The Boy Loved by the Thunderbird

The Rift, The Hound, and The Murderer

Fuuu...

"Eek! W-Would you please stop doing that!" Gorou looked at Yae Miko with a frown. She had just blown into his nape for what it seemed the hundredth time since they're departure the Shogunate camp.

"Oh c'mon don't be so serious Gorou otherwise you're going to ruffle up your fur. Or worse, your tail."

"My tail is fine thank you very much! And the only thing ruffling my fur is you." Gorou protested as he felt her slender fingers stroke his back.

"C-Cut it out!" He yelped which earned him a hearty chuckle from Yae Miko.

The plan was simple enough. Get Yae Miko at the center of the portal and defend her from any threats while she does this. It sounded so simple on paper but executing it was a whole other story. Aether, who was now driving their small watercraft, made another sharp turn to avoid a rifthound whelp that was heading straight for them.

"Can you please drive a bit smoother Traveler?" Venti frowned, fixing his beret. The two archers at the back were tasked with supporting Yae Miko but between Miko's teasing and Aether's driving they've found it extremely difficult to even release an arrow.

"Wanna swap places with me? Be my guest." Aether retorted back making another sharp turn thus sending the trio at the back in a jumbled mass of limbs.

"I swear little one I almost think you're doing this on purpose." Miko scoffed while stroking her hair and fixing her clothes.

"How much further?"

"Just a little bit more to the right dear." Aether did another sharp ninety degree turn which elicited a grunt from the fox priestess.

"I said a bit." She sighed. "Never mind this spot will do."

The boat halted to a stop as Aether, Venti, and Gorou prepared for the worst. A group of rifthounds were just about within their striking range when a cannonball infused with Electro energy struck it right on its side. Vanquishing the beast.

From the shores, Kujou Sara was standing in the middle of a dozen cannons. Her four wings crackling with Electro energy.

"Careful you don't hit them! Aim at the hounds closest to them and fire when ready!" She barked, electricity coursing through her entire body down to the cannons.

"Fire!" She roared as the cannons boomed around her, sending dozens of artillery shells towards the monsters. Ripping them to shreds.

"Now's our chance Miko!" Aether cried out. He and Yae Miko were standing atop the small watercraft with Gorou and Venti covering them from the decks below.

"Don't rush me little one this is a delicate process."

It was then the air around them suddenly went silent. It wasn't as if the sound had gone. It was merely dulled. Miko and Aether looked up to see a pair of giant magenta eyes looking at them from beyond the rift.

"Oh dear. We seemed to have woken something." Miko said nonchalantly.

The Shogun watched everything unfold from her perch. She was the first one to feel the beast behind the rift awaken and now she could see its muzzle peeking through.

"What is that?" Ruu cried out in horror as he watched the gigantic monster make its way through the rift. Paimon had collected him and Kazuha from the beach just moments before they executed the plan just in case something bad happened. Seeing the size of the monster however made Paimon think they were gonna need more than Ruu if that thing were to hit somebody.

"It's bigger than the Wolflord in Tsurumi Island!" Paimon gasped, clutching at Kazuha's sleeves as she did.

The Shogun however stood unfazed. Her calculating eyes watching the gigantic rifthound's movement. Its entire muzzle was visible now and was just a dozen feet away from touching the water. The moment its eye pass through the rift though the Shogun made her move.

Pulling out the Musou no Hitotachi from its sheathe, the very air around the entire camped seem to crackle with electricity.

"Torn to oblivion!" She cried out, releasing a slash that seem to rend space-time itself. The strike was blinding and deafening to both soldiers and Vision bearers alike. It reached the gigantic rifthound's eyes and basically slashed it in half. The monster howled in pain as its thrashed at the rift. Another flash of lightning came from above, this one from Yae Miko. It was followed by another then another and another, hitting the edges of the rift continuously.

"Just a little more." Yae Miko grunted as she summoned her entire might. Her illusory tails dancing in the moment. With one final strike the rift started to collapse on itself as it started to destabilize. The Wolflord, still in agony, thrashed against the crossing rift. But with the rapidly closing portal and with a gaping wound for an eye it easily got pushed back into the rift.

The soldiers cried out in victory at the defeat of such a massive monster. All of them singing praises of the Shogun. Ruu however simply stared at the Almighty Raiden Shogun. He took in her features, the way she looked, the way she held her stance, the way her eyes seem cold, the way her blade seem to call out to him. He felt his heart bounding in his chest, blood rushing through his ears. Something with seeing her with her blade the Musou no Hitotachi called out to him.

"O Raiden Shogun another excellent battle with the great Electro Archon coming out the winner!"

"First Orobashi, then the Thunderbird, and now this!"

"Glory to Her Excellency the Raiden Shogun!"

Ruu felt tears sting his eyes.

So she's the one...

She's the one that killed Kapatcir.