Everything around me started to move in slow motion.
Above me, the Chimera-Behemoth was descending from the sky, roaring as its massive, mutated body radiated a suffocating, toxic, radioactive heat. Below me, the colossal, multi-headed Hydra was lunging upward, its massive jaws wreathed absolute-zero ice. And I was right in the middle of the catastrophic collision.
But I didn't waver.
I let go of the Kurikara, allowing the blade to levitate freely in the air in front of me. My halo spun even faster as my platinum flames adorned my hands. I thrust one hand upward towards the behemoth, and my other hand downward towards the Hydra, freezing the space around me.
BOOM!
The sheer kinetic force of both juggernauts colliding against the walls of frozen space created a devastating shockwave. The impact tore through the air, violently shattering the remaining trees of the surrounding forest and kicking up a massive tidal wave of snow.
The Behemoth was halted mid-air, suspended violently by what he thought was an invisible barrier just a couple feet above my head. Simultaneously, the Hydra's massive jaws were forced to an abrupt halt mere inches from the soles of my boots.
I pushed my hand down, pinning Hachirotaro even firmer to the ground with the frozen space. Then, I tilted my head up to address the uninvited guest.
I looked at the thrashing Behemoth. Knowing that it was created using Todo's synthesized blood combined with my divine flames made me feel genuinely insulted by the abomination. I was looking at a cheap, ugly imitation that held a piece of my power.
I raised my right hand toward the beast, wreathing it in my destructive blue-white flames. Simultaneously, I raised my left hand, igniting it with my restorative pearl-white flames. I clapped them together, merging the dual properties, unfreezing the space above me, and sending a massive, swirling blast directly into the creature's chest.
The beast shrieked as the flames tore through its system. But it wasn't just burning; the flames actively purged the "impurities." It rapidly incinerated the Illuminati cybernetic tech and burned away the artificially mutated flesh, aggressively reversing the violent expansion. In seconds, the massive Behemoth dissolved, shrinking violently back into the miniature, original demon Todo had dropped from the ship.
Before it could hit the ground, I reached out and compressed the tiny demon, turning it into a dense, glowing ball of pure energy, and seamlessly absorbed it into my pocket dimension.
I glanced up at the stealth ship in the sky.
When I stopped both beasts easily, I sensed Todo's arrogant smile quickly vanish. When he realized Lucifer's ultimate bio-weapon didn't even make me sweat—that it had only annoyed me—trepidation instantly filled his body at the thought of fighting me. I shot him a terrifying, piercing glare directly through the ship's cloaking tech, locking eyes with him.
The ship immediately turned tail and fled the airspace.
With the trash taken out, I dropped my attention back down to the pinned Hydra. With a flick of my wrist, I released the spatial lock and dropped directly onto the center head of the beast.
Hachirotaro immediately tried to freeze me, his immense power flaring.
"Stand down," I commanded.
I cast my divine aura heavily upon him, crushing his resistance. The sheer celestial weight forced his gigantic, multi-headed form to violently compress, reverting him entirely back to his gradient-skinned, humanoid form. I landed softly in the snow in front of him.
Before he could perform another action, I engulfed both of my hands in my platinum flames and grabbed him by the sides of his head.
"You've caused a generations' worth of grief that needs to be checked," I told him, my eyes glowing fiercely. "But before I cast judgment, I want to understand exactly what you aimed to accomplish with this nearly endless possessive cycle."
I pushed my consciousness directly into his mind.
The real world faded away, replaced by a dark, frozen mindscape. I made contact with Hachirotaro's consciousness, which took the manifestation of his humanoid form. Around us, fragments of his memories floated like shards of ice. I immediately searched for the root of his obsession: Tatsuko Kirigakure.
When the memory of her materialized, I blinked, letting out a low whistle.
"Daaaammmmnnnnn!" I said, looking at her alluring visage. "I completely understand why you didn't wanna lose her."
Hachirotaro's consciousness violently flared up, his multiple eyes narrowing with possessive fury. "Gouge your eyes out, heathen! You are unworthy to even perceive her radiance! She is ours!"
"Calm down man, I'm just looking," I said, settling him down with a wave of my hand. "But you kind of messed up. You wouldn't let her age past thirty. She hadn't even hit her prime yet! You were missing out, if anything, which is why you're in this nearly endless situation you're in."
"You know nothing of the rot of time!" Hachirotaro argued arrogantly, stepping forward. "Mortals wither and decay. We preserved her at the absolute pinnacle of her perfection!"
"No, you preserved your idea of perfection," I corrected. "Well, I guess it was the Edo Period. It's possible that not a lot of people were living past thirty, especially with demons around."
I stepped forward and placed a glowing hand on the forehead of his consciousness.
