"This summer's gonna be rough," Reisen Riou sighed.
"Seriously, no Frostarm Flowers or Cryo Slimes on the island?" Anko Kanno groaned, sweltering. Her miko robes, kept full for decorum, clung sweat-soaked to her skin.
"Nope, sadly," Reisen Riou said, his youkai heat resistance far outstripping Anko's human limits.
His Ley Line senses confirmed no Cryo elements on Ritou.
He teased Anko, unfazed by the lack of Watatsumi pearls. For him, it was a minor inconvenience.
Anko and the junior mikos, though, were truly suffering.
After ribbing her, Reisen Riou set to easing his team's summer woes.
No pearls, but he could channel Ritou Shrine's nearby water vein.
A small vein already fed the hot springs, daily needs, and fields, leaving little spare.
He planned to draw a spring and stream, letting flowing water cool the air for his crew.
It'd also hone his Geo manipulation and Ley Line knowledge.
Not an engineer, he left outlet placement, spring location, and stream paths to the junior mikos.
Their enthusiasm was high—summer was brutal, and quicker planning meant faster relief.
In three days, they designed a pond with two branching streams feeding an existing drainage creek, outlined with ash.
Reisen Riou didn't dawdle. In under a week, with mikos pitching in despite the scorching heat, the project was done.
Geo Visions were engineering cheats. Guiding earth's Geo elements did days of mortal work in hours, with minimal stamina.
Compressed Geo was stable—no collapse risks.
With a nudge to the Ley Lines, the water vein shifted. The spring's soil dampened, water rose, and within hours, the channels filled.
Mikos cheered, basking in the Hydro element's coolness.
Reisen Riou smiled, finalizing the vein's shape with Ley Line energy to lock it in place.
As he pondered next steps, his face stiffened.
A oppressive aura descended, like a sudden, stifling thunderstorm.
It blanketed Ritou, not targeting individuals. The mikos, still cheerful, felt nothing. Reisen Riou's deep Ley Line bond let him sense it.
Danger!
A piercing presence surged. Anko, sensing it too, looked up.
"Lady Ei!"
Following her gaze, Reisen Riou gasped, "The Raiden Shogun!"
The kimono-clad beauty resembled the Shogun—but not quite.
Their auras differed. The Shogun radiated Yamato Nadeshiko gentleness; this "Lady Ei" exuded a warrior's commanding presence.
Snapping to, Reisen Riou corrected, "Lady Ei."
Ei responded, engaging Anko in conversation.
Anko slipped Reisen Riou a quick rundown: Lady Ei, full name Raiden Ei, Demon God Baalzebub, was the Shogun's shadow warrior and twin sister, a dual-born Demon God.
Ei was the progenitor of Inazuma's martial arts—swordsmanship, spearmanship, archery, naginatajutsu, even harpoon techniques.
She was also the forge's ancestor. Inazuma's five great smithing clans, the Raiden Five Traditions, crafting masterwork blades, descended from her students.
Most crucially, Anko was Ei's disciple.
Their banter showed a warm bond.
Reisen Riou suspected Ei was the one who'd pressed him with her aura during his Shogun audience. No grudge, though—he'd been rude first.
Junior mikos prepped a meeting space. The trio settled in.
Reisen Riou was meant to just sit in, as Ei and Anko discussed naginatajutsu, unrelated to his shaky sword and spear skills or nonexistent naginata mastery.
Somehow, talk shifted to him.
Anko hyped his Riou-ryu archery, calling it unprecedented in Inazuma.
Ei's interest piqued.
Reisen Riou froze.
He was to spar with Raiden Ei in archery.
A kilometer apart, Reisen Riou sensed the air thicken, his face numb.
A junior miko on a hill waved a gohei, signaling start. A purple bolt flashed in his vision.
Mind blank, body sharp, he nocked and fired. Purple lightning clashed, arrows canceling out.
A rapid-fire duel ensued, arrows dense with Electro, saturating the air.
Suddenly, Reisen Riou's arrow morphed mid-flight into a massive Electro spear, hurtling forward.
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