As Ying walked towards the teleportation gate, she reached the final hurdle before her.
"Huh?"
On the twelfth floor, dozens of Doctors sneered as they saw Ying.
A young Doctor stepped forward, his expression shifting from surprise to a smile as he taunted,
"Let me guess, did you personally take down your sliced-up sister?"
A Doctor behind him corrected with a laugh,
"No, she wouldn't have the guts. It was likely her sister who chose to end her own life so soon after arriving in this world."
"Tsk tsk tsk... Both she and you are pitiable souls bound by emotion."
Ying looked at the young Doctor and, noticing the presence of other Doctors behind him, she paused for a moment. Then, a deep hatred and disgust welled up in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she spoke calmly,
"Congratulations. You have successfully replaced Scaramouche and become the ones I hate the most, and the ones I will definitely eliminate."
"You know? I just promised Lumine that I would send you all to her, so she can have her revenge personally."
Hearing this, one Doctor shook his head in resignation and mocked with a smile,
"Whether it's Traveler and Childe, who are mere slices, or the villagers of Higi Village, they can easily stir your emotions. That's why I say, emotion is a person's greatest weakness."
Ying didn't retort to the Doctor's words; instead, a smile played on her lips.
"Thank you for the reminder. It helped me distinguish between the slices and the real ones."
"As a token of my gratitude, I will make you die in the most agonizing way, and force you to realize, with your own bodies, what despair truly is..."
Ying's calm voice echoed through every corner of the space, causing the faces of the Doctors, which were previously filled with mockery, to stiffen instantly.
In an instant, an extreme sense of danger washed over them from all sides, igniting a strong sense of alarm in their hearts.
"Whoosh—"
A sudden tearing sound filled the air.
Ying vanished from her spot in an instant. When she reappeared, she was already in the midst of them.
"Bang!"
The next moment, Ying lifted her leg, concentrating her Geo element on her foot before stomping down forcefully. The resulting shockwave instantly sent the surrounding Doctors, who hadn't even reacted, flying.
"Huh?"
Seeing that Ying, despite her injuries, could still display such combat power, these Doctors quickly shed their underestimation. They steadied themselves and simultaneously unleashed Anemo blades towards Ying.
"Hooosh—!"
The sharp Anemo blades whistled with piercing intensity, heading straight for Ying's head. Faced with this, Lumine frowned slightly, crossed her hands in front of her, and then pushed them outwards forcefully.
Instantly, a violent hurricane erupted from her palms, its fierce wind pressure engulfing all the incoming Anemo blades, preventing them from reaching Ying.
Seeing her offensive easily repelled, a Doctor's eyes narrowed. He abandoned the Anemo blades, clenched his fist, and formed a vortex beneath Ying's feet. The resulting whirlwind immediately swept her up into the sky.
Interrupting her attack, Ying was momentarily surprised but quickly regained her composure. She drew her silver sword and unleashed several Anemo blades in all directions, preventing them from quickly following up with an attack.
Then, Ying's gaze swept around, and she soon spotted the Doctor who had summoned the vortex. She raised her hand and summoned a bolt of Electro, which shot towards him at extreme speed.
"Boom—!"
A muffled explosion. The Electro struck the Doctor squarely, instantly causing his flesh to peel and bleed profusely, stopping his actions.
Seizing this opportunity, Ying flashed forward, appearing beside him in an instant. She raised her silver sword high and then slashed down.
"Swoosh!"
The sharp long sword sliced through like cutting through tofu, severing the Doctor's neck without resistance.
Scarlet blood sprayed out, dyeing the silver sword in Ying's hand, staining half of his sleeve, and reddening the ground, turning the surroundings into a vibrant crimson.
Ying wiped the lingering scarlet liquid from her silver sword with her own tattered clothes and murmured,
"The first one..."
Witnessing Ying's decisive killing of a Doctor, the surrounding slices couldn't help but their pupils constrict, their expressions growing more solemn. They decided not to hide their trump cards any longer.
Just as Ying dodged and moved towards the next Doctor, a strange sound reached her ears, making her instantly alert. She instinctively tried to retreat.
"Clang—!"
Before Ying could act, a mechanical arm suddenly emerged from the ground and grabbed her right foot.
Ying swiftly slashed and severed the mechanical arm. Just as she intended to continue her attack, she found that a shackle had appeared on her foot.
Before Ying could swing her sword again, two more metal chains emerged, shackling her left and right arms respectively. Immediately after, her chest, abdomen, and back were all firmly bound by more emerging metal chains, securing her in place and rendering her immobile.
Ying frowned, attempting to break free. However, these chains were similar to those Scaramouche had used to restrain her, and breaking them would take some time.
Seeing Ying unable to move, a relatively young slice slowly approached her, a sinister curve on his lips.
"How is it? Can't you use elemental energy anymore?"
Hearing this, Ying couldn't help but laugh.
They truly were young and ignorant.
With that thought, Ying rammed her head forcefully into his nose. With a resounding 'boom,' the slice, instantly bruised and swollen, fell to the ground.
The next moment, Ying concentrated all her strength and, with a roar, her elemental energy erupted within her, shattering all the iron chains binding her.
Looking at the Doctor, who was now clutching his nose and wailing, Ying said calmly,
"From the beginning, you've filled every floor with that ability. How could I not have been prepared?"
As she spoke, Ying picked up her silver sword and pressed it against his chest.
"Do you know why the other Doctors didn't stop you from acting foolishly?"
"Because in their eyes, you, like Lumine and Childe whom you mentioned, are just a tool slice to stall for time."
"No... not just in their eyes, but in all of your eyes, others are merely insignificant tools."
With that, Ying tightened her grip on the sword and swung it, ending his life with a single strike.
At the same time, just as Ying had said, the remaining Doctors worked together, instantly creating a massive downward pressure above Ying's location, engulfing her.
"Rumble—!"