Chapter 41: Thunder’s Wrath Storms, Steel, and Sparks
The storm howled.
Electricity screamed from Elliot's body — blue lightning spiraling like living chains of pure energy, coiling around his arms, lashing out at the metal walls. Every spark hissed into the subway's wreckage, making broken train rails and shattered glass hover in the electromagnetic field.
The Raijin Protocol wasn't just active — it was feral.
Elliot's Boost pulsed at 270% — his storm so violent the air rumbled with every flicker of static. His vision crackled at the edges, his pulse syncing with the erratic storm as if the lightning wasn't inside him anymore — it was him.
And the factions closing in?
They weren't running.
They were hunting.
The Chrome Reapers reloaded, plasma rifles glowing a furious red, their cybernetic limbs twitching as residual static from Elliot's last blast still crawled through their systems.
The Spire Syndicate mercs reignited their energy weapons — glowing green plasma blades sparking at their wrists as their implants flickered back online.
And the Ashen Blades…
They didn't even speak.
The assassins, matte-black armor humming softly, adjusted their plasma katanas — eyes glowing crimson behind sleek visors, moving in a perfect, synchronized formation like a deadly machine.
The storm was deadly.
But they weren't afraid.
Nova stood at Elliot's side, her bioluminescent suit flaring every time his Boost pulsed, the neon lines down her waist, ribs, and thighs glitching in sync with his electricity.
The broken feedback loop between them wasn't dead — it was resurrecting.
Every time Elliot's Boost snapped, her suit responded — an electric tension vibrating between them, like the storm was trying to pull her into him again.
And Nova felt it.
Her glowing eyes flickered, jaw tight. "Rookie," she growled, "you need to control the storm."
Elliot clenched his fists — sparks cascading from his fingers. "I'm trying—"
The System buzzed — now practically screaming in his head, glitching so hard it sounded like a malfunctioning speaker having a panic attack.
---
[New Mission: Judgment Day — Unleash the Storm]
Objective: Use Raijin's Judgment to wipe out the factions.
Bonus: Don't fry Nova.
Failure: Neural collapse, tunnel collapse… or romantic tension overload.
---
Kain, still leaning against a pillar, grinned so wide his steel teeth gleamed. "Ohhh, this is better than fireworks."
The System chimed again.
---
[Pro Tip: Love is like lightning — unpredictable, dangerous… and probably gonna kill you.]
— Plato… allegedly.
---
Elliot twitched. "I hate you."
Nova didn't flinch. "Join the club."
The Chrome Reapers fired first.
A hailstorm of plasma bolts screamed through the air, glowing streaks of red and white heat, tearing through the broken subway cars and slamming into the walls behind Elliot.
He didn't run.
His Boost snapped.
A pulse of electricity exploded from his body — a violent storm of blue lightning roaring outward, intercepting the plasma blasts mid-air.
The bolts didn't hit him — they disintegrated in the static storm, the raw lightning swallowing the plasma like a predator devouring prey.
Nova blinked. "Did you just… eat plasma again?"
Elliot's voice was rough. "Guess so."
The System buzzed.
---
[New Ability Unlocked: Raijin's Devour]
Effect: Absorb energy-based attacks and convert them into Boost power.
Cooldown: 5 seconds.
Warning: Absorbing too much at once may result in uncontrolled power surges.
---
Kain howled. "The kid's a walking storm reactor!"
The Spire Syndicate mercs advanced — their plasma blades hissing to life — but Elliot's Boost flared hotter, tendrils of lightning wrapping around his arms.
He didn't just forge a Raijin's Lance this time.
He created two.
Twin spears of pure electricity — crackling in both hands — the energy vibrating so violently it made the air scream.
Nova's breath caught for half a second. "You're not supposed to be able to do that."
The System buzzed.
---
[Achievement Unlocked: Dual Wield Stormbringer]
Reward: +3 Reflex Boost.
Penalty: You now glow so bright you're a walking target.
---
Elliot grinned, the static storm howling around him. "Guess I'm full of surprises."
Nova's voice was tight. "Focus."
The Ashen Blades struck next — blurs of black armor and red plasma, their movements too fast for the eye — but Elliot's Boost reacted first.
The Raijin's Lances lashed out — twin bolts of lightning slicing through the air — catching two Blades mid-sprint.
Their plasma katanas overloaded instantly — sparking and short-circuiting — sending the assassins skidding across the tunnel floor, smoke rising from their armor.
Nova didn't miss a beat.
She charged — slicing her blade through the remaining Ashen Blade in a flash of violet light — the merc collapsing, his visor flickering before going dark.
The storm swelled.
Elliot's Boost surged again — 290% now — his entire body glowing with blue electricity, the Raijin Protocol begging for release.
Nova's suit snapped again — the feedback loop tugging at her neon circuits — and she stumbled for half a second, her breath catching as the glow down her thighs flared too bright.
Her voice was rough. "Rookie — control it."
Elliot could barely breathe. "I'm trying—"
The System buzzed — its voice screaming.
---
[Libido Meter: Dangerously Overloaded]
Warning: Neural Boost syncing with… other impulses.
Solution: Run. Or figure it out.
---
Nova's glare could've melted steel. "If you shock me one more time—"
"BLAME THE SYSTEM!"
But before she could respond —
The Chrome Reapers rushed them — Rend leading the charge, his plasma blade burning white-hot.
Elliot didn't move.
His Boost hit 300%.
The Raijin Protocol didn't just flare — it erupted.
Blue lightning poured from his body, coiling like a living storm — spiraling into a massive sphere of crackling energy above him.
The air screamed.
Every bit of static, every plasma blast, every flicker of raw power fed the storm.
Nova's voice was a whisper. "Elliot…"
Kain grinned like a madman. "He's gonna level the tunnel."
The System buzzed — one last glitching scream.
---
[New Ability Unlocked: Raijin's Judgment: Stormfall]
Effect: Summon a massive storm strike, raining lightning across all enemies in a 50-foot radius.
Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Warning: Catastrophic collateral damage highly probable.
---
Elliot's storm detonated.
The Stormfall unleashed — bolts of raw lightning raining down from the crackling sphere, obliterating the Chrome Reapers' weapons, shattering the Spire Syndicate's implants, and sending the Ashen Blades crashing to the ground.
The tunnel shook — metal walls glowing white-hot — as Elliot stood at the eye of the storm, his Boost still crackling.
Nova — glowing from the feedback loop's last pulse — stared at him.
"Rookie…" she said softly, her voice rough.
Elliot panted — the storm howling around him — the Raijin Protocol demanding more.
Kain's grin widened. "You're not a glitch anymore."
He stepped forward, his chrome fingers sparking.
"You're a goddamn thunder god."
And the storm — still raging — was far from over.