*BOOM!*
A blinding, violent purple lightning tore through the chaotic battlefield and bloodied air without warning!
It was so blinding that it instantly overwhelmed all flames, illuminating every grotesque shadow in stark black!
In an instant, the lightning struck like the whip of divine punishment, lashing precisely against the massive arm of the lizard-like kami!
*BOOM!*
A deafening explosion rang out as blinding arcs of lightning detonated wildly against flesh, scattering charred fragments of tendrils and spraying a stench-filled liquid like a torrential downpour!
*ROOOAAAAAARRR—!!!*
Having its arm destroyed, the kami emitted a deafening roar of agony, its massive body staggering backward under the force of the lightning, carving deep furrows into the ground.
Everyone on the battlefield froze in awe at this display of divine might.
In the next instant, a sleek purple silhouette shot toward them from the wall like lightning itself, tearing through the night!
It was none other than Mei.
Leaping high, the purple-black long sword in her hand had already been drawn, releasing purple arcs of electricity that danced violently along its edge, emitting a deep, imposing hum!
*Biribiribiri—!*
As the air crackled with explosive energy, Mei's figure was bathed in purple lightning, her hair, now slightly purplish-black, whipping wildly in the turbulent air, while her gaze, as cold as millennia-old ice, was fixed unflinchingly on the injured kami.
"Raikou - Dawn!"
Cold, murderous intent crackled through Mei's voice as she shouted Howl's mantra.
*Bzzzzz—!*
In an instant, the purple lightning wrapped around Howl surged violently, forming a massive blade of lightning capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks!
*Whoosh!*
It tore through the air, obliterating everything in its path as it descended with unstoppable force!
*BOOOM!*
As the massive blade of lightning hit the kami, it engulfed its massive body in an instant—the blinding light emitted by the impact and the shockwave unleashed by that violent collision forced every onlooker to shut their eyes.
*Rumble—*
Like an earthquake, the earth trembled as the terrifying lightning blew a charred pit into the ground, and the shockwave from the clash—mixed with scalding winds and a foul stench—sent nearby kami and debris flying!
When the light faded, only smoke and scorched earth remained, while the giant lizard-like kami, along with the smaller centipede-like kami caught in its wake, had been reduced to ash!
In that instant, the battlefield fell into a brief, eerie silence.
"Protect... Protect the people! Lady Wagatsuma has arrived!"
Shouts of ecstatic relief suddenly rang out, tinged with sobs.
"Lady Wagatsuma!"
"Kill! Follow Lady Wagatsuma!"
"Exterminate the kami! Defend Izumo!"
Hope was ignited as the remaining soldiers, as if injected with pure adrenaline, roared and charged alongside the figure in a white kimono, who carved a purple thunderstorm through the waves of kami and launched a fierce counterattack!
Mei moved at lightning speed across the battlefield—every swing of her blade, accompanied by tearing arcs of purple lightning, precisely split kami skulls or turned the smaller kami into charred husks.
Her movements were concise and deadly, stripped of all flair and focused purely on maximum efficiency. Where her blade pointed, lightning cleared the path, carving a channel of burning violet through the surging waves of kami.
At this moment, she had become the brightest center of the battlefield, the only beacon in the hearts of the resistors who gravitated toward her, forming a vengeful line of defense with her as the spearhead.
Meanwhile, on a damaged watchtower at the edge of the wall, Lucian's figure silently appeared, standing high above as he looked down upon the battlefield of blood and lightning.
His black coat flapped in the night wind.
His sharply defined face betrayed no emotion, only his bottomless, golden, divine-like eyes, fixed on the purple figure unleashing destructive lightning at the center of the battle.
His gaze swept over the tide of demonic beasts torn apart by purple lightning, lingered on the purple figure's precise and efficient killings, and finally rested on the purple-black sword in her hands, each swing channeling the fury of heaven and earth.
"Channeling lightning... Pure elemental destruction..."
Lucian whispered to himself, barely audible.
What Mei wielded was unquestionably an Izumo-forged weapon mentioned in one of the game's trailers, created through the combined might of Izumo's inhabitants to slay the kami, capable of tearing through the sky and delivering divine punishments.
