Narukami Island lay smothered beneath thick black clouds. Purple lightning stabbed out of the cloud layer now and then, and a torrential downpour scoured every corner of the streets.
The city was far from peaceful. Sea-beasts kept bursting up out of the gloomy, shadowed corners to attack any passersby nearby.
By now the townsfolk had all retreated indoors and shut their doors, while many others had been rounded up and sheltered, taking refuge inside the city.
The shogunate troops were working ceaselessly, organizing personnel and evacuating people to the shelter zones.
When Ye Xi stepped out of the Tenshukaku, he found himself looking at quite a crowd huddled in the courtyard, sheltering from the attacks.
Kujou Kamaji came forward to explain. "Master Ye Xi, this was a temporary decision by Lady Miko. She's opened both the Tenryou Commission headquarters and the Tenshukaku to serve as shelters."
Ye Xi nodded.
This gloomy weather really was a nuisance, and the rain was coming down especially hard.
So he simply activated his Stand — [Weather Forecast].
In an instant, the black clouds overhead began to scatter, and the rain cut off all at once.
Sunlight pierced through the clouds and bathed the earth.
Moments later the sky was clear and pristine, washed a spotless blue.
The people, who had been drenched for a full day and night, saw the sky suddenly clear and broke into excited cheers.
"Wh-what's going on?! It cleared up out of nowhere!"
"The sun! The sun's finally out!"
"Does this mean it's all over? What on earth is happening here?!"
The sunlight spilled down like the first light of hope, and the people, who had been on edge this whole time, finally relaxed.
Light brings people a sense of safety.
Those who had been panicking were much calmer now.
The three Commissioners exchanged baffled glances.
That oppressive, overcast weather — how had it cleared up so suddenly?
It was far too strange!
And the speed of the clearing was almost unnatural, as if the clouds had been blown away by a blast of wind.
Puzzled as they were, they couldn't make sense of it, so they stopped fretting over it.
After all, what mattered most right now was keeping the local residents safe.
Yae Miko gazed up at the sky, a trace of surprise stirring in her.
As the shrine maiden of the Grand Narukami Shrine, she couldn't command the heavens, but she could still sense such things.
This was without a doubt Ye Xi's handiwork.
With the sky cleared, fighting would be far easier.
But to deal with these sea-beasts, the shogunate army was badly short on manpower.
Even with the weather fair, the situation was hardly encouraging.
Just as everyone was consumed with worry, Ye Xi had already thrown open the gate of his portable space.
Two neat rows of Ruin Guards marched out of the space in perfect unison.
Their movements were completely identical, and they kept coming without end.
Not until over a hundred Ruin Guards had emerged onto the open ground of the Tenshukaku did Ye Xi finally close the portable space.
The sudden appearance of so many machines truly terrified the shogunate troops and the crowd.
Out in the wilds, these things were beyond counting!
And dealing with them was no easy task.
Seeing this many appear all at once left the shogunate soldiers rooted to the spot in fright.
"Master Ye Xi! Th-this is…"
Kujou Kamaji stared, dumbstruck.
He had no idea where these gigantic machines had come from!
And every one of them looked utterly menacing!
If these were the monsters from the wilds, the civilians in the Tenshukaku were finished!
"No need to worry, they won't harm anyone."
With that, Ye Xi gave the Ruin Guards their orders. "Attack the sea-beasts, protect the civilians, and bring the rescued people back here."
The Ruin Guards, as if fed a set of commands, sprang into action at once and headed out beyond the city.
The mighty host of Ruin Guards surged into the streets. The moment a sea-beast broke up out of the mud and showed its head, a Ruin Guard smashed it to pieces.
And the civilians who had been cornered by the sea-beasts were lifted up over the Ruin Guards' heads, kept safe out of reach.
The shogunate soldiers in the city watched, and though they didn't understand where the Ruin Guards had come from, they could all tell these machines were allies.
The sight left the people around them stunned.
"What incredible machines!"
"Good heavens, a sea-beast that several men together couldn't handle, and these machines killed it in a single blow!"
"Who is that Lord? How did he get his hands on so many of these giants? Thank goodness he's here, or we'd have suffered terrible losses!"
"All the Commissioners are attending him personally — his standing must be no ordinary one!"
The people murmured among themselves.
Ye Xi followed the Ruin Guards out of the city, leaving Kujou Kamaji and Hiiragi behind.
Neither of those two had an Eye of God, and if danger struck it would be hard to look after them.
Next, it was time to rush to the coast at full speed.
Ye Xi meant to produce ships so the shogunate navy could sail back to the front lines.
Fortunately, just outside Inazuma City lay the shore.
He promptly summoned the [Abyssal Core].
At that moment, a dense black mass of sea-beasts along the distant shore was trying to crawl up onto land.
But someone at the water's edge was holding them back.
"Oni King's Patrol — everybody, out of the way!"
Arataki Itto swung his stone pillar, crashing wildly through the beast horde.
The sea-beasts in his path were doomed.
Hard-headed as they were — able to punch great holes through wooden boats — they still couldn't withstand this massive stone club!
One after another they were battered senseless, some flattened on the spot.
The beach was left strewn with mangled corpses.
Beside him, Kuki Shinobu hurled a few kunai crackling with Electro, dropping a sea-beast with each throw — every one of them burst apart instantly.
After killing two sea-beasts, she shouted, "Boss, if you keep charging around like that, half these sea-beasts are just knocked out, not dead! There's no efficiency in it at all!"
"Huh? Hahahaha… I, Arataki 'Number One' Itto, fear nothing! I'll just smash 'em again when they wake up!"
"Hahahaha."
Kuki Shinobu was left speechless.
This was a matter of life and death, yet Arataki Itto was still his same devil-may-care self. She really couldn't stand it.
Behind him, a few of the Arataki Gang's underlings trembled.
"B-boss! You've run way too far ahead! We're scared!"
After clubbing a few more sea-beasts to death, Arataki Itto planted his hands on his hips and boasted, "Scared of what?! With me here, could these little bugs ever hurt you lot?"
"For me, dealing with these little bugs is like slaughtering chickens — hahahaha!"
"You just stay back there and collect the sea-beast corpses. Later we'll take 'em to trade for Mora!"
They'd heard that certain parts of the sea-beasts fetched a good price, so they'd come out here on purpose to make a killing!
Seeing so many sea-beasts charging at them, Arataki Itto felt like he'd struck it rich!
But at that very moment, a wash of black light suddenly swept over the sea's surface.
Then a massive steel warship plunged into the water with a resounding splash.
One colossal vessel after another dropped into the sea, and the already churning waters heaved up even greater swells.
A wave rolled in from the deep and, without the slightest warning, crashed against the shore, sweeping over the utterly unprepared Arataki Gang.
"Look out!"
Kuki Shinobu yanked a few of the underlings back, and the next instant the wave came slamming down.
As the surge receded, Arataki Itto clambered up out of the water.
"Pwah — cough cough cough…"
"Where'd that huge wave come from?!"
"Hey!? Where'd all the sea-beasts I beat go?!"
"Aaaaahhh——!"
There on the beach — every sea-beast Arataki Itto had worked so hard to kill had been dragged back into the sea by that single wave!
At the sight, Arataki Itto turned to stone.
"M-my Mora, nooo!!"
His anguished cry echoed out across the sea…
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