Although Miketsu could not use her divine power, that didn't mean it didn't exist. She could clearly feel the power latent within her body; she just couldn't channel it out.
But when Miketsu saw the God-Summoning Spell on Yura's scroll, an idea suddenly popped into her head. Could she use the God-Summoning Spell as a conduit to channel her divine power out in the form of spiritual power, thereby casting Onmyojutsu? Thinking of this possibility, she immediately experimented, and the result was a complete success.
As she recited the incantation, it echoed repeatedly in her mind. She could hear her own prayer as if from another perspective, and at the same time, she could channel her divine power through the pathway formed by that prayer!
"Earth Dragon Needle Burst..."
The Demon-Faced Centipede once again twisted its body rapidly, using the spikes on its body as a medium to whip up a tornado of demonic energy. This land-based tornado transformed into an earth dragon and charged toward Miketsu, its head formed by rapidly spinning pincers that created a massive drill capable of instantly grinding boulders to dust.
Facing the attacking Demon-Faced Centipede, Miketsu did not flee. She pointed her finger at the demonic energy tornado charging straight at her, the incantation on her lips already complete.
The pathway to communicate with a god and channel divine power was established. Miketsu unleashed her divine power, and in an instant, the immense force flooded the narrow conduit to its absolute limit!
"Myojin Demon-Subduing Golden Light Spell!"
Terrifying spiritual power, converted from divine power, erupted with Miketsu at its center. A dazzling golden light surged from her fingertip, forming a beam as thick as a large tree that shot forward, striking the demonic energy tornado head-on.
The demonic energy tornado, capable of severing giant trees and shattering rocks, instantly dissipated under the beam saturated with immense spiritual power. The body of the Demon-Faced Centipede, shrouded within the demonic energy, took a direct hit from the beam.
"Gaaaaaaah!"
With a roar of agony, the demonic energy tornado created by the Demon-Faced Centipede vanished. Losing its balance, it crashed violently to the side, only coming to a stop after knocking down several carbonized tree trunks.
"S-such immense spiritual power... Lady Uka, could you be..." In the distance, Tsuruha stared blankly at the scene. The surge of spiritual power Miketsu had just unleashed had truly frightened her. The amount of spiritual power contained in that single light spell was nearly equivalent to the cost of her own ultimate move, the Heavenly Fox Calamity Fire.
Meanwhile, Miketsu was also staring blankly at her own finger, muttering to herself inwardly. Is it really this powerful? Yura even wrote notes next to this spell on the scroll, calling it 'unstable' and 'weak.' This is what she calls weak?
"Aaaaaaaah..."
Just then, a pained, hoarse cry drew the attention of Miketsu and Tsuruha back to the Demon-Faced Centipede. Amidst a cloud of dust, the centipede struggled to raise its body once more. Only now could Miketsu clearly see how much damage her previous attack had inflicted.
The Demon-Faced Centipede had lost nearly half of its head. Starting from the head, about seven or eight of the following body segments had lost anywhere from a third to a half of their mass. It was clear that any part of the centipede's body that had come into contact with the light spell had been completely vaporized. The fact that it wasn't dead yet could only be attributed to a bit of luck.
A massive amount of discolored blood gushed from the enormous wound, turning the ground into a large pool of gore. The exposed flesh and tissue at the wound were writhing madly, simultaneously staunching the bleeding and slowly regenerating at a visible rate. Unlike the Demon-Breaking Power inherent in divine power, wounds caused by ordinary spiritual power could be healed.
It's still not dead?
Seeing the centipede's gruesome state, Miketsu was shocked. Its life force clearly exceeded her expectations. Seeing this, she quickly formed another hand seal and began chanting the incantation for a second attack.
However, Miketsu was a little worried. Her first shot had hit because the creature was charging straight at her, and since it was so close, she didn't really have to aim to hit it in the face. But now they were over a hundred meters apart. Could she hit it accurately just by pointing her hand? This centipede demon was not slow.
Having played many FPS games, Miketsu knew how difficult it was to hit a high-speed moving target from hundreds of meters away with a gun in the dark with poor lighting. If you weren't a pro, it would just turn into a spray-and-pray mess.
Besides, she didn't even have a gun now, only her hand to point with. Not even iron sights were provided. How was she supposed to hit anything!
Miketsu worried the Demon-Faced Centipede would use its mobility to dodge her light spell, but the centipede was thinking nothing of the sort. Its heart was filled with rage. It would charge again and tear that onmyoji to shreds.
This wasn't recklessness; it believed that the previous attack had been Miketsu's all-out ultimate move, just like Tsuruha's Heavenly Fox Calamity Fire—a final blow that exhausted all of one's spiritual power!
After using a move of that level, it would typically place an immense burden on the body, making even movement difficult, let alone firing another one. Tsuruha, whom it had just fought, was the perfect example.
With this line of reasoning, the Demon-Faced Centipede prepared to attack immediately.
"That last one... was very strong... but... you... must be at your limit now..."
"But I... am not!!"
Letting out an enraged roar, the Demon-Faced Centipede used all its strength to charge at Miketsu. It could no longer use the Earth Dragon Needle Burst, but that didn't matter. Its energy-depleted opponent would be even weaker than it was. It could crush her with its size alone.
With this fatal misjudgment, the Demon-Faced Centipede began its final charge. It did not know that the power consumed by the previous attack was but a minuscule fraction of the vast divine power of Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami.
Watching the Demon-Faced Centipede charge head-on once again, Miketsu—who already had the spell ready and was squinting, her hand shaped like a pistol as she tried her best to aim—was momentarily stunned, then gave a slight smile.
This guy is really stubborn.
And so, Miketsu stood her ground, waiting for the Demon-Faced Centipede to charge within ten meters—a distance at which even a blind person couldn't miss—and then she whispered softly.
"Bang..."
A dazzling golden light once again illuminated the dark night sky. A thick beam erupted from Miketsu's fingertip, and its brilliant radiance engulfed the figure of the Demon-Faced Centipede.
Regret, vexation, indignation, resentment, confusion, fear... At this moment, countless emotions surged through the heart of this yokai, which had been driven by the Minamoto clan for a hundred years. But in the end, all these emotions converged into one: bewilderment.
Why... why does she still have spiritual power? And so much of it?
Before being consumed by the torrent of immense spiritual power, it wanted to ask the girl before it one final question.
"Are... you... truly human?"
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