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On a wide stretch of empty ground, Saeko Busujima stood silently, a strange-looking katana resting in her hands.
The earth began to tremble. From the distance, a massive, dangerous beast came thundering toward her.
Saeko slowly drew her blade. As the steel slid free of its sheath, it glowed with a blue light, thin arcs of lightning flickering across the surface.
She tightened her grip, pouring power into the sword. The blade immediately crackled with raw electricity.
When the beast lunged at her, she swung in a single, fluid motion. From the edge of her weapon, a bolt of lightning carved through the air, slicing straight into the monster.
The creature froze mid-charge. Its torso slid cleanly apart, the cut so perfect that its charred flesh gave off the sharp smell of roasted meat.
From the nearby cliffside, Venom watched with a satisfied nod.
The sword Saeko wielded wasn't ordinary steel—it was forged by Venom from the remains of a Zinogre, a monster born of thunder. A true lightning blade.
Ordinary weapons couldn't handle her power. Too little electricity, and the weapon barely scratched. Too much, and it shattered under the surge.
But this blade? It matched her perfectly. The Zinogre's essence coursed through both sword and wielder, making them one.
"Next," Venom murmured, eyes gleaming, "time to test the Thunder Armor."
He had crafted more than just a sword for her. Alongside it, he had painstakingly made a set of armor.
Before he could explain further, the ground quaked again.
From the horizon, hordes of beasts came stampeding wildly, a wave of chaos crashing straight toward Saeko's position.
If she stood still, she'd be trampled in an instant.
Saeko raised her sword, pressing its tip to the ground. Her hands gripped the hilt firmly as she whispered:
"Descend."
Her lips barely moved, but the word shook the heavens.
Dark clouds gathered overhead, lightning streaking through the sky as the world dimmed.
Waves of pressure burst out from her, swirling in every direction.
Four massive bolts of lightning struck down around her, connecting earth to sky.
"ROAR!"
The deafening cry of the Zinogre echoed with the thunder. Its phantom loomed behind her, born of storm and lightning.
The four pillars of thunder began circling her, twisting into a vortex.
The beast's image faded, morphing into a set of majestic, glowing armor crackling with sparks.
The armor shattered apart and reformed, reshaping itself to fit her body seamlessly.
"ROAR!"
With another roar, the Zinogre's phantom lunged into her chest, fusing with her completely.
The armor clicked into place around her.
When the blinding flash cleared, Saeko stood revealed—clad in white and violet armor alive with electricity, radiating the presence of a queen who ruled heaven and earth.
The stampeding monsters skidded to a halt, terror freezing their charge. One by one, they turned and fled.
Saeko's eyes glowed like lightning. She vanished in a blur, reappearing in front of a fleeing beast. Her fist swung, tearing flesh from bone with sheer force.
Another step, another strike—the leader's body collapsed, leaving only a rattling skeleton.
The rest tried to scatter in panic.
Saeko pressed her palm to the ground, sending a surge of electricity racing outward. Arcs of power shot across the dirt, rising into walls of lightning that caged every last monster inside.
The Thunder Prison.
She raised her hands, threads of light unraveling from the backs of her palms—three each. The glowing wires wove together, and in the next instant, she disappeared.
When she reappeared outside the cage, the threads were clenched tightly in her hands.
She pulled.
Inside, every beast's upper body slid apart, blood spraying like rain.
The entire prison was now crisscrossed with her lightning threads, shining with a deadly brilliance.
As the storm of blood fell, she flicked her wrist. The wires coiled back into her palms and vanished.
The Thousand-Strand Execution.
Venom, still watching from the cliff, smiled proudly at her display.
Then he lifted one hand in a signal.
A blur of shadow shot past him, racing toward Saeko with incredible speed.
She sensed it immediately. Calmly, she drew the Thunder Blade again, raising it high.
The sky blackened. Thunder rolled. Bolts of lightning crashed down onto her weapon—not to destroy, but to feed it.
The sword drank in the power until it blazed with light.
When the shadow leapt at her, she struck.
Her blade split the earth as a torrent of lightning-charged energy erupted forward, swallowing the attacker whole and reducing it to nothing.
The golden-white beam roared past Venom, slicing a mountain in half as though it were paper.
"BOOM!!!"
The explosion bloomed like a nuclear blast, a giant mushroom cloud devouring the entire peak.
The shockwave rolled past, and when Venom finally glanced back, the mountain was gone. Only a smoldering crater remained, blackened earth flickering with dying sparks of lightning.
"....."