Volume 11 - Yamata no Orochi: Chapter 39 – Thunderous Storm
Thunder roared in the distance, its flashes illuminating the room through the windows repeatedly. While thunder in the middle of the night was not unusual, this thunder was growing louder and more terrifying, and it was continuous! The women in the room, with their keen senses, felt the unnaturalness of the situation and sat up one after another.
Upon getting up, they walked to the door to take a look outside. The sky was intermittently lit up by sad flickers of light. Lily stepped onto the deck and looked up, observing the thunderclouds rumbling ominously, with flashes of light suggesting a dragon hiding within.
The thunder echoed relentlessly, continuing throughout the entire night, causing worry among the sisters. Only at dawn did it start to rain, turning into a heavy downpour. In the courtyard, water quickly acc.u.mulated into muddy streams. Despite the intensity of the rain, Lily didn’t initially consider it significant but felt there was something unusual about it.
Feeling unexpectedly tired, perhaps due to the constant battles and overuse of her Purple Lunar Force, Lily decided to take a day off. “Sister Ayaka, I won’t be going to the government today. If there are any issues, please help me deal with them,” Lily requested, watching the curtains of rain.
“Mm, okay. Lily, you’ve been too exhausted recently, rest well,” Ayaka responded warmly, appreciating the opportunity to take charge while Lily rested. Ayaka then left for the previous Chief Advisor’s mansion, now the Taishogun’s palace, in a sedan chair, while Lily stayed in Kiyoszawa.
Lily, feeling somewhat down, returned to her room and sat against the wall, watching the rain hit the leaves outside. Rei, dressed in a blue yukata, appeared in the doorway. “Sister Uesugi,” Lily acknowledged.
Seeing Lily’s low spirits, Rei sat down beside her. “What’s wrong? You don’t seem to be happy,” she inquired.
“This rain…I don’t know why, but I feel…worried,” Lily admitted.
“Hm? I have that feeling too,” Rei agreed.
As they leaned against each other, watching the rain, a drenched kunoichi rushed in and knelt down. “General Lyn. We have lost track of the Kawachi Army after they entered Izumo,” she reported urgently.
“Lost track?” Lily sat up, recalling it had been days since the twenty thousand Kawachi army changed course to Izumo.
“With such heavy rain, could it be a communication failure?” Rei suggested.
“This, your subordinate does not know,” the kunoichi admitted.
“If there is any new news, report it immediately,” Lily ordered.
“I obey,” the kunoichi responded before leaving.
Lily, who did not micromanage every army, felt uneasy about losing contact with the Kawachi army. The relentless rain continued into the next day, causing floods in low-lying areas. By the third day, the heavy rain showed no signs of stopping, and many places had lost contact with Heian-kyo. Civilian areas with poor drainage suffered losses due to flooding.
In the afternoon, Lily inquired, “Is there still no news from Izumo?” Everyone either remained silent or shook their heads, indicating no updates.
As the heavy rain persisted, Ayaka reported to Lily, “Many armies have been halted or lost contact due to the heavy rain across Kansai. What concerns you about Izumo?”
“I don’t know… I just have a feeling,” Lily replied, her intuition uneasy.
“Bring the map over,” Rei commanded.
Hiromasa fetched a several-meter-long map of Akitsu, spreading it out in the palace’s center. The group gathered around, with Rei instructing, “Airi, bring out the small flags we use for military formations.”
Airi presented a collection of small flags.
“Who’s clear about the situation of the heavy rain in various provinces?” Rei inquired.
“Me,” Shizuru answered.
“List them for me,” Rei requested, placing flags on the map based on Shizuru’s information. The affected area spanned five to six thousand miles around Heian-kyo.
Shizuru observed, “It seems Tanba is at the center of this rain?”
“No,” Rei stated with gravity, her gaze fixed intently on the map. “Lily’s intuition has been a reliable guide in the past. Observe how these areas align. When we factor in the expanse of the sea, the epicenter of this semi-circle configuration seems to be pointing somewhere else, doesn’t it?”
This insight shifted the group’s focus, prompting a rea.s.sessment of the situation. Until now, their attention had been solely on the terrestrial impact of the rain, neglecting how it might be influenced by maritime phenomena.
The realization dawned on them collectively. “Izumo?” they murmured in unison, surprised yet contemplative.
Lily’s consistent concern for Izumo, combined with Rei’s astute observation, underscored the significance of their discovery. It was clear they needed to consider the broader implications of this unusual weather pattern.
