For two weeks since Josec sent his afterimages to scout the continent for Raichuu, the other Students spent their time training.
"Buern, could you come with me for a moment? There is something I'd like to discuss with you" Harry called Buern aside.
Meanwhile, Josec remained in the inn with the other Students and Masters. Master Colette remained bonded to Josec via telepathic synchronization and was constantly viewing every area of the continent Josec's afterimages had occupied. In one of the towns Josec's afterimages was in, the sky suddenly began to surge with great flashes of lightning.
"Fencer! He's finally making his move!" Master Colette called as she suddenly extended her telepathic synchronization to the Students and the other Masters.
"RELEASING FIVE UNITS OF POWER INTO THE CORAL GEM! ENGAGE THE MYTHICAL PROGENITOR'S JO-LAN ART! SINGULARITY SHIFT! RUNE KNIGHT VER. GOLD!" Fencer called and assumed the Golden Rune Knight State.
He could see the location Raichuu was beginning to manifest in through the telepathic bond. He created a warp portal in Josec's location and created one in the inn, then connected the two portals. The Masters and Students stepped into the warp portal and instantly found themselves in Josec's location.
The Masters flew into the sky to intercept Raichuu while the Students remained on the ground. Josec immediately raised up the Mutating Several Layered Zone Of Absolute Defense in that area.
"Andrea! Pheisl! Kyem! Fencer! Switch to the lightning affinity immediately and alter your elemental wavelength to match mine! Josec, match wavelengths with me and raise shields of lightning that match my wavelength around Emma and Ayumi!" Luna ordered as she shot bolts of lightning towards the rods and another towards Masters Andrea, Pheisl, Kyem and Fencer.
Josec received her lightning bolt through the conducting rods and perceived her affinity and wavelength. He immediately raised shields of those attributes around Masters Colette and Ayumi.
"What's your plan Luna?" Fencer asked.
"Stay close to me" Luna cautioned.
The Masters obeyed and drew close.
"Luna! So you've come, the strongest amongst the Seven Jo-lan Masters! I suspected as much. I have been expecting you. Indeed, the moment I began to sense a gradual reduction in my power, I became aware that you had taken down my amplifiers" a voice began to speak from within the storm as the lightning began to solidify eventually assuming the form of a great lightning orb.
The Masters stared at the orb which was actually Raichuu.
"Initially, we believed you would confront us starting with the weakest. If you had, you would have been gravely mistaken and would have been easily overwhelmed. We are ranked according to how powerful we are and how hazardous we are to the survival of the general population on earth but in a sense…that order should actually be reversed…" Raichuu said.
"What do you mean?" Fencer asked.
"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about Fencer. The order in which we were struck down was no mere coincidence…I believe it was in fact your doing. It was puzzling to us why you'd dare face the third and first generals, Anubis and Apollo from the start. I must admit that I initially believed this to be a fluke since Anubis was taken down by Harry Bane's independent actions and Apollo was the rival of the one Luna sent the three Successors Of The Phoenix Clan to…but then you went after Gargolem and Aesakal as well going so far as to use large scale terrain alteration abilities that were debilitating to us generals. You must have known that…the Four Great Malevolent Storms are actually the strongest amongst Souryu's generals once the abilities of the other generals to act as our amplifiers are factored into your calculations" Raichuu said.
The Masters smiled confidently.
"I suppose it was an oversight on our part to let you live" Raichuu said.
"You didn't just let us live. We forced you to retreat" Fencer said.
"Even worse, we let all seven of you gather after confronting us. We never believed you would discuss our abilities with one another in detail and eventually come to a realization of the connection amongst our abilities and how they affect one another" Raichuu said.
"I don't suppose you'd just give up and leave now will you?" Luna asked.
"You jest. Even if you have taken down five of us, there is one way to deal an overwhelming defeat to you seven. It's to crush what you came here to protect!" Raichuu said.
