Recap:
After parting ways with Kalev and Allana, Shanthi traveled to Yomi, where he met up with Enel, his childhood friend. After disagreeing with Enel's plan to purge the people of Nakatsukuni, Enel attacked Shanthi, knocking him unconscious.
Meanwhile, Allana and Kalev continued talking with Nobumori while searching for the elder's granddaughter, the Daughter of the Wind, Hatori.
But as they searched... a scream from the heavens caught their attention.
Today's Chapter:
????: "It's time to show everyone who the one and only God in the sky is!"
But... we're not continuing this scene just yet~
Today's Chapter:
After gathering all of Enel's followers, they were all flying through the sky in different ways.
Shura, for example, was riding his bird, Fuza, with two unconscious people beside him. Most of the others were using a special kind of boots equipped with Milk Dials. These Dials released jets of cloud that kept them propelled through the air.
And finally, there were three chubby people riding what appeared to be perfectly spherical, gigantic balls made entirely of cloud.
??????: "Ho ho hooo~~ Enel-Sama! Are we almost there?!"
The one who spoke was one of the chubby boys riding inside the spheres. He was clearly very young, no older than fifteen. His hair was an incredibly intense shade of red, almost scarlet, and unlike most of the others, his wings were still completely intact, reaching nearly eighty centimeters in length.
???????: "Hmm! Hmmm hmmmm hmmm-mmm!"
'Satori! Don't bother Enel-Sama!'
This time, the one mumbling was a young man of around seventeen. He had medium-length, somewhat messy black hair, and his wings were damaged as well. He was wearing one of the special boots.
???: "You forgot to open your mouth again, Gedatsu."
Gedatsu: "Ah! I forgot?"
The last one to speak was another young man, around Satori's age. He was bald, wore sunglasses, and his wings had also been cut. Like Gedatsu, he was wearing the special boots.
Enel: "Enough! Ohm, wake those two up. They need to see what's about to happen."
Ohm: "Yes, Enel-Sama."
Using his Milk Dial-infused boots, Ohm flew over to the back of Fuza and picked up the unconscious bodies of Shanthi and the girl.
Ohm: "Holy!"
The moment Ohm shouted that name, a white-furred dog leaped from his back.
Instead of biting either of the two unconscious people, Holy spun through the air and kicked both of them in the head.
Shanthi: "Ugh... where...? Huh?! You... All...?"
Slowly opening his eyes, Shanthi saw a girl standing in front of him who looked remarkably similar to Allana.
She was tied up and gagged, but even while restrained, she was doing everything she could to break free.
Enel: "So, Shanthi? Are you going to come back to my side?"
Still groggy from just waking up, Shanthi immediately turned toward Enel the moment he spoke, staring directly into his dead eyes.
Shanthi: "If you made even the slightest bit of sense... I might actually consider it."
The moment Enel heard the word "consider," he shot toward Shanthi, grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him into the air.
Enel: "Since when..."
Shanthi: "Ah...!"
Enel: "SINCE WHEN DID I TEACH YOU TO THINK?!"
With the electricity Dial in his hand, Enel was about to unleash another discharge into Shanthi, but he was stopped by a shrill laugh.
??????: "Gihihihahahaha~~ So this is how a God behaves when someone doubts him? What a fucking joke!!"
Enel turned around at lightning speed, glaring at whoever had said that.
It was the little girl who had been gagged.
She had managed to tear the gag apart with her teeth.
Now that she was awake, her appearance could be seen more clearly.
The girl truly did look very similar to Allana, but there were a few small differences.
Her blonde hair had a much brighter tone, resembling rays of sunlight rather than Allana's golden shade. And her wings were much larger, resembling Allana's wings when she used her hybrid Skypian-Oni form.
Enel dropped Shanthi back onto Fuza, who was left dazed from the strangling, and turned his attention toward the little girl...
Finally recognizing her.
Shanthi: 'Hatori...?!?!
She's the... Daughter of the Wind... isn't she?!'
The moment he released Shanthi, Enel shot toward Hatori and grabbed her by the neck.
Enel: "What the hell are you laughing at, you bitch?"
