Amidst the storm-swept mountains and forests, a mountain demon lurked in secret.0

Thunder rolled ceaselessly, lightning split the sky again and again. Though the demon trembled in fear, greed gnawed at its heart. Time and again it peered out from behind trees toward that dilapidated shrine, half-hidden in wind, rain, and storm.0

Boom!0

A sudden bolt of lightning lit half the heavens, making the entire range shine as bright as day. The mountain demon shuddered, instinctively lifting its head. But that single glance only terrified it further.0

For the night sky above was crowded with divine figures. Mighty and towering, their bodies wreathed in holy radiance with thunder-weapons clutched in their hands. All of them had their gazes lowered toward the shrine below, as though facing a dire enemy.0

Though the demon had never seen such beings before, it instantly knew what they were. These could only be the Dukes of Thunder of legend, the bane of every demon and specter beneath heaven, the kind of divine presence that inspired instinctive dread the moment they appeared. And now they had all gathered here, fixing their eyes upon that shabby little shrine.3

The very same little shrine it had been spying on…0

The demon’s fear grew sharper, nearly overwhelming....0