Ijuin, pondering deeply, suggested a new possibility. “Could it be that a colossal rain cloud is situated directly above Izumo?” The idea, while speculative, seemed increasingly plausible given the peculiar pattern of the rain’s distribution and intensity.
“That’s likely, but this rain is unusually heavy. It’s been years since I’ve seen anything like it,” Ayaka added, worried.
“Where is Lady Kimiko?” Lily asked, knowing her experience would be invaluable.
“The teleportation formation has recently been repaired. Lady Kimiko mentioned she would be returning to Suno for a few days.”
“Mm…” Lily nodded thoughtfully, “We should send people to a.s.sess the situation in Izumo.”
In the current world, despite the sisters in the palace being highly capable of investigation, Lily, Ayaka, and the others couldn’t directly explore every incident as they occurred. Given the numerous disasters already happening, this extraordinary rain, despite its extensive range, had caused relatively minor damage compared to the more destructive volcanoes and earthquakes in other areas.
However, on the fourth and fifth days, the situation worsened as the rain intensified. Water began to pool in parts of the Taishogun palace, Suzaku Avenue, and Heian-palace, with the neighboring areas experiencing flooding. Civilians were now living in conditions where their feet were constantly soaked.
Observing the deluge, Lily stood on the deck, looking up at the sky, then down at her feet. The courtyard resembled a pond, the water level alarmingly close to the deck. A maid approached, suggesting, “If this continues, the Imperial Palace and Lady Lyn’s palace will be flooded. We should move to a higher courtyard in the backyard for safety.”
Servants waded through the water, relocating items vulnerable to the flood.
Rei, making her way through the water in a black sleeveless vest and short skirt, approached Lily, remarking, “This rain is very unusual!”
Lily’s expression reflected her deep concern. With the palace at risk of flooding, this could be their last meeting here.
Kotoka reported with concern, “Since yesterday, we’ve received no reports from areas without voice transmission orbs. The rain has caused widespread flooding, blocking roads.”
Lily frowned, feeling helpless. While she could combat an arch-demon, rain was an adversary beyond her reach.
She turned to Ayaka, seeking advice, “Sister Ayaka, what do you think is the best way to counter this?”
“If this is a natural disaster, we’re powerless. We can only wait for it to stop, but if it’s man-made…”
“Who would have the power to cause such extensive downpour?” Lily pondered.
Ayaka shook her head, “It seems impossible for anyone to have such an ability. Even ancient formations affecting weather couldn’t achieve this scale.”
Shimizu, feeling the gloom of the situation, commented, “This rain is making me feel gloomy.”
Rei looked at Shimizu, thinking silently about her usual temperament.
Lily, still focused on Izumo, inquired, “Any updates from our scouts in Izumo?”
Yukiko, managing the shin.o.bi and kunoichi loyal to Lily’s shogunate, replied, “We’ve received no news. The rain might have disrupted their communication.”
“That seems unlikely…” Lily mused.
Shizuka Gozen, sharing her concerns, added, “I don’t think this is a natural disaster. My divination last night showed only darkness, giving no clues.”
“You too?” Ayaka, having tried her own divinations, agreed, “I couldn’t reach any conclusion either.”
Frustrated by the oppressive atmosphere created by the unrelenting rain, Tomoe Gozen declared her intention to go outside and immerse herself in it. Her recent stay at the palace made her a familiar presence. However, her lighthearted complaint was largely ignored as the mood within the palace remained gravely serious. The failed divinations by two skilled pract.i.tioners of arcane arts only added to the gravity of the situation.
Lily, reflecting on this unusual circ.u.mstance, suggested a possibility, “To get no result is perhaps, an answer.” She turned to Ayaka for confirmation, “Sister Ayaka, if this were a natural disaster, you would have been able to divine an answer, right?”
“Yes, usually the larger the natural disaster, the clearer the divination,” Ayaka responded. Recognized as the land’s preeminent onmyoji, Ayaka’s expertise extended beyond arcane arts to encompa.s.s astronomy, geography, and meteorology.
Realizing the need for more insight, Lily stood and proposed, “We should go ask Lady Kimiko.”
“There’s no need, I’ve come.” Before they could act, a striking figure with nine large fox tails entered the room, obviating the need for their planned visit.
“Lady Kimiko? Have you recovered?” Lily asked, her face alight with hope and joy.
Kimiko, exuding a regal aura, replied, “It’s not a complete recovery, but I can at least maintain this form for a couple of months.” Her next words carried a note of grave concern, “This heavy rain, I’m afraid, is far more severe than we have ever considered.”