The Radiant Majesty of Thunder
The instant the words left her lips, the direction of Raiden Ei's naginata shifted without warning — a thrust that had been driving straight forward turned, in a single breath, into a horizontal slash.
"And another thing — your strength is far too lacking!"
Ayaka managed to react in time and raised her blade to block, but the sheer force behind the naginata was overwhelming. A tremendous impact surged up through the steel, and a searing pain shot through the web of her thumb.
She couldn't hold out even a second before her weapon was knocked spinning from her hands.
In the next instant, the tip of the naginata came to rest at Ayaka's throat.
"It is over."
Kamisato Ayaka's blade — the Restless Gleam of the Mistcutter — soared skyward after being struck from her grasp, hung for a moment at the apex of its arc, then plunged down under gravity's pull to bury itself violently in the earth directly in front of Hattori Heiji.
Heiji stared blankly at the blade quivering in the ground before him, his face a portrait of astonishment and disbelief.
"It was so fast..." he murmured, as though unable to trust his own eyes, a thread of awe running through his voice.
And it was true. Both Ayaka and Raiden Ei had moved like gale-force wind, too swift for the eye to follow. Every heartbeat of that exchange had showcased their extraordinary skill and blinding speed.
Yes — as someone whose powers of observation were second to none, Heiji could see it plainly. Ayaka hadn't lost because she was weak. She had lost because her opponent was simply in a different league entirely. This match, just as Ayaka herself had said from the start, had never been anything more than a chance to learn at the foot of a master.
What was truly staggering was that Raiden Ei had barely taken a handful of steps before sending her opponent's weapon flying with such overwhelming speed and force.
"Whoa!!" Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi cried out in unison.
Their mouths hung wide open, their eyes round as saucers, their faces alight with shock and worship. They were too young to grasp the true gap between the two swordswomen the way Heiji could, but from that single flash of steel, they had felt Raiden Ei's power all the same.
An involuntary tide of admiration welled up inside them, and one by one they turned reverent eyes upon her.
Edogawa Conan's face carried a look of surprise as well. He had harbored his own private doubts about Raiden Ei's strength, but watching her deflect the attack with such effortless grace shook that confidence to its core. Maybe Xia Yu-nee really wasn't a match for this mysterious Lady Raiden after all.
"It seems that's that," Yae Miko sighed. "In all these years, apart from the little one, I believe only Kaedehara Kazuha has ever managed to surprise Ei."
Conan's eyes flickered. He had no idea who this Kaedehara Kazuha might be, but he quietly filed the name away, brought up by Yae Miko though it was.
They had achieved what they'd come to the Grand Narukami Shrine to do. The rewards fell short of their hopes, but with their sightseeing complete, it was time for Hattori Heiji, Edogawa Conan, and their companions to head home.
On the way back, the Kamisato siblings traveled with them, which surprised no one.
With the crucial final match of the tournament fast approaching, the ones in charge naturally couldn't afford to linger away any longer — it made perfect sense for them to return together.
What did take them a little aback was that the Kamisato family's revered elder, Lady Raiden Ei herself, was preparing to leave with them as well.
Between her exalted seniority, her remote and unapproachable air, and the raw display of force they had just witnessed, even the Detective Boys — fearless as they usually were — didn't dare cut loose around her. For once they stayed quietly, obediently at Ran's side, trailing the group down the mountain.
It was Edogawa Conan who finally couldn't contain his curiosity. After Hattori Heiji shoved him toward Raiden Ei, he shot the boy a flat, exasperated glare, then — playing the part of an innocently inquisitive little kid — asked her why she was coming down the mountain.
Heiji, for his part, wasn't idle either. With the breezy familiarity of someone who'd known you for years, he sidled up to Kamisato Ayato and busied his attention, doing his best to keep the clan head from intruding on Conan's conversation.
Raiden Ei did indeed seem to have a soft spot for children. Watching Conan's deliberately adorable antics, her expression remained utterly unchanged, yet she answered his question in earnest.
"To punish those who dared affront the majesty of the Electro Archon."
At the word *punish*, something flickered across Conan's face, but he mastered himself almost immediately and pressed on. "Mmm... so is it like how Xia Yu-nee used to punish the bad guys? 'Swish-swish-swish' and knock 'em all flat?"
"The Traveler?"
Raiden Ei lowered her gaze and considered for a long moment before answering. "No, I should think not. I will be rather more severe than that. But wrongdoing must meet its punishment. If they were bold enough to commit the deed, then they should have been prepared to bear its consequences."
Conan's sharp ears caught the faint tell hidden in her words, and he continued his questioning with perfect nonchalance. "So then, Raiden-nee — who exactly are they? If there's a lot of them, won't you be in danger?"
"That is irrelevant." Raiden Ei seemed entirely oblivious to Conan's probing, casting him only a careless sidelong glance as she answered, her tone cool and distant. "No one can stand against the descending thunder — and no one can stand against its radiant majesty."