Rain poured from the sky as a helicopter swiftly flew towards the previously destroyed mountain forest.
Following the earlier signal, Hayasaka arrived at Kaguya and Hina's location, immediately spotting the two unconscious girls lying there.
"Ojou-sama!"
Hayasaka exclaimed, not even bothering to put on a raincoat. Before the helicopter had even properly landed, she anxiously jumped out.
Rushing to Kaguya's side and confirming she was only unconscious, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After placing Kaguya on the aircraft, Hayasaka then turned her attention to Hina, only to find the girl stirring and waking up.
Since Yusei had brought her, Hayasaka was naturally responsible for her safety and quickly went to support her.
"Let's go back first. Do you know where Yusei-sama went?"
Hina gasped for air, her condition clearly not good.
Hearing Hayasaka's question, she struggled to look up at the sky, her finger trembling as she pointed towards the storm clouds flashing with lightning and thunder.
"He... he needs help."
"Huh?" Hayasaka also looked at the storm clouds, bewildered, "He needs help? Yusei-sama? But you didn't come here by plane, did you?"
Hina panted heavily. She had just woken from unconsciousness, haunted by terrifying dreams. It was only now she realized the immense trouble her actions had caused.
That was a god. Stealing from a god was a dead end. Divine punishment would pursue them relentlessly.
'Not good. Boss must be trapped right now. At the very least, he needs to be able to get away from here.'
Looking at the storm clouds, Hina gasped for breath, her hair plastered to her face by the rain, making her look utterly exhausted and disheveled.
Then, she clasped her hands together, and a strange power emanated from her.
With the surge of the Sunshine Girl's power, the water that had been falling to the earth began to reverse its course as if time were flowing backward, returning to the sky.
And in that patch of overcast clouds, the area where Hina had sensed Yusei, the gloom visibly receded at a rapid pace, turning into clear sky.
…
Ten thousand meters above.
Yusei struggled fiercely against the dark cloud dragon constricting his neck. The power of the entire sky was pressing down on him. No matter how large his Susanoo was, it couldn't possibly resist this.
"Dammit! Susanoo Style: Frenzied Dance!"
Arms sprouted from the sides of the Susanoo, gripping longswords. With extreme speed, they spun like a top, severing the dragon formed from the dark clouds.
The black dragon roared as it was cut apart but quickly reformed, lunging at Yusei once more, determined to completely consume him.
"This is exactly why I said this thing is a pain," Yusei smiled wryly, deciding not to clash head-on again. The Susanoo swiftly retreated, flying straight into the distance.
Directly below, Hina collapsed, utterly drained.
Seeing this, Hayasaka hurriedly caught her.
"I'm fine, Hayasaka-san. Can you contact Boss? Please tell him..."
"Huh? We have a satellite phone, but I don't know if it will connect."
"Please, let me try. I need to try."
The massive Susanoo flew towards the distant coast. Since the city was by the sea, Yusei planned to fly far out and lose the pursuing cloud dragon over the ocean.
But the sky was its domain. Yusei understood this perfectly, which was why he wanted to take refuge in the sea.
It was winter. No fool would go swimming at the beach in winter, especially not in a place as cold as Hokkaido.
When he saw the ocean, the giant Susanoo dove straight down, crashing into the sea.
Inside the Susanoo, Yusei couldn't feel the bone-chilling icy water. Through the sea's surface, he looked up at the cloud dragon above.
"Heh, what can you do now? Once it leaves, I can just go."
Yusei looked at the dark clouds and sneered. But before he could savor the moment, he saw the cloud dragon plunge directly into the water after him.
Yusei's smile froze. He tried to evade, but due to his high speed and the Susanoo's massive size, it was impossible to avoid completely.
The cloud dragon entered the sea, carrying immense force and the lightning from the sky, all crashing against the Susanoo's armor.
Yusei instantly felt an overwhelming, mountain-toppling force. A vast expanse of the sea lit up due to the lightning.
Countless fish, large and small, floated to the surface, their eyes white.
This lightning was different from the ordinary kind. At the very least, it was more violent than any lightning Yusei had encountered before, but it was still barely within his absorption range.
The Susanoo, having conducted the lightning, became even more solidified. It grabbed the cloud dragon biting into it.
But the bite was too tight.
For a moment, the Susanoo's strength wasn't enough to pry it off.
"Damn it..." Yusei frowned. He could feel the Susanoo's armor beginning to crack under the immense pressure of the deep sea.
The tremendous pressure, combined with the cloud dragon dragging him deeper, put Yusei in a very precarious situation.
Just then, his phone rang.
It was a satellite phone provided by the Shinomiya Family, notoriously durable. He didn't expect it could even receive a signal at such depths.
Yusei answered the call. Hina's anxious voice came through.
"Boss! If you want to harm [Heaven], you need the power of [Heaven] itself! Boss, come back and get me! My power can..."
"Knowing that is enough, Hina. You should go back and rest now. I'll handle the rest."
Before he could finish, the line cut out with a busy signal, the connection lost due to the extreme depth.
Putting away the phone, Yusei looked at the cloud dragon still biting him and dragging him deeper into the abyss. The massive Susanoo hand holding the dragon let go.
Inside the diamond crystal, Yusei clasped his hands together. The external Susanoo mirrored the action.
"Let! Go! Now!"
A vast amount of power poured into his right eye. The [Sunshine Girl] ability, amplified by his right eye, reached an unimaginable level of power.
For a moment, it seemed as if only this single peal of clear sky thunder existed between sky and ground.
Boom!
A white bolt of lightning pierced through the vast body of seawater, striking the cloud dragon directly. The thunder pillar that seemed to connect sky and ground looked as if it would split the world in two.
The cloud dragon let out a mournful cry and immediately released its bite on the Susanoo's armor.
Seizing the opportunity, Yusei charged forward. On the Susanoo's sword, now charged with weather-manipulating lightning, Yusei swung the blade imbued with the power of Heaven itself, shattering the dark cloud dragon into pieces.
"Damn...able...human...!"
The gloomy cloud dragon disintegrated into pure energy, attempting to drift back into the sky. But Yusei grabbed it with the Susanoo's hand, opened the construct's mouth, and swallowed it whole.
Instantly, the Susanoo's energy surged violently. Even Yusei's own personal energy reserves increased significantly.
This was pure weather-manipulation power… a complete and utter tonic.