"Damn it, what kind of monster is this?!"
Dhruv cursed under his breath.
At first, his two Shikigami could deal considerable damage to Mahoraga.
But after a short time, the smaller Shikigami's attacks were completely repelled by Mahoraga's powerful physique.
The Great Fish Shikigami was nearly thrown to its death.
"You old man, you don't even know Mahoraga?"
Takako glanced at Dhruv with disdain.
Despite mocking him, she was inwardly cautious.
She hadn't held back on her last strike.
Yet Mahoraga now stood as if untouched.
"You shameless brat, do you want to die?!"
Still fuming, Dhruv immediately summoned his Shikigami in response.
"Enough!"
Tamamo-no-Mae shouted.
She had realized that although Takako treated her respectfully, her attitude toward others was terrible.
Ryu wasn't any better.
'This team is impossible to lead,' she thought.
"That is the legendary strongest Shikigami, Mahoraga. None of you can take it down alone."
Tamamo-no-Mae swept her gaze over Dhruv and Takako.
"Hmph."
Takako snorted and turned away.
Dhruv also shifted his focus back to Mahoraga.
'The strongest Shikigami, huh?'
That title gave him some sense of dignity.
Ding.
Mahoraga's wheel rotated once more.
Before Tamamo-no-Mae could issue commands, Mahoraga made its move.
It kicked off the ground with such force that the earth cracked beneath its feet.
Raising the Sword of Exorcism high, it charged straight at Ootengu.
From Mahoraga's perspective, Ootengu and Kuroi Bokusatsu were the easiest to eliminate.
Startled, Ootengu flapped his wings rapidly, ascending over a hundred meters into the sky.
Dhruv resummoned the towering Great Fish Shikigami.
Mahoraga, now back to normal size, was sent flying upon impact with the summoned beast, but it remained unscathed.
Ootengu formed a bow with both hands.
Feathers morphed into arrows, which he nocked and released.
Whoosh.
An arrow, accelerated by wind, shot toward Mahoraga.
Just as it landed, Mahoraga sensed the incoming strike.
Right as it moved to dodge, Takako appeared behind it and activated her Technique.
She grabbed Mahoraga tightly, distorting space and preventing it from escaping the attack's range.
Whoosh.
Under the full power of the Special Grade Cursed Spirit Ootengu, the arrow punched a hole clean through Mahoraga.
Ding.
The wheel rotated again.
Takako, who had intended to hurl Mahoraga away, suddenly found herself unable to move it.
Whoosh.
'Not good!'
Takako's expression changed. She sharply arched her body backward like a drawn bow.
The twisted Sword of Exorcism grazed her forehead.
She narrowly avoided being cut in half.
The next moment, Mahoraga's massive foot struck her squarely.
Crack.
The sound of bones breaking echoed.
Takako was kicked into the sea.
Just then, a rain of arrows fell from the sky.
Thud, thud, thud.
The arrows pierced Mahoraga's body, and the fierce wind ravaged it.
With his first attack complete, Ootengu, having assessed Mahoraga's defense, continued his assault.
Mahoraga swung his sword to block the arrows.
Two grotesque insects holding a sphere crashed into Mahoraga's right hand.
It was the effect of the Special Grade Cursed Spirit Kuroi Bokusatsu's Technique, Earthworm Fixation.
Immediately after, more than a dozen arrows struck Mahoraga again.
Eichi, engaged in a hand-to-hand battle with Ryu Ishigori in the distance, sensed trouble.
One-on-one, none of them could beat Mahoraga.
But together, they posed a real threat.
The reason was simple: Mahoraga couldn't adapt quickly enough.
Each person's Cursed Technique might require multiple rounds of adaptation.
For example, Mahoraga had adapted to Dhruv's two Shikigami twice.
From Mahoraga's feedback, Eichi knew there were still several Techniques left to adapt to.
It reminded him of when he had previously bought time by using Shadow Servants and Shikigami to stall Mahoraga.
Though it didn't cause much damage, it had restricted Mahoraga's movements for a while.
It was a case of too many hands overwhelming two fists.
The current situation was similar, but this time, the opponents were far stronger than Eichi's former Shikigami.
'I need to buy Mahoraga time to adapt.'
Eichi came to a quick decision.
"Hey, don't start spacing out."
Ryu wasn't idle.
He suppressed Eichi's defense, leaned his head forward, and charged up the cannon on his pompadour.
A point-blank blast was aimed straight at Eichi's face.
'Not good!'
Alarmed, Eichi triggered the shadows under his feet, instantly sinking into them.
Seeing this, Ryu stopped charging and fired a blast directly into the shadow.
The impact slammed Eichi into the shadows headfirst.
"Tch, pulling that move again."
Ryu clicked his tongue and unleashed another barrage of Cursed Energy cannon blasts into the shadows.
The shadows were Eichi's domain. Even with his strength, Ryu was reluctant to enter enemy territory.
"Hm?"
Ryu sensed something off.
The shadow beneath his feet suddenly surged upward, erupting like a volcano.
Eichi emerged, his face splattered with blood.
"Ultimate Art: Ten Shadows Treasure Wheel!"
The Ten Shadows Treasure Wheel above Eichi's head began to spin.
A massive spherical shadow started forming on the ground.
"Nue, Tiger Funeral!"
Nue and Tiger Funeral emerged from the shadows.
"Chimera: Tiger Hawk."
The two Shikigami fused.
Unlike before, where Qiongqi formed the base, this time Eichi chose Nue to enhance aerial flexibility.
Once the Tiger Hawk was formed, wind and lightning surged around it as it shot toward Ootengu.
"Granite Blast!"
Ryu Ishigori's fury rose at Eichi's audacity to ignore him after just getting hit.
"Orochi!"
From Ryu's shadow, Orochi lunged out and bit down on him.
The cannon blast was thrown off course.
"Granite, damn it!"
Ryu prepared to blast Orochi apart.
But Orochi had already predicted it.
Thrashing violently, Orochi dragged Ryu into the sea.
Suddenly submerged and unable to breathe, Ryu's Technique was interrupted again.
Shadows began falling from the sky.
Under Eichi's control, they transformed into countless arrows, engulfing the area where Tamamo-no-Mae and the others stood.
(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.)