[Part 2/4]
"What...?"
Hina frowned. In front of her was a severed, charred head. From it, countless snakes emerged, merging and multiplying, tightly wrapping around the giant snake. And then... they fused together.
It was a self-regeneration similar to Yamanba's, a bizarre divine power.
'Hissss!!!'
The snakes, now mocking her, attacked Hina relentlessly, spraying corrosive liquid everywhere. Once it was hit, the flesh melted from the point of impact, creating a large hole. It was like a rain of deadly poison.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Hina destroyed the venom with flames. She pushed her supernatural abilities to the limit for a breakthrough.
(What a brute!)
She was suddenly hit by a tail and thrown away. Just before landing far away, her entire body ignited. She dashed towards the giant snake from within a fireball.
Of course, the flames from her body ignited the snake's flesh. Normally, it would be a certain death, but the snake's flesh split apart, giving birth to new ones from the severed parts, just like the head earlier.
"If it's divine power or something, I'll keep killing until it runs out!"
The first princess roared at the sight. Her words were true, except for the fact that it is difficult to realize.
(After all, Hina's spiritual power will run out first...!!)
Hina's supernatural ability wasn't very efficient, and her spiritual power matched her delicate body. It wasn't good to engage in a battle of endurance with opponents immune to attacks based on physical strength.
"As you can see, we'll proceed as planned. ...I understand your feelings, but I kindly ask for your cooperation."
Understanding that she probably wanted to escape this intense battlefield, I pleaded for her help. Her cooperation was essential to survive this situation.
"Understood. So... first, over there?"
To the response from the conch shell, I nod in agreement, and I looked up at the sky. Though it would be wrong for Hina, dealing with the other party first in the sky was necessary.
Watching the intense and elegant aerial battle between the Tengu and Oni, I thought about how it resembled a martial arts performance.
Flying itself was a great advantage. Due to gravity, attacking from above was easy, while attacking from below was exceptionally difficult to land effective blows.
That's not all. Being able to fly freely means being able to quickly escape danger. Instead of using the advantage of the land, they use the advantage of the sky to always keep themselves ahead in their territory... Tengu are especially skilled at flying compared to various other bird youkai and insect youkai.
They don't rely solely on their wings. Tengu's wings themselves are like a kind of cursed tool filled with dense youkai energy, absorbing and releasing spiritual power drifting in the air, enabling them to perform versatile high-speed flight that is impossible with aerodynamics alone.
Kaede the Aka-bouchou of the Tengu knew this. Since the rough and tumble Aka-Bougumi specialized in combat, they particularly trained the Tengu's strength in flying skills. There's no reason not to use this on their strengths when facing external threats.
And indeed, Kaede was one of the top flyers among the Tengu of Mt. Anma. If it were flight during battle, she might even be in the top three. With that extraordinary ability added, she might be better at flying than anyone else.
"But is that, like, supposed to happen!?"
Just before being crushed, Kaede made a clap. The demon switched places with Hina. She swung the rope, trying to strangle him. But the demon countered, throwing her off. She quickly cut the rope and distanced herself. As the Demon fell, he immediately kicked the water, rising to the surface. He emerged from the water and started running across its surface.
"This is ridiculous!"
Kaede spits out. the demon can jump but can't fly or soar. Moreover, the turbid flow of the hot water also limits the demon's mobility... It's so absurd that one can't help but complain about the demon's unreasonable movement. Even as she complains, she's overcome by frustration.
Dodging the demon's powerful punches and blades by a hair's breadth, Kaede took advantage of the tiny openings to shift her gaze from one direction to another. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.
'Darn it, is it still coming!? When will that monkey be able to kill the damn snake...!?'
'Don't despair!! It's too late to turn back now!! We just have to stick with it until the end, right!?'
'What about Mother!? What happened to Mother!? Was she saved!?'
'Yamabuki is badly injured!! Someone provide support!! Get them to retreat to the rear...!!'
'You bastard!! I'll do it!! I'll do it!! Come at me, you pests!!'
The sky was filled with a chaotic buzz, on the brink of pandemonium.
Tengu, even at their lowest, surpassed the average youkai. Many possessed qualities on par with great youkai.
