The Evil God

The river of blood pouring from the top of the sinkhole splashed onto the giant snake's bones. It split into countless tiny streams that coursed through the skeleton from head to tail, rapidly differentiating into muscle tissue and organs. These new growths quickly filled the hollow spaces between the sharp ribs of the skeletal serpent.

"This is... the blood of the Leopard Cat Clan's sacrifice!" Seeing the familiar power, Miketsu immediately recalled her battle with Torin. It seemed the situation in Harima Province was indeed inextricably linked to the Great Snake.

Seeing flesh grow upon the white bones, Miketsu felt a surge of urgency. It was obvious that once its body was fully restored, it would be one step closer to true rebirth.

Gripping the Demonic Fang Blade, Miketsu unleashed an Explosive Current Wave at the serpent's bones. The demonic tornado struck the newly formed flesh, shredding it to pieces once more. However, fresh blood quickly flowed to the damaged areas, and the organs began to reconstruct themselves. Seeing this, Miketsu realized there was still hope.

Though the damage was repaired quickly, it was only because of the replenishment from the new sacrificial blood. The shredded flesh fell to the ground and did not return to the pool of sacrificial blood. This meant there was a limit to the Great Snake's regeneration. Once the sacrificial blood was exhausted, it would no longer be able to recover. Miketsu knew she had to keep hacking away at the flesh. Her intuition told her she had to finish the Great Snake as soon as possible, or things would become even more difficult once it grew scales.

With this thought, Miketsu gripped the Demonic Fang Blade and charged straight toward the blood-red serpent. She intended to use her blade to strip the flesh from its body, from head to tail.

However, halfway there, a sense of impending doom surged in her heart. Following the blurred warnings of her causality vision, she braked hard and lunged to the side. A massive, sharp tailbone whipped past her, narrowly missing her front. Miketsu’s black robe was sliced open, and even the Fire-Rat Robe beneath was left with a large gash. Had it not been for the protection of the Fire-Rat Robe, she might have been disemboweled by that single strike.

"What...?"

Carried by the momentum of the near-miss, Miketsu flew back quite a distance before she managed to stop. A look of clear confusion appeared on her face. That tail whip was significantly faster than the previous ones—so fast that even the weakened warning from her causality vision had been frantic. She had barely dodged it.

Looking at the Great Snake now, she immediately understood why. Dense muscle had already formed over its tailbone. Having gained the power of muscle, the serpent's speed had increased by several levels, catching Miketsu off guard.

"This is getting more and more troublesome... In that case..."

Realizing the risks of close combat had increased, Miketsu immediately changed her strategy. She pulled back, maintaining a high-speed flight while bombarding the skeletal serpent with long-range attacks. Facing such an unprecedentedly powerful enemy, she was now unleashing everything she had.

The demonic tornadoes of the Explosive Current Wave, the Demon-Subjugating Beams of the Golden Light Spell, and even self-detonating Paper Shikigami... From a distance, Miketsu relentlessly bombarded the giant, scale-less body, vaporizing and blasting away the flesh to prevent further evolution.

As long as she maintained her distance and stayed highly focused, Miketsu was confident she could evade all of the serpent's current attacks. At this rate, she would eventually drain all the sacrificial blood and force the Great Snake back into a purely skeletal state, making it much easier to handle.

Under Miketsu’s continuous bombardment, the rapid growth of the flesh was suppressed, and the sacrificial blood was being consumed at a high rate. But just as things were proceeding according to her plan, another mutation occurred.

With a roar of fury, the serpent's eyes emitted a terrifying light. Its muscle-clad head opened its gaping maw, revealing rows of jagged fangs. Within that maw, a brilliant, sinister purple light began to glow, and a sphere of energy containing immense power coalesced.

A chill ran down Miketsu’s spine. She recognized the power within that sphere—it was divine power!

Miketsu immediately slashed a demonic tornado toward the serpent's head, accompanied by a swarm of self-detonating Paper Shikigami. The Great Snake swung its massive tail to block the tornado. Although the Paper Shikigami bypassed the tail and exploded near the head, their power was too small to interrupt the serpent's charge.

Damn it...

Seeing that her interruption had failed, Miketsu’s heart sank. She immediately accelerated toward the serpent, but just as the beast prepared to meet her, she suddenly banked into a steep climb. She flew straight toward the sinkhole in the ceiling of the underground space, making a decisive and clean getaway.

Faced with an attack infused with divine power, Miketsu, who knew exactly what such power represented, had no intention of clashing with it head-on or trying to interrupt it at close range. She knew that doing so would only cause that energy to explode right in her face. While she had considered the idea of forcing the serpent's mouth shut to make the energy explode internally, she knew the serpent's flesh wasn't sturdy enough to contain it. Such an attempt would be suicidal.

Under the circumstances, retreating was the best option.

Seeing Miketsu trying to escape, the Great Snake aimed its energy-filled maw at her as she flew up the sinkhole. Just as it was about to fire, a seven-colored demonic energy cannon blast shot down from outside the sinkhole, striking the serpent in the side of the face. Its head jerked to the side and downward.

The massive purple energy sphere erupted from the serpent's mouth, flying deep into the underground space and plunging into a fissure in the ground. Then, the destructive divine energy exploded within, submerging the entire underground space in purple light.

"BOOM!!"

The terrifying energy erupted from below, the massive shockwave shattering the fissure and expanding throughout the space before venting out through the sinkhole. Miketsu, who had just cleared the underground area, was caught in the blast. Her flight was destabilized, and she began to plummet. Makoto flew swiftly to her side and caught her. Menreiki, who had just finished firing her demonic energy cannon, flew over as well, using her broken masks to form a protective shield against the lingering shockwaves.

From the sky above, Miketsu could clearly see the earth below churning like waves from the underground explosion. Trees toppled, and fissures opened everywhere, some spitting out purplish-red light. The resulting earthquake rippled outward, and the forest on the surface began to wither and die at an unnatural speed.

Watching the scene, Miketsu’s expression was grim. She wondered what would have happened if that strike had occurred on the surface.

"Are you hurt...?"

"Lady Uka... are you all right? What on earth happened down there?"

Menreiki and Makoto asked with concern. Miketsu took a long breath before answering.

"Whew... I’m fine. Thank you. It’s just that I’ve encountered the most troublesome enemy yet."

"The most... troublesome enemy? What is it?" Makoto asked. Miketsu paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully before speaking.

"It’s an Evil God..."

"An Evil God... An evil... deity!?"

Hearing Miketsu’s words, both Menreiki and Makoto froze in place. The concept of an "Evil God" was something they were hearing for the first time. "An Evil God... To think we are facing a deity this time. Lady Uka... what do you plan to do?" Makoto asked, her expression filled with worry. Anything capable of causing such a massive disturbance was certainly no mere wild god.

"What do I plan to do? I’ll see this through to the end with that fellow... But before that, I need to make some preparations..." Miketsu murmured, lifting the Blade of the Three Realms, which had returned to its original form. Then, using her Divine Messenger contract, she linked her mind to Tsuruha at the shrine.

'Tsuruha... I’m sending Makoto to fetch you. Bring that item here immediately...'