"Harry was right after all. Unlike most of the generals we fought before…you intend to attack the people of this land directly" Luna said with a slight frown.
"It appears you believed you could shield the people of this land with a dome and some lightning rods. You severely underestimate me!" Raichuu roared.
In an instant, Luna raised the Zone Of Absolute Defense around the other Masters. The Shield Josec had created around Masters Ayumi and Emma also created a bubble of isolation within the Zone to shield them from potential attacks.
Raichuu released great discharges of lightning and sent them towards Luna and the town.
"Here it comes Josec!" Jason called.
"Estelle, can you utilize clones?" Harry asked.
"Of course" Estelle said.
"Buern already told me before that she could also utilize clones" Harry said.
"Yeah, though our clones are more a product of replicating our masses than they are of oscillation" Buern said.
"Good, the two of you should create clones and assign…" Harry said as he generated a large number of clones. "…one of them to each of my clones" Harry said.
"What's your plan Harry?" Buern asked.
"Master Fencer…" Harry communicated telepathically with Fencer.
"What is it Harry?" Fencer asked.
There was a great flash of lightning within the dome as Josec ionized the air within several layers of the domes in response to Raichuu's strikes, matched wavelengths with Raichuu and in effect caused Raichuu's attack to flow through the ionized air into the ground.
Raichuu's second attack hit Luna's Zone Of Absolute Defense. Luna sensed the attributes of Raichuu's lightning the moment it entered the Zone and responded by creating waves of lightning that matched Raichuu's wavelength to redirect Raichuu's attack from any of the Masters.
"You noticed how Raichuu materialized didn't you Master Fencer? Don't you think like Aeros who was made out of pure wind, Raichuu could be composed of pure lightning?" Harry asked.
"That's true" Luna communicated to everyone.
"What point are you trying to make Harry?" Master Colette asked.
"For how long do you think you can keep matching my attacks?! Do you think you can respond to the alterations in my wavelength quickly enough?!" Raichuu roared and began to bombard Luna's Zone and Josec Domes with lightning attacks of varying wavelengths.
"In a sense, his attack is similar to my Elemental Rainbow Dance Of The Fenixes. However, he shouldn't be able to attack with multiple varied wavelengths simultaneously which means his attacks do not hit simultaneously. Varied wavelengths may strike after a short delay. With my oscillations, I should be able to keep up" Josec thought as he began to respond to Raichuu's varying wavelength attack by altering the wavelength of his oscillations to match the wavelength of the attacks striking the rods thus also ionizing those layers of air to match the wavelength of Raichuu's attacks. He also attempted switching the composition of the outermost dome to a lightning affinity to neutralize Raichuu's attacks by matching his wavelength and thus using the conductivity of the outermost dome to channel Raichuu's attacks into the ground.
"In a sense, I believe this battle may end up being more like our battle with Gargolem" Harry communicated with the Masters.
"What do you mean?" Jason asked.
"If Raichuu is made up of lightning, then with each lightning attack, he discharges a bit of himself into whatever he attacks" Harry said.
"I see…so he's gradually learning the properties of the Mutating Several Layered Zone Of Absolute Defense through pseudo attacks that are more likely to be attempts at infiltration?" Master Colette communicated with Harry and the others.
"But that implies that he could just conduct his entire being into the Domes" Josec communicated to the others.
"No, he wouldn't" Harry communicated.
"He wouldn't?" the Masters asked in surprise.
"And there's a very good reason why he wouldn't. If he did attempt infiltrating the domes by conducting himself through the rods and Josec altered his wavelength to a polar opposite one from Raichuu's, then ionized the air and amplified the ionized air's strength to match Raichuu's in terms of magnitude, Raichuu will in effect cease to exist since the energy that composes his being will be cancelled out" Harry explained.
"I see" Master Luna realized what Harry was getting at.
"He definitely wouldn't do it that way but without a doubt, he'll certainly attempt to infiltrate the Domes like Gargolem did" Harry communicated with the Masters.