However, due to their poor social skills, specialization had advanced. Not all Tengu were proficient in combat; aside from the Aka and Kuro-Bougumi, many only had basic self-defense skills. No matter the talent or potential, without honing, it held no value. With the increasing numbers of snake servants, the Tengu of the village were gradually being overwhelmed. The only reason it hadn't collapsed entirely was thanks to their organization and flying abilities.
It was only a matter of time before they all fell apart. If the snakes or the demon approached, slaughter would ensue. The balance was precarious.
"Tch, where's Mother!?"
She clicked her tongue, then glanced at her mother. Seeing the one-armed, wounded Tengu being carried away by what looked like a guard, Kaede breathed a sigh of relief. Immediately after, she clapped her hands and shifted position, evading the the demon's savage sword.
Kaede looked in that direction.
"Who's that...!?"
Turning towards the direction of the rampaging giant snake, Tengu was puzzled. Finally, she notized. The flames of annihilation.
"What is that!?"
A delicate female swordsman engulfed in flames, engaging in a deadly battle with the giant snake. Astonished by the sight of her attacking the snake with beast-like roars, she immediately recognized the identity of the person.
"That woman, she dared to interfere when we kidnapped her... Did she come to thank us?"
She is confused for a moment. But immediately she remembered that there was someone more important to prioritize. And as she tried to find the man's figure, a dark shadow loomed behind her.
"Watch out!"
Realizing that activating her powers would not be fast enough due to her posture, she swiftly descended to avoid the savage sword strike. Dodging it successfully, but as she tried to turn back on the water's surface, it appeared.
"Tch, is that a small fry!?"
Poisonous sea snakes leaped out from the water's surface. She swiftly used her wings to fend off their attempts to bite, spit venom, or explode. However, this caused her to lose speed. Her movement paused. It took just a few moments to regain her speed. Against the demon, this delay was fatal.
'Aaaaarrrgghhhh!!!'
The overpowering smell of alcohol tickled her nose unpleasantly. The the Demon closed in swiftly. No, he lunged. He opened his large mouth, attacking Kaede. When she turned around, countless sharp fangs had already enveloped her halfway. Her vision darkened. Everything turned slippery and dark-red. As expected, she couldn't do a clap in time.
Being torn apart...!! Prepared for that, at least aiming for a mutual blow, but her rapid thinking ended up in vain.
The scene looked as if it had rewound. The sound of a click echoed as the demon's jaw locked shut, just after Kaede was released from the grip. If it had been even a few seconds later, she would have been dead.
"Rope...?"
Realizing that it was a long rope tied around the neck of the the Demon pulling him from behind, tightening around him, her consciousness extended further. She then noticed a man fastening the rope around a large tree piercing through the surface of the water. Immediately, she leaped towards him.
"That was close...!?"
"And you! You're alive!? I had a hard time finding where you were playing around!"
It was banter, but Kaede knew there was no malice behind the teasing.
"Should we hide somewhere for now?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Do you want my people to be slaughtered?"
Deeply embedded in flesh and coiling around from behind, the ropes seemed to be a challenge even for the formidable demon, struggling to tear them apart due to the complexities of physics and anatomy. It was only a matter of time before he would undoubtedly give in, perhaps not even lasting a hundred, or even half that.
"Is it that bad? ...Then, I must ask Princess after all."
The man clad in human skin glanced sideways at the fierce battle between the serpent and the flames. The hellish struggle seemed to be heading towards a stalemate, with neither side gaining the upper hand. Or perhaps, would the woman tire out first at this rate?
"Let's stick to the original plan. Fly and deliver the message to Princess."
"Inside that? Are you asking me to die?"
Pale blue flames that were clearly dangerous flickered. They scattered as sparks without hesitation, swirling around and igniting everything. It was like diving into a merciless storm of fire.
"It's not for my sake. It's for your comrades and your mother. Or perhaps, are you afraid of facing your own skills in there?"
"Haha, joking!"
Kaede bravely responded to the final challenge and used a rope to tie up the man. She tightened it around him, holding him close, securing him against her chest, feeling a rush of adrenaline. As an extra measure, she left the rope with the Demon, hoping it would delay him a bit more from escaping. At least, she hoped so.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)