Chapter 7: Inazuma’s Great Purge—At Least Half Will Perish
What do I think...?
You only remember me when there's trouble. When things are fine, I'm tossed aside.
And not just for a while—it's been five hundred years!
Of course, she kept these thoughts to herself. Her delicate fingers massaged Noah's shoulders as she spoke:
"The esteemed god from Celestia is absolutely correct. Inazuma has fallen into such chaos, and they are the root cause of it all."
Yae Miko knew that much of the blame for Inazuma's current state fell on Ei. But the responsibility for Ei's negligence had to be shifted entirely onto those power-hungry parasites.
Otherwise, how could the people of Inazuma continue to revere their deity?
In her view, Ei had no talent for governance. She was a warrior—a general. Governance had always been the domain of Makoto, who had departed five centuries ago.
"So yes, the idea that committing crimes for one lifetime should grant blessings to one's descendants for generations is nothing but wishful thinking. They are parasites, traitors to Inazuma."
"I believe we must erase their surnames entirely from Inazuma's history, confiscate their family properties, and deal with all members of their clans."
Kamisato Ayato involuntarily swallowed hard as he listened to the shrine maiden's cold, cutting words spoken with her usual soft and melodious tone.
This was terrifying.
For Inazuma's aristocracy, nothing mattered more than legacy, wealth, and their progeny. This would uproot the elite at their very core.
He could already foresee rivers of blood.
"Isn't that a bit... too ruthless? Their ancestors did once shed blood and render service for Inazuma," Ei interjected hesitantly.
"Ruthless?" Yae Miko sneered. "What do their ancestors' deeds have to do with these parasites? Besides, just look at the chaos engulfing Inazuma right now. Whatever merits their ancestors earned have long been squandered, and the debt they owe the people of Inazuma is immeasurable."
As Ei thought of the disorder and suffering in Inazuma, the last vestiges of her hesitation dissolved. Even if these families' ancestors had made sacrifices, that was in the past.
"Of course," Yae Miko continued, her tone icy, "we don't need to kill everyone bearing these surnames. Those guilty of serious crimes can be executed publicly. Those whose actions are a mix of good and bad, or who are neutral, can be exiled to Yashiori Island to labor in the mines and contribute to Inazuma. As for those whose merits outweigh their faults, they can be demoted to commoner status."
Ei turned her gaze toward Noah, who raised an eyebrow in amusement.
Why are you looking at me?
Didn't I already say this is your domain to manage as Inazuma's god?
"Press a little harder," Noah remarked, basking in Yae Miko's massage.
If he leaned back slightly, he could rest against her soft embrace.
But Noah wasn't the sort to be crude or impatient.
He wanted to savor a fairy tale-like romance, not rush into things.
"As you wish, my lord," Yae Miko replied with a resigned smile.
"I've only just arrived in Inazuma, so of course, I should spend some time exploring the culture and traditions. Miss Fox, would you mind being my guide?" Noah's grin was as carefree as ever.
Exploring Inazuma with its most alluring fox priestess as his guide was bound to be far more interesting than going alone.
"Of course. I'll be sure to provide an excellent introduction to Inazuma's cultural essence," Yae Miko said respectfully.
She couldn't afford to give Ei any trouble. If she could keep this god from Celestia pleased, Inazuma's current crisis might just pass without calamity.
Besides, did she even have the option to refuse?
Ei, seeing Noah had nothing further to add, stood and declared, her amethyst eyes gleaming with determination:
"Yashiro Commission, Tenryou Commission soldiers, and Hatamoto, arrest all aristocratic families within the Tenryou and Kanjou Commissions, as well as any families colluding with the Fatui. Bring them all to Inazuma City."
"All enforcement officers are to act under divine authority. Those who defy this order will be struck down by heavenly thunder."
As her voice echoed, the skies over Inazuma darkened. Thunderclouds rolled in, lightning illuminating the heavens.
Rumble!
"Yes, General!" Ayato responded resolutely.
He knew that Inazuma was about to undergo a massive transformation—a cleansing of its very foundations.
The loyalty of Inazuma's people to their Raiden Shogun was unquestionable.
Even when Ei's policies, like the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree, had made life unbearable, their feelings of discontent had never turned to hatred.
Now, under the Shogun's divine command, her elite forces moved swiftly to execute her orders.
Within Inazuma City, the aristocracy was the first to fall. The sudden arrests caused widespread commotion.
But as public notices issued from Tenshukaku were posted across the city, the uproar turned to fury.
What?! These Tenryou and Kanjou Commission aristocrats dared to deceive the Shogun herself?
The public learned the truth: the Shogun had been kept in the dark about Inazuma's plight. Even the decrees that had tormented them were the result of manipulation by these elites, who had sought only to exploit the Shogun's authority for their gain.
