Volume 11 - Yamata no Orochi: Chapter 54 – Fight!

Only after suffering the loss of a head did Yamata no Orochi experience a genuinely serious injury, prompting it to burn its stellar soul. Its power surged dramatically in response. Concerned voices called out, “Lily!” as the beast’s heads, undeterred, targeted her landing spot, ready to unleash further eight-colored calamities. “Attack together! Stop it!” came the collective cry as all present expended their fullest efforts, their stellar souls ablaze.

Princess Asuka, leaping from the mountain on flaming wings, transformed into a firebird to join the fray. Despite the severe blow Lily had sustained, her potent physical defenses spared her from a fatal outcome. Emerging from the mountain’s rubble, Lily immediately faced a barrage of calamities. Though she attempted to evade, it was too late for complete avoidance, and she resorted to using the Sakura Parasol to mitigate the attack’s force. A glancing blow sent her reeling, a sharp pain shooting through her arm.

Yamata no Orochi’s immense size had previously obscured the location of its stellar soul, but now, as it ignited them, Lily could sense their presence, marveling at the existence of such a creature. Each head housed a big dipper origin soul, and each body contained seven stellar souls, with additional souls distributed throughout its anatomy. “This, how could such a life form be born?” Lily wondered in amazement.

However, she observed that one head, the one she had previously decapitated, had only six stellar souls and one origin soul. Her attack had significantly damaged Yamata no Orochi, yet it still possessed eight origin souls. The realization that Yamata no Orochi was not immortal sparked within her.

Dodging a relentless a.s.sault, Lily leaped into the air, her soul world momentarily suppressing Yamata no Orochi as she aimed another slash at a different head. This time, the beast, aware of her threat, recoiled, while other heads lunged forward, their long scarlet tongues lashing out like deadly blades.

Amid the chaos, Lily, illuminated by the hazy lunar force, nimbly evaded the three lunging tongues, though the head she targeted managed to withdraw a significant distance. Yamata no Orochi’s immense size meant that retracting a head created a gap of over ten thousand meters. Despite this, Lily pursued, only to be met with a relentless barrage from multiple tongues and tails.

Caught in the midst of Yamata no Orochi’s eight heads and tails, Lily found dodging increasingly difficult as the serpent’s stellar souls burned, enhancing its speed and power. In a moment of attack, as a tail lashed towards her, she deftly ducked and counterattacked.

A blade beam, aglow with hazy lunar force, streaked through the air but didn’t strike the tail at the optimal angle. Although the tail wasn’t severed, Lily’s strike left a substantial gash. Given the tail wasn’t Yamata no Orochi’s core, the inflicted damage, while significant, was not decisive. Lily then strategically withdrew, weaving through the array of attacking heads.

Meanwhile, the rest of the combatants, bolstered by the hazy moon’s blessing and their own burning stellar souls, launched their own fierce a.s.saults. While their attacks didn’t match Lily’s in damage, they were far from inconsequential.

Kimiko, unable to sustain her original fox form, reverted to her nine-tailed human guise, unleashing a variety of arcane spells against their formidable foe.

Despite Yamata no Orochi’s formidable power, it remained a creature of flesh and blood. The act of burning its stellar souls represented a significant depletion of its energy, compounded by the sustained damage inflicted by the attackers, leading to a progressive deterioration of its condition. The battle had become a desperate struggle for survival for both Yamata no Orochi and the experts engaged in combat.

Yamata no Orochi’s immense size and superior spirit energy and stellar soul burning capabilities meant it outmatched all the experts. If the battle persisted in this manner, Yamata no Orochi would only suffer damage to its vitality, whereas the experts faced the risk of exhaustion leading to death. Nevertheless, they persisted in their relentless a.s.sault, driven by a collective resolve not to abandon each other or falter in the face of adversity. Their shared dignity, pride, and moral principles, regardless of whether they were vengeful spirits or demons, compelled them to fight on.

Lily, too, was expending a considerable amount of energy, even though she wasn’t burning a stellar soul. The hazy lunar force she wielded, an enhanced version of the purple lunar force, demanded a higher level of perception for its effective use. Despite her ability to rapidly regenerate purple lunar force, the intense demands of the battle significantly slowed her recovery rate, pushing her to the brink of her physical and energy limits.

As the focus of Yamata no Orochi’s onslaught, Lily faced an overwhelming barrage of attacks. Despite the increased pressure on her, this focus inadvertently eased the burden on her allies. Yet, Lily’s resolve only strengthened in the face of such adversity, her spirit unyielding against the prospect of retreat or defeat.

