Guardian Armor

Faced with Miketsu charging at high speed, Minamoto no Mitsunaka commanded the weapons surrounding him to strike. However, Miketsu dodged every incoming blade with minute shifts in her movement. In a flash, she reached Mitsunaka, swinging her massive blade downward in a powerful cleave. As she made her move, ghostly blue flames suddenly ignited in the space before Mitsunaka. A long spear manifested from within the fire, which Mitsunaka gripped firmly to barely parry the heavy overhead strike. The crisp, thunderous ring of clashing steel echoed through the sky, sending ripples of shockwaves through the air.

"This is..."

Feeling the immense force transmitted through his hands, Mitsunaka's face contorted. The terrifying pressure was passed down to the demonic horse beneath him, causing it to let out a pained neigh. Lacking a solid foothold in the sky, Mitsunaka and his mount were suppressed by the horrific weight and driven straight down toward the ground. Only by the demonic horse's desperate efforts to decelerate were they able to land safely.

"Have you used spells to strengthen your body? It seems you are no ordinary Onmyoji," Miketsu said as she hovered in mid-air, looking down at the man. For a human's physical constitution, being able to block one of her strikes was quite remarkable. She knew the Minamoto Clan, while a lineage of Onmyoji, also held strong samurai traditions; it was only natural for their combat style to lean toward that of a warrior with high physical capabilities. Mitsunaka was not only an Onmyo Taiyu of the Onmyoryo but also held a high-ranking military post within the imperial court.

Watching Mitsunaka steady himself after receiving her blow, Miketsu swung the Demonic Fang Blade, unleashing several successive Wind Scars. Compared to the Explosive Current Wave, the Wind Scar's power was less spectacular, but it boasted a much higher flight speed, making it far more difficult to evade.

Faced with the high-speed air blades, Mitsunaka, who had just managed to steady his demonic horse on the ground, showed no intention of dodging. He looked up at the rapidly approaching demonic energy blades with an unperturbed expression. A few meters in front of him, ghostly blue flames ignited once more, and something manifested from the fire, positioning itself to block the path of the Wind Scars.

With a series of explosions, the demonic energy blades were neutralized and dissipated. The object that had emerged from the blue flames stood revealed: a full set of Gusoku armor, disassembled into its component parts. The pieces were arranged in a vertical wall, forming a bulwark that had intercepted the incoming attacks. A dense, potent demonic energy radiated from the armor—it was clear that these were Tsukumogami serving as shikigami.

"Spirit-Guarding Armor..."

Mitsunaka whispered a low command. The armor pieces standing nearby took flight, automatically equipping themselves onto his body. Once the helmet and face mask were in place, Mitsunaka was entirely encased in armor. Spiritual power and demonic energy blended together, radiating outward from him. At this moment, Mitsunaka and his shikigami had become one.

"Are these... Tsukumogami acting as shikigami? And they've been manifested as Guardian Spirits? They stay hidden normally and provide autonomous defense when danger arises," Miketsu deduced immediately upon seeing Mitsunaka's new form. Having spent considerable time reading the books within the Onmyoryo's Spell Archives, she now possessed a deep understanding of Onmyojutsu. She understood that the Minamoto Clan possessed techniques to modify shikigami, likely allowing them to blend the characteristics of different types of yokai.

By employing Tsukumogami armor as shikigami and imbuing them with the properties of a Guardian Spirit to keep them hidden around him, Mitsunaka could perfectly counter various surprise attacks even in his daily life. This was Mitsunaka's attitude toward the use of shikigami: they were entirely weapons and tools. To ensure they were easy to control, all the Tsukumogami on his person had been stripped of most of their consciousness.

Once fully equipped in the Tsukumogami armor, Mitsunaka's aura surged violently. The flames at his horse's hooves erupted as he charged toward Miketsu, spear in hand. Countless blades hovered around him, following his charge like a unit of heavy cavalry on a battlefield. Mitsunaka knew that if he couldn't shake Owl off quickly, he would have to settle this fight here and now!

Faced with Mitsunaka’s high-speed charge in his warrior form, Miketsu briefly suppressed the urge to manifest her spirit spear for a direct melee. Instead, she gathered demonic energy into the Demonic Fang Blade and unleashed a decisive Explosive Current Wave. A violent tornado of demonic power surged toward Mitsunaka and his mount, yet to her surprise, he didn't dodge; he charged straight into it.

The demonic whirlwind tore and lashed at Mitsunaka's armor, but it left only a dense mesh of shallow scratches. Mitsunaka pushed through the vortex and continued his charge, breaking through the storm—a sight that startled Miketsu slightly.

'Such incredible defensive power. And he's strengthened his mount as well? Or perhaps the whole set is one entity?'

Marveling inwardly, Miketsu raised her blade to meet Mitsunaka’s attack. The numerous hovering weapons joined their master in the assault, and for a moment, Miketsu was entangled in a fierce struggle against the rain of blades.

Mitsunaka, spear in hand, launched coordinated strikes with his Tsukumogami weapons. Miketsu found herself under attack from multiple directions simultaneously. Mitsunaka had learned from their previous clash; he avoided direct head-on confrontations as much as possible to escape her terrifying strength. Now, he used the flying weapons to harass and distract her while he looked for the perfect angle to charge with his spear. If one charge was blocked, he didn't stop, instead continuing his momentum to the other side before circling back for another pass. With each pass, his speed increased, and the impact of his charges grew stronger, making him increasingly difficult for Miketsu to handle.

Miketsu was momentarily forced onto the defensive. Dealing with the weapons that attacked automatically from all sides consumed much of her focus. Mitsunaka’s ever-increasing speed made him a growing threat. Although she could temporarily blow the weapons away with demonic winds to counterattack, his speed was now so great that she couldn't catch him before the blades circled back. She was limited to long-range attacks like Wind Scar or Explosive Current Wave, but these could not penetrate Mitsunaka's armored form.

Mitsunaka now possessed immense defense coupled with high speed and high attack power, with the latter two still increasing. The threat Miketsu faced was expanding. While she could remain undefeated thanks to the foresight of her causality vision and the agility of her Celestial Maiden Form, she couldn't deal any effective damage to Mitsunaka under the current circumstances. If the battle dragged on, the advantage would only shift further in his favor.

Thus, Miketsu had to find a way to finish Mitsunaka quickly, or she would have to resort to powers beyond demonic energy... As she thought this, the Demonic Fang Blade in her hand suddenly transformed, changing from bone-white steel into transparent, frigid crystal.

"Next... let's slow you down."