Yae Miko had arranged for Ei to issue a "self-reproach edict," admitting her negligence and apologizing to the people for trusting false reports of prosperity.
A god apologizing to mortals—this was unprecedented.
The anger of the people, once simmering, exploded into fury directed at the aristocracy.
These families had dared to mislead the Shogun? They were traitors, the true culprits behind Inazuma's suffering.
The wrath of the citizens was unleashed as they armed themselves with whatever they could find—kitchenware, farming tools—and marched behind the Yashiro Commission to storm the mansions of the accused.
Kamisato Estate
Under Ayato's methodical command, the Yashiro Commission confiscated the wealth and resources of the aristocracy.
These funds and supplies would later be used to restore Inazuma's economy and alleviate the famine plaguing its people.
Report after report of successful seizures reached Ayato. Of the noble families in Inazuma, over seventy percent were implicated.
Many of these families had once crushed the Kamisato family when it had been on the brink of ruin.
Now, justice was being served.
"Brother, I've just returned from Inazuma City. Do you know the state of things there?" Kamisato Ayaka hurried into the estate, seeking Ayato.
"Yes, Ayaka. I just returned from Tenshukaku myself and am carrying out the Shogun's orders," Ayato replied, gazing at his sister with a complicated expression.
He had hoped to shield Ayaka from the turmoil. But she was no sheltered maiden; her capabilities often rivaled his own, her understanding matured beyond her years.
"I've seen the public notices, Brother. The Yashiro Commission has confiscated the assets of the nobility. I'd like to allocate some of the seized grain to relieve the suffering of the common people."
Her gaze was resolute.
"If you insist, I won't refuse," Ayato conceded with a faint smile.
Years of famine had ravaged Inazuma. The aristocracy's hoarding of land and control of grain prices had driven countless to starvation and despair.
The Kamisato family had sold much of its wealth to import grain from Liyue, but it had been only a drop in the ocean.
Ayato and Ayaka's efforts to aid the suffering had earned her the title of White Heron Princess among the people.
As Ayato pondered the weight of the Kamisato family's responsibilities, the thunder of Raiden Shogun's divine wrath roared once more.
In Nazuchi Beach, the war between the Watatsumi Island rebels and the Shogunate soldiers came to a sudden halt as bolts of lightning rained down from the heavens.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The war between Watatsumi Island and the Shogunate army had lasted only about two years—a relatively short time for gods but an agonizingly long one for mortals.
During this time, the two sides had clashed over a hundred times, with the death toll exceeding tens of thousands. The animosity between them had escalated to a life-or-death struggle.
Due to Watatsumi Island's prolonged oppression under the Shogunate's policies and its resulting isolation, the rebel forces—despite their inferior weaponry—fought with a ferocity that surpassed the Shogunate troops, fueled by their string of victories.
To the rebels, victory seemed within reach. The battlefield had shifted from Yashiori Island to Nazuchi Beach, and it felt like only one more push was needed to storm Narukami Island and crush the Shogunate's main base.
However, only a clear-headed few recognized the fallacy of this apparent success.
And among the people of Watatsumi Island, the sole voice of reason belonged to Sangonomiya Kokomi—the island's Divine Priestess, de facto leader, and strategist of the rebellion.
"It's over… The Raiden Shogun has been alerted."
Kokomi looked up at the sky now shrouded in thunderclouds, with lightning flashing ominously overhead. The oppressive divine aura weighed on her spirit, and fear gripped her heart.
The situation she had most dreaded had come to pass.
Watatsumi Island's limited resources and steadily diminishing arable land, worsened by the so-called "Holy Soil" phenomenon, had already placed its people in dire straits.
The Raiden Shogun's Sakoku Decree and Vision Hunt Decree had cut off Watatsumi's ability to trade pearls with Liyue through maritime routes, leaving the island on the brink of collapse.
Despite her staunch opposition to war, Watatsumi's aristocrats had colluded with the Fatui, riling up the populace and declaring war on the Shogunate without her consent.
It was only after the Shogunate troops organized a counteroffensive, driving the rebels into defeat after defeat, that these aristocrats remembered Kokomi and turned to her for help.
The absurdity of it all nearly made her laugh in exasperation.
In response to the people's desperate pleas, she reluctantly assumed command of the rebel forces.
Her approach to the war was one of resignation. If nothing else, she hoped to use the rebellion to draw attention to the plight of Watatsumi Island's people.
By securing victories on the battlefield, she aimed to negotiate with the Shogunate, gaining resources to alleviate the island's dire conditions.
But this delicate strategy depended on one critical factor: avoiding the involvement of the Raiden Shogun.
