"Has anyone seen Thoma?"
Kamisato Ayaka ran in from the entrance of Komore Teahouse, asking anxiously.
"We thought he was with you."
Paimon replied.
"Did something happen?"
Paimon looked at Ayaka who had rushed over, asking somewhat strangely with her hands behind her back.
"This is bad..."
"On my way here, I heard that Thoma was taken away by people from the Tenryou Commission."
Kamisato Ayaka said with a complicated expression as she looked at Qiu Bai and the others.
"I couldn't determine if the news was true or false, so I came right away to confirm."
"If Thoma hasn't appeared here as agreed, it means the rumors are probably true."
Kamisato Ayaka looked at the three people before her, explaining anxiously.
"The Raiden Shogun will be at the Statue of the Omnipresent God."
"She will conduct the Vision Hunt Ceremony for the hundredth Vision."
Kamisato Ayaka explained to Qiu Bai and the others.
"And the owner of that hundredth Vision... the one who will be publicly subjected to the Vision Hunt..."
"I'm afraid... it's Thoma."
Kamisato Ayaka lowered her head, murmuring, because even if Thoma had been captured, they had no way to help.
"So the ceremony that Kujou Sara was preparing earlier..."
"Was this kind of ceremony."
Qiu Bai looked at Kamisato Ayaka with a strange expression as he asked.
At the same time, he found it amusing internally that Thoma "blessing from the God of Hot Pot" had, in a sense, really worked.
"Yes... it should be. The Shogun and the people of the Tenryou Commission..."
"Plan to use the Vision Hunt Ceremony for the hundredth Vision to demonstrate the phase accomplishments of the Vision Hunt Decree."
Kamisato Ayaka explained to Qiu Bai in front of her.
"Phase accomplishments..."
"In a sense, it should be a form of deterrence."
Qiu Bai thought to himself with some amusement, surprised that Ei was quite strategic.
But such methods were also effective, as everyone in Inazuma City could witness it.
"No..."
"I must save him!"
Kamisato Ayaka looked anxiously at Qiu Bai and the others.
"Woof! Woof!"
Taroumaru also barked twice from behind, indicating his agreement.
"Calm down."
"You represent the Yashiro Commission. If you intervene, it means the Yashiro Commission would be opposing the Raiden Shogun."
Qiu Bai crossed his arms over his chest and calmly explained to Kamisato Ayaka.
"There's no choice... time is running out."
"The ceremony is about to begin. I can't just abandon Thoma."
Ayaka spoke with a downcast mood as she looked at everyone.
"He is my friend. Not long ago..."
"We were all together..."
Kamisato Ayaka murmured with her head lowered.
"He's my friend too. We'll go save him."
Lumine looked at the downcast Ayaka and frowned as she spoke.
"But..."
Ayaka raised her head and looked at Lumine with concern.
"You just said it yourself, right?"
"Time is running out."
Lumine looked at Ayaka and gave her a reassuring smile.
Then she turned her gaze toward Qiu Bai beside her, with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
Qiu Bai mouth twitched when he saw Lumine expression.
"That's right, we still have Qiu Bai!"
"Even without fighting, Qiu Bai can rescue him!"
Paimon looked at Qiu Bai beside her, suddenly remembering something, and excitedly stomped her foot.
"...Mm, I will wait for your safe return."
Kamisato Ayaka looked worriedly at the determined group before her.
"Don't worry, Ayaka."
"With someone like Qiu Bai here, Thoma will definitely be fine."
Paimon looked back at Qiu Bai, immediately feeling a surge of security, and patted her chest as she spoke.
"I haven't even said anything yet."
Qiu Bai mouth twitched as he looked at Paimon.
"Oh my, time is running out."
"Let's hurry."
Paimon turned to look at the somewhat helpless Qiu Bai and said with a smile.
With that, Lumine and Paimon ran toward the door of Komore Teahouse.
"Sigh."
Qiu Bai shook his head helplessly as he watched the two leave, then followed after them.
"Please, stay safe..."
Ayaka clasped her hands together in prayer as she watched them leave.
In front of the Statue of the Omnipresent God, the sky was covered with dark clouds and flashing with lightning.
Strangely though, it wasn't raining, and cherry blossoms floated in the air.
Thoma knelt on the ground with his hands tied behind his back.
Several Inazuman samurai stood on either side of him.
The crowd of Inazuma citizens stood in the street by the Omnipresent God statue, discussing among themselves as they watched Thoma kneeling on the ground.
A figure raised her head, looking at the Statue of the Omnipresent God before her.
Dark purple hair was braided and hung down her back, with a beauty mark beneath her right purple eye.
She wore a gentian ornament on her head, along with decorative fan-like ornaments similar to her sister.
Her left shoulder bore black and golden pauldrons, and she wore a purple kimono.
A purple obi with the Inazuman tri-lightning crest adorned her waist.
She wore black thigh-high stockings and brown geta sandals with elevated heels.
This was the Raiden Shogun, identical in appearance to Ei.
There was no emotion flowing in her eyes, as she was a puppet created by Ei for eternity.
At this moment, Qiu Bai and the others were in the crowd watching the ceremony.
"System, scan the Raiden Shogun."
[Ding!]
[Name: Raiden Shogun]
[Identity: The apparent Electro Archon, Narukami Ogosho, an exquisite puppet created by Ei that perfectly replicates the original in every way, essentially transcending the limits of lifespan, able to exist indefinitely, providing eternal protection for Inazuma.]
[Divine Power Level: Upper-rank Archon.]
"Upper-rank Archon?"
"I didn't expect a puppet to possess such powerful strength."
Qiu Bai said with surprise as he read the system description.
At this moment, the Raiden Shogun turned around, with lightning power surging in her hand.
The mark of lightning condensed before her palm, aimed at Thoma direction.
With a slight grip of her hand, lightning flashed around Thoma Vision, and it was immediately drawn to her!
"Not good,"
At that moment, electro energy surged around Lumine.
In an instant, she jumped into the air, grabbed the Vision, and landed on the ground.
Paimon also flew to Lumine side.
Now Lumine raised her head, looking at the Raiden Shogun on the wooden platform above.
"You can manipulate the elements without a Vision..."
The Raiden Shogun stepped into the air, with ripples of electro energy appearing beneath her foot with each step.
Like walking on invisible stairs, she approached Lumine step by step.
"You are an exception."
"Exceptions are enemies of Eternity."
The Raiden Shogun spoke flatly as she walked to a position not far from Lumine.
Then she placed both hands on her chest, before suddenly spreading them wide!
The wheel of Wishes-Omnipresent appeared behind her, like a divine halo.
Immense divine power emerged from it, with lightning shooting straight into the clouds, dyeing the surroundings purple!
A powerful shockwave spread outward, and Lumine gritted her teeth as she resisted, her Dull Blade appearing in her hand as she faced the Raiden Shogun.
(T/N: Like the story fellow daoist? Now you can read 30 chapters ahead on my P@treon [[email protected]/DaoistRongyi] Thanks for your support! 😊)