Thunderclap

In the outskirts of Tokyo, the night sky was now completely blanketed by thick, heavy clouds.

The moonlight was gone, replaced by a vast, rolling expanse of darkness that covered the entire metropolis. Not a single sliver of light from the stars or the moon could pierce through.

A heavy pressure seeped from the dense cloud layer, making it difficult to even breathe.

Arcs of electricity crackled and darted through the clouds, accompanied by the continuous roar of muffled thunder.

An indescribable sense of oppression weighed down on the hearts of the common people in the city.

The massive failure of electronic devices had caused the internet to nearly collapse. Panic gripped the population, pushing the city toward the brink of a large-scale riot.

Within the spirit realm, various yokai, terrified by the restless surging of the lightning, hid themselves away, not daring to look directly at this manifestation of heavenly wrath.

At the source of the electrical discharge, above the desolate wilderness, a massive, angry human face had formed from the gathering storm.

More violent bolts of lightning than those over the city darted through the black clouds.

Beneath this heart-shaking, singular phenomenon, a figure in a military officer's uniform stood arrogantly, clutching a brilliant flash of electricity in his hand.

The fierce wind whipped his cloak, and his face was twisted into an expression of pure, maniacal zeal.

At that moment, the command miko at the headquarters began issuing orders to the Inari forces on the field.

Bypassing the failed electronic equipment, this command was broadcast to every corner of the battlefield via jutsu-shiki.

"Attack! Strike down the source of the abnormal discharge!"

Through the transmission of the jutsu-shiki, the headquarters' command reached the ears of every Inari soldier on the battlefield.

In an instant, whether in the air or on the ground, and regardless of whether they could reach the target, every soldier aimed the weapons they controlled at the sky.

They focused on the floating figure, and various missiles were immediately switched to spell-guided mode.

With a single order from headquarters, a torrent of fierce firepower erupted in a thunderous roar.

The fighter jets in the sky launched their air-to-air missiles in unison, while the anti-aircraft batteries on the ground unleashed a barrage.

In a heartbeat, countless flashes of fire surged from all directions, all targeting the suspended Kitano.

Beneath the thunderclouds, Kitano, wielding the power of lightning, watched the surrounding fire and flames with a contemptuous smile on his lips.

"Hmph, the strength of mere mortals..."

In an instant, a storm of lightning erupted.

Bolts of lightning cascaded down from the black clouds in a dense formation, accurately striking every projectile aimed at Kitano.

Whether they were missiles, artillery shells, bullets, or spells, every attack was swallowed by the brilliant lightning at that moment, reduced to nothingness.

Once the light faded, Kitano remained suspended in the sky, clutching his lightning-wreathed blade and looking down.

He was completely unscathed.

Even modern weapons and spells appeared utterly powerless when faced with the strength of a true celestial god.

Watching this, the hearts of the Inari forces went cold.

If such a concentrated strike had no effect on Kitano, what else could possibly defeat him?

Witnessing the terrifying lightning easily neutralize the dense barrage aimed at him, Kitano was filled with a sudden surge of ecstasy.

He laughed with obvious madness.

"Hahaha! Do you see? You lackeys of a false, rebellious god! This is the power of a god of Takamagahara! A power that mortals cannot hope to reach!"

As he spoke, Kitano pointed his lightning blade at the Inari forces scattered below.

In the eyes of the radical military officers from the Imperial era, the Inari forces, who were always obstructing their plans, were undoubtedly "national traitors."

Yet, the goddess Uka, whom the Inari forces revered most, was also a celestial god—a Yamato god from mythology.

According to the Onmyo Academy's theories, the Yamato gods should have been on their side, protecting the land and winning the war.

The "traitorous" actions of the Inari, who followed Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami, ran contrary to this logic.

This inevitably led one to wonder which side—the Onmyo Academy or the Inari—truly represented the will of the gods.

If the Inari were acting on Uka's will to oppose the Onmyo Academy... wouldn't that mean the Onmyo Academy was committing blasphemy?

Furthermore, if Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami represented Takamagahara, was the Japan that currently regarded itself as a divine empire walking a path the gods did not desire?

To address this question, the Imperial Onmyo Academy had two main explanations.

Initially, they took a simple and crude approach: rewriting popular mythology to remove Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami from the ranks of the Yamato gods and began preaching this aggressively.

However, the Onmyo Academy felt this was somewhat off, so they introduced a second version.

In this version, the Onmyo Academy separated Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami from the Inari forces.

Uka was believed to have ascended to Takamagahara and no longer directly managed Inari affairs.

Consequently, over its long history, the Inari faction had deviated from Uka's will.

Her divine messenger left in the mortal world, Tsuruha, had supposedly seized power for herself and, in defiance of the true god's wishes, had taken the path of a "national traitor."

Therefore, subjugating the Inari was deemed righteous.

This was why the onmyoji of the Onmyo Academy referred to the Inari gods as false and rebellious.

