Tamamo-no-Mae was angry. Extremely angry.
At first, when Eichi entered the barrier, Tamamo-no-Mae didn't care.
No matter how strong he was, he was just one person. And here, Tamamo-no-Mae had six Special Grade powerhouses.
So she simply sent Takako and the others to deal with him.
She herself remained focused on controlling the massive number of Cursed Spirits.
"What a colossal number. Even more than the cannon fodder that hussy from the Fujiwara Clan sent to wear me down back then."
Back then, Emperor Toba's empress, Lady Fujiwara, had sent over 900,000 troops to suppress her.
(In Tamamo-no-Mae's myth, Japan sent troops three times in total: 135,000 the first time, 300,000 the second, and 500,000 the third.)
Did those troops threaten Tamamo-no-Mae?
No.
But they greatly depleted her Cursed Energy.
That was why she placed so much value on the million Cursed Spirits Kenjaku had gathered.
Many of them were Grade 1 or quasi-Special Grade in strength.
Whether used as an army or cannon fodder, they were an extremely powerful force.
Although most of the Cursed Spirits were mindless, they could be commanded by intelligent incarnated bodies.
Among the ancient Jujutsu Sorcerers revived through Incarnation, there were powerhouses with military expertise.
Those Grade 1 Cursed Spirits could be controlled by parasitizing them with the Sanzu Kawa's Spirit Butterfly Technique, allowing them to follow orders.
However, things quickly spiraled out of Tamamo-no-Mae's control.
First, Mahoraga appeared in the room containing Cursed Objects and caused chaos, resulting in the loss of many Cursed Objects.
Then, five individuals—three people and two Cursed Spirits—were sent to fight the shadow-using sorcerer.
Not only did they fail to defeat him, they couldn't even handle his shikigami.
In a five-on-one situation, one of them was even killed.
Tamamo-no-Mae really wanted to ask, "Do you even know how to fight?"
Cursing them as useless, she finally decided to act herself.
At the same time, she came to a realization.
The title of "strongest" for Mahoraga wasn't just Zen'in Family hype.
Tamamo-no-Mae had spent many years in the palace during her life, but unfortunately, she lived centuries before the era when the heads of the Gojo and Zen'in Families had their legendary duel.
She didn't know much about Mahoraga.
After all, in her time, the Fujiwara Clan still reigned. The Big Three Families hadn't yet become the Big Three.
At this moment, several of her clones surrounded Mahoraga, constantly disrupting its movements.
Mahoraga's Sword of Exorcism slashed through, cutting down another illusory clone created from her flames.
Ding.
The wheel above Mahoraga's head rotated.
Tamamo-no-Mae narrowed her eyes.
Flames surged. Two more clones of Tamamo-no-Mae materialized.
They released an immense aura, but Mahoraga paid them no mind.
It had stopped reacting to phantom-like clones.
Mahoraga passed through the clones and launched an attack toward Ryu Ishigori.
Dhruv chickened out.
Takako and Ootengu remained in the sky, not daring to descend, so it was better to take out the "cannonhead" first.
In the sky, Takako once again used her Technique to lift a massive rock.
Ugyo Rodan activated.
The boulder flew toward Mahoraga with terrifying force.
Mahoraga didn't even turn its head. It simply flicked its tail, neutralizing the attack that had previously sent it flying.
"Indeed, it's very similar to the Yamata no Orochi from ancient texts."
Tamamo-no-Mae finally understood the reason behind Mahoraga's growing strength in battle.
"Yamata no Orochi? You've seen that too?"
Takako, who lived during the same era as Ryomen Sukuna, had also heard of it.
Yamata no Orochi had been incarnated and revived once during her time.
There were even rumors it was later roasted and eaten, though Takako never believed them.
"I saw it mentioned in palace records. Yamata no Orochi could adapt to everything. Every time the wheel above Mahoraga's head rotates, our attacks lose effectiveness. I believe Mahoraga is similar to Yamata no Orochi."
"Then doesn't that mean our attacks are useless? How do we beat something like that?"
"It's you who's useless. Not me."
Boom.
A vast surge of Cursed Energy erupted from Tamamo-no-Mae as countless flames gathered above her head.
A colossal fireball, like a sun rising in the night, formed.
"Mahoraga hasn't adapted to my attack yet. I'll finish it off in one strike."
On the other side, Eichi, who was commanding the Divine Dogs and Qiongqi in battle, also noticed the rising sun-like fireball.
With a thought, Mahoraga responded instantly.
That flame… Mahoraga hasn't adapted to it yet?
Eichi had a bad feeling.
He scanned