"So what's your plan Harry?" Josec asked.
"Leave that part to me. Buern, Estelle and I are on it but there's something else that troubles me" Harry communicated to the others.
"What is it?" Master Colette asked.
As they talked of what to do next, Raichuu continuously bombarded Josec and Luna's Zones. Luna continuously altered the wavelike paths in her Zone to match Raichuu's wavelength and conduct his attacks away from the Masters while Josec used the layers of ionized air in a similar manner to protect the town.
"For now Master Fencer, I want you to create warp zones linking this area to all the towns Josec's afterimages and the Mutating Zone Of Absolute Defense have been raised in" Harry said.
"Why is that?" Master Colette asked.
"I'm worried about what Master Pheisl said earlier…about the storm clouds looming over this continent being indicative of Raichuu's range" Harry thought seriously.
"You've noticed the storm clouds looming over most parts of this continent. If this is indicative of Raichuu's range, then even if the limitations of his speed were to confine him to a specific geographical region, his abilities and their effects could extend to most parts of this continent regardless. We raised the Mutating Defensive Formation to deal with potential wide range Terrain Alteration Lightning Attacks" the others recalled Master Pheisl's words.
"For now, Josec, I want you to utilize the Invisible Dome on the innermost layer of the Domes here and in all the towns your afterimages are occupying, then remain on standby in all the other towns. The Invisible Dome should prevent Raichuu from anticipating our next set of moves" Harry communicated to Josec.
Josec obeyed turning the innermost Dome in all the Towns the Defensive Formation was in invisible.
Once the innermost Domes were turned invisible, Fencer created multiple warp points in all the towns utilizing their telepathic bond to view all the towns Josec's oscillations were in.
There were multiple warp portals within the Invisible Domes in all the other towns. Fencer was ready to create more warp portals whenever they were needed. Raichuu noticed that the Town had suddenly become invisible.
"They are scheming something" Raichuu thought and increased the speed of his attacks but Josec and Luna countered them. Luna attempted attacking Raichuu with lightning as well with the help of the other Masters who possessed the lightning affinity but Raichuu evaded their attacks with tremendous speed.
"It appears you can match my varying wavelength attack and somehow keep up with the speed of my attacks. Indeed, the phoenix brat holding up that defensive formation is your son Luna" Raichuu said. "However, let's see how you will deal with…my assault on the other towns within this continent" Raichuu roared as he gradually flew into the skies. The clouds began to surge with lightning and in the next instant…
"He's here!" Josec's voice sounded within the Masters' and Students' minds.
"I see. He used the waves of lightning generated by the storm clouds to travel to another location instantly" Fencer thought as he warped the Masters into that location.
They instantly appeared in front of Raichuu. Raichuu attacked the town he had materialized above but was once more hindered by the Mutating Defensive Formation.
"With you here…this battle is going to be a bit repetitive! Let's see how quickly you can keep up with me!" Raichuu roared and flew into the clouds once more but the moment he materialized in a new location, Josec alerted the Masters and they instantly warped to that location. This went on for quite a while with Raichuu and the Masters jumping from location to location all over the continent.
"Don't tell me you're finally retreating Raichuu" Master Luna said.
"Hmmph! It appears you can keep up with my movements as well. Let's see what you'll do once I attack all the towns at once!" Raichuu roared and flew into the sky.
All over the continent, the sky began to surge and rumble with thunder and then suddenly, huge bolts of lightning began to strike all over the continent. Master Fencer immediately warped the Masters into the innermost dome within one of the towns while Josec's oscillations countered Raichuu's rain of lightning all over the continent.
"JOSEC!" Master Luna and Buern called in concern.
"Don't worry about him, he'll be fine" Harry communicated to Buern and Master Luna.