I imparted something he lacked directly into his soul: empathy. In an instant, Hachirotaro gasped, dropping to his knees as I forced him to experience the collective weight of the grief, terror, and sorrow he had caused the Kirigakure women over the centuries. He felt the heartbreak of mothers leaving their children, and the suffocating dread of turning twenty-nine.
As he reeled from the emotional weight, I forcefully redefined his concept of beauty. I flooded his mind with the understanding that the natural flow of life, the act of growing old with someone you love, was infinitely more beautiful than a frozen, static picture.
"You've lived for so long thinking you'd never find anything to attach yourself to," I said softly, looking down at the trembling deity. "But when you finally did, they had an expiration date. Something you didn't, and something you couldn't accept. So, you forced others to do the same in an attempt to keep the one you've lost from leaving forever."
I pulled my hand back, my expression hardening. "If you weren't a bastard it'd be reaaal sad, but you're you, so this is what's gonna happen. You either atone for your actions now, or continue to toil in your misery."
Hachirotaro looked up at me, the arrogance completely gone from his multiple eyes. The centuries of exhaustion were finally catching up to him. He slowly nodded, agreeing to atone.
I extended a hand toward him. "There's a war coming up between me and Lucifer, and you've demonstrated your strength thoroughly to me. Lend me your strength and I can grant you a permanent resolution to your problem."
Hachirotaro stared at my hand, confused. "Why give us the opportunity for atonement? And why give us the choice to join your fight? You very well have the power to force us to join, so why give us the option?"
I shrugged nonchalantly. "Because I'm all about freedom of choice, even if it might not seem like it. So what is your answer?"
"What does lending you our strength entail?" he asked cautiously.
"You dying," I said flatly.
Hachirotaro raised a brow, thoroughly caught off guard.
"As I've said, you've lived for too long holding on to someone who's long past this world," I explained. "So, die and be with them eternally. Meanwhile, I'll take a piece of you, restructure it, and make it the new Hachiro of this world. One that's able to move freely, die at will—enter an eternal sleep with the one you mutually tie yourself to—and resurrect into a new Hachiro with each new generation that follows."
Hachirotaro stared at me in stunned silence. The sheer magnitude of the mercy I was offering him—the chance to finally rest with the woman he loved, while allowing his legacy to live on unburdened—shook his soul to its core.
His shoulders slumped, the tension of centuries leaving his body. He bowed his head deeply. "We accept."
I stepped forward, placing two fingers firmly against his chest.
With a flash of platinum fire, his consciousness cleanly split in two. The old Hachirotaro—the weary, grieving god—smiled peacefully as his soul faded away, finally moving on to join Tatsuko in eternal sleep.
Standing in his place was the "incarnated" Hachiro. He looked the same, but his aura was completely different. He was unburdened, aware that he was a new version of the Hydra with a fresh lease on life, and entirely ready to join my ranks.
"I'm going to go get rid of the curse mark on Shura," I told him.
"My Lord," the new Hachiro said, his tone respectful. "If I may suggest... restructure the mark as my first act of repentance for my predecessor's actions. Give her the power she is owed, without the burden."
"Yea okay," I agreed easily. "Good idea."
I pulled out of the mindscape, the snowy courtyard of Towada Shrine snapping back into focus.
The chaotic storm had completely died down, leaving an eerie, peaceful silence over the mountain. I let go of Hachirotaro's head. The newly incarnated deity took a step back and respectfully dropped to one knee before me.
Over by the treeline, Yukio and Shura were completely baffled.
From their perspective, less than three minutes had passed. I had frozen two juggernauts, erased the Illuminati Behemoth, pinned the immortal Hydra, stood still with glowing hands for two minutes, and now the terrifying beast was kneeling submissively at my feet.
Yukio's brain was practically short-circuiting.
I walked over to Shura, who was staring at me with wide, disbelieving eyes. I pressed two fingers against the center of her chest, right over the marking of the curse mark.
A tiny spark of my divine flame flared. But it didn't burn her flesh; it simply burned away the contract tying her to the old Hydra. I guided the remaining energy of the mark, restructuring it and shifting it down her shoulder until it formed a sleek, intricate snake tattoo coiled around her forearm—a symbol of power she commanded, rather than a chain of control over her heart.
Shura's eyes fluttered. The realization that the 26-year-old death sentence was officially lifted hit her soul like a freight train.
She dropped like a stone. I smoothly caught her before she hit the snow, and held her up bridal-style.
I looked at Yukio. He was standing completely frozen in the snow, his gun hanging loosely in his hand, looking back and forth between me, the sleeping Shura, and the kneeling high-level demon.
Ignoring his confusion, I let out a heavy sigh and turned to the new Hachiro.
"Aye, Hachiro," I called out, my stomach giving a quiet rumble. "Are there any places to stay around here? I'm starving."
Hachiro blinked, then nodded respectfully. "There is an inn not too far away, at the base of the mountain, My Lord."
"Perfect," I grinned. "Let's head there."