On the eastern outskirts of Inazuma City, far from the capital's center, a fierce battle raged. One group—fifteen armed assailants dressed in dark, nondescript clothing—hunted a squad of eight Shogunate soldiers.
The attackers' garments bore faint coral-like patterns, hinting at a manufactured identity. Each of them wore a Vision at their waist, wielding an array of weapons as they cornered the soldiers.
Crackle! Whoosh!
Blasts of elemental energy—lightning, fire, wind—flew toward the Shogunate squad. Against the onslaught, the soldiers struggled. Only four of the original eight remained.
They fought back to back, dodging as best they could. Only two of them possessed Visions and could offer any real resistance.
"Hmph! Dogs of the Shogunate. Time to die." A man wielding a massive battle axe lunged forward, flames wreathing his weapon and body. With a roar, he swung the axe down.
The four soldiers scattered.
CRASH!
The axe split the ground, sending a tide of fire surging outward like serpents. One soldier was too slow. Flames engulfed him. He collapsed, writhing in agony, a human torch.
AAAAHHHH!
The remaining three soldiers retreated in terror. But they faced more than one foe. Two more attackers closed in. One wielded a blade crackling with lightning; the other thrust a spear into the earth, raising a serpent of stone and soil that charged toward the soldiers.
There was nowhere left to run. They would have to withstand the attack or die trying. But wounded and exhausted, none of them believed they could survive. Despair filled their faces.
Then, out of nowhere, a shimmering portal—like a gateway made of stars—materialized directly in the path of the attack.
The lightning and the earthen dragon, surging forward with deadly force, touched the starry portal—and vanished. Dissolved as if they had never existed. The three soldiers exhaled in shaky relief.
The fifteen attackers, however, went pale. A cold dread clawed at their hearts. They understood—someone from the Shogunate had come.
"Retreat!" One of them shouted. The others turned to flee.
"Flee? You won't have the chance." A man's voice—calm, magnetic—seemed to come from everywhere at once.
The moment it spoke, the attackers' hearts seized. Their bodies moved against their will, not escaping, but turning back—forcing them to return to where they had started.
Their faces twisted in terror. They could not comprehend what was happening. All they knew was that after hearing that voice, they had lost control of themselves. The three Shogunate soldiers could only stare in disbelief.
Then, from the portal, a figure stepped out. A man of breathtaking beauty, his expression serene, a faint smile on his lips. The attackers' faces soured.
They now knew to whom they owed their current predicament. Behind the man stepped Kujou Sara, the Shogun's general, followed by Yae Miko.
And then, one more figure emerged. The moment they saw her, the blood drained from the attackers' faces.
The Raiden Shogun. The god of Inazuma. She had come.
Nothing was more terrifying than drawing the attention of the divine. The Shogun's wrath was known throughout Teyvat.
They knew—if they fell into her hands, there would be no mercy. In their hearts, they could already see their fate.
"Ge-General Kujou…? And Lady Yae… Even Her Excellency is here…" Seeing the three of them arrive, the soldiers knew they were safe. Tears welled up in their eyes.
They could not believe that their humble patrol had drawn the attention—and rescue—of so many great figures. In that moment, it felt as though all their years of service had been worth it.
"Can you still move?" Sara asked briskly. "Go and gather reinforcements. Notify the medics. We'll handle this."
The soldiers nodded, saluted, and hurried off.
Yae Miko turned her gaze to the frozen attackers. "So these are our terrorists. How theatrical." She examined one of their garments, her lips curling in disdain.
"The coral emblems are clearly visible beneath these cloaks—deliberately so. Hmph. They want us to blame Watatsumi." She drifted back to Yuki, her violet eyes glittering with curiosity.
"Mr. Yuki, how did you do this? They cannot even move their own bodies. How delightfully strange."
"It's quite simple. I can show you." Yuki glanced at her. Just a glance.
And then Yae Miko felt it—an invisible force taking hold of her limbs, bending them to another's will.
"Well now, Lady Yae," Yuki asked with an amused smile, "can you still move?"
Yae Miko's lips parted. Her elegant composure cracked. She could not move at all.
"How wonderful," she murmured, her voice turning sultry, her eyes half-lidded. "So this little maiden is at your complete mercy~ Please, Mr. Yuki, be gentle with this poor, delicate creature~"
Yuki's smile twitched.