Insight

Yorihime... Eirin murmured with a solemn expression, gazing at the young girl suspended in the sky. At the same time, she couldn't help but tighten her grip on the spare longbow she had just received. Beside her, Kaguya's face darkened as she faced the girl in the sky, and she instinctively grabbed Eirin's arm.

"People from the Lunar Capital... they actually found us... Eirin, we..."

"Do not be afraid... Princess," Eirin comforted Kaguya before looking directly at Yorihime in the sky and continuing.

"It has been a long time, Yorihime. Since it is you who has descended, it means you must be a messenger of the moon now. That truly brings me comfort."

Hearing Eirin's words from below, Yorihime's expression shifted slightly. After a brief pause, she spoke.

"I am overjoyed to receive Master's recognition. For many years, I have followed in your footsteps. Before embarking on this mission, I had hoped to meet you once more...

However, I did not expect this wish to be fulfilled so quickly. Upon arriving on the surface in this city where intelligence suggested the Princess might appear, I immediately detected traces of Master's spiritual power. Following that trail, we discovered these arrangements likely intended for the escape of a person of hourai. Thus, I decided to wait here for your arrival."

Yorihime spoke slowly. Hearing her words, Eirin was momentarily stunned. When she had set up the magical array here, she hadn't considered the existence of someone so familiar with her spiritual signature who could also detect spiritual power over such a wide range.

"Detecting spiritual power traces over a wide area without making a sound... Hah, it seems the technology of the Lunar Capital has taken another step forward."

"Though we lost Master's leadership, and the technology of the Lunar Capital experienced a period of stagnation and chaos, everything is back on track now. Our technology has reached new heights—heights that even Master can only look up to..." Yorihime continued, her tone showing clear respect, yet her expression remained indifferent. She seemed to show no emotion toward her former teacher.

Seeing this, Eirin sighed softly and said, "You are here to retrieve the Princess, aren't you? For the sake of our past bond, could you let me and the First Princess go? In exchange, I will give you information regarding the Second Princess and even assist you in retrieving her. Believe me, the Second Princess's situation is extremely complicated; you will encounter no small amount of trouble."

Eirin attempted to persuade her to cooperate, but Yorihime's attitude remained resolute.

"I am sorry, Master. My mission is not merely to retrieve the Princess. If possible, I am also to capture the criminals. Whether it is you or the two princesses, we must take you all back. I do not believe there is any trouble on this surface that I cannot resolve... Furthermore..."

Yorihime's expression became extremely serious.

"Furthermore, given Master's precedent, cooperating with you would only lead to falling for your schemes and ending up in a trap..." As Yorihime spoke, she waved her hand. A rustling sound immediately echoed from the woods surrounding Eirin.

Numerous rabbit-eared individuals, clad in uniform light attire and wielding strange metal weapons, stepped out from the dark forest. They formed a circle around Eirin and Kaguya, pointing their weapons toward the center.

"The Moon Rabbit Imperial Guard... Hah, Yorihime, you really haven't changed. In the entire upper echelon of the Lunar Capital, only you would use those treated as slaves as your personal guard." Eirin spoke slowly as she looked at the moon rabbits surrounding them.

"Under my command, they are not slaves..."

"But only under your command, isn't that right?" Eirin countered. Her words caused Yorihime to falter for a moment. Taking advantage of Yorihime's momentary distraction, Eirin acted.

Boom!

Beneath Eirin and Kaguya, the protective array—which was originally meant to protect the blood soul substitute but had also drawn Yorihime's attention—suddenly surged with violent spiritual power. The entire array exploded. The powerful shockwave scattered and repelled the surrounding moon rabbit soldiers while kicking up a massive cloud of dust. In an instant, the dark forest was swallowed by dust, completely obscuring the scene within.

Amidst the dust, Eirin, wounded by the blast, grabbed Kaguya and ran. Outside the dust cloud, Yorihime watched silently.

"In the end, do you still intend to make a futile struggle, Master?" As she spoke, Yorihime drew her long blade from its scabbard. Then, a surge of divine power erupted from her body.

"Possession Summoning: Power of Omoikane-no-Mikoto. Omoikane's Eye, Omoikane's Brain..."

As she spoke, Yorihime's eyes underwent a strange transformation. In the numerical vision granted by the eyes of the God of Wisdom, everything turned into visible data. The flow of air and the dispersion of dust were presented before her in numerical form. She then used the brain of the God of Wisdom to process this data at lightning speed, quickly identifying an anomaly.

It was a disturbance caused by an object moving at high speed within the dust. This was exactly what Yorihime was looking for.

Having calculated Eirin's trajectory within the dust, Yorihime flew out, positioning herself where Eirin was about to emerge. As Eirin burst through the dust, Yorihime swung her blade. The length of the blade was enough to bisect both Eirin and Kaguya at the waist.

Seeing their escape route seen through, both Eirin and Kaguya were stunned. Facing the incoming blade, Kaguya immediately activated her ability to stagnate causality, hoping to stop Yorihime's movements, but it had no effect. Yorihime continued her strike.

What? Another god-blessed?!

Seeing this, Eirin immediately pushed Kaguya aside, but she herself took the full force of Yorihime's strike. She was cut clean in half at the waist, losing her ability to move and falling to the ground. Yorihime did not pursue immediately but watched as the two halves of Eirin's body began to slowly merge and regenerate.

"Cough, cough... You... why can you use that power..."

Eirin's upper body coughed up blood as she lay on the ground, asking Yorihime in shock. She knew exactly what that power was—it was the divine power that originally belonged to her!

"Master is surprised, aren't she? As a Lunarian, why can I use your divine power? I can only tell you that, in my capacity as a Miko, I requested your power to descend and possess me." Yorihime spoke slowly, her words leaving Eirin even more astonished.

"Impossible! For a Miko to be possessed by a god's power, they must pray to that god, and the god must agree. Though I have lost my divine power and status, the name of Omoikane-no-Mikoto still resides with me. I never received or agreed to any prayer!" Eirin shouted. Yorihime replied calmly.

"Your consent is not required, Master..."

"What..."

"This is the technology of the Lunar Capital. It is a technology successfully researched based on a certain important legacy you left behind in the Lunar Capital..." Yorihime spoke as if she had seen through everything.

"Thanks to your theoretical legacy, we have finally fully comprehend the mysteries of the orthodox gods of the Celestial Realm. Now, I can use this to borrow power from them without limit..."