<h4>Volume 11 - Yamata no Orochi: Chapter 52 – Power of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox</h4>


    With the extraordinary speed of thebatants, therge heads of Yamata no Orochi often struggled to catch the swift and nimble humans. However, in his enraged state, Mita had be careless, stunned by the serpent’s tail and subsequently bitten.


    “Grandpa Mita!” Lily cried out in rm. She sensed Mita’s aura weakening. Although the injury wasn’t fatal, she feared that Yamata no Orochi would pursue him into the ocean of fire where he had fallen. Acting quickly, Lily rushed towards one of the heads and struck it with her de, Dojigiri-Yasutsuna. As her sword cut deep, blood sshed out. The head, much harder than the body, caused a significant recoil shock that Lily felt acutely.


    Instead of retreating, Lily bravely leaped onto the top of the snake’s head, striking down again with her de now glowing in a purple lunar light, prating deep into the snake’s skull. Clinging tightly to her weapon, she remained steadfast as the head thrashed wildly.


    Yamata no Orochi, unable to dislodge Lily, continued its frenzied movements. Despite Dojigiri-Yasutsuna’s deep pration, even reaching the brain, the creature’s resilience was evident in its eight heads. When the head charged towards the sea of fire, Lily was forced to withdraw her sword. The powerful movement hurled her far away.


    In the midst of this, Lily detected an eldritch arte flying towards her. With agile rolls and twirls, she evaded the attack, spotting a heavenly king of Yomi atop the castle tower using hidden weapons. She couldn’t afford to be distracted; in just a moment’s nce, a massive tail loomed before her.


    “No!” In a split second, Lily opened the Sakura Parasol. Barely managing to block the blow, she was sent flying. After traveling several thousand meters, the parasol expanded, slowing her descent.


    Meanwhile, the other experts continued their relentless assault on Yamata no Orochi, skillfully dodging its heads and tail. Despite the creature being wounded repeatedly and ck blood flowing from numerous injuries, it remained a colossal, world-destroying monster with undiminished power. None of the wounds were critical; its core remained unharmed due to its immense size and strength.


    On the side of the experts, their treasures were being depleted. Thirty to forty percent of their attacking treasures had been consumed without significantly weakening Yamata no Orochi.


    Suddenly, Mita reemerged from the sea of fire with a force that echoed like a thunderous boom. Harnessing arcane arts, he had fashioned a temporary prosthetic leg from the ancient Manbu wood. His hatred for Yamata no Orochi now burning fiercer than ever, he unleashed a barrage of various treasures in his relentless attack against the serpent.


    The battle raged on endlessly. The experts’ attack treasures were almostpletely exhausted. Despite the countless wounds inflicted on Yamata no Orochi, its aura had only been weakened by less than ten percent. rmingly, the serpent’s huge body was constantly absorbing energy, healing itself.


    With few spirit treasures remaining and Yamata no Orochi still far from being seriously wounded, Ayaka unsheathed the naginata Fubuki and Kimiko wielded the Celestial Spirit de. The experts drew their melee weapons and engaged in closebat. Even Tokiwa, wielding a short sword emanating a tremendous aura, joined the fray.


    Engaging Yamata no Orochi at close range was the only way to continuously inflict damage, but the risk was significantly higher. The prolonged battle had drained the experts of much of their energy.


    Only Shimizu was able to maintain her energy levels by absorbing Yamata no Orochi’s dark energy. While this constant absorption was enhancing her strength, it was insignificant to Yamata no Orochi. Shimizu’s physical condition, already not the best, was further taxed by the ongoing battle, and absorbing dark energy alone couldn’t mitigate her exhaustion.


    Not enough! With the current level of attacks, Yamata no Orochi would simply endure and continue its rampage. Lily, perhaps the greatest threat to the creature, relentlessly attacked and dodged, fiercely engaging in battle. She managed to inflict repeated but minor injuries on the snake.


    Seizing an opportunity, Lily targeted a previously injured point on Yamata no Orochi, causing slightly more damage. However, she found it increasingly challenging to significantly damage the snake’s core and simultaneously evade its relentless assaults.


    “If Yamata no Orochi isn’t killed! How can I hunt Minamoto no Yoritomo and avenge my husband!” Tomoe Gozen, fueled by her burning resolve, charged at one of Yamata no Orochi’s necks, her figure trailing lightning, akin to a fallinget.


    With a piercing sound, Tomoe Gozen’s de deeply prated Yamata no Orochi’s body. She was determined not to let her de get trapped in bone or flesh. However, another massive tail of Yamata no Orochi swung towards her.


    The impact of the tail sent Tomoe Gozen and her skeletal horse flying; the skeletal horse shattered into bone fragments upon collision. Tomoe Gozen crashed into the mountain wall, coughing up blood from the severe impact that also caused the mountain to explode. Tokiwa rushed to her aid.