In a critical moment, as another giant tail aimed at Lily, Michizane, Masakado, and Mita intervened, conjuring an ancient formation that manifested as a golden shield above her. Understanding their intent, Lily ceased her evasive maneuvers and charged directly towards one of the serpent’s heads. The protective shield shattered under the impact, causing the three great experts to suffer from the backlash, but it succeeded in slowing the tail’s speed, allowing Lily to bypa.s.s it and launch a powerful attack with Oborozuki Muramasa.

Muramasa’s inherent demonic nature made it a cursed blade par excellence, its blade intent perfectly suited for inflicting devastating damage. Lily’s strike, though it did not decapitate, caused severe injury to Yamata no Orochi, slicing through neck bones and nearly severing a head. Enraged, the other heads launched a simultaneous attack on Lily, a tactic that risked self-injury but underscored the beast’s desperation.

Despite Lily’s agility, the combined a.s.sault was too intense for complete evasion. As one head lunged to bite, Kimiko, Ayaka, Tokiwa, and Shizuka Gozen intervened, crafting a spirit energy net that halted the attack, providing Lily with an opportunity for a counterstrike. Her blade beam, a manifestation of hazy lunar force, inflicted tremendous damage, slicing through Yamata no Orochi and sending black blood spraying into the sky.

This significant blow, a product of the collective effort of four experts, marked a pivotal moment in the battle. As Yamata no Orochi withdrew the injured head, the remaining six continued their a.s.sault. Antic.i.p.ating another coordinated defense, the serpent targeted Tokiwa with a tail whip in a strategic shift of focus, recognizing the threat posed by the experts’ collaborative tactics. Tokiwa, choosing not to evade, maintained the net, binding another head and setting the stage for Lily’s next move.

As Lily executed a flip, her blade traced a path through the air, unleashing a bright hazy lunar blade beam that decisively severed a snake head. The aftermath of the action was immediate and violent: Tokiwa bore the brunt of a retaliatory strike by a snake tail, the impact forcing her to cough up blood as she was hurled away. This was a battle where each partic.i.p.ant staked their lives.

“Madam Tokiwa!” Lily’s concern for Tokiwa was cut short as she found herself the target of red, blue, and black flames. Concurrently, Yamata no Orochi divided its focus, launching attacks on Ayaka and the others, compelling them to scatter. The serpent, now harboring animosity towards those aiding Lily, sent a huge head to ambush Ayaka from behind.

Mita, with a determined strike, intercepted the serpent’s attack, his club striking the attacking head and causing it to reel, thus providing Ayaka with a chance to evade. However, Mita soon found himself the target of another head’s a.s.sault. His eyes, alight with determination, signaled his readiness for this confrontation. “Since I’ve come to challenge you, Yamata no Orochi, this old man has prepared for this moment!” he declared.

Before the attack could land, a crimson phantom materialized beside Mita, aiding in his defense. Lily, joining the fray, struck Yamata no Orochi’s fangs with her blade. The fangs, remarkably hard, resisted even the sharpness of Oborozuki Muramasa, and the force of the collision sent both Lily and the serpent’s head reeling backward.

Hashihime, arriving on an ox cart, was immediately met with destruction as a snake tail demolished her vehicle. From the wreckage, a powerful resentment emerged, materializing into Haihime, who began casting offensive spells.

Despite the regenerative ability of Yamata no Orochi’s severed heads, each regeneration consumed a substantial amount of its energy. As the battle wore on, with the experts pushing their limits, the serpent’s injuries became increasingly severe, forcing both parties into a fight to the finish.

“Kagura!” At Lily’s command, Kagura utilized another blood soul magatama to launch an attack from a different angle. Their master-shikigami synergy shone as they navigated through the snake heads, managing to bind three together with star ribbons, restraining them temporarily.

Lily, moving like a phantom, a.s.sailed the restrained heads from all directions, nearly severing them. In a frenzied counterattack, Kagura was struck and sent flying, her blood spirit magatama depleted. Recovering swiftly, she activated another magatama and resumed her a.s.sault, successfully severing a head that Lily had nearly cut through.

Kagura then summoned a colossal koi spirit, comparable in size to a mountain, to entangle one of Yamata no Orochi’s heads. Though she could not injure it, she managed to immobilize it temporarily.

Amidst the chaos, a black shadow moved stealthily among the eldritch trees on Yamata no Orochi’s back: Shimizu. Utilizing the distraction provided by her companions, she sought opportunities to strike. Given her realm, her attacks were unlikely to significantly harm the serpent, which consequently overlooked her presence. During her exploration, Shimizu stumbled upon something unusual.