Location: Secret Fatui Factory, Yashiori Island
Current Form: Human
Status: Disappointed in the ventilation, ready to bully a Harbinger
The factory was hidden inside the cliffs, damp and smelling of ozone and crystal marrow rot. Fatui skirmishers patrolled the corridors, guarding the crates of Delusions destined for the Resistance lines.
"Stealth?" Aether whispered, crouching behind a crate.
"Stealth is for people who can take damage," Raiden replied, standing up.
He walked into the center of the room.
"Excuse me!" Raiden shouted, his voice echoing off the metal walls. "I'm here for the health and safety inspection! This facility is not up to code! There are no fire exits, and the ventilation smells like dead god!"
The Fatui froze. Then, twenty Pyroslingers and Electrohammers charged.
Raiden sighed. "Violence it is."
He didn't draw a weapon. He simply walked forward. When a hammer swung at him, he caught it, crushed the head like a soda can, and tossed the wielder into a wall. When a bullet was fired, he opened his mouth and caught the bullet in his teeth, then spat it back with lethal velocity.
"He's a monster!" a skirmisher screamed, dropping his rifle.
"I'm a consultant!" Raiden corrected, kicking a Mirror Maiden into a vat of purple liquid.
They reached the central chamber. A massive machine churned in the background, refining the Crystal Marrow into Delusions.
Standing on a raised platform, looking down with utter disdain, was a short figure with a massive hat and elaborate indigo clothing.
Scaramouche. The Balladeer. The 6th Fatui Harbinger.
"So," Scaramouche sneered, his voice dripping with venom. "You are the ones causing trouble for the Fatui. The Traveler... and the Anomaly."
Scaramouche floated down, hovering slightly above the ground.
"You destroyed the supply lines. You cured the soldiers. You are... annoying."
Raiden stepped forward, looking Scaramouche up and down.
"And you," Raiden said, tilting his head. "You are... surprisingly short. Is the hat compensating for something?"
Scaramouche's eye twitched. The air temperature dropped. "Watch your tongue, mongrel. You stand before a god in the making."
"A god?" Raiden laughed. "No. I smell Ei on you. The same oil. The same wood. The same divine coding."
Raiden leaned in, his silver eyes glowing. "You're the prototype, aren't you? The test run before she built the Shogun. The one she threw away because he cried too much."
Scaramouche's face contorted into pure, unadulterated rage. The air crackled with purple lightning.
"I AM NOT A DISCARDED THING!" Scaramouche screamed. "I HAVE SURPASSED MY CREATOR!"
Scaramouche snapped his fingers.
The vents in the room opened. A thick, purple fog poured out - concentrated Tatarigami. It was the pure anger of a dead god, refined into a neurotoxin that induced madness and despair.
Aether choked, falling to his knees. "Can't... breathe..."
Paimon grabbed her throat. "It hurts..."
Scaramouche laughed maniacally. "This is the wrath of the gods! Breathe it in! Feel the despair of Orobashi! Your ambition means nothing here!"
"Despair?" Raiden asked, standing perfectly still in the fog.
He took a deep breath.
Inhale.
The purple fog didn't poison him. It swirled into his nostrils like smoke into a vacuum.
"Actually," Raiden critiqued, tasting the air. "It has notes of betrayal, a hint of abandonment issues, and a lingering aftertaste of... mommy issues."
Scaramouche stopped laughing. He stared. "What?"
Raiden opened his mouth wide. [Gluttony: Vacuum Breath].
WHOOSH.
The entire room was cleared in seconds. The "Wrath of the Gods" was sucked into Raiden's stomach.
Raiden burped. "Excuse me. Carbonated hatred always makes me gassy."
He vanished - [Shadow Step] - and reappeared directly in front of the hovering Harbinger.
Raiden reached out and grabbed Scaramouche by the face.
"Let me down!" Scaramouche shrieked, unleashing a blast of Electro energy point-blank.
Raiden ignored the lightning. His [Electro Nullification] was at 100%. The attacks simply tickled.
"You think you're a god because you have power?" Raiden whispered, lifting the Harbinger into the air with one hand. "You're just a spare part, Balladeer. A USB stick with a virus."
He slammed Scaramouche into the floor.
CRUNCH.
