Dance of the Blade

In Earth's outer orbit, along the Earth-Moon orbital defense line, the gods led by Miketsu held their ground against the powerful offensive of the Purification Fleet. Amidst the countless light beams and missiles from the massive fleet, the small space station endured, standing firm under the increasingly fierce assault.

However, while Miketsu’s side managed to hold the line, they found it difficult to counter-attack. The vast scale of the engagement and the unsuitable vacuum of space limited the performance of the terrestrial gods and yokai. As the distance between the two sides rapidly closed, more of the Purification Fleet's weapons entered effective range. Many energy-charging weapons were now fully primed, and the orbital defense line was about to face a defensive pressure several, if not a dozen, times greater than before.

"Go!"

A light arrow condensed upon her bowstring. Miketsu released it, sending it streaking toward the incoming fleet. In mid-air, the arrow split into dozens, tracing back along the Threads of Causality created by the fleet's attacks. With her Heavenly Net Divination Shot, Miketsu could guarantee a hundred percent hit rate even at engagement distances of tens of thousands of kilometers.

Countless light arrows swarmed toward the Purification Fleet. However, just as they were about to impact the ships, a swarm of guardians cruising ahead of the fleet sprang into action.

These were numerous ultra-high-speed aircraft, much smaller than the warships, flying in swarms to escort each vessel. As the light arrows approached, they swarmed forward, using their own hulls to intercept the projectiles. Miketsu's light arrows were exhausted after destroying dozens of these aircraft, failing to pose a threat to the warships themselves.

"Are these... autonomous interceptor drone swarms?" Miketsu frowned at the sight. Between the shields and the point-defense drone swarms, the difficulty of dealing damage to the enemy had increased significantly.

Faced with this predicament, Miketsu began to consider a counter-strategy. Suddenly, she stiffened; the causality before her eyes signaled a massive impending crisis.

"Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto! High spiritual energy reactions detected within the Purification Fleet. Based on the fluctuations, those are the Moon Capital's new Heavenly Fire Cannons! There are four in total! According to the charging progress, they will fire simultaneously!" Eirin’s urgent voice crackled in Miketsu’s ear.

"I know... it seems this wave won't be easy to handle..." Miketsu replied grimly. She knew the power of the Heavenly Fire Cannons; the space station beneath her was equipped with one, and a single shot was equivalent to a full-power light arrow from her divine bow!

One such attack would be manageable, but four at once...

"Everyone! Stay sharp! They're bringing out the big guns!" Miketsu shouted to her companions. The arrow in her hand began to charge at high speed, and the space station beneath her adjusted its orientation. Its own Heavenly Fire Cannon was fully charged. Tamamo-no-Mae began to gather demonic power, Dakini-ten accumulated thunderclouds, while Kanako and Bishamonten poured more divine power into the pagoda and the storm shield.

Finally, the Heavenly Fire Cannons of the Purification Fleet finished charging. At the rear of the fleet, from the central axis rails of four large ships, four massive spiritual energy shells were launched. They streaked toward the defense line at extreme speeds, appearing to outside observers as four incredibly thick beams of incandescent light.

The moment the Heavenly Fire Cannons fired, Miketsu’s side responded. The light arrow left Miketsu’s bow, and the space station’s Heavenly Fire Cannon roared to life. Tamamo-no-Mae’s full-power Foxfire followed Dakini-ten’s thick bolts of lightning.

Under her causality vision, Miketsu’s light arrow accurately struck the first Heavenly Fire shell. Guided by the station's superior fire-control radar, its own Heavenly Fire Cannon collided with the second. Leveraging Miketsu’s causality vision, Dakini-ten’s lightning guided Tamamo-no-Mae’s Foxfire to intercept the third. The final Heavenly Fire shell slammed directly into the dual-layer shield of the storm and the pagoda.

An incomparable explosion of energy erupted. An endlessly dazzling brilliance burst in the center of the battlefield, a flash that could be observed even from the ground. Violent energy ravaged the empty void of space before quickly dissipating.

As the light faded, the space station remained. Atop it, Tamamo-no-Mae panted slightly, Bishamonten knelt on one knee leaning on his halberd, and Kanako looked pale, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. Aside from Miketsu and Dakini-ten, no one was in good condition. It was clear they had consumed too much power in one go. Dakini-ten was fine only because her power was drawn from Miketsu.

The Heavenly Fire volley had been successfully neutralized, but Miketsu’s side had paid a price. Beyond the excessive energy consumption, the most serious issue was the shattering of the dual pagoda and storm shields. After tanking a direct hit from a Heavenly Fire Cannon, Bishamonten and Kanako were clearly unable to maintain the protection. They needed time to recover before they could redeploy the barriers, but the enemy would not grant them that time.

