Reisen Riou and Bona parted reluctantly, having traded treasures. Reisen Riou gained Sumeru's latest customs and research; Bona scored a slew of paper ideas.
Their bond, though brief, skyrocketed—they were practically brothers by disembarking, one step shy of a sworn oath.
Bona planned to build a hydrographic tower on Ritou, inviting Reisen Riou to visit.
Reisen Riou, Ritou Shrine's guardian, welcomed Bona to drop by.
Both nabbed extra perks.
Bona, through Reisen Riou, linked with Ritou's town magistrate, hiring top craftsmen on the cheap.
Reisen Riou, via Bona's elite connections, subscribed to Fontaine's academic journals and newspapers.
Now, without leaving Ritou, he'd stay wired to Teyvat's pulse—cutting-edge tech like Khaenri'ah's alchemy and Liyue's geomancy, all in Sumeru's journals.
With their vast output, some stubborn scholars always snagged what they chased.
Cause for celebration.
But first, Reisen Riou had a score to settle with a certain miko.
…
Danger!
Anko Kanno, mid-bite of a sakura-wrapped dessert, its pink allure tempting, chucked it.
A purple Electro streak flashed. An arrow pierced the dessert, skewering it mid-air, veering off its path.
"Whoa!" Anko rolled out of the pavilion as a barrage of arrows stabbed her former spot.
"For real?!" She drew a tanto from her sleeve, parrying a flurry of incoming arrows.
She dove into her house for her naginata.
Anko, no Vision holder, couldn't carry weapons on-hand like Reisen Riou.
He unleashed an entire quiver, grinning as Anko's curses echoed. Satisfaction surged.
"You're something, huh? Knocking me out, dragging me to war—I'll show you why flowers bloom red!" Reisen Riou's face twisted with glee.
He kept it measured, enchanting arrows with only Speed and Basic buffs. A full Thunder Spear would've blown half the shrine down—no need for others to intervene.
Soon, Anko emerged, naginata whirling, slicing a light curtain that deflected all arrows.
Junior mikos fled to Ritou Shrine, gawking as their guardian and senior miko went feral.
Both kept some restraint, drifting farther from the shrine as the fight escalated.
A kilometer out, Reisen Riou started tossing Thunder Spears sporadically.
He didn't dare spam them—each needed a brief charge. That tiny window let Anko close in.
Suddenly, Anko's aura flared, sharper, enlightened.
Reisen Riou gasped. Her Heart Flow had broken through.
She sliced his Thunder Spear mid-flight. Though not at peak power, a normal person touching it would've fried.
"Not scared of you," Reisen Riou sneered.
Skill boosts meant stronger combat, but it didn't solve Anko's problem: Reisen Riou was dominating her.
In under thirty minutes since the dessert-skewering shot, he'd loosed over seven hundred arrows.
He'd ditched several quivers along the way (light load: 20 arrows; standard: 30; full: 50).
His longbow creaked ominously.
"Crap, it's fatiguing," Reisen Riou cursed. The fine-grade bow couldn't handle prolonged rapid-fire, the most punishing shooting style.
He tossed it, reaching into his Vision for a spare.
Anko pounced on the opening.
By the time he nocked again, she'd charged within fifty meters—danger zone.
Reisen Riou stepped back, but his foot caught a discarded quiver, throwing him off-balance.
Anko grinned wickedly. Her chance.
Her red-and-white miko outfit was shredded—arms, legs, even her chest wrap scratched up, a bleeding gash on her shoulder sparking with Electro traces.
His arrows hadn't been harmless.
"Die, you!" Anko unleashed a ten-meter blade aura, knocking down airborne arrows, and leaped.
Her naginata swung for Reisen Riou.
"Burst!" Reisen Riou's soul nearly fled—he wasn't ready to return to the Ley Lines.
He erupted with Electro, forming a one-shot Thunder Pole in the void, dodging the blade aura by a hair.
"Stop!" he yelled.
Anko, sensing she'd gone too far, halted.
Then Reisen Riou caught a whiff of blood. Trouble.
"Stop, my ass!" Anko's voice rang. A heavy blow smashed his skull, shattering his Electro shield and knocking him out of his dominant state.
"Two Ankos—clones…" Reisen Riou mumbled, fading.
The two Ankos moved as one.
Without his dominant state, Reisen Riou was knocked out in two hits.
"Phew!" * 2
The Ankos exchanged nods. One vanished.
The remaining Anko kicked her naginata's haft, striking Reisen Riou's leg. It flew up; she grabbed it, dragging him back to the shrine.
--------------------
Want to read ahead? Early chapters on: patreon.com/ShadowKage