The Sun

"Thwack!"

With two more crisp sounds, the second and third of the fire god brothers, Hoderi-no-Mikoto and Hosuseri-no-Mikoto, were launched in response. They flew straight from the mountain peak toward the distance, eventually falling into the orange-yellow sea of clouds.

As Kanako watched with a stunned expression, Miketsu clapped her hands. Then, Kanako caught sight of what was behind Miketsu and froze for a moment before shouting urgently.

"Watch your back!"

Behind Miketsu, the tall giant, the deity Tajikarao, wore a ferocious expression. He clenched his fists together and smashed them down toward the smaller Miketsu, who had her back turned to him. Accompanied by a violent tremor and a roar, dust billowed across the open space on the mountain peak, and massive cracks appeared in the mountain's structure.

"Is it over?"

Amidst the dust, Tajikarao pulled back his hands from the ground, yet not a single trace of blood was visible on them. Just as Tajikarao grew wary, a voice drifted from beside him.

"I see. So this is the power of the so-called God of Great Strength? I can feel that these celestial peaks are unusually sturdy, yet you were still able to cause such destruction. It is commendable." When the dust settled, the white-haired girl appeared beside Tajikarao. She looked at the destruction before her and spoke indifferently, as if giving an evaluation. This caused Tajikarao's eyes to widen in rage.

"Die!"

Tajikarao swung his clenched fist toward Miketsu, but the hovering Miketsu nimbly dodged the fierce blow. The whistling wind from the punch made her skirts flutter.

Seeing his strike fail, Tajikarao threw countless more punches in rapid succession, but Miketsu gracefully evaded every single one, having read his movements in advance. As she dodged, she even found the time to speak.

"Your power and momentum are decent, but your techniques are quite messy. Is that why you are merely the God of Great Strength and not a War God? No matter how great your strength is, it is useless if you cannot hit your target."

Miketsu spoke nonchalantly while dodging as naturally as if she were dancing. Her attitude further enraged Tajikarao. He let out a roar, and the divine power within him suddenly erupted.

"Aaaaah!"

Suddenly, Tajikarao's body swelled and grew. In an instant, he became more than ten times his original size. He swung a massive fist toward Miketsu, attempting to compensate for his lack of accuracy by expanding his attack area.

"Do all strength-type guys just get bigger?"

Miketsu complained. After nimbly dodging another of Tajikarao's strikes, she pointed her finger at him, and a single golden arrow of light condensed at her fingertip.

Without manifesting a bow, Miketsu simply grabbed the arrow of light and threw it. The arrow struck Tajikarao's arm directly. He let out a scream of pain amidst the explosion of light and clutched his wound.

Seizing this opportunity, Miketsu quickly flew behind Tajikarao's massive form and kicked him squarely in the knee joint. The immense force caused Tajikarao's giant body to lose balance, and he fell straight to the ground. Due to the terrain, the massive Tajikarao rolled right off the mountain peak, tumbling down the steep slope and into the orange-yellow sea of clouds.

"The larger the size, the more openings there are... and to grow that large on this kind of terrain, that intelligence... Truly the God of Great Strength, I suppose?"

Miketsu murmured to herself as she watched the massive body roll down the mountain. Then, she slowly descended from the sky and landed in front of Kanako. At this moment, Kanako was sitting on the ground, staring blankly at everything that had happened.

"You... you finished them all... that quickly?" Kanako said in shock. Miketsu simply waved her hand and replied casually.

"And?"

Hearing Miketsu's words, Kanako didn't know what expression to make. As a deity herself, she naturally understood the power of gods. Three fire gods plus Tajikarao—four deities together had been dealt with so easily and quickly, without even a chance to resist. The power of this so-called Inari Okami far exceeded her imagination. Although she had felt her power was exaggerated when she saw her slash through a warship, she hadn't expected it to be to this extent.

Kanako thought back to when she had fought this monster-like person in the divine realm and ended in a so-called 'draw,' and she couldn't help but shudder.

'Just how much must she have held back to fight me to a "draw" back then...'

"Alright... now is not the time to be dazed. Let's hurry back to the mortal world. This is not a place where we should stay..." Miketsu said to Kanako, preparing to leave. However, Kanako remained somewhat stunned and spoke.

"We're... just leaving? Doesn't this mean we are completely opposed to Takamagahara now?"

"So, do you think you can still be a fence-sitter after Suwako's matter has been exposed? Either choose Suwako and oppose Takamagahara, or stay here and accept your punishment. I came here to save you because Suwako insisted on it. If you are afraid of Takamagahara and don't want to leave, that is up to you," Miketsu said bluntly to Kanako. Kanako was startled for a moment, then immediately responded.

"Is that even a question? Since things have come to this, there is no other way. Let's go!" Kanako answered directly. The bold personality granted by her divine virtue as a War God allowed her to follow her heart's choice without hesitation. In her heart, Suwako was far more important than Takamagahara.

Miketsu smiled at Kanako's words. Just as they were about to leave, a sudden change occurred. In the distant east, the sun disk that hung eternally in the sky suddenly began to react violently, erupting with an incredibly dazzling, blazing light. Miketsu felt the surrounding temperature rise sharply.

"Amaterasu..."

Seeing the transformation of the sun disk, Miketsu murmured as she shielded her eyes from the intense sunlight. Realizing that Amaterasu had taken notice of this place, Miketsu immediately condensed an arrow of light in her hand, preparing to launch a preemptive strike.

Just as Miketsu's arrow and bow of light condensed, they were immediately dissolved and erased by a strange power. Miketsu looked at her empty hands and instantly understood what had happened.

"Divine Authority suppression?"

The Sun Divine Authority could be said to be the most supreme among the Gods of Order. The vitality of all things comes from the sun; the sun is the source of life and the root of order. Crops also require the sun to grow, and prosperity and order must rely on the sun to be established.

Therefore, Amaterasu's Sun Divine Authority governed Miketsu's Inari Divine Authority. Miketsu could not use the power of the Inari God to oppose Amaterasu.

At that moment, the sun disk in the eastern sky suddenly erupted with a burst of radiance. A thick, white-hot solar ray, dozens of meters in diameter, shot out from the sun disk, accurately striking the mountain peak above the sea of clouds.

Instantly, the entire summit was swallowed by the scorching sun.