After clearing the barrage of projectiles aimed at him in one breath, Kitano's confidence soared.

Holding this infinite power of lightning from the heavens, he now felt that he alone was enough to purge the entire land.

Neither the Inari nor the foreign armies would be any match for him.

At this moment, the Inari command center had already begun issuing retreat orders.

The forces on the ground were rapidly pulling back, with a portion of the anti-aircraft fire and the air force ordered to provide cover.

Faced with this sudden situation, the command miko had begun to pray to the Tenko gods in Kyoto.

While reporting the situation, she was also requesting more support.

'Don't even think about escaping...'

Sensing the army below beginning to retreat, he gave a sinister grin and started swinging the short sword of lightning, summoning lightning on a massive scale to purge the area.

Observing his intent, a pilot in one of the fighter jets immediately narrowed his eyes.

He removed his specially designed, elongated oxygen mask, revealing the long face of a fox.

Then, a yellow light flashed in his eyes as he silently recited an incantation, activating the onboard jutsu-shiki to launch the missiles at Kitano.

The Inari fighter jets had a separate missile launch and guidance system built upon jutsu-shiki; although their accuracy and practicality were not as good as the originals, they could be used in an environment of such intense electromagnetic interference.

The speeding missiles shot toward Kitano, but then, as if acting as an automatic guard, another bolt of lightning struck from the sky, destroying the missiles in mid-air.

Kitano then focused his gaze on the fighter jet that had launched them.

"Quite brave. Then I'll start by carving up your air force first!"

Feeling the immense pressure brewing in the heavens, the fox pilot in the cockpit felt a surge of despair.

He accelerated the jet in an attempt to escape the impending lightning strike; instinct told him that ejecting and becoming a slowly descending live target was an even worse choice.

"Lady Uka, protect..."

During the high-speed flight, the fox pilot murmured a prayer as he felt the energy in the sky expanding rapidly.

Meanwhile, on the cliff at the edge of the battlefield, Miketsu watched the rolling thunderclouds in the sky and couldn't help but put a hand to her mouth.

A fighter jet flying at high speed had absolutely no room to dodge; being swallowed by a massive bolt of lightning was inevitable, a certainty in the next moment.

Kitano's twisted expression was now reflected a ghostly white by the brilliance of the lightning.

However, at the very moment the massive bolt fell, Miketsu coughed twice, very lightly.

Accompanied by those coughs, Miketsu added a tiny, almost imperceptible trace of her own aura to the Inari fighter jet fleeing in the distance.

Suddenly, the cloud layer in the sky trembled.

The ferocious human face formed from black clouds underwent a visible change in expression.

The bolt of lightning that had already been unleashed seemed to sense something; it suddenly took a sharp turn right above the jet's cockpit and slammed toward the ground.

In a flash of light, it bored a massive, scorched hole into the earth, while the jet remained completely unharmed.

For a moment, the entire battlefield went silent.

Whether it was Kitano in the heavens, the command miko at the Inari headquarters watching through long-range spiritual vision, or the fox pilot in the jet, everyone was momentarily stunned.

"It... it missed?"

"It seems so... even lightning can miss, I suppose," the miko at the Inari command center remarked, looking at each other.

The fox pilot, having escaped death, also breathed a long sigh of relief.

"It missed? Tsk, even divine thunder can make such a mistake! But it doesn't matter; I'll just do it again!"

As he spoke, Kitano raised the short sword in his hand and began summoning the lightning once more.

In an instant, the sky began to swell with powerful electricity again.

Seeing this, everyone's heart leaped into their throats.

With a furious shout, Kitano swung the short sword again, calling down a massive bolt of lightning toward the jet that had just escaped.

However, this time, as the thunderclap approached the jet, it took another sharp turn, zig-zagging until it hit somewhere else entirely.

This swerving maneuver once again shocked everyone on the battlefield.

The Inari command center was astonished—could lightning even bend like that?

The fox pilot was astonished—how was he still not shot down?

Kitano was even more astonished—what was the meaning of the Thunder God's lightning missing twice in a row? Was it really this pathetic?

Hadn't it been perfectly accurate when intercepting the barrage just now?

Hadn't the Thunder God's lightning been able to accurately hit every bullet and shell fired from the ground moments ago?

You hit missiles, bullets, and shells with perfect precision, hitting so many at once, yet now you can't hit a single plane?

For a moment, all sorts of doubts flooded Kitano's mind.

Then he shook his head, his expression becoming firm once more.

"Encountering two accidents in a row is nothing. Things happen in threes; you won't be so lucky the third time!"

Taking a deep breath, Kitano whispered to himself.

He raised the lightning blade again and summoned another thick, terrifying bolt of thunder, the target still being that jet that had repeatedly escaped death.

The result was—the lightning swerved again!

As it struck toward the jet, it took a direct ninety-degree turn and hit a distant hilltop instead.

