Waiting for the Descent

Inside the hollow underground space, Miketsu, clad in her black robe, gripped the Demonic Fang Blade and once again sent Yamato-takeru-no-Mikoto flying. He crashed into the distant cavern wall, his body impaled by sharp stones. Yet, as if it were nothing, he stood up again. His wounds healed in seconds under the power of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, as though he had never been injured at all.

Even after he had used the sinister power within the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi to modify his body and enhance his strength, he was still unable to fully parry Miketsu's Kishin power. However, his incredibly powerful super-regeneration allowed him to rise infinitely and continue his assault on Miketsu.

"This guy... something is wrong..." Miketsu whispered to herself, her brow furrowed after wounding and repelling Yamato-takeru-no-Mikoto for the umpteenth time. Throughout their duel, his behavior had been far too abnormal. He had been using that sinister power solely to strengthen his flesh and endure her attacks, engaging in a melee that was clearly disadvantageous to him without releasing any energy blasts. It was a baffling way to fight.

Miketsu knew that in terms of energy output, the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi in his hand was even more effective than her own Demonic Fang Blade. It even possessed a powerful technique known as Prison Dragon Shatter, a move with enough output to disperse the thundercloud restrictions of Sugo Ungo in a single blow. Yet, up until now, Yamato-takeru-no-Mikoto hadn't used it once.

Furthermore, before Miketsu had arrived at the White Tiger Altar, he had already begun using the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi to siphon power from it. Logically, a significant portion of the Four Symbols Power within the altar should have been seized. But even now, he hadn't released any of that power. It was truly perplexing.

What was he trying to do? Why was he being so frugal with his energy? Was he charging up some ultimate move? But under such heavy suppression, what kind of technique could he possibly be accumulating? Was he trying to wear her out by limiting his output and using it all to bolster his defense?

Countless questions sprouted in Miketsu's mind. Her intuition told her that Yamato-takeru-no-Mikoto was stalling for time. Though she didn't know exactly what he was waiting for, she didn't want to keep wasting time with him. Unfortunately, faced with the immense physical stats and recovery granted by the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, she couldn't end the fight quickly.

Under the influence of the sword's power, Yamato-takeru-no-Mikoto possessed a body nearly as immortal as Mokou's. His strength and reaction speed had reached levels far beyond that of an ordinary yokai. Though he was still no match for Miketsu, it made him exceptionally difficult to kill. Miketsu could see very few Lines of Death on him, and all of them were extremely difficult to reach.

Physical enhancement, super-regeneration, mental influence... these were the consistent traits of the Great Orochi's sinister power within the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. Miketsu had seen much of it by now, and the concentration of this power within Yamato-takeru-no-Mikoto had reached an extreme level.

"What a repulsive power..." Miketsu whispered under her breath during the battle. Her voice reached Yamato-takeru-no-Mikoto, and he spoke in response.

"Repulsive? Heh... You can only appreciate the beauty of this unclean power's strength once you have accepted it. Of course, a gift from the Lord Deity requires a corresponding recompense..."

Unclean power? Was that the true name for this energy? And what was this "recompense"? After another strike heavily wounded him and sent him flying, Miketsu couldn't help but wonder.

Through their continuous clashes, Miketsu gradually became familiar with his patterns. At one point, she nearly managed to strike a vital point and trigger one of his Lines of Death. Although he was tenacious thanks to the unclean power, Miketsu would eventually emerge victorious if this continued.

Just then, a massive boom echoed into the sinkhole from outside, accompanied by a miserable screech. Following this, a massive source of demonic energy outside suddenly weakened, vanishing rapidly until it was gone.

Tsuchigumo is dead... Mokou, Menreiki, and the others defeated it? Miketsu immediately made the judgment, and just as she felt a slight sense of relief, a laugh suddenly echoed through the underground space.

"Hahaha! Tsuchigumo is dead... I only expected the Onmyoryo and your yokai subordinates to significantly weaken it. I didn't think they would actually be able to kill it directly. Excellent... this will save me some trouble later." Sensing the disappearance of the demonic energy outside, Yamato-takeru-no-Mikoto laughed heartily, much to Miketsu's surprise.

Noticing the confusion in Miketsu's eyes, he turned his head toward her with a smirk, explaining with an air of triumph.

"Are you confused, Owl? Tsuchigumo was clearly sent by me to attack Heian-kyo, so why would I hope for its death? The reason is simple. As a blood sacrifice required for the descent of the Lord Deity's power, it couldn't be allowed to have too much resistance..."

"The descent... of a god's power?" Miketsu's heart jolted at his words, a bad premonition slowly rising within her.

"Yes. Why do you think I haven't used the full power of the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi to fight you until now? Because this power has a much greater purpose..."

As he spoke, Yamato-takeru-no-Mikoto tightened his grip on the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. A purple-red aura erupted from it once more, a violent gale sweeping through the entire underground space.

"It's a pity. Because of your interference, I only absorbed half the power from the White Tiger Altar, so what I can summon will be significantly less. But it doesn't matter. The power of the Lord Deity is not something this mundane world can contend with!"

Seeing him begin to release his power again, Miketsu felt a sudden surge of alarm. She immediately flew toward him at high speed, delivering a full-strength slash. Yamato-takeru-no-Mikoto successfully blocked with his sword but was sent crashing into the rock wall by the sheer force. He smashed a large crater into the wall, the impact causing him to cough up a large mouthful of blood.

"Cough... It's useless... You cannot stop... this descent..." The Divine Messenger spoke through blood amidst the rising dust. The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi in his hand began to change. Cracks actually appeared where Miketsu had just struck it while he was parrying, and these cracks continued to spread across the blade.

With a series of clicks and snaps, the crack-ridden Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi began to shatter into pieces of iron that fell to the ground. Amidst a wave of distortion and transformation, the true form of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was revealed. It was, quite shockingly, a segment of a sharp, bone-white tailbone.

This was the tailbone of Yamata no Orochi—the original form of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi!