Rairen battered the earthen training dummy with a series of listless punches, his face a mask of utter boredom as he waited for Shikoku to arrive following her summons. In stark contrast, Jouryuu remained a picture of absolute calm. Suspended in midair by her wings, she utilized the spare moments to run through focused breathing exercises.
It had been far too long since their last offensive approach. Confined to their hidden lair, most of them collectively agreed with the sole exception of Rairen to bide their time until new strategies could be formulated. That discussion was finally happening today—a regrouping after Jaku'un's recent attempt to engineer a perfect specimen had ended in spectacular failure due to the meddling of the Kamen Rider and the Defense Force.
"I want to crush those obsoletes already!" Rairen snarled. An aura of crackling lightning surged around him, illuminating his furious scowl. "If Shikoku wasn't holding me back, they would have met their demise by now! We are gods—we aren't supposed to be cowering like animals!"
The earth beneath Rairen's feet shattered, reduced to dust and rubble by the sheer, volatile force of his outburst.
Steadily growing irritated by his temper tantrum, Jouryuu drifted down to the ground, landing lightly with her back turned to him. She held her tongue, knowing a reprimand would only spiral into endless, exhausting banter. Even someone with her naturally quiet demeanor was entirely sick of repeating that cycle.
Rairen's physical body might have been harder than steel, but his skull was undoubtedly thicker.
Despite her annoyance, Jouryuu silently hoped Shikoku would let him loose to blow off some steam. If Rairen's thirst for fight and destruction managed to eclipse his fear of their eldest sister, Taikyoku, which is currently the only leash keeping his worst impulses in check. He was bound to do something catastrophically stupid.
Speaking of the devil, a pool of viscous black sludge manifested on the floor, and from its dark depths emerged Shikoku. Almost simultaneously, Jaku'un entered the room, currently inhabiting a physical medium shrouded in a robe and an fully white mask.
"You're late," Rairen snorted. He turned away and took his seat at the large, eight-chaired circular table situated in the center of the room.
"I was enjoying a bath, so you can hardly blame me for taking a little longer than usual," Shikoku replied coolly, a serene smile resting on her lips. She casually took her seat, with Jouryuu and Jaku'un moving to occupy their respective places alongside her.
Looking at the beings gathered around her, Jaku'un let out a raspy cackle, idly rubbing her thumb against the tabletop. "Well, look at that. Half of us are already here. Just four to go until all the gods are assembled."
Exactly half of the Eight Thunder Gods were now present. The missing members included Kuusetsu, who is still unawakened, as well as their eldest sister, Taikyoku, who was expected to make her appearance shortly alongside Naruhime. That left only Fukuma, their seventh sibling, who remained in her youngling stage. She was physically conscious, but yet to achieve true sentience.
"Idle chatter can wait," Shikoku declared, her tone shifting seamlessly to business. "Right now, we are going to proceed with the plan Jaku'un and I have formulated."
"Oh, yes," Jaku'un chimed in, her voice dripping with sinister glee. "Shikoku-nee proposed a brilliantly fun—or entirely messed up, depending on who you ask—little scheme that I couldn't help but agree to it immediately." Her robed figure shook as she erupted into a fit of maniacal laughter.
Rairen and Jouryuu exchanged a blank look, tilting their heads in unison. Their expectant, silent stares practically begging the pair to elaborate.
Shikoku leaned forward, her gaze locking onto her volatile brother. "Rairen. You are the one I will task with executing this alongside Jaku'un."
"Finally! It's my turn!" Rairen roared.
He slammed his fist down onto the heavy table, the impact echoing through the chamber like a thunderclap.
His excitement surged past the breaking point. At that moment, he didn't care what the actual details of the task were. As long as he was finally unleashed to crush those miserable mortals and the pathetic beings he considered rejects, absolutely nothing else mattered.
"Based on the data Shikoku-nee gathered from your past encounters with the Defense Force, combined with my own observations," Jaku'un began, delving straight into the main subject without pausing for breath. "The forces guarding Mato are unexpectedly stronger than we initially calculated. This is largely due to their high-ranking officers—the individuals they refer to as 'Chiefs'."
