Within the Secret Realm, where the demonic energy was at its densest, beneath a gloomy and overcast sky, Miketsu and the girl of the Hata Clan clashed once again. In stark contrast to the girl's somber disposition, the demonic power attacks she unleashed through the Masks of Hata no Kawakatsu manifested as a magnificent display of prismatic light. Beneath the beautiful, overwhelming shower of seven-colored barrage, lethal danger lurked everywhere.
Relying on the predictive sensing and high mobility granted by her causality vision and Heavenly Maiden Form, Miketsu threaded her way through the sprawling seven-colored barrage. Every so often, she found an opening to sweep an attack toward the girl. However, whenever the demonic energy vortex approached, the masks floating around the girl would automatically align, constructing a radiant defensive barrier to block it. This happened even if the incoming vortex came from a blind spot outside her line of sight.
"So, even after being absorbed... they still retain a high level of autonomy?" Miketsu murmured softly as she watched the masks react with incredible speed. The speed at which those seven masks constructed their defenses was astounding; they could respond to incoming threats automatically before the girl herself could even react, leaving her defenses temporarily without a single blind spot.
After warding off another of Miketsu’s demonic energy vortexes, the girl slowly turned toward her. She extended a finger in Miketsu's direction, and the seven masks immediately began to rotate at high speed, forming a vertical ring in front of her finger. A massive amount of demonic power gathered within the circle of masks, erupting into a dazzling, prismatic radiance.
"Converge..."
An immense, seven-colored beam of light erupted, shooting directly toward Miketsu. Though this magic cannon didn't cover a wide area, its speed was infinitely faster than the previous demonic power barrage. Even so, Miketsu managed to execute an evasive maneuver in advance thanks to her causality vision. As the prismatic pillar of light, wider than her own body, grazed the hem of her clothes, Miketsu felt a slight chill in her heart, unable to help but complain inwardly.
'Floating funnels plus a rainbow beam cannon? Are we sure this kid isn't a Gundam?'
Seeing her powerful strike miss, the girl did not immediately cut off the output to withdraw her magic cannon. Instead, she shifted her finger, turning the thick pillar of light into a blade that swept toward Miketsu, carving a deep trench into the earth as it moved. Miketsu, having foreseen this, accelerated her flight to dodge several consecutive sweeps. Finding an opening, she launched another Explosive Current Wave at the girl, forcing her to withdraw the masks for defense, which caused the beam to dissipate into nothingness.
Following this, the girl continued her assault. However, due to Miketsu's exceptional agility, she had yet to land a single effective blow. Conversely, Miketsu found herself stymied by the ultra-fast reactions and solid defense of the Masks of Hata no Kawakatsu. The battle fell into a temporary stalemate.
In truth, Miketsu could have significantly boosted her output by overcharging her Demonic Fang Blade to shatter the girl’s defense in one go, but doing so would have damaged the weapon. That was not a trade she was willing to make yet; things hadn't reached such a desperate state.
"It’s about time..."
Muttering to herself, Miketsu flew to a specific position and unleashed another Explosive Current Wave. The seven masks floating around the girl automatically converged, once again blocking the demonic energy vortex.
"Tsuruha!"
Just as the girl deployed her masks for defense, Miketsu shouted at the top of her lungs. At that very moment, from the woods on the ground directly opposite Miketsu's line of attack—positioned right behind the girl's flank—Tsuruha leaped onto a high branch. She breathed out a massive wave of intense flames toward the girl's unprotected rear.
"Heavenly Fox Calamity Fire!"
Billowing foxfire rolled toward the girl. Suspended in mid-air, the girl blinked in surprise before waving her hand slightly. Three of the seven masks that had been forming the barrier against the vortex immediately broke away and repositioned themselves behind her, instantly constructing a new defense to intercept the encroaching wall of foxfire.
While largely ineffective against Miketsu, the girl actually possessed psychic interference abilities based on emotional manipulation in addition to her formidable defense and destructive power. In a previous skirmish, Tsuruha, who had been fighting alongside Miketsu, had nearly succumbed to madness due to this ability. This was one reason why Miketsu had temporarily retreated. Thus, for this confrontation, Miketsu hadn't arranged for Tsuruha to fight by her side in the open, instead having her hide to be used as a surprise reinforcement.
The three masks blocked out a safe zone within the waves of flame. Meanwhile, despite being reduced by nearly half its strength, the demonic energy vortex of the Explosive Current Wave only managed to crack the light barrier without fully breaking through.
Miketsu immediately ceased her output of demonic energy. Instead, she transformed the Demonic Fang Blade into the Spirit-Engraving Spear. Gripping it tightly, she charged at the girl with high velocity. Carried by the force of her impact, Miketsu pierced the barrier formed by the masks with the spirit spear. The tip of the spear plunged deep into the Baba mask, and explosive runes began to imprint rapidly across its surface.
The moment one of her masks was struck, the remaining three under the girl's control quickly scattered and pivoted to face Miketsu once more. Spiritual power gathered in their mouths, preparing to unleash a new barrage. Seeing this, Miketsu prepared to pull back the spirit spear and dodge, but the Baba mask suddenly became extremely soft, its substance swallowing the length of the spear. Miketsu found she could not pull it out in time. On the other side, the Ohtobide mask directly abandoned its gathering of demonic power and charged toward her with its mouth wide open, letting out a roar as if it intended to tear her apart.
Seeing this, Miketsu decisively let go of the spirit spear and flew clear. Caught off guard, the wide-mouthed Ohtobide mask bit directly into the Baba mask where the spear was still embedded. At that moment, Miketsu, having just cleared the blast radius, immediately formed a hand seal. She detonated the Spirit Blast runes already inscribed on the Baba mask. The Ohtobide mask, the Baba mask, and the spirit spear were all swallowed by a violent explosion.
Two more masks had been put out of commission, though Miketsu had temporarily lost her weapon. She did not waste time trying to retrieve it; instead, she flew at maximum speed straight toward the girl floating in the air.
Miketsu knew very well that Tsuruha was currently distracting three masks, and by sacrificing her weapon, she had neutralized two others. This meant the girl had only two masks left. Both her offense and defense were severely weakened. She had to take this chance to end the battle; otherwise, once Tsuruha couldn't hold on anymore or the destroyed masks recovered, they would be right back at square one.
"What..." Seeing Miketsu flying toward her at such high speed, a flash of panic crossed the girl's eyes. She scrambled to control her remaining two masks to intercept her.
Facing the oncoming masks, Miketsu pulled the Qin Xin mask—the Spirit of Masque—from her sleeve and placed it over her face. In the state of the roaring demonic fox, Qin Xin suddenly erupted with intense blue demonic energy that enveloped Miketsu. Her speed skyrocketed as she became a streak of blue light, bypassing the intercepted masks to dive straight at the startled girl, who now had no masks left to protect her.
A naginata, condensed from Qin Xin’s demonic energy, appeared in Miketsu’s hands. Gripping it with both hands, she swung it downward toward the girl before her.
"Mask Dance of the Shattered Soul... Dark Noh!"
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