"Raichuu is gradually running out of options. It's about time we launched our own attack. Master Luna, I'd like you to help us with that" Harry said. "While you've been keeping Raichuu busy, we created a large number of clones and distributed them in proportion to all the vents in all the towns scattered about the continent. Master Fencer also linked all the towns together through his warp portals" Harry said.
"So they are able to defend against large scale Terrain Alteration Lightning Attacks as well. Very impressive…but it's about time…" Raichuu thought. "Their Dome I noted from all my attacks is airtight. The impenetrability of their Domes is perhaps the greatest flaw in their defense. If the Dome is indeed airtight, then they must be getting air from somewhere outside the Dome, areas outside the Dome that lead into the Dome. With my final wide range lightning attack, I've located all those areas. I'll gradually flow my lightning into the Domes in all of those towns and ionize the air within the Domes, stunning everyone within the domes and rendering them in effect defenseless. The Domes should drop after that allowing me in to finally finish them off!" Raichuu thought to himself.
Raichuu began to flow currents of lightning from himself, minute invisible currents, through the vents all over the continent leading to the Domes.
Meanwhile, Master Luna had created a large number of clones in proportion to the vents and distributed them amongst Buern, Harry and Estelle's clones.
"I see…these are the only undefended openings in the dome" Luna communicated with the others.
"That's exactly what I meant when I said Raichuu will not infiltrate the Domes utilizing the conducting rods but will definitely attempt an infiltration" Harry said.
"But the Domes' defensive abilities are almost flawless. I find it difficult to imagine that there'd be such an obvious flaw in its design" Master Luna said.
"Yes, and at this point, two things are likely to happen" Harry said.
"Two things?" Luna asked.
"The Eyes and Wings Of The Phoenix do not drain Josec's stamina in any way. If Raichuu wants to tire Josec out and shatter the Domes once he's weakened, then he's in for a bit of a rude awakening. This is just like the proverbial saying about the ultimate sword versus the ultimate shield. It's only a matter of time till Raichuu discovers the vents at which point two things are likely to happen. One, he recognizes the vents, finds them suspicious and stays away from them sticking to his usual attack pattern. If he chooses to do this however, the battle is going to go on till he eventually drains himself of energy" Harry said.
"And the second is that he discovers the vents and attempts an infiltration but if he does that…" Master Luna realized.
"Yeah, we'll be waiting for him at every opening. He may be Souryu's most unpredictable general but Souryu's generals have a bad habit of exploiting weaknesses. That simple fact makes them very predictable" Harry thought to Buern, Estelle and Master Luna.
"So what do we do Harry?" Estelle asked.
"First, we and all our clones assume the lightning improvisation" Harry said. "Master Luna, try to find out if any strange currents of lightning are making it into the vents" Harry advised.
Master Luna and her clones flowed light currents of lightning into the vents.
"You're right Harry, there are minute currents of lightning making their way through the vents" Master Luna said.
"Sync wavelengths with those odd currents and flow your lightning to the source of their flow" Harry advised.
Master Luna obeyed.
"Estelle, Buern, let's sync our wavelengths to Master Luna's" Harry advised.
They obeyed.
"Now flow your joki through Master Luna's" Harry instructed.
They obeyed.
Luna, Buern, Estelle and Harry suddenly awakened their extra-sensory perception and were able to detect the flow of their joki through the currents of lightning Raichuu was sending into the vents. Since they had synced their wavelengths to Raichuu's, he couldn't differentiate between their joki and his. Eventually, their joki infiltrated the orb of lightning that was Raichuu.
"Utilize the Talons Of The Phoenix now Buern!" Harry ordered as Buern suddenly altered her wavelength. The others matched their wavelengths to Buern's which was a polar opposite one from Raichuu's, then they amplified their joki. There was a terrible discharge of energy into the skies and the orb was suddenly ripped apart. A bright yellow stone that seemed to spark with lightning fell from it. The Masters retrieved the stone. Finally, the battle against Souryu's most unpredictable general was over.