She leaned forward, eager to share the fruits of her analysis. "My little reconnaissance missions proved quite fruitful. I managed to observe a few of them in action: one woman who can manipulate space, another who commands the wind, and a third who can generate an entire army of clones of herself. They represent significant potential threats and will be treated as massive obstacles that must be eradicated as soon as possible."
"Heh. It doesn't matter who or what they have on their side," Rairen snorted arrogantly, dismissing the warning. "We'll simply crush them and drown them in despair."
"Originally, my intention was to hold back until our ranks were fully assembled before launching a mass attack on the Day of Purification," Shikoku said, a wicked grin stretching across her face. Her pupils suddenly narrowed into vertical, serpentine slits, and a long, forked tongue flicked out to taste the air. "However, I've decided it would be much more fun to serve them a few appetizers before the main course."
"So, we are going to attack them again." Jouryuu deduced, reading her sister's expression.
"Exactly. But this time, we will be changing the venue for the party." Shikoku produced a deck of Shuuki cards seemingly from thin air, shuffling them with practiced ease. "We will be crossing into the Human World to personally turn up the heat."
"Pardon?"
"Hoho..."
Caught entirely off guard by the sudden declaration, Jouryuu stared at Shikoku, her usual stoic demeanor cracking to reveal an uncharacteristically surprised expression. Rairen, on the other hand, had his twisted interest sparked.
"Alongside the Devotees of the Divine and the army of Shuuki I will place inside my cards. Jaku'un and Rairen will serve as the spearheads of this invasion," Shikoku declared.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot we had those half-rejects serving us," Rairen said with a careless shrug.
Unlike ordinary humans, the Devotees were individuals who had received blessings from the Thunder Gods themselves. Because of that, Rairen regarded them with slightly more acknowledgment than he would a normal human, though the contempt in his eyes never truly faded.
To him, they were still beneath him.
The Devotees of the Divine were a fanatical group of followers devoted entirely to the Thunder Gods. Once human, they had been granted divine blessings and, in return, surrendered everything that made them who they were.
They worshipped the gods with absolute reverence, seeing them as the very pinnacle of existence, beings beyond reason, beyond judgment, beyond question.
The blessings they received granted them strength far beyond that of ordinary mortals, and with that power came complete submission. They became willing hounds, obedient lapdogs who would carry out any command without hesitation, no matter how absurd, cruel, or self-destructive it might be.
Even if ordered to throw away their own lives on the spot, they would do so gladly, believing that dying before their gods was not a tragedy, but the highest honor they could ever attain.
"This is going to be our grand debut on the other side, so let's make it explosive and chaotic, Rairen-nii!" Jaku'un exclaimed, firing a party popper she had personally crafted. "Death to all humans!"
"Divine retribution for the obsoletes!" Rairen shouted back with equal vigor.
Unlike their usual skirmishes in Mato, the battle that awaited them would push the limits of humanity's resilience to its breaking point. This time, a far more fragile factor had been placed upon the board, one that would suffer the most from the coming storm.
Civilians.
Ordinary people with no power, no weapons, and no means to defend themselves.
With their countless numbers spread across Earth, they were nothing more than a vast buffet laid before predators, each one a different flavor to indulge in. What awaited them would be the merciless wrath of a god who saw no value in their existence.
Shikoku could only shake her head, an amused smile playing on her lips as she rose to her feet and gestured for her siblings to follow.
With Jouryuu stepping forward ahead of them, the group came to a stop before a massive pair of heavy double doors. Placing both hands against them, she slowly pushed them open.
Beyond the doors lay a vast enclosed chamber, dimly illuminated by rows of burning torches fixed along the stone walls. At the center stood an elevated earthen platform that served as a stage, the very ground upon which they now stepped.
Within the chamber, rows of figures dressed in identical robes and masks knelt in absolute silence. None dared to raise their heads. Their gazes remained fixed upon the floor. Most notable were the five kneeling at the very front, separated from the rest.
The moment the four entered, the chamber erupted with a synchronized cry.
"Hail the Thunder Gods! Let their roar split the heavens, and let their divine judgment strike down all who stand against them!"
