Spirit Devour

West of Heian-kyo, a vast forest was assailed by extreme cold. Frost covered the trees and branches, and a layer of ice encased the soil and grass. Such an icy landscape had never been seen, even during Heian-kyo's harshest winters.

Above the white forest, Minamoto no Yorimasa, wielding the power of the White Tiger Divine General, fought clad in ice crystal armor, his hand gripping a bone-white blade of extreme cold, enveloped in a biting wind. His opponent was Watatsuki no Yorihime, the moon priestess, who wielded the blade of the Fire God. Minamoto no Yorimasa had not expected to encounter such a formidable foe.

Swinging his cold blade, Minamoto no Yorimasa conjured a storm of extreme cold that swept towards Yorihime, carrying countless ice spears within it. Seeing this, Yorihime began to simultaneously channel multiple divine powers.

“Takeminakata-no-Kami… Hosuseri-no-Mikoto…”

The powers of the Wind God and the Fire God were borrowed simultaneously. With slashes of Yorihime’s longblade, fierce winds carrying raging flames collided with the icy winds, and rising white steam enveloped the entire forest, instantly plummeting visibility.

Relying on Omoikane’s Eye, Yorihime swiftly calculated Minamoto no Yorimasa’s position within the thick fog. She immediately flew towards him, swinging the blade of the Fire God down with force, striking directly onto his frost armor.

In an instant, the ice armor melted under the smoky blade. Minamoto no Yorimasa’s left hand, holding his sword, was severed. Yorihime spun again, severing Minamoto no Yorimasa’s head with another strike. His body broke into several pieces and fell.

Just as Yorihime dispelled the flames and prepared to sheathe her blade, a sudden anomaly occurred. The severed points of Minamoto no Yorimasa’s head and arm suddenly wriggled. His blood vessels and muscles automatically extended, rapidly stitching the scattered head and limb back together. In a single instant, Minamoto no Yorimasa returned to normal.

“What…” Yorihime was stunned by the sight. Just as she prepared to grip her longblade again and ignite her divine fire, Minamoto no Yorimasa’s counterattack arrived.

Minamoto no Yorimasa’s right hand dropped its blade. His arm twisted and writhed, transforming into a giant beast claw. Covered in ice crystals, the claw struck fiercely at Yorihime. Yorihime blocked with her blade, but was sent flying by an unexpected force, barely managing to stop herself before hitting the ground. A hint of astonishment appeared on her face as her mind rapidly analyzed the situation.

“Hyper regeneration… removal of vital points… physical transformation… is his ability not just ice?”

Yorihime muttered grimly. On the other side, Minamoto no Yorimasa used his White Tiger spiritual power to drastically lower the surrounding temperature, causing the pervasive mist to rapidly turn into falling hail. With his vision cleared, he saw Yorihime, who had just been smacked far away.

“Tch… I don’t know where a Miko as troublesome as you came from, but don’t think you can kill me like this! I possess not only White Tiger spiritual power but also the blessing of Lord Snake God!”

As Minamoto no Yorimasa spoke, his body began a drastic transformation. His flesh rapidly swelled amidst constant twisting and writhing, instantly bursting through his ice crystal armor and growing uncontrollably. His body stretched, and his limbs transformed into sharp claws. Seeing this, Yorihime, relying on the power of the Wind God, unleashed countless wind blades. These wind blades opened numerous large wounds on Minamoto no Yorimasa’s body, but they healed instantly.

Finally, Minamoto no Yorimasa transformed into a monstrous giant tiger, twenty to thirty meters long. Icy crystal spikes bristled all over its body, making it resemble a true divine beast, the White Tiger.

The Great Snake is an ancient god who controls flesh and corrosion. It can bestow its apostles with the ultimate physical form. This nearly immortal tiger-beast body was crafted specifically for Minamoto no Yorimasa by the Great Snake. Wielding White Tiger spiritual power with this body allowed Minamoto no Yorimasa to be even stronger than an ordinary Divine General!

“Roar!!”

Minamoto no Yorimasa, in his White Tiger form, roared, and immediately an even more ferocious ice storm erupted from his mouth, assailing Yorihime. Yorihime, as before, invoked the powers of the Fire God and Wind God to defend, but could only barely parry. The entire body of the tiger-beast Minamoto no Yorimasa was forged to wield White Tiger spiritual power, making his techniques several times stronger than in his human Divine General form.

After barely enduring the ice storm, Yorihime gripped the blade of the Fire God and immediately flew towards Minamoto no Yorimasa at high speed. The two clashed once more, but this time, Minamoto no Yorimasa began to gain the upper hand.

The White Tiger-transformed Minamoto no Yorimasa not only had several times more power and stronger techniques, but also possessed an extremely potent hyper regeneration ability and no vital points. This meant that any damage Yorihime inflicted would heal rapidly, rendering her attacks completely ineffective.

During the fierce battle, Yorihime gradually began to fall into a disadvantage. The Great Snake’s blessing granted Minamoto no Yorimasa endless stamina and a nearly immortal body, while White Tiger spiritual power provided him with immense energy. Although Yorihime could borrow the divine powers of the gods and overwhelm Minamoto no Yorimasa in terms of energy, she suffered a great disadvantage in stamina and physical endurance. Facing the current Minamoto no Yorimasa, Yorihime had a very low margin for error.

In an unguarded moment, Yorihime’s feet were frozen by Minamoto no Yorimasa’s frost breath. Minamoto no Yorimasa seized the opportunity, pouncing forward and striking with a claw. Yorihime, empowered by the strength of Tajikarao, blocked the giant tiger’s attack with her blade, but this also pinned her down. Seizing this chance, Minamoto no Yorimasa began to gather another frost breath in his mouth, intending to freeze Yorihime directly at close range.

“You’re finished… Miko of Inari…”

Just then, Minamoto no Yorimasa suddenly froze. The spiritual power he had gathered in his mouth rapidly vanished. His eyes widened, and his massive tiger-beast body suddenly trembled.

“What is this…? My spiritual power is… vanishing!?”

Minamoto no Yorimasa muttered in disbelief. His enormous tiger-beast body stumbled back two steps as he frantically looked around at himself. He discovered that the icy crystal fur on his body was rapidly receding and melting.

“What… is… this? What have you done to me!?”

Minamoto no Yorimasa roared at Yorihime, but the answer came from another voice, a voice he knew well.

“Heh, it’s taken full effect, hasn’t it? Looks like it’s working quite well.”

Hearing this voice, Minamoto no Yorimasa’s eyes widened even further. Then, with a gaze that seemed about to pop out, he looked in the direction of the voice and saw the figure he utterly detested.

“Minamoto—no—Yorimitsu! It’s you!”

From the distance in the forest, the head of the Minamoto Clan, clad in samurai battle attire and guarded by a tall armored Shikigami, slowly approached. On his handsome face, a confident smile still lingered.

“Long time no see, Yorimasa. So, do you like the gift I gave you? I spent a great deal of effort cultivating these hundred thousand spirit-devouring worms… Even for us, the Minamoto Clan, it’s quite an accomplishment.”

“A hundred thousand… spirit-devouring worms?”

“Indeed, it’s quite a grand gesture, isn’t it? We couldn’t do it before. After all, using the White Tiger Array as a worm pit to raise worm Shikigami… was unthinkable in the past.” Minamoto no Yorimitsu said with a smile, looking at Minamoto no Yorimasa, who stood frozen in place.

At this moment, he suddenly understood. When he had absorbed the White Tiger Array’s spiritual power, perhaps it wasn’t just pure spiritual power that had entered his body.