The metal plating shattered. Scaramouche lay in the crater, coughing—not blood, but sparks. He looked up at Raiden with genuine terror.
"What... are you?"
"I'm the guy who ate the Shogun's sword," Raiden said, raising a fist coated in [Armament Haki]. "And now I'm going to dismantle you to see how you work."
"Now, now. That's enough playing with the antique."
A soft chuckle echoed through the factory.
Raiden stopped his fist inches from Scaramouche's nose.
Yae Miko walked out of the shadows, fanning herself elegantly.
"Guuji Yae?" Aether wheezed, standing up.
"My, what a mess you boys have made," Yae looked at the destroyed factory, then at Scaramouche pinned under Raiden. "And you, little one. You look dreadful."
Scaramouche glared at her. "You... the Fox."
"Raiden, dear," Yae smiled at the dragon. "Would you mind letting him go? He still has a role to play in the grand tapestry of fate. Plus, if you break him, Ei will be terribly upset. She's quite sentimental, even if she pretends not to be."
Raiden looked at Scaramouche, then at Yae.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn him into a toaster," Raiden demanded.
Yae reached into her sleeve. She pulled out a chess piece glowing with purple light.
The Electro Gnosis.
Scaramouche's eyes widened. He stopped struggling. The object of his obsession. His "heart."
"I have a trade," Yae said. "I give this useless trinket to the Balladeer. In exchange, he leaves Inazuma and never returns. And you, Raiden, get to spare yourself the trouble of cleaning up the mess."
"You're giving him the Gnosis?!" Paimon shouted.
"It's just a chess piece," Yae shrugged. "It holds no value to me or Ei. But to him... it is everything."
She tossed the Gnosis.
Scaramouche caught it. He held it to his chest, shaking. He looked at Raiden, then at Yae. He scrambled to his feet, clutching the Gnosis like a lifeline.
"This... is mine," Scaramouche hissed. "I have it. finally."
He looked at Raiden one last time—a look of pure hatred mixed with fear. "This isn't over, Anomaly."
He vanished in a flash of purple lightning.
Raiden stood up, dusting off his knees. "You let him go with a nuclear weapon, Yae. That seems irresponsible."
"Oh, he'll be fine," Yae waved her hand. "He'll go to Sumeru, try to become a god, fail miserably, and learn a valuable lesson about hubris. It's all part of the script."
"You act like you've read the manga," Raiden muttered.
"I run a publishing house," Yae winked. "I know a trope when I see one."
She walked over to Aether. "Traveler, you look terrible. That mist did a number on you before our dragon friend ate it."
"I'm... okay," Aether stumbled.
"You need training," Yae declared. "If you want to defeat the Shogun - the real Shogun, inside the puppet - you need to be prepared for her Anti-Raiden Shogun Training."
"I already ate her sword," Raiden pointed out.
"Yes, you did," Yae poked Raiden's chest. "But the Traveler needs to do it himself. It's his destiny, or whatever. And you, Mr. Dragon... I have a special request for you."
"Does it involve food?"
"It involves fried tofu," Yae smiled. "Come to the Grand Narukami Shrine. We have much to discuss before the final battle."
Later, at the top of Mt. Yougou. The Sacred Sakura bloomed eternally.
Raiden sat at the shrine, eating Kitsune Udon. Yae Miko sat across from him.
"So," Raiden slurped a noodle. "The plan?"
"We are going to stage a coup," Yae said casually. "We need to present evidence to the Shogun that the Tenryou and Kanjou Commissions have betrayed her. We need to wake Ei up from her nap."
"I tried talking to her," Raiden said. "She's stubborn."
"She is," Yae agreed. "That's why we need to force her hand. In three days, the Kujou Clan will present their report to the throne. We will intercept it. Sara Kujou will be our key."
"Sara?" Raiden raised an eyebrow. "The Tengu I beat up?"
"She is loyal to the Shogun above all else," Yae explained. "If she learns her clan is betraying her god... she will tear them apart herself."
Raiden grinned. "I like it. Internal conflict. Drama. Betrayal."
"Exactly," Yae poured him sake. "But when the time comes to face Ei... I need you to do something specific."
"Which is?"
"Don't eat her," Yae said seriously. "I want my friend back, not digested."
"Fine," Raiden rolled his eyes. "I'll just chew on her sword a little bit more."