The unified chant thundered through the enclosed space, shaking the air itself as it rose to welcome their arrival.
Shikoku stepped forward, her presence alone enough to silence the chamber completely. Her gaze swept across the kneeling Devotees, cold and commanding, as she raised her voice so that every soul within the hall could hear her clearly.
"Allow me to grant you a piece of knowledge, our faithful followers."
Her words echoed through the chamber, each syllable carrying the weight of divine authority.
"We, as gods, take great pleasure in witnessing your loyalty. In exchange for your devotion, we have allowed you to transcend the weakness of your humanity and become something far greater than what being human could ever offer."
A faint smile touched her lips, one filled not with warmth, but superiority.
"To become stronger by abandoning your human limitations, why would anyone refuse such a gift? Who, in their right mind, would choose to remain weak when ascension is placed before them?"
She slowly walked across the earthen platform, her steps measured, her voice calm yet absolute.
"Despite your flaws, despite your imperfections, we have nurtured you. We have guided you so that your eyes would no longer be blinded by false hope, by mortal sentiment, by the meaningless attachments of your previous lives."
Her gaze sharpened.
"And now, you are able to see the path we shall carve."
She spread her arms slightly, as though presenting the future itself before them.
"As we begin to bring them cataclysm, I want you to make them remember us. Let them shiver and wake in the middle of the night, with fear washing over them as they are forced to confront the cruelty of their own weakness and the meaninglessness of their existence beneath our footsteps. Let this serve as only the opening act of what is yet to come, a mere glimpse of what they shall receive when the true day of reckoning arrives at their doorstep and our worlds finally collide," Shikoku declared, an aura of pure raven-black energy coating her entire being.
"For the candles we shall blow out in the darkness, let their sorrow deepen and let despair consume them without end. LET THEM FACE THE HORRID TRUTH! RISE FROM YOUR KNEES AS WE BURN IT ALL DOWN! LET US BE THE TRIGGER AND THE EYE OF THE STORM!"
"Yes, my lady! Glory to the Thunder Gods! Glory to our Goddess! And glory to the extinction of humanity!"
Rising from their kneeling positions, energy surged through the veins of the Devotees after hearing Shikoku's speech. Their united shout solidified their resolve to follow her until the very end.
"Shikoku-nee sure is fired up," Jaku'un chuckled, clapping happily.
"We really are not shying away from a fight, huh? She seems to have quite a lot to settle after her last battle with the Kamen Rider," Jouryuu coolly said while crossing her arms.
"Let's get this fucking thing started already," Rairen said with a maniacal grin, lightning dancing around his aura. "I am excited to crush those Obsoletes!"
Reaching into her robe, Jaku'un pulled out five ominous-looking injections, twirling them playfully between her fingers.
"Fang, Viper, Phantom, Juggernaut, Hawk. Take these."
With a flick of her wrist, she threw them like a kunai. The five standing at the front caught the injections effortlessly before lowering their eyes to inspect them.
"Inject yourselves with those during our attack on the human world."
Clutching the vials tightly, the five nodded without question, accepting her command without hesitation.
"I would be honored to make use of this, Jaku'un-sama," Fang said, bowing respectfully.
The other four who had received the same injections followed suit, each expressing their gratitude toward her.
The five of them were once prominent members of the Defense Force, veterans who had long since retired, with Fang herself having once served as Vice Chief. After losing themselves to despair and disillusionment, they had found the Thunder Gods and devoted themselves as worshippers.
To them, the blessings granted by the gods were salvation itself, elevating their power far beyond what they had once believed possible.
With the plan now set into motion, the ordinary peace of Tokyo's days stood on the brink of being shattered.
Soon, the city would be drowned in fear, sorrow, and desperation. The people of Japan would awaken not to peace, but to chaos, as an overwhelming calamity descended upon them without warning.
Blissfully unaware, both the civilians and the Defense Force remained ignorant of the storm gathering beyond their sight. They carried on with their lives, never realizing that the shadows had already begun to move, and that the first steps of an upcoming invasion had already been taken.
What awaited them was not merely conflict, but a reckoning would leave devastation in its wake.