It was one of the Sentinels, able to summon lightning to rend the sky, while soaring meteors and thunder delivered divine justice—Howl.
A Sentinel that controlled thunder and lightning, and the 'Raiden' in Raiden Bosenmori Mei, which meant thunder and lightning—the two were perfectly matched, practically made for each other.
'Could the other Sentinel wielders be alternate versions of people I know...?'
Lucian, possessing little knowledge of Izumo, couldn't help but make such a wild guess.
Because the game itself offered only sparse information on Izumo's background, he knew nothing beyond the general outline. Regardless, as long as he was strong enough, even if some unknown factors came his way, he would simply crush them.
Lucian snapped out of his thoughts and suddenly raised his right hand, his fingertip aimed at a nearby kami that resembled a massive toad spewing foul acid across the battlefield.
He lightly raised his hand, then—
*POP!*
A faint, bursting sound like a soap bubble popping echoed as the toad-like kami collapsed into a pulp.
From what he remembered, every type of kami had varying special abilities and unique names that took inspiration from Japan's mythology.
Nonetheless, he didn't care what they were called or how special they were, as under Emanators, they were all ultimately no different than ants.
Lucian calmly withdrew his finger, pristine as before.
He remained silent for a while before his gaze returned to Mei at the center of the battlefield, watching as she swung Howl to summon another massive bolt of lightning, turning the giant scorpion-like kami and the surrounding beasts into flying ashes.
"Lady Wagatsuma! We spotted three giant kami to the right! Requesting support!"
"Lady Wagatsuma! Four giant kami ahead are driving the other smaller kami in a frontal assault! We're barely holding!"
Because Mei stood guard over a city known as 'Wagatsuma,' she was called 'Lady Wagatsuma' by its people.
In the Izumo Kingdom, there existed twelve guardians and nine cities, consisting of a capital city that stood at the center, with eight cities surrounding it. Eight guardians each guarded one of the eight cities, while four guardians were stationed in the capital city for rapid support of the other cities.
Realizing it would take time for the other guardians to arrive, Mei, wearing a stern expression, acted at once.
"All forces, hold the right side! Once I finish with the four giant kami ahead, we'll suppress the rest immediately!"
Mei organized the formation and charged toward the incoming kami without hesitation.
Ever since she inherited Howl and became a guardian, today marked her first solo fight against a massive horde of kami on this scale, so she must treat this situation carefully without making any mistakes.
A while later, just as Mei cleared the last blocking kami and opened the path to the wall's gap, her razor-sharp violet eyes, piercing through the smoke and chaos of the battlefield, accidentally caught sight of a figure clad in black atop a damaged watchtower.
Across the mountain of corpses and flames, their eyes met.
'What is that pervert doing there?'
Mei could not yet discern the black-clad young man's intentions.
From his perverted actions earlier, he was clearly not a kami in disguise, given that those demonic beasts killed for pleasure, invading Izumo solely to slaughter its inhabitants, with no other desire at all.
Not to mention, a kami would never peep at her bathing, nor would it steal her first kiss.
As she remembered that embarrassing moment, Mei felt her teeth itch, and she quickly rubbed her lips hard with her left hand, as if trying to erase that faint lingering feeling.
Lucian, with his sharp eyes, caught her small motion and couldn't help but curve his lips slightly.
One should know that many women longed for his kiss without any chance whatsoever, yet Mei treated it as something utterly disgusting.
"Hmph, I'll settle this with you later."
Mei muttered while glaring at Lucian, then spun around and jumped away, completely ignoring him.
*BOOM!*
Purple lightning flared again, violently splitting the path ahead.
From the damaged watchtower, Lucian watched as the resolute purple lightning vanished into the darkness beyond the city wall. Feeling the night wind intensify, he slowly withdrew his gaze and glanced toward three massive black shadows looming to the right.
"Kami, huh...? A pack of disgusting mongrels, daring to call themselves 'gods'?"
{Note: In Japanese, Kami means God.}
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[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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