Seeing this, Kitano's face darkened.

He pressed his hand against his chest as if trying to calm himself.

Then, as his cold, sharp gaze fixed onto the Inari fighter jet once more, he began to frantically wave the short sword in his hand.

Immediately, bolt after bolt of lightning fell from the sky, striking toward the lonely plane.

However, every bolt seemed to go out of its way to avoid the jet, swerving at various wide angles to steer clear.

The fox inside the jet, watching the dancing flashes of electricity outside the window, had gradually become numb to it.

While flying, he even took out a piece of compressed biscuit flavored like deep-fried tofu and started munching on it.

On the other side, the face of Kitano, who was continuously calling down lightning, grew uglier and uglier.

Finally, Kitano stopped.

He stared with burning eyes at the lightning blade in his hand, almost wanting to ask: 'Lord Takemikazuchi, are you throwing the game?'

Suspended in mid-air, Kitano sat in silence with a complex expression for a long time.

Then his face softened slightly, and he gave a cold snort.

"It seems that fighter jet has a jutsu-shiki that evades divine power. I didn't expect the Inari to have developed such a technique. However, I want to see just how strong this technique really is," Kitano said coldly.

Then, he shifted his gaze to the other Inari forces who were currently retreating below.

He began to swing the short sword, summoning a large-scale lightning storm.

In an instant, the sky was filled with white light and the continuous roar of thunder.

"Lord Takemikazuchi, please focus your state and help me sweep away these rebellious gods! This is the first step to revitalizing the Empire!"

At this moment, on the distant hilltop, Miketsu was sitting on the grass eating potato chips and drinking cola that Makoto had specially bought for her from the city.

Watching the disturbance in the sky, Miketsu smiled.

"These are all mine."

Amidst a world-shaking roar, lightning fell like raindrops.

For a moment, the world was bleached pure white by the dazzling flashes.

Ears could hear nothing but the sound of thunder.

Then, the light faded, the sound of thunder died down, and the earth before Kitano was riddled with holes from the lightning storm.

However, just as he excitedly began to observe the losses of the Inari forces below...

He froze on the spot after just one look.

The Inari soldiers below were currently in a state of alarm, looking around blankly and trying to calm the terror brought by the lightning storm.

Although everyone had been frightened to varying degrees, not a single person appeared to be injured.

Not a single weapon was damaged, let alone any deaths.

Around those Inari soldiers, the ground was densely covered with scorched pits, clearly carved out by the lightning storm just now.

Yet, it was painfully obvious that not a single bolt had struck an Inari soldier.

"He's afraid of... 'thunder'," Makoto couldn't help but sigh beside Miketsu.

Miketsu, drinking her cola, nodded.

"Mmhmm. And it seems both the god and the divine power are very afraid. I just added a tiny bit of my aura, and the divine power he unleashed automatically avoided them. Eirin's modifications were truly ruthless."

On the other side, looking at the scene before him, the suspended Kitano was stunned for a long time.

He could finally be certain where the problem lay.

It wasn't his problem, it wasn't the Inari's problem—it was the Thunder God's problem.

'Takemikazuchi, are you really throwing the game?! What is the meaning of this lightning? You can't kill a single person? Is this the Lightning of Kindness? What happened to the powerful War God? What happened to the God of Rage? This is it? This is all you've got?'

'The greatest War God below the Mihashira-no-uzunomiko doesn't even dare to touch the Inari! Takemikazuchi is just trash! I was a fool to recommend inviting your divine power down. God damn it, refund my faith!'

Seeing that the divine thunder, in which he had placed such high hopes of "expelling the foreigners and subjugating the Inari," was performing like this, Kitano thought with such fury.

However, because he was currently in a state where the Thunder God's divine power was possessing him, these thoughts repeating the god's name in his head were treated as prayers and rose to the heavens, to the source of this divine power.

Subsequently, in the sky, the thick thunderclouds began to churn at an extremely high speed.

A massive pressure, far greater than anything before, rapidly expanded at the top of the cloud layer.

At the center where the clouds converged, the giant face had disappeared.

In its place was a gradually brightening light, within which a massive amount of energy that Kitano had never felt before was gathering at high speed.

Seeing this, Kitano couldn't help but feel a surge of joy, thinking that perhaps the Thunder God had finally started to get serious.

Finally, an unprecedentedly giant flash of light erupted.

Accompanied by a thunderclap that shook the entire Kanto region, a massive beam of light, twenty to thirty meters in diameter, shot out from the center of the thunderclouds.

Its target was not any of the Inari troops—but Kitano, who was suspended in the sky.

Watching the brilliant light that swallowed him, the expression of shock on the face of the Showa-era Onmyo Major General, Kitano Saburo, was frozen.

As his spirit body completely dissipated within the endless lightning, thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind: doubt, regret, anger, confusion...

But in the end, only one thought remained.

'...Why... so you can hit accurately...'