"Careful, the ley lines are going wild!" a shrine maiden warned. "All of Tsurumi's ley lines are surging—a fiend, the Thunder Manifestation, embodying the Thunderbird's wrath."
"What now?" Gensei Jirou asked.
"I'll activate the Protective Barrier's stealth to shield us from the Thunderbird's gaze," one maiden replied.
"But that weakens the suppression function," the other cautioned.
"It's fine, sister," Gensei grinned, charging out. "Have some faith in us samurai!"
The Brigade's four Vision-wielders—Bankaku, Gensei, Arakawa, Kagei—were already clashing joyfully with monsters. For these blade-happy warriors, this was paradise. No Thunder Manifestation appeared; the strongest foe was a mere LV50+ Thunderhelm Lawachurl. Partial suppression sufficed.
"Inazuma Bankaku-ryu Swordsmanship: Mist Slash!" Bankaku Nisei roared, laughing maniacally as he fought. "Witness the Tides!" A surge of Hydro amplified his strikes.
"Keep it down, boss, or you'll draw the Thunderbird's wrath," Gensei teased, freezing a Thunderhelm Lawachurl with Cryo, then piercing its heart with an ice lance.
"This place hates me," Arakawa Jirou grumbled, his Pyro stifled by Tsurumi's damp fog. But, with Reisen Riou's guidance, he'd honed a new trick. "Fire, the spark of courage!" Pyro motes swirled, restoring the samurai's stamina and vigor.
"Not bad, Arakawa!" Kagei Bama cheered, feeling his strength return.
"Gun!" Arakawa snapped, baffled by Reisen's bizarre spell choice—but he wielded it well. The samurai laughed, diving into the fray.
A grunt—a samurai took an arrow to the arm. An Electroaxe Mitachurl swung, but Gensei's naginata parried, though the samurai took a chest gash. Unfazed, he yanked out the arrow, drew a Narukami Grass, and a faint Electro bolt struck it, merging into his body. His wounds healed swiftly.
"You good? Need to fall back?" Gensei asked.
"I'm fine," the samurai replied, testing his katana. "Arakawa's buff keeps me fighting."
"Stay sharp," Gensei said, slicing a row of hilichurl archers with a blade wave.
"Thunder Manifestation's here!" a maiden shrieked.
"Damn, Gensei, you jinx!" the team groaned inwardly.
A suffocating aura hit—less than Lord Reisen's but close. A massive shadow loomed over Gensei. The Thunderbird's wrath, its Electro crushing him. Clutching a talisman, he aimed it at the beast, chanting, "By Narukami's will, Everlasting Way, Narukami Eternal!"
Thoughtless Severance
A colossal Electro slash tore space, obliterating the Thunder Manifestation before it could react. The fog parted briefly. Unlike Musou no Hitotachi, it wasn't a flying wave, but its power was immense. The beast's scattered Electro, mixed with Tsurumi's fog, triggered a massive Electro-Charged reaction. The Brigade, pre-dosed with anti-Electro potions and trained on Narukami Island, shrugged it off. Monsters, stunned by the shock, fell easily. The Thoughtless Severance's thunder wiped out scores of hilichurls. Chirai Shrine's crisis ended in near-total victory, with only minor exhaustion and injuries.
At Khaenri'ah's camp, Commander Lorrel survived. Tillers proved tougher than expected, and the Thunder Manifestation's rampage spared most machines, hitting only a few Heavy Units head-on. Rebooted Tillers and surviving knights repelled the monsters, but the beast's death unleashed an Electro surge, frying many wounded Khaenri'ahns.
"Damn it, what now?" a knight cursed, checking survivors. Losses were heavy, but the logistics camp held, preserving supplies.
Lorrel, battered, recalled a terrifying figure during the retreat. That Electro surge was no coincidence, but its cause eluded him.
Narukami Island, Tenshukaku
Raiden Ei, savoring Reisen Riou's snacks, sat upright. "A talisman was triggered. It struck a Thunder Manifestation."
"The Thunderbird's wrath?" Reisen Riou asked. "Was it destroyed?"
Ei closed her eyes, sensing. "Partially. Most of its resentment sank back into the ley lines."
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