With the shields gone, the rest of the Purification Fleet's offensive did not cease. A sky-covering barrage of fire swept toward them again. The space station was now completely exposed to this rain of projectiles.

"Star-Moon Heavenly Punishment!"

Accompanied by a majestic male voice, the void suddenly flickered with the light of ten thousand stars. A dense cluster of pale meteors made of divine power streaked across the dark space, meeting the incoming fire. Amidst a series of starlight explosions, another round of the barrage was neutralized.

"You... you are..." Kanako looked on in shock at the man slowly descending from the sky. Inside the space station, a small smile appeared on Eirin’s lips.

"Finally, he's here..."

Kou stood upon the space station, his majestic gaze piercing through the vastness of space to look at the massive fleet in the distance. Facing his former subjects, his heart was filled with complexity.

The moment Kou appeared, his image was transmitted to the fleet. For a brief moment, more than half of the fleet's attacks ceased. On the flagship, the Sage looked at the familiar figure on the screen and couldn't help but let out a long sigh. Then, in a steady voice, he addressed the entire fleet.

"Soldiers, do not be confused by what is before you. Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto has long been corrupted by impurity, betraying the Moon Capital and the path of purity. For the sake of the sublime purity, purify him! He shall return to the purest state!"

"For the sublime purity!"

Inside countless compartments, the lunarians shouted in unison. Immediately, the briefly stilled weapon systems fired again at full capacity, and a sky-blotting barrage once more surged toward the space station.

Facing the onslaught, Kou turned and glanced back at the weakened Kanako and the others. He spoke.

"Rest for a moment. Leave this to me..."

"Understood..." Kanako nodded and began to regulate her divine power. As Kou turned back to deal with the numerous projectiles, he found Miketsu floating ahead of him, her back to him as she faced the fleet.

"Are you... not going to rest?" Kou’s expression faltered slightly as he spoke.

"Ah... I don't need to for now. Rather than resting, there's something more important to do right now," Miketsu said calmly without turning around.

"Something more important?"

"Yes. I've had enough of just passively taking hits. It's time to fight back."

"Fight back? How do you plan to do that? Their defensive capabilities are also very strong."

"I know. Shields, interceptors... shooting arrows is almost ineffective, which is getting a bit annoying. So, I'm going to be a bit more direct... and charge right in." Miketsu smiled as she watched the incoming barrage. Hearing her words, Kou’s expression changed.

"No, that's too dangerous! You can't go!" Kou said with a hint of urgency. Miketsu turned her head and gave him a slight smile.

"Don't worry. Compared to the Inari Okami you once knew, I'm a bit stronger. Let's go, Little Dakini."

"Right!"

As soon as Miketsu finished speaking, Dakini-ten turned into a phantom and merged into Miketsu's body. Miketsu then accelerated to full power, charging toward the distant fleet at high speed. Kou could only stand there silently, watching Miketsu’s receding figure.

During her flight, Miketsu evaded the incoming barrage, rapidly closing the distance to the Purification Fleet. Since the distance between the two sides had already narrowed during the previous exchanges, she soon reached the fleet's vanguard.

In the process, Miketsu transformed the longbow in her hand into a tachi and sheathed it. Then... she drew another similar tachi from a different scabbard. This was the other Blade of the Three Realms she had borrowed from her sworn brother, Toga!

As Miketsu approached at high speed, she was detected by the fleet's sensors. Instantly, countless cruising interceptor drones and a massive curtain of point-defense fire blanketed the area around her. At that moment, the blade in Miketsu’s hand began to emit a golden light.

"Awaken, Narukami-ga!"

Amidst a burst of radiance, the tachi transformed into a seven-branched sword. Then, the seven-branched sword was enveloped in a shroud of divine power, becoming a shining golden blade of energy.

Golden light scattered in all directions. Guided by her causality vision, Miketsu used her incredibly agile maneuvers to perfectly evade the incoming point-defense shells. She then swung the light blade, cleaving through the interceptor drones. Amidst a series of thunderous explosions, Miketsu broke through the Purification Fleet's defensive lines, unstoppable.

"A solo charge? Hmph, truly a reckless move..." Inside the flagship, the Sage spoke with disdain as he watched the screen. In his view, even if Miketsu could break through, what could she possibly do against countless hundred-meter-long steel behemoths?

Golden light streaked through the void. Miketsu broke through the point-defense perimeter amidst the explosions of drones. Now, appearing before her was a steel beast over a hundred meters long.

Facing this giant, Miketsu raised her blade of light and poured a massive amount of divine power into it.

Suddenly, the blade in Miketsu’s hand surged. Under the immense divine power, it expanded to over seventy meters in an instant, becoming a colossal blade of light.

"Slay!"

Swinging the giant blade of light, Miketsu struck directly at the hundred-meter warship. In a flash of blade-light, she sliced the ship, along with its shields, clean in half.