    To provide cover for her fallenrade, Lily intensified her offensive. However, the relentless intensity of the battle was taking its toll even on her. A moment’s dy in her dodge resulted in her being struck by the ck wind surrounding Yamata no Orochi. Sent flying, her clothes torn, Lily was then struck by a massive tail descending through the clouds.


    The earth trembled as Lily hit the ground. “Lily!” someone cried out in concern. Despite her exceptionalbat skills, the proximity to danger and the relentless nature of the battle meant that not every move could be perfectly executed.


    Yamata no Orochi, harboring deep hatred for Lily, directed multiple heads to bite down where she hadnded. “No! We can’t keep going on like this!” Kimiko realized, her eyes sharpening with determination. A surge of blood-red eldritch energy burst forth from her body.


    Kimiko transformed into her true form. A massive nine-tailed demon fox, several thousand meters long, with ferocious eyes and fangs asrge as trees, materialized in the mountains. This awe-inspiring sight left Ayaka worried, “What!? To transform back into her original form, what about Kimiko’s wounds…”


    Michizane, witnessing this transformation, was equally shocked, “Kimiko!”


    The nine-tailed fox, embodying immense power, lunged at Yamata no Orochi. Its jaws mped down fiercely on the base of one of the snake’s heads. Yamata no Orochi let out a cry of pain. The fox, almost matching the serpent in size, posed a formidable threat. Its bite inflicted serious injury on Yamata no Orochi, marking the first time in the battle that the snake had felt a truly significant threat.


    While Yamata no Orochi’s other heads tried to bite the fox, Kimiko’s reactions were swift. Evading the bites, she leaped into the air and then back onto Yamata no Orochi’s back, using her tails to smash through the cypress and fir trees growing there. These trees, symbiotic with Yamata no Orochi, were crucial to its power.


    Enraged, Yamata no Orochi unleashed an even fiercer eight-colored torrential rain, creating a hellish environment. Kimiko, unable to avoid the wide-reaching effect of this attack, endured the onught. Her skin and fur caught fire, she was poisoned, and countless wounds opened, bleeding eldritch mist.


    Determined, the nine-tailed fox plunged into the sea of mes, dragging Yamata no Orochi along. The sea roared with fire. Two other snake heads attacked her in the fiery waters, turning the sea crimson with blood.


    The three snake heads of Yamata no Orochi exerted their strength, hurling the colossal nine-tailed fox into the mountains, shattering several peaks in the process. The foxy in a pool of its own blood, grievously wounded. Kimiko, having transformed into her true form despite her already precarious state, now bore even more serious injuries. The sight filled the onlookers with distress.


    Michizane, observing Yamata no Orochi, noted that two of its heads were slightly deformed, two others were injured, and one was blinded in an eye, with ck blood flowing torrentially. The nine-tailed fox, in her prime, would have been a formidable adversary for Yamata no Orochi, but in her injured state, Kimiko was clearly overmatched.


    “Everyone, if this continues, the world will really be destroyed. Instead of waiting for death, let us fight to the end!” Michizane dered, rising into the clouds with lightning shing around him and a resolute look in his eyes. He prepared himself to burn his ster souls in a final stand.


    The group realized there was no point in preserving strength any longer; none would abandon theirrades to flee. Escape was no longer an option; they all steeled their resolve for the battle ahead.


    Lilymented her inability to burn her ster souls, being outside the big dipper realm. “Yamata no Orochi…is this ancient monster really going to push us all to this desperate point?”


    “Kill!” The battle cry echoed as Michizane, Masakado, Ayaka, Mita, and others began to burn their ster souls,unching a relentless assault on Yamata no Orochi. Their attacks, fueled by a do-or-die determination, posed an unprecedented threat to the ancient beast.


    Yamata no Orochi fought back with wild ferocity. The experts, empowered by their burning ster souls, were faster and more formidable, but the serpent, despite its serious wounds, was in a state of violent counterattack.


    Lily, too, unleashed her full power, bursting forth with purple lunar energy. She soared into the air, attacking with everything she had. She could sense Yamata no Orochi weakening, its aura diminishing under the fierce onught. However, her concern grew as she felt herpanions’ auras diminishing even faster than the serpent’s.


    “Dammit! If this continues, we won’t be able to hold on!” Lily realized, even with her all-out effort and use of every technique at her disposal, her attacks paled inparison to Kimiko’s earlier bite. If things continued this way, they would be exhausted before Yamata no Orochi could be defeated.


    The realization dawned on all the experts: even after burning their ster souls, they still couldn’t kill Yamata no Orochi. There was no path of retreat – they would fight to the end, or their sacrifice would be in vain.


    As they pondered their next move, a bright phoenix appeared in the sky. Asuka Shizu stood on its back, holding a long, cloth-wrapped de. “Princess Asuka?” Lily, amidst the fierce battle, was taken aback by her unexpected arrival.


    “Catch!” Asuka called out, unraveling the red rope and tossing the bundle to Lily. Midair, the cloth unwrapped, unleashing a powerful sword intent


    ¹… <h4>Footnotes:</h4>


    Silva: Time for a reversal?