Kokomi took each step with extreme caution. Whenever the rebels gained an advantage, she would immediately negotiate for concessions and then order a retreat.
The Shogunate forces, recognizing that minor compromises could lead to a temporary cessation of hostilities, acquiesced. They simply shifted the burden onto the common folk, relinquishing resources without personal loss.
Under Kokomi's leadership, Watatsumi Island saw improvements. The rebels upgraded their equipment, and the islanders' lives gradually stabilized.
However, the aristocrats, emboldened by these successes, accused her of disrespecting the fallen soldiers by showing leniency toward the Shogunate. They seized control of the rebellion, colluded further with the Fatui, and pushed the rebels to advance recklessly.
The conflict spiraled out of control. In their quest for victory, the rebels even destroyed sacred objects meant to suppress the curse of Yashiori Island.
When Kokomi learned of this, she was dumbfounded.
Though the reasons behind these actions eluded her, the Fatui's involvement was clear.
Lacking evidence, Kokomi could do nothing as the blame for these atrocities fell squarely on Watatsumi Island.
And now, her worst fear had come true: the Raiden Shogun herself had been roused.
A chill ran through Kokomi's body.
The rebels had managed to hold their own against the Shogunate only because the Raiden Shogun had remained uninvolved.
If the Raiden Shogun intervened, the island's defenses would crumble like paper.
Should the god choose to retaliate, not only would the rebels be annihilated, but Watatsumi Island itself could be erased from existence.
The legendary power of the god who had cleaved Yashiori Island in two with the Musou no Hitotachi and shrouded Inazuma's seas in perpetual storms was no myth to Kokomi.
How could the aristocrats have been so reckless as to provoke such a divine being?
If the Raiden Shogun demanded justice, Kokomi, as the island's titular ruler and strategist of the rebellion, would undoubtedly be the first to face punishment.
She stared at the horizon over Nazuchi Beach, where the unrelenting thunderbolts illuminated the battlefield.
Would any of the soldiers survive such an onslaught?
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
Purple lightning descended in relentless arcs upon the battlefield of Nazuchi Beach.
To everyone's astonishment, the divine thunder didn't kill a single soul. It left shallow craters in the sand and halted the fighting entirely.
The Shogunate troops, stunned at first, erupted into joyous cheers. Their expressions turned fervent as they gazed up at the stormy skies.
"Thunder and lightning! The Shogun is watching over us!"
As mere soldiers following orders, they held no political aspirations. Their faith was singular and unwavering.
"Her Excellency guides us. Eternal glory to the Almighty Narukami no Mikoto!"
The chant grew louder and louder, a deafening roar of devotion.
Among them, Kujou Sara knelt on one knee, her head tilted upward in reverence toward the electrified sky.
"Your Excellency! To think we've troubled you enough to descend your divine wrath… I take full responsibility for this failure."
Sara believed the rebels' audacity to approach Narukami Island had enraged the Shogun.
While the Shogunate troops chanted with fanatical fervor, the rebels were paralyzed by fear.
Divine lightning had sapped them of all courage. Their weapons slipped from trembling hands as they stared at the skies in despair.
"General Gorou! The Raiden Shogun has arrived! What do we do now?"
The rebels' terrified cries offered no solace to Gorou, who himself was panicking.
Do you think I know what to do? Am I supposed to fight the Raiden Shogun?
Just as Sara prepared to order her troops to capture or kill the rebels, a seductive, playful voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Oh my, what a lively scene we have here. If you keep this up, the battle will spill onto Narukami Island."
Yae Miko stepped forward, her elegant gait unhurried, as though she were strolling through a street lined with cherry blossoms rather than a bloody battlefield.
In her hands was a violet blade brimming with divine power.
The aura emanating from it was suffocating, capable of shattering even the strongest resolve.
No one doubted that the blade belonged to the Raiden Shogun herself. To see it was to see the Shogun.
The Shogunate troops, already enraptured by their chants, erupted in a deafening cry:
"Her Excellency guides us. Eternal glory to the Almighty Narukami no Mikoto!"
The rebels scattered in terror, dropping their weapons and fleeing in disarray.
Gorou, gritting his teeth, shouted, "Retreat! Fall back! Everyone retreat!"
Yae Miko barely glanced at the fleeing rebels. Instead, she turned her gaze sympathetically to Kujou Sara.
"My, my, Kujou Sara. It seems you've had quite the misfortune."
Her tone was light, but her words carried a weight that made Sara's heart sink.
"By the decree of the Raiden Shogun, the Tenryou and Kanjou Commissions stand accused of treachery—deceiving their god, colluding with the Fatui, and oppressing the people of Inazuma.
"All who bear the Kujou name are to be detained and brought to Inazuma City."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone