[Part 3/4]
Onitsuki Hina, who wields the power of 'annihilation,' is powerful. It burns everything as a concept, as an existence. If used skillfully, it can bring exceptional effects as both an attack and a defense.
Yes. Everything. Especially Hina has not yet fully mastered that power. She cannot quickly select or change the conditions for 'annihilating' the target. Therefore, when she uses this power as an attack, the annihilation includes all beings within range.
The swirling hot water engulfed the purified flames of 'annihilation' with immense spiritual power. It was like the water swallowed the flames, or maybe the other way around. Either way, it meant the same thing: the water was annihilating the flames, erasing them completely. In this process, the flames refined from the spirit power within the water were diminishing. It was an incredibly unfair trade-off, like buying something expensive with cheap coins.
(I can just burn their youkai aura...? It doesn't even make sense!!)
For a moment, Hina thought of a plan, but she quickly dismissed it. The reason was straightforward. She faced a relentless onslaught of waves of hot water, thousands of times more than she could handle, followed by big trees thrusting towards her. As she landed on the water's surface, Hina danced and swung her sword with grace. The blue flames coordinated to protect her. They shielded her from both the hot water and the giant trees.
Water, trees, or even rocks... even low-level youkai often use them as tools. Higher-level youkai, more closely connected to humans, might use weapons once wielded by people. Of course, these things don't possess youkai aura. It wasn't very realistic to expect the flames of 'annihilation,' which were unleashed as an attack, to discriminate and only burn things with youkai aura while sparing everything else.
"Here it comes!!"
The demon emerged from the tsunami of hot water, aiming her flames. Hinata was sent flying, her upper body crushed.
It was caused by a giant tree being uprooted. In the brief moment it took to 'annihilate' the tree, what struck Hina at supersonic speed was a literal feat of strength from the demon. Consciousness faded along with her body. Her vision went dark. When she woke up, she was once again dancing in the air. Before regeneration could kick in, her body was thrown into the sky by another giant tree. And... this time, she was smashed by a huge boulder thrown at her head.
"Wha...!?"
Her consciousness fading away with the impact. Burning in the water, her body began to regenerate. And then, her burning eyes caught sight of a giant tree piercing through the water's surface. The tree was getting closer. Everything went black.
The simplest way to defeat an immortal being is to keep killing them. Keep attacking until they weaken, find a way to stop their revival, or seal them away. Hina instinctively grasped this while facing the demon, maybe because she had the power of immortality.
"But, how naive...!"
A storm of annihilation flames overflowing from the bottom of the hot spring. Every time the surrounding water flowed in, everything was 'annihilated.' It was like a blazing fire, rapidly consuming her spiritual energy like water from a hot spring. Unable to endure the intense flames, the demon backed away from the flames. Of course, the attacks from the giant tree stopped.
"Pant, pant... Now then. Shall we start over?"
Onitsuki Hina crawled up to the surface of the water and pushed her head out, hitting it against the rocks. She climbed up to the top of the rocks and proudly proclaimed. Even though she smirked confidently, beads of sweat overflowed from her forehead, indicating that getting to this point was not easy.
As the demon continued to run around the surface of the water, circling around Hina, she didn't miss a beat. Hina probably has more chances to die right now. And in terms of physical ability, she is far behind. The demon sensed that the woman no longer had the strength to compete head-on.
The demon had the advantage of the terrain. Against a monster who could run on the surface of the water with pure physical ability, Hina needed to enhance her body strength. She had limited mobility and time. The same goes for projectiles. With several swords at her waist, Hina could pull out the trees and throw them. It wouldn't take much effort. But Hina would need to use an outrageous amount of spiritual power to burn them...
'Guuu!'
The demon didn't logically understand them. It was just an animalistic instinct. Intuitively, the red-faced demon found a way to victory. Their mouth, wide like a crack, twisted into a grin.
The girl had given them trouble, but she was just a little monkey girl after all. She may have gained an incredible power, but she couldn't control it. Let's savor this carefully. It's high-quality meat. It must taste delicious when dried and salted. Even making blood wine out of the meat would be tasty. the demon's mouth was drooling.
"You monsters probably have some idea in mind. You must be planning something very rude, aren't you? I won't let this end in such a boring place."
The girl declared as if she were chewing on something. And then... immediately she ran through the air!!
'Oh-!!?'
For a moment, the demon was caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events, but they quickly turned on their heels. They managed to evade the "Annihilation" arrows raining down from the sky, despite their large size. While slipping through them, they were amazed.
What a fool, it's not on the surface of the water, your in the air!? And at that speed...!? Do you have the brute strength to kick up the air like I do? The demon quickly revises Hina's abilities upwards.
...The reality is a little different. Onitsuki Hina's flight is more like a jet propulsion. She just used her 'special ability' to do what the servant in black clothing did with a conch shell and steam.
Releasing 'Annihilation' from the soles of her feet, she propels herself with 'Reiki' that turned into flames... it's the pinnacle of inefficiency. It was a technique made possible by Hina's slender and lightweight body, and her tendency for short-term combat without much thought.
...But for Hina, those shortcomings didn't matter compared to the fact that her beloved was flying with a similar idea. Her mind was full of the fact that they had arrived at the same conclusion, making her feel dizzy. She couldn't help but believe in the existence of the red string of fate.
...Certainly, it wasn't the time to think about this in the midst of a battle for life and death.
'Gwoah!!?'
In any case, it was an unexpected ambush. As Hina streaked through the air to close in rapidly, the demon narrowly dodged. The unleashed blue flames were dispersed with a breath. The demon's lung capacity turned their breath into an air cannon, scattering Hina's flames. Hina passed by the demon's side.
"Huh!?"
Similar to the steam jets from the servant's conch shell, such intricate maneuvers were not her forte. Hina temporarily deactivated her power, changed her posture mid-air, and thrust backward to approach the demon once more.
The demon laughs at this. Their physical abilities are overwhelming. Even a surprise attack was dodged. Avoiding the second attack is easy for the demon. So, the demon calmly plans to deflect Hina's rush.
...But then, a sharp sense of discomfort is pointed out by the sensitive intuition of the demon. A cold shiver runs down the spine!
'...!?'
Feeling the unsettling sensation, the demon hesitates in their murderous intent, focusing their eyes in the accelerating world. Their eyes widen, almost bulging out of their sockets, and then they see. It was like their eyes were enhanced with youkai energy, drastically improving their vision.
And they found it. A butterfly hidden in the illusion. The culprit who tried to deceive their vision...!!
'RRROARRR!!'
A loud shout erupted suddenly. With just a swig of alcohol, the butterfly vanished in the shockwaves. And their field of vision expanded. The illusion of the butterfly faded away, revealing Onitsuki Hina's true location.
It was an illusion that distorted the perception of distance. In truth, Onitsuki Hina was charging ten steps ahead. The demon aimed straight at the fledgling, unleashing flame. More precisely, igniting the breath they exhaled.
They spit out the potent alcohol stored in one of the demon's organs, the Shozou, and simultaneously rubbing their Adam's apple to ignite it. The youkai sake stored in the demon's organs is unique, and the high temperature from its ignition is incomparable to what a person would drink. The same move used against the servant and Tengu... no, this was the maximum output version, unleashed as a pressure tactic.
'Whoa!'
'Back away!!'
'Watch out!'
It was so strong that the Tengu who were fighting the unparalleled youkai at a considerable distance and altitude flinched. The intensity of the heat was incredible. The Tengu quickly raised their altitude to avoid being engulfed by the flames. The slower-reacting snake servants were caught in the fire and turned into charred remains. The monsters' screams echoed dozens of times.
As for Onitsuki Hina, there was no need to even mention it. The flames of "annihilation" she wielded were not something easily dealt with, they were saturated and turned into chunks of coal that fell like burnt bodies.
...Right before her fall, the demon couldn't react quickly enough to the melting sword tip that was thrown from the flames. The blade grazed their arm, cutting through the thin skin and causing a slight, but truly minimal, amount of blood. A scratch.
'Argghh...!?'
With a gasp, the demon turned their attention away from Onitsuki Hina falling into the hot spring waters. In a panic, they quickly inspected the wound on their arm, preparing for the worst possible scenario.
Thankfully, the flames of 'annihilation' didn't cling to them. If their flesh had caught fire, the demon would have promptly severed that part. So, they felt a sense of relief. It appeared to be a futile struggle after all.
Their prejudice stemmed from Hina's frequent use of the 'annihilation' ability, coupled with their own optimism fueled by her immortality. However, that turned out to be the demon's worst decision.
"Hehehe... Finally... finally cut, right?"
...A creepy laughing voice echoed in the place.
From the hot spring, she crawled out with bones as dark as coal and a body drained of moisture from the scorching heat. Dripping water, she squirmed and creaked as her burnt and tattered body climbed the rocks, letting out a chilling laugh.
'...'
This is like a scene from hell, where the dead are depicted, and the demon was amazed as they watched it. Meanwhile, the corpse climbed onto the rocks, enveloped in blue flames. As her thin limbs regenerated, it transformed back into Onitsuki Hina, with her delicate body, clothes, and sword all restored to their original state.
And then, she smirked. Not because she had been brought back to life, but because of the superficial wounds carved into the demon's body. It was savage and cruel, almost as if she were reveling in it. More terrifying than when she was dead.
'Ggghh...?'
The demon instinctively sensed the danger and backed away, leaping onto trees emerging from the hot spring water, keeping a wary eye on the unsettling madwoman. It also meant she could launch projectiles at any moment.
Something was wrong... the demon focused on watching Hina's next move. It was an unusually cautious response for an Oni, but in hindsight, it proved to be a mistake.
Instead of hesitating, the demon should have mercilessly crushed Hina without a second thought, like a wild beast. Completely, before she even had a chance to connect with them...
"Hmm. Well...yes. This is a souvenir from the underworld. Shall I tell you something? This sword that injured you is a type of youkai sword. Well, it's a spirited horse that has been sleeping in the onitsuki's storehouse for many years."
Although her body was mostly burned and charred, Hina didn't show any signs of readiness to fight.
Instead, she began to speak while looking at the red-black shining sword she held in her hand, discussing how the blade had been restored with a focus on the particularly lost tip through the flames of 'annihilation', clearly showing a youkai aura.
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