"Die!"
Accompanying Torin's roar, he condensed more ice spikes and shot them towards Miketsu. At the same time, the Ice Leopard Cat, whose front left paw had fully recovered, immediately joined the attack, pouncing directly at Miketsu.
Demonic energy overflowed wildly from Qin Xin's mask, and blue demonic energy enveloped Miketsu. Facing the incoming attacks, she accelerated rapidly, almost transforming into a blue afterimage, completely evading the attacks. The Ice Leopard Cat couldn't even pinpoint Miketsu's location.
In the form of the Demonic Fox Mask, Miketsu could envelop herself in demonic energy, greatly increasing her speed. This acceleration was even higher than the Yu-step. At the same time, the demonic energy cloak also had some tangible effects; in close combat, it could turn into sharp blades. It was also because of the demonic energy cloak that she was insulated from the slippery ice beneath her feet, preventing her from falling even at high speeds.
Completely avoiding Torin's ice spikes and the Ice Leopard Cat's pounce, Miketsu made a sharp turn on the ice and rushed directly towards the Ice Leopard Cat. Before it could react, she climbed onto its massive body.
The Ice Leopard Cat twisted its body fiercely, and Miketsu was thrown off, but before that, she had already circled its body, trailing a blue glow, and left a gift: Exploding Talismans stuck all over it.
With a roar, the giant Ice Leopard Cat was engulfed by the explosion, scattering into tiny ice fragments everywhere, with no possibility of reassembly or recovery. The talismans just now were placed on the critical points that could deconstruct it, as Miketsu had seen through her causal vision!
Seeing his puppet disintegrated, Torin's brows furrowed. He then plunged the sword in his hand into the previously frozen ice layer.
"Ice Needle Purgatory!"
The ice layer burst open, and sharp, cold ice spikes shot out from beneath it, rapidly spreading outwards from Torin as the epicenter. In less than two seconds, they would completely cover the entire cave floor, piercing everything on it.
Covering all standing ground with ice spikes was Torin's strategy. No matter how fast or agile Miketsu was, it would be useless without a place to stand.
Just before ice spikes were about to erupt beneath her feet, Miketsu used the power of the Demonic Fox Mask to leap into the air, dodging the spikes. But in the next instant, the entire cave floor transformed into a needle-mountain hell; if she fell, she would be impaled.
"Roaring Great Spider Mask!"
At this moment, Qin Xin transformed again. Now she became a terrifying red mask, its edges even growing wild, red long hair that completely enveloped Miketsu's head.
As Miketsu was falling, she stretched one hand upwards, and a phantom spider silk shot from her fingertip, sticking to the cave's rocky ceiling, leaving her suspended in the air.
The Earth Spider Mask could produce and shoot sticky demonic spider silk.
Seeing this, Torin was startled. He then pulled out the sword from the ground and swung it at Miketsu, who was hanging in the air, conjuring a cold wind mixed with ice spikes.
Facing the incoming attack, Miketsu had already extended her other hand and shot out sticky spider silk. Then, like Spider-Man, she swung past the ice spikes and cold wind, rapidly moving towards Torin. In her free hand, azure demonic energy condensed into a long naginata.
This was one of Qin Xin's weapons. Though she herself, yet to materialize, had never wielded it, Miketsu was now borrowing it first.
"Clang!"
With the momentum from her swing, Miketsu slashed directly at Torin with the naginata in her hand. Torin blocked it directly with his sword, and the clash of weapons echoed through the cave.
Seeing the naginata blocked, Miketsu released the hand connected to the spider silk, and a large folding fan immediately condensed in that hand.
Thus, Miketsu used one hand to parry Torin's blade with the naginata, while holding the open folding fan in the other, slamming it hard onto Torin's forehead.
Under the amplification of demonic power, the large folding fan unleashed immense force, sending Torin flying directly. He crashed through countless ice spikes before hitting the rock wall.
Determined not to give her opponent a moment's rest, Miketsu, having just landed steadily in Torin's original position, shot spider silk from both hands, sticking Torin to the wall and trapping him. Then, Qin Xin transformed again.
This time, Qin Xin changed into a lion dance mask with wide-open eyes, a gaping mouth, and wild, flowing hair.
"Joyful Lion Mask!"
A surging torrent of fire spewed from the lion mask's mouth, directly striking Torin, who was pinned against the wall. Unable to release an ice wall in time, he could only condense ice on his body, freezing himself, hoping to withstand the lion mask's flames.
However, Miketsu would not give him that chance. In the spider silk she had just shot, she had specially mixed in some gifts.
The Exploding Talismans embedded within the spider silk glowed, detonating at close range. The explosion once again engulfed Torin, not only severely wounding him but also shattering the ice armor he had condensed, leaving him completely exposed and unprotected beneath the lion mask's fierce flames.
"Ahhhhhh, Oyakata-sama!!"
Under the intense heat of the lion mask's flames, Torin let out a heart-wrenching wail. The Blood Sacrifice power around him rapidly depleted, but it couldn't keep up with the speed at which the flames burned his flesh.
In the raging fire, the wailing gradually transformed into a beast's roar.
Boom!
With a massive roar, a gigantic Leopard Cat, severely wounded and with scorched fur, broke through the suppression of the flames and charged directly at Miketsu, pouncing on her. Torin could no longer hold back and revealed his true form.
Seeing the massive Leopard Cat pouncing towards her, Miketsu stopped breathing fire and flashed to the spot where the ice spikes had been shattered earlier, easily dodging the scorched Leopard Cat's attack. Torin, missing his target, crashed through a pile of ice spikes, many of which impaled his flesh.
"What tenacious vitality..." Seeing Torin in his true form, Miketsu prepared to continue the fight. However, to her surprise, the wounded Leopard Cat-form Torin did not want to continue fighting. He glared fiercely at Miketsu, then rapidly sprinted in another direction.
That direction was deeper into the giant cave, towards the Vermilion Bird Seal!
Torin now clearly understood that he couldn't defeat Miketsu. With her inherent strength and that strange yokai mask, he couldn't win even in his true form. His injuries were severe, and to save his life from the flames and explosions, his Blood Sacrifice power was almost completely depleted. Due to the great distance from the Blood Sacrifice ritual and the thick rock formations blocking the way, the efficiency of the Blood Sacrifice reaching him was far less than that of his companions on the surface.
If he continued fighting, defeat and death would only be a matter of time!
However, he couldn't die like this; he had a mission to complete! That was to disrupt the Dog Clan's plan and stop them from forging the blade that could threaten the Leopard Cat Clan's dominance in Harima! This was his purpose in coming into this cave, and for the Leopard Cat Clan, he would accomplish it even if it meant death!
So, he now decided to completely ignore Miketsu and use every means to destroy the forging taking place deep within the cave!
Miketsu saw this and immediately knew what Torin intended to do. So, the lion mask on her head transformed back into the Demonic Fox Mask, and the blue demonic energy cloak surged forth once again.
"Please, Qin Xin... chase him!"
Miketsu transformed into a blue light, chasing directly after Torin.
Rate on N.U.
