The battle between Yamata no Orochi and Mahoraga continued.
One of the snake heads suddenly slammed into the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
Mahoraga's right arm, holding the Sword of Exorcism, once again lunged toward Yamata no Orochi.
Another snake head suddenly shot out from the dust, biting Mahoraga's waist from the left and pushing it away.
Mahoraga severed the snake head with a single slash.
Yamata no Orochi had once again sacrificed a head to survive.
However, compared to the beginning, the heads dissipated much faster now.
It likely wouldn't be long before Yamata no Orochi could no longer sever its own heads fast enough to avoid the Sword of Exorcism's damage reaching its main body.
An unusual surge of Cursed Energy began forming inside one of its snake heads.
Mahoraga moved behind Yamata no Orochi, launching an attack from the tail side.
Yamata no Orochi immediately began turning around.
Its snake tails lashed out from all directions.
Mahoraga, moving like a nimble gymnast, twisted and dodged the relentless strikes.
Using the lashing tails as stepping stones, Mahoraga quickly closed the distance.
At last, it reached the point where the snake heads met the body.
Pfft.
An attack brewed in one of the snake mouths was fired directly at Mahoraga.
Hidden behind another head, this attack hit squarely.
A strange liquid enveloped Mahoraga's entire right arm, then quickly solidified like drying cement, turning into a stone-like substance.
Mahoraga's Sword of Exorcism was sealed.
Its left foot kicked away a biting snake head.
The Dharma Wheel on its head rotated, and Mahoraga's left hand struck the stone encasing the sword with explosive force.
Crack.
The stone shattered.
Yamata no Orochi seized the opening and launched another attack, forcing Mahoraga to retreat again.
After landing, Mahoraga didn't immediately strike back.
Instead, it stood still, Cursed Energy surging through its body.
As the energy surged, Mahoraga's size increased dramatically.
In the previous exchanges, Yamata no Orochi had used its size to force Mahoraga back.
But now, Mahoraga had grown several times larger, closing the size gap between them.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Its feet shattered the earth as it rushed forward. Its fist, infused with tremendous force, smashed toward Yamata no Orochi.
Yamata no Orochi didn't sit still.
Two snake heads crashed into Mahoraga's waist.
Two more snake heads coiled around its legs.
Another snake head bit toward its left hand.
The remaining three snake heads clashed directly with Mahoraga's right fist.
Bang. Bang.
Two snake heads were pulverized, but the power in Mahoraga's punch was greatly reduced.
The third snake head bit into Mahoraga's right arm, halting its advance.
Mahoraga grabbed the snake head with a backhand, yanked it forward, and bit into it with its own enormous mouth.
Rip. Tear.
Mahoraga violently tore off the third snake head.
Its left hand grabbed the two snake heads coiled around its waist.
The Sword of Exorcism in its right hand extended, stabbing toward the spot where the snake heads and tail connected.
According to Mahoraga's observation, this was where Cursed Energy flowed most frequently.
If it could pierce that area, Yamata no Orochi would be gravely injured, even if not killed outright.
But this time, Yamata no Orochi didn't regenerate the wounds across its body as before.
Instead, it focused all its energy on regenerating one snake head.
Mahoraga didn't care. One head wouldn't stop the Sword of Exorcism.
However, this newly regenerated snake head was clearly different.
Rather than a standard head, it resembled the muzzle of a cannon.
The next moment, massive Cursed Energy burst forth from that cannon.
The overwhelming Cursed Energy inflicted significant damage and impact.
Though the damage was immediately healed by Mahoraga's powerful regenerative abilities, the force diverted the Sword of Exorcism.
The second snake head began regenerating.
Mahoraga's Dharma Wheel rotated. It swung the Sword of Exorcism once more.
Yamata no Orochi fired another Cursed Energy cannon.
This time, Mahoraga wasn't pushed back.
It sliced straight through the Cursed Energy blast, continuing its attack toward Yamata no Orochi's vital point.
The second regenerated snake head looked different from the first. It had a strange gleam, as if armored in an insect's shell.
Clang.
As soon as the snake head reformed, it clashed with the Sword of Exorcism. A crisp metallic sound rang out.
Clang.
Mahoraga's Dharma Wheel rotated again.
Its left hand, gripping three severed heads, suddenly exerted force.
The three snake heads were snapped off simultaneously.
Then, Mahoraga slammed a terrifying punch into the armored snake head.
Crack.
The armor shattered with a loud crack.
The third regenerated head spewed a strange liquid toward Mahoraga.
At that moment, Mahoraga was in a transitional state, with its old strength fading and new strength not yet fully formed.
The liquid engulfed most of its body, rapidly solidifying and freezing Mahoraga in place.
Yamata no Orochi took the chance to recover, regenerating while also continuing to adapt to Mahoraga's current state.
Crack.
Bang.
Mahoraga shattered its restraints and broke free.
The two monstrous figures once again faced each other.
Mahoraga's wide mouth, devoid of lips and fully exposing its jagged teeth, curled into a terrifying smile.
Mahoraga was deeply satisfied.
Previous opponents had troubled it, but once it adapted, it would crush them with overwhelming power.
But this opponent was different. This one, like Mahoraga, also adapted continuously.
Both sides were evolving mid-battle, becoming faster and stronger.
This wasn't like those previous enemies, who relied solely on Techniques to injure it, only to flee once those Techniques had been countered.
This was a real battle.
At this moment, Mahoraga's mood could be summed up in two words:
Fighting. Cool.
Yamata no Orochi had finished regenerating.
This time, all eight of its heads were clad in armor even smoother than before.
Mahoraga attacked again.
Yamata no Orochi opened its mouths, and black Cursed Energy surged forward like a flood, swallowing Mahoraga whole.
Hiss. Hiss.
The cursed flood began corroding Mahoraga's body.
Clang. Clang.
There were many types of curses in that flood, but Mahoraga adapted to them all, one by one.
It advanced through the dark torrent, its Sword of Exorcism scraping against the armored snake heads.
That armor was a layer of defense formed from concentrated Cursed Energy.
Swoosh.
Thud. Thud.
A snake tail shot up from the ground, piercing into Mahoraga's body.
The eight snake heads took the opportunity to coil and restrain Mahoraga's limbs.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Snake tails continued to pierce through its flesh.
Clang.
The Dharma Wheel rotated again.
This time, the snake tails' piercing attacks were redirected and nullified.
Clang.
A few seconds later, Mahoraga completed its adaptation once more.
Thud. Thud.
Now it was Mahoraga's turn to sever the snake heads, one after another.
Yamata no Orochi's regeneration gradually fell behind Mahoraga's offensive rhythm.
From the beginning, both sides had been adapting to each other.
But compared to Yamata no Orochi, Mahoraga possessed a more lethal advantage.
The Sword of Exorcism, with its effectiveness against Cursed Spirits, had forced Yamata no Orochi to expend tremendous energy early on just to adapt and defend against it.
In that time, Mahoraga had already adapted to Yamata no Orochi.
The scales of victory had already tipped.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)