still in effect, and those Delusions must have been produced within Inazuma."
"For them to mobilize such massive resources, they must be backed by a local force."
"If you want to stop them, you'd have to destroy the Delusion factory—but it'll definitely be heavily guarded…"
"I can't let you take that kind of risk. At the very least, take a unit with you—"
Lumine shook her head.
"No. The sooner I act, the better. We're running out of time."
Gorou chimed in.
"Lady Sangonomiya, we confiscated the Delusions in such a rush that there's no way we hid it from the Fatui's spies."
"If we take time to rally our troops, they'll catch wind of it and flee before we arrive."
Kokomi lowered her head, deep in thought.
"I know… let me think…"
"While collecting the Delusions, I did consider this: the factory would have to be massive, well-hidden, and close to a major transportation route to ensure material supply…"
"There aren't many places like that. Cross-referencing the soldiers' pickup locations, I'd say the factory is most likely on the seaside cliffs in western Yashiori Island."
"If your mind's made up, then please—be extremely careful."
"We've already lost so many comrades. I don't want to lose you too."
Lumine offered a soft smile to lighten the mood.
"Don't worry. I'm pretty strong, remember?"
…..
"Eh?!"
"Lumine, look! There's a Mora on the ground!"
Paimon's excited voice rang out as she waved at Lumine.
The moment they reached Yashiori Island, Paimon's eyes had been caught by a shiny golden Mora lying on the path.
She fluttered over and picked it up carefully, then handed it to Lumine.
Lumine accepted the Mora and studied it closely in her palm.
Her brow furrowed.
"This… could it be…"
Before she could finish the thought, Paimon spotted another Mora, farther down the path.
Paimon leapt up excitedly. "Lumine, there's another one over there!"
Lumine: "…"
She sighed in exasperation.
"Well, that confirms it."
"Only Shajin could come up with something like using Mora as trail markers."
Paimon cheerfully picked up the second coin.
"So it was a sign from Shajin! Let's hurry and follow them!"
The two of them followed the trail of Mora deeper into the forest, eventually arriving at a concealed cave entrance.
Thick vegetation had hidden it from view. Without the Mora clues, they'd likely never have found it.
Paimon peeked into the darkness.
"It's pitch black in there. You sure we should go in?"
Lumine stared into the entrance, then nodded.
"If Shajin left us this clue, then what's inside has to be the Fatui's Delusion factory."
They fumbled through the darkness until they found a passage deeper inside.
As they entered, Paimon gasped and covered her mouth in shock.
"Are these… all materials for making Delusions?! There's so much Crystal Marrow… It looks really familiar…"
"Wait, don't tell me this Crystal Marrow was transported from Ritou?"
"Which means… the Kanjou Commission…"
"Intruders! Seize them!"
The sudden roar made Paimon jump and hide behind Lumine. Lumine, however, simply narrowed her eyes and raised her guard.
"Be careful… trouble's coming."
Before she finished speaking, a hail of fire-red bullets streaked toward them, blazing with elemental flames.
Lumine responded instantly, summoning her Dull Blade. She raised it in front of her, blocking the fiery bullets with the flat of her blade.
But the attack didn't let up. Three more rounds came shrieking straight for her vital points.
Lumine didn't panic. Raising her right hand, she whispered, "Starfell Sword!"
A giant Geo construct erupted from the ground—an unyielding wall that absorbed the incoming firepower.
She scanned her surroundings.
It wasn't just riflemen.
Electro hammers, anemo skirmishers, hydro gunners, cryo gunners, electro cicins, cryo cicins—and even a Fatui Pyro Agent—were emerging from hidden tunnels all around.
Clearly, this factory was guarded by a full advance team—maybe more than one!
Lumine swallowed hard.
If the Crux Fleet hadn't shown up, this one squad alone might've been enough to sweep through Inazuma and Watatsumi.
"Eh? Are you… Miss Lumine?"
The Pyro Agent's surprised voice came from beneath his mask.
Lumine, who'd been readying herself for a desperate battle, tilted her head in confusion.
Lumine: "?"
A rifleman scratched his head and quietly asked the guy next to him.
"Hey, Grilev, who's she?"
The anemo skirmisher rolled his eyes.
"We came to Inazuma together and you still don't know? Why would I know?"
A nearby Cryo Gunner approached.
"I think the rookies from Squad 404 mentioned her… this Lumine… she's supposed to be 'The Gambler's' close friend?"
The rifleman's jaw dropped.
"Wh-What the heck?!"
_
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