Obstacle

Somewhere in Shimosa Province, Kanto, thousands of meters deep beneath barren mountains, lay a vast and intricate network of tunnels. A multitude of caves and tunnels crisscrossed, forming an enormous underground labyrinth.

In the dark underground labyrinth, countless faintly glowing threads entwined in every tunnel, and innumerable wriggling, massive larvae crawled between the tunnels, rapidly covering every corner of this underground labyrinth.

At the very center of this enormous underground labyrinth was a colossal cavern forcibly gnawed and excavated. In this super-large underground space, hundreds of meters in vertical height, Tokoyo-no-Kami's bloated, massive body lay coiled here.

Mysterious, colorful patterns adorned its thick, corpulent body, its pitch-black eyes were bottomless, and the alluring yet hideous Ancient God larva lay coiled in its nest. Compared to its state on Nightless Island, its length had expanded at least threefold, growing from tens of meters to over two hundred meters. Its entire body was rounder, thicker, and more repulsive, as if its two rows of short, stubby appendages could barely support it.

After a long period of gnawing at the ley line, Tokoyo-no-Kami had not only recovered the losses incurred during its confrontation with Miketsu, but also significantly strengthened itself. It was already close to the threshold of pupation, just one step away from transforming.

"So... where exactly have you hidden, false god of Takamagahara?" A sharp, tender voice, like that of an infant, echoed through the space. Tokoyo-no-Kami's head slowly scanned its surroundings, as if searching for hidden ants.

"Though I don't know how you managed to evade my perception, you cannot escape my nest... Your exposure is only a matter of time... obediently become my food..."

...

Somewhere in Tokoyo-no-Kami's incredibly complex tunnel network, there was a rock-blocked cavity, isolated from the main tunnel network. Inside this hidden crevice, Kanako was slumped against the stone wall. Beside her, Suwako pressed her hands to the ground, releasing her power.

"Hah... hah... Truly, truly a miscalculation. I never imagined that fellow's main body would possess such immense power... It was a grave miscalculation..." Gasping for breath, Kanako spoke weakly, while Suwako, on the other side, rolled her eyes at her.

"That's why I advised you not to rashly pursue that fellow after severely wounding its clone outside," Suwako grumbled to Kanako with a tone of reproach. "Look at us now; both of us have fallen directly into a trap, deep within that fellow's nest, encountering its true form..."

"Hmph... Who would have thought that a mere insect yokai, a wild god, could possess such immense power, even overpowering me, an orthodox god?" Kanako scoffed, but Suwako's expression remained highly displeased.

"This nest is its home ground; its threads and clones are spread everywhere. Your divine power is greatly suppressed, so of course, you couldn't defeat it after it devoured so much of the ley line... That's why you should have listened to me earlier and invited that person from Heian-kyo so we could act together. With her, we wouldn't have ended up in this situation." Suwako continued to grumble and complain. It seemed Kanako's rash decision was largely to blame for their current predicament.

"Ugh... This fellow's gnawing at the ley line has brought incalculable disaster to the creatures in this area. Delaying its elimination by even one day would cause the disaster to spread further. I was too eager to eliminate the harm; I couldn't wait for Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto." Scratching her head, Kanako spoke with a hint of vexation. She then turned to Suwako and continued to ask, "So, do we still have a way to contact Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto?"

"No, Inari Okami's only means of contact with us is her Divine Messenger, Harumutsu. We left her at the shrine when we departed. Now, both our divine power is suppressed by that fellow's nest, and divine messages cannot be transmitted very far. Otherwise, we could contact Kaki and have her contact Inari Okami for us." Suwako spoke slowly, her gaze darkening as she did. "Hah... But even if we contacted her now, it would be useless, wouldn't it? Before she could arrive, that worm would find us, and then we'd be..."

"Shhh..."

Just as Suwako was about to say more, Kanako suddenly raised a finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture. Seeing this, Suwako immediately stopped speaking, looking at Kanako with a hint of confusion.

"Hah... I hear Kaki's prayers. She's not far from us, at least she should be above ground..."

...

Above ground, over the withered and decaying forest, Kaki, who had received Kanako's prayer response, was overjoyed. She eagerly continued to ask Kanako and the others, "Nest? Lady Kanako, whose nest are you talking about, and where is it? I'm coming to find you immediately!"

"Don't come! According to Suwako, that fellow's nest is at least fourteen li underground. The situation here is extremely complex, beyond your ability to handle." In the prayer's response, Kanako sternly instructed Kaki.

"Yes... yes! Then, Lady Kanako, how are you doing now?" Kaki stammered her reply to Kanako, immediately speaking with concern.

"Hah... We fell into that fellow's trap. During the pursuit, we were dragged into its nest. Here, I cannot fight that worm. In desperation, we fled into the labyrinthine tunnels of its nest. Suwako used her Earth power to seal us both into a confined crevice beside a tunnel, and used rocks to block our aura, preventing that worm from sensing us. Now that fellow is splitting off numerous clones, constantly patrolling the entire nest, searching for us..."

Kanako let out a long breath and continued, "That fellow is sending out more and more clones. After failing to find us in any of the tunnels, its clones have begun probing for possible cavities behind the rock walls. Our eventual discovery is only a matter of time. And underground here, we have no way to fight that worm..." Kanako's tone carried a hint of despair. Kaki's heart tightened upon hearing this, and she quickly said, "Please rest assured, Lady Kanako, I will immediately inform Lady Inari Okami of your situation. She will surely find a way to rescue you."

"Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto?"

"Yes... It was she who guided me here. Now, please tell me more detailed information about your situation, and I will relay it to her." Kaki spoke to Kanako with utmost determination.

...

In outer space, inside a massive space station, Miketsu sat in her seat, gravely reading Kaki's reply. For her, Kanako and Suwako's current situation, while not the worst, was certainly far from good.

"Fourteen li... Heh, that's over 6000 meters deep underground. That worm certainly dug deep enough..."

Over 6000 meters of thick earth now formed the greatest obstacle for Miketsu to offer aid to Kanako and the others. According to the information Kanako and Suwako revealed, the path from the surface into its nest was extremely hidden and full of traps. Its nest was like a labyrinth, intricate and complex, with its threads and clones everywhere. In short, it was extremely troublesome to deal with.

If they were to go down directly like this, Kanako and the others would likely be found before even reaching Tokoyo-no-Kami's nest.

Moreover, while Miketsu was highly confident in her own strength, she still didn't believe that rashly intruding into an Ancient God's nest was a wise move, even if it was still an Ancient God in its weakened phase.

If Tokoyo-no-Kami didn't have such a deep, complex, and complete nest for protection, Miketsu would have long since gone down and beaten it senseless. If that fellow's nest weren't ridiculously deep, she could just blast open the surface and beat it senseless after tearing open the ground.

The crucial point was... this nest was simply too deep. Even the current Miketsu didn't have the ability to blast through over 6000 meters of earth in one go. Her maximum output couldn't reach such an exaggerated level. Even a Tsar Bomba wouldn't have that capability...

"So... I need to quickly devise a foolproof plan..."

Standing up, Miketsu looked out at the blue planet through the massive window and began to ponder.