Chapter 28: There Will Always Be Those Who Dare Challenge Thunder
Tn: This chapter is re-written at 5 / 20 / 2025
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A duel before the Shogun.
To most, the words sounded noble—glorious, even.
To stand before the Raiden Shogun, Inazuma's supreme ruler, and challenge her authority in open combat…
Victory promised change, recognition, perhaps even hope.
Defeat meant only one thing: death.
But Bai Luo knew the truth.
Behind the rituals and honor, duels before the throne were little more than cruel entertainment for those in power.
A game played by warlords of the old age.
The so-called "honor" was nothing but a leash.
A few words of promise were enough to make men dance like monkeys before their lords.
And whether those promises were ever kept… well, that was up to the whims of the victor.
Even if things were different in Inazuma now, the core truth remained:
It was a brutal farce, dressed in ritual.
Bai Luo had been working on the second volume of My Electro Archon Can't Be This Cute, carefully plotting the next chapter.
But the moment he sensed a particular presence enter his radius, he froze.
That person…
Through a combination of intuition and the Skills he possessed, Bai Luo had tagged and marked several individuals across Inazuma.
And he recognized this one instantly.
He should've still been with Kazuha—somewhere near Nazuchi Beach, if Bai Luo remembered correctly.
So why was he here?
Then, he felt it—the boy stepping into the Tenryou Commission.
And everything clicked.
A Vision-bearer, walking straight into the heart of the enemy's nest?
There was only one reason someone would do that.
He was there to cause a scene.
To start something big.
Bai Luo sighed and set down his pen.
He called out to his subordinate—still the same Fatuus who had been helping him deliver manuscripts.
He hadn't bothered to replace him. The guy was competent, and right now, that was enough.
(As for Ah Qi… that unlucky soul had been temporarily borrowed by Scaramouche for some Fatui experiments involving Delusions. Even Sveta, the mirror maiden who'd come to Inazuma with Bai Luo, had been pulled into it.)
"You," Bai Luo said.
"Sir?"
"Bring in the wandering swordsman who just left the Tenryou Commission. Tell him…"
Bai Luo hesitated. Normally, he'd just give his name. But come to think of it…
'Did either of us even tell the other our name back then?'
Tch. This was going to be awkward.
"…Tell him a friend from Ritou would like to see him again."
That would have to do.
The subordinate blinked, confused.
How had the Ausbilder known someone had just left the Tenryou Commission?
He'd been inside the entire time.
But as a Fatuus, he'd learned not to ask questions. Especially when it came to Bai Luo.
A short while later, he returned—this time leading a very confused young man.
The boy had already figured it out. He'd pieced it together the moment he received the message.
He had known that Bai Luo was a member of the Fatui—but he hadn't realized just how high his standing was.
Now, kneeling respectfully on the floor across from Bai Luo, he removed his hat, offering a humble, slightly embarrassed smile.
The white cat in his arms had also recognized Bai Luo. And it didn't like him one bit.
Not. One. Bit.
It puffed up, narrowed its eyes, and started swiping at the air with exaggerated punches—meow-meow paws of justice.
It didn't actually hit him, of course. The swipes were all aimed at empty space.
But it made its opinion very clear.
"Nice to see you again," Bai Luo said softly, pushing a cup of tea across the table.
His expression was… complicated.
He had originally believed that Kazuha's friend had challenged Kujou Sara only after losing his Vision to her.
But now, it was clear.
He had walked in on his own.
Knowing full well what he was doing.
Knowing it was suicide.
That's right.
Suicide.
This wasn't a game. This was Teyvat.
There were no level indicators, no stats to grind.
Power here was raw, rooted in blood, heritage, elemental resonance—and experience.
Strength wasn't determined by stars or rarity.
And no matter how noble the cause, stepping before the Shogun meant gambling everything on one moment.
Bai Luo looked at the boy again.
What kind of man was he… to walk so willingly into death?
Even if the boy before him had the potential of a five-star unit, this world… wasn't a game.
In the face of monsters, yokai, and centuries of warfare, humans were always at a disadvantage.
And Kujou Sara?
She was no ordinary Vision-bearer.
She was a warrior raised in the heart of the military.
From the moment she could walk, she had trained in martial arts and war strategy.
Her strength wasn't just natural—it was cultivated, hardened, and honed to razor-sharp precision.
What this boy intended to do could only be described as one thing:
A walk toward certain death.
Bai Luo studied the youth quietly, watching his expression, his bearing. The boy didn't fidget, didn't shy away.
He knew.
"I thought your parting words were just polite niceties," the boy said at last, eyes drifting to the mask tied to Bai Luo's hip. "But… I see now."
He hadn't been able to uncover Bai Luo's true identity—not through normal channels, at least.
But to live right next to the Tenryou Commission, to command such deference from the Fatui…
Clearly, this man's position was even more terrifying than he had first assumed.
"If you're still willing… the offer I gave you last time still stands," Bai Luo said, his voice even. "If you'll allow it, I can make this go away."
His tone was not boastful—it was simply a statement of fact.
If the duel had already been approved and begun, Bai Luo could do nothing.
Even La Signora had been reduced to ash by a single blow after her defeat.
There would be no salvation from that.
But right now?
Kujou Sara had yet to return.
Word hadn't reached her.
The duel hadn't truly started.
Which meant...
Bai Luo could still pull some strings.
With both the Tenryou Commission and the Kanjou Commission under Fatui control, it would take just a whisper, a single message to Kujou Takayuki—and the challenge would vanish like smoke in the wind.
It wouldn't even make the news.
The boy blinked in surprise.
He hadn't even mentioned the duel to Bai Luo yet.
But then again, if Bai Luo had somehow known he was nearby—if he'd sent someone to retrieve him so precisely…
Perhaps this man really did have some strange ability.
His gaze fell briefly to the Dendro Vision Bai Luo wore on his belt.
Could he commune with nature? Sense movement through the trees?
Maybe.
Or maybe he was simply beyond ordinary understanding.
In any case, Bai Luo's offer was more than mere kindness.
It was the boy's last lifeline.
If he chose to back out—if he regretted his decision—he had one chance to walk away.
And judging from Bai Luo's calm, confident tone, it was no bluff. He could really do it.
The boy paused, then slowly bowed his head.
"...Thank you for your offer, sir. Truly."
His tone had changed. So had his form of address.
He meant it.
In his world, very few people would dare extend a hand toward someone like him.
Not with what he was about to do.
Not with the odds stacked so impossibly against him.
Well... maybe Kazuha would. That guy was an exception.
Would he regret it?
In truth, he'd already asked himself that—again and again.
Because no matter how this duel ended, it would end the same way.
If he lost, he would die.
If he won, he would live just long enough to anger the Shogun.
And then she would strike.
She might not execute him in public, but the moment he left Tenshukaku…
That blade would fall.
Because he wasn't just challenging Kujou Sara.
He was humiliating the Bakufu.
No regime, no ruler, could allow a man like that to walk free.
He'd traveled far since he and Kazuha parted ways.
And along the road, he had witnessed the aftermath.
Those who had their Visions taken.
The light in their eyes gone.
Their spirits dulled.
Moving like husks—empty shells of who they once were.
But it wasn't just their strength that had vanished.
They had lost their dreams.
Their hope.
Their very will to live.
And in times like these…
Someone had to stand up.
He knew full well that his name held no power.
His lineage, his voice, meant nothing to the gods of Inazuma.
But still—
He would make the almighty Raiden Shogun see.
That even among those who crawled upon the earth—there would always be someone who dared to stare into the eye of the storm.
Someone who dared to face the thunder head-on.