Clementine soon realized that Makoto’s mention of Inazuma’s manpower shortage was truly not just a polite understatement.
Before long, Ei left Narukami Island, leading the military forces in the name of the Raiden Shogun to eliminate the remnants of the defeated Archons from the past.
The days Clementine and Makoto spent alone together quickly increased.
Although the Thunder Dragon equally disregarded most humans and Youkai, she still diligently acted as the Raiden Shogun’s proxy on the surface due to Makoto’s request.
There weren’t many tasks today; some monsters had appeared near Mt.
Yougou that needed investigating, and after returning, she would listen to the Tri-Commission’s reports.
If things went well, she might even make it back in time for dinner together.
In a good mood, the Thunder Dragon leaped onto the roof of Tenshukaku and flew toward her destination.
At the foot of Mt.
Yougou, a pack of Rifthounds confronted the soldiers stationed there.
It was called a confrontation, but most of the soldiers left behind were ordinary people without Visions.
While they were certainly loyal and brave, defeat was inevitable when facing monsters from the Abyss.
The Rifthounds let out low growls as black holes appeared and vanished out of thin air, allowing them to teleport behind the entire defensive line.
One raised its pitch-black claws, and as it struck down, even the air was stained with the color of filth.
The movement of the claws suddenly froze.
At the very moment it emerged from the black hole space, a spear condensed from golden lightning descended from the sky, pinning the monster’s massive body to the spot.
Following that, a figure also descended from the sky, stepping heavily onto the end of the lightning spear.
The spear was driven deeper into the ground, and immediately, dense arcs of electricity erupted from the spearhead, shredding the Rifthound along with the black mist it carried.
Before the burst of lightning, Clementine had enough leeway to disperse the surrounding people.
Her long tail, shaped like a sword at the tip, hooked onto the allies’ clothing, lifting them by their collars and tossing them to safety without her even having to use her hands.
The remaining monsters clearly noticed this difficult opponent, and amidst their snarls, they showed signs of surrounding her for an attack.
With a slight twist of her wrist, another identical lightning spear formed in Clementine’s hand.
She didn’t use it as a melee weapon, but instead casually hurled the lightning spear outward.
The golden light traced a parabola, landing in the center of the pack and instantly exploding.
After blowing apart the nearest unlucky Rifthounds, the energy continued to Swirl, coating all the dark beasts in golden arcs of lightning.
The Thunder Dragon then snapped her fingers, and a golden lightning vortex formed on the distant sea surface.
Like a tornado pulling up seawater, the Jinliu’s rotation generated a waterspout mixed with raging thunder, which crashed toward the pack on the shore under the guidance of her lightning arts.
Affected by Electro-Charged, the pack’s movements became sluggish, and only a small portion of the Rifthounds managed to hide in the voids in time to escape the strike.
The pack, having lost more than half its numbers, tightened its line, but it was already too late.
Clementine’s figure flashed slightly, appearing at the other end of the pack, with lightning trailing behind her like a streak left by her movement.
The Electro Element applied during the first strike took effect, colliding with the newly generated thunder under the catalysis of her spells, producing an even more intense roar.
The pack that had been troublesome just moments ago was utterly pulverized by the roaring divine thunder.
Clementine didn’t even need to look back at the explosion to be certain of it.
She didn’t dwell on the battle situation; instead, her thoughts wandered elsewhere.
She analyzed whether the appearance of so many monsters even in a secure rear area like Narukami Island was due to the distortion of the Ley Lines or a decline in divine Authority.
The former was more likely.
If the Ley Lines could be reorganized to suppress evil, this kind of invasion would probably decrease a bit.
At the very least, it would reduce the influence of corrosion from the filth on ordinary people.
However, the practical implementation was somewhat difficult.
Using a spell to cover several islands within Inazuma’s borders was a massive project; she might not be able to finish it alone, so she decided to discuss it with Makoto upon her return.
The person who had been swept out of the combat zone by the Thunder Dragon’s tail at the start of the fight stepped forward as a representative to thank Clementine.
Lost in thought, she didn’t hear clearly and casually replied with a polite remark, adding that they should thank the Shogun instead of her.
After instructing them to clean up the scene, she made a quick escape.
Her escape went smoothly, and on the way back, Clementine could think about the Tri-Commission.
Although she hadn’t been in Inazuma for long, she had already roughly figured out how it operated.
The human bureaucracy was mainly composed of the Tri-Commission: the Kanjou Commission handled economic development, the Tenryou Commission handled military affairs, and the Kanko Commission handled cultural ceremonies.
On the surface, the Tri-Commission held equal status as the power-holders second only to the Shogun.
However, given the current turbulent times, neither commerce nor culture could be called prosperous, while battles were happening everywhere.
Due to holding military power, the Tenryou Commission showed signs of becoming the head of the Tri-Commission.
In contrast, the Kanko Commission’s situation was rather awkward.
Not only was their area of management difficult to develop under current conditions, but their Authority also overlapped in many places with the Grand Narukami Shrine, which served the Archons and maintained the shrines.
Compared to the other two commissions that were absolute in their respective fields, they were truly at a disadvantage.
As for the Grand Narukami Shrine, it was an institution independent of the Tri-Commission system, existing outside the Shogunate.
If Clementine, an outsider unaccustomed to the existence of shrines, were to describe it, she would say the Grand Shrine was independent of human institutional structures rather than just the Tri-Commission.
After all, the Grand Shrine’s Guuji was a Youko, and the fox clan was appointed as divine envoys.
In a sense, the existence of the Grand Shrine was a tacit understanding between the Raiden Shogun and a portion of the Youkai.
Speaking of which, Makoto mentioned having several Youkai friends, but everyone was busy being corporate slaves all over Inazuma, so Clementine had not met them yet.
Amidst her idle thoughts, Clementine pushed open the main doors of the Tenshukaku’s central hall.