"Is this… your true form?"
Shion swallowed unconsciously.
Before her loomed Mōryō, its colossal body blotting out the sky. Compared to it, she was nothing more than an insect. With a single movement, it could crush her into pulp. The instinctive fear stiffened her limbs.
But then she remembered Ryoma's words.
The fear in her eyes slowly faded, replaced by clarity—and resolve.
"Oh? What an interesting look."
Mōryō's dragon-like head darkened. It had expected terror. Despair. Instead, it saw awakening.
"…Just like your mother," it sneered.
At the memory of Miroku, its jaws split open, fangs descending toward Shion.
"Hah!"
Violet chakra erupted from Shion's body. A radiant barrier formed before her, colliding head-on with Mōryō's bite. The air trembled as the two forces clashed.
"Give up, shrine maiden!" Mōryō hissed. "You are destined to be my vessel!"
Its fangs pressed against the barrier, grinding forward as cracks spread across the surface of Shion's shield.
Yet she did not retreat.
"I won't run!" she shouted. "No matter what—I'll defeat you!"
At her chest, the sacred bell shattered. The crimson sealing stone within it fractured as well.
Power flooded outward.
That stone had once suppressed and stabilized her spiritual power—Miroku's safeguard to protect her daughter. Now, freed from its restraint, Shion's chakra surged violently.
She thrust her palms forward.
Vast violet energy enveloped Mōryō like a net cast from heaven.
"What—!?"
Bound within the radiant lattice, Mōryō roared in shock.
"I didn't expect you to still possess this much power!"
"Disappear," Shion whispered.
Suspended midair, her hair fluttering wildly, she poured everything into the technique. A colossal pillar of purple light erupted, swallowing Mōryō's body whole.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Its screams echoed from within the beam—then abruptly ceased.
Silence fell.
"It's… over," Shion breathed.
Then—
"Hahahahaha!"
The laughter exploded from within the light.
"You thought this would destroy me?"
Shion's pupils shrank.
A massive tentacle burst through the pillar. With hurricane force, the entire beam shattered into fragments of dissipating chakra.
Mōryō emerged—completely unharmed.
"Stop struggling, little shrine maiden."
It hovered above her, its shadow suffocating.
"Your power is impressive. You may even rival Miroku in raw strength."
"But what truly threatened me… was her sealing technique."
"You didn't inherit that."
"All you're doing now is wasting energy."
Its voice lowered, almost mocking.
"Surrender. It will hurt less."
Shion clenched her teeth.
Before, she might have accepted fate—waiting for death as prophecy dictated.
Not anymore.
Purple chakra gathered around her once more, swirling violently.
"Hmph. So stubborn."
Several enormous tentacles lashed downward, tearing through the air with explosive force.
Shion crossed her arms, reshaping her chakra into a defensive barrier. The violet shield reformed around her body just as—
"BOOM!"
The instant the tentacles struck the barrier, a thunderous explosion shook the ancestral hall.
In the next heartbeat, a figure streaked through the air like a falling meteor, trailing sparks of violet chakra before crashing hard into the distant stone wall.
Shion.
She was embedded deep in the wall. The shrine maiden's chakra barrier shattered and dispersed into nothing.
"Ugh—!"
She slid down and dropped to one knee. Blood trickled from the corner of her lips, staining her pale skin.
"Hah… hah…"
She wiped the blood away, forcing herself to look up at the monstrous silhouette ahead.
"Just one strike… and it's this powerful…"
Even after releasing the seal placed by Miroku, even after drawing out the majority of her spiritual power, the gap between her and Mōryō remained overwhelming.
"Die."
Several massive tentacles lashed down once more, tearing through the air with devastating force.
But—
A black silhouette flashed in front of Shion.
One casual upward swing.
The descending tentacles exploded into a mist of blood.
The shockwave tore across the ground, kicking up dust and scattering fragments of shattered stone. Shion's long hair fluttered in the violent gust.
"Well done."
The familiar voice steadied her racing heart instantly.
"Ryoma-sama…"
She forced herself upright and hurried closer.
"Please be careful," Shion warned. "Mōryō's body and soul have completely fused. It's far stronger than before—"
Before she could finish, Ryoma reached back and gently rubbed her head.
The simple gesture silenced her.
Then he stepped forward, placing himself between her and the towering demon.
Mōryō's severed tentacles wriggled and regenerated, reforming grotesquely as though nothing had happened. Its crimson eyes narrowed.
"That strike just now… impressive, human."
Its gaze locked onto him.
"If I'm not mistaken… you are Ryoma."
"Oh?" Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "You know me?"
"Of course."
Mōryō's massive form shifted, its voice dripping with arrogance.
"I had thought the one who overturned so many of my arrangements would possess three heads and six arms. Yet you look… ordinary."
Inwardly, it sneered.
If not for Miroku's sealing technique years ago, the continent would already have been mine. How could a human like you rise to prominence?
Still…
The power in that casual strike was no illusion. To sever its tentacles so effortlessly meant this human was far from simple.
"Hahaha!"
Mōryō burst into manic laughter, the sound echoing violently through the hall.
"I admire strength."
Its tone changed—no longer rage, but condescension.
"I will give you a chance, Ryoma."
"Submit to me."
"I can spare your life. You may keep everything you once had. Your status will be second only to mine."
The crimson pupils gleamed.
"This world is destined to fall under my dominion. Stand beneath me—and survive."
(End of Chapter)
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