Hatori: "Bitch? Seriously? Is that how a God talks to someone who's older than him?"
Enel became increasingly furious at Hatori's words.
He activated the Dial in his hand and released a powerful shockwave, causing the girl's body to spasm in pain.
Enel: "And is that how you speak to a God who can kill you whenever he wants?"
Even as her body convulsed, Hatori continued laughing as though she had just heard the funniest joke of her entire life.
Ohm: "Enel-Sama... she cannot die... at least, not yet."
Hearing Ohm's words of reason, Enel stopped electrocuting Hatori, but kept his hand tightly around her neck.
Enel: "Don't be an idiot, Ohm! Even if Hatori is a bitch, she's a bitch who carries the title of Daughter of the Wind for a reason!"
After saying those words, Enel shot upward at a speed worthy of a lightning bolt, carrying Hatori in his grip.
He reached the skies directly above the center of Nakatsukuni and, using his electricity Dial, charged a cloud floating in the middle of the festival.
The cloud erupted with a thunderous boom that made every citizen of Nakatsukuni look toward the sky.
Enel: "After all... IT'S TIME TO SHOW EVERYONE WHO THE ONE AND ONLY GOD IN THE SKY IS!"
As he spoke those words, Enel raised his free hand toward the heavens.
Then, lightning began pouring from the glove containing his electricity Dial.
As the lightning came into contact with the clouds above the city, they began becoming charged with electricity.
Enel: "雷迎 (Raigo — Thunder Welcome)."
With a swift movement of his hands, the clouds Enel had charged with his Dial began unleashing bolts of electricity over the center of the festival.
It was like an endless rain of lightning, striking everything and everyone beneath the self-proclaimed God...
Or at least, that was what Enel wanted to happen.
The moment Nobumori saw his granddaughter being strangled by Enel, he wanted to launch himself forward at maximum speed to save her.
But before he could react...
Kalev: "Ishtamariya: Geder Esh (Wall of Fire)!"
Enel: "Raigo."
Allana: 'That... voice...
Enel...
We're screwed...
How the hell am I supposed to deal with this guy?!'
With his sharpened instincts, Kalev sensed the danger approaching.
He immediately drove the tip of his sword into the ground and, by injecting his "divine" energy into it, created a dome of fire that enveloped the entire festival grounds.
Kalev: 'Huh... who... is this... guy...?
And... how long... can this... last?!'
Allana: 'Kalev won't be able to hold out much longer...
What do I do...?
What do I do...?
I need to do something...!!'
The sheer electrical power of Enel's lightning was too much for the hastily constructed Geder Esh.
And in a moment of desperation, Allana decided to take a gamble.
Allana: "雷獣 (Raijū — Lightning Beast): ..."
The instant Kalev's Geder Esh collapsed, Allana leaped toward the falling lightning, causing her body to begin changing shape.
Golden fur began growing along her arms and legs, spreading all the way up to her torso.
Her eyes and nails became sharp, resembling those of a wild animal.
Once these animalistic features appeared, Allana's muscles began growing at a visibly rapid pace.
But the moment they reached their peak...
Those same muscles suddenly condensed until it looked as though Allana had never trained a day in her life.
And from her head, a pair of blue horns emerged, pointing toward the heavens.
Allana: "...天を盗む (Ten o Nusumu — Steal the Heavens)."
With only one thought in her mind — saving the people around her — Allana's body began acting purely on instinct.
She created a negatively polarized Electro net that functioned like a lightning rod, drawing the entire storm of Enel's lightning toward herself.
But the moment the lightning struck Allana...
Her body began to glow.
White veins spread across her skin, covering the entirety of her body.
But Allana didn't stop absorbing the lightning until the storm finally ceased.
From the outside, it didn't take long at all.
Only a few seconds.
But for Kalev and Allana...
Those seconds felt like...
Hell.
High above the sky, Enel stared down at the city with a mixture of hatred and curiosity.
There shouldn't have been anyone capable of withstanding that many lightning strikes at once.
Enel: "WHO ARE THE WORMS WHO DARE TO DEFY GOD'S JUDGMENT?!"
To Be Continued