Across the land of Takamagahara, an endless roar echoed through the entire space. As far as the eye could see, the world was filled with blinding light-bursts and surging flames. The Ancient God of Darkness stood in the heavens within her mechanical husk, raining down destruction from her steel wings, a sea of annihilation submerging the land of the celestial realm.
The heavy bombardment gradually ceased. When the brilliant radiance and flames dissipated, the vast earth was left utterly ravaged. The thick layer of flesh that had once covered the ground, along with the dense forest of snake heads atop it, had completely vanished. Not a single scrap of meat remained. The original earth was a wreck, pockmarked with giant craters ranging from several to a dozen kilometers in diameter. The terrain was jagged and uneven, with no flat surface in sight; even the very crust of the earth had been shaved down by over a thousand meters.
Upon this unrecognizable, ruined land, the ancient god Yamata no Orochi lay prone. After the relentless bombardment from the mechanical husk of the Ancient God of Darkness, he was heavily wounded. His entire body was covered in mangled, open gashes, and in many places, pale white bone was visible. Massive amounts of blood flowed from the ancient god's body, filling the numerous craters around him into lakes of blood.
Clearly, under the onslaught of the Ancient God of Darkness, Yamata no Orochi had suffered a major blow. Not only had the flesh-covered land and the forest of snake heads he had previously corrupted turned to nothing, but even his true body had sustained significant damage. However, as an ancient god who commanded flesh and blood, he possessed unparalleled recovery. These wounds, which seemed fatal many times over, were healing at high speed, and Yamata no Orochi struggled to raise his body upright.
Seeing that Yamata no Orochi still clung to life, the Ancient God of Darkness immediately understood that simple bombardment could not kill him. Thus, she spread her wings and dove straight down from the sky.
Facing this high-speed assault, Yamata no Orochi's eight tattered snake heads spat out eight beams of purple light breath. These eight brilliant breaths converged on the diving mechanical husk, yet they failed to cause any visible damage. After breaking through the purple light, the Ancient God of Darkness unleashed another curtain of fire from beneath her steel wings, battering Yamata no Orochi into a mangled state once more. Finally, she landed upon him, her steel claws gripping his slender body while her long, sharp beak bit into one of the eight snake heads. Even the five-to-six-hundred-meter-long eight-headed serpent seemed small and insignificant beneath the frame of the Ancient God of Darkness.
Under the radiation of the Ancient God of Darkness's power, Yamata no Orochi's true body began to experience sluggishness. Under the immense strength provided by the continuous mechanical structures, his scales and flesh were torn by the steel beak, and even the most resilient bones of the ancient god were bitten until they cracked. At this moment, Miketsu intended not only to kill Yamata no Orochi but to extinguish his very soul.
Once again, the scales of power tilted toward the Ancient God of Darkness. It seemed that even a complete Yamata no Orochi could not withstand the combination of the Ancient God of Darkness's divine soul and the mechanical husk. The outcome appeared to have been decided.
"It's... not over yet!"
Yamata no Orochi's massive maws opened, letting out an unwilling roar. Immediately, he began to mobilize his energy, but this time, the energy did not come from himself.
Suddenly, the ravaged land of Takamagahara began to split with gargantuan fissures, and numerous cracks appeared in the space itself. Among the modern gods suppressed by "Princess Kaguya," those originally belonging to Takamagahara—including Amaterasu—all fell unconscious simultaneously. Their divine power, which they had been unable to release, vanished rapidly, while a faint light began to emerge from Yamata no Orochi's body. Indeed, at this life-or-death moment, Yamata no Orochi was draining the power of the entire Yamato mythology. Moreover, it wasn't just the Yamato mythology; the other mythologies he had corrupted were also being drained of their power at high speed. For a time, several divine realms began to collapse.
The World Tree withered, and the Mountain of the Gods crumbled. Within Heaven, the three chief gods who had been entangled with the Lord of Heaven all lost consciousness at once. Their power was siphoned away through the Prophetic Book of Investiture, eventually converging within Yamata no Orochi and being converted into his own unique ancient god power.
With the influx of power from several mythologies, the numerous wounds on Yamata no Orochi's body healed instantly. Then, his form began to swell further. In a short time, his size surged from five or six hundred meters to eight or nine hundred meters. His slender body became thicker and more powerful, and his already tough scales grew even harder. His overall strength took another massive leap upward.
With power surpassing his original state, Yamata no Orochi twisted his mighty body of eight heads and eight tails, breaking through the sluggishness. He turned the tables, coiling around the mechanical husk of the Ancient God of Darkness and constricting it with terrifying pressure. His eight heads bit down hard on various parts of the mechanical frame, frantically secreting corrosive toxins in an attempt to dissolve and crush the Ancient God of Darkness.
Yamata no Orochi's counterattack was exceptionally fierce and swift, but it did not achieve much effect. Even his enhanced body could not bend or damage the mechanical husk of the Ancient God of Darkness. His intense corrosive fangs produced nothing but clouds of smoke without achieving any significant result. Nevertheless, Yamata no Orochi did not release his long body.
He was waiting for the power of the mythologies to be completely drained, waiting for the tiny effects of the corrosive poison to gradually accumulate. As long as he continued to suppress the Ancient God of Darkness, he would eventually achieve victory.
Facing Yamata no Orochi's desperate counterattack, the Ancient God of Darkness found that she could no longer pierce his bones. She opened countless fire-control channels again, unleashing point-blank fire that caught both herself and the coiling serpent in a massive explosion of light. But after the light faded, Yamata no Orochi's wounds had almost entirely healed; he had suffered no substantial damage.
After absorbing the power of several mythologies, the balance between the two sides seemed to have returned to a stalemate. However, Yamata no Orochi was confident that he would emerge victorious in this new deadlock.
Between bites, Yamata no Orochi murmured hoarsely.
"The winner... will be me..."
Looking at the desperately counterattacking serpent before her, Miketsu's consciousness within the Ancient God of Darkness could not help but sigh softly. She whispered calmly in her heart.
'It seems... it is time for the final step...'
...
The mortal world, the ruins of Heian-kyo.
Upon the desolate Mount Inari, the divine fox Tsuruha slowly descended from the sky. On her back, she carried a young girl down to the ground.
Wearing an elegant crown, her long hair pitch-black, and clad in a deep black ceremonial robe embroidered with silver divine birds, Kikyo stood atop Kojin-mine on Mount Inari. She looked up, gazing at the mirage of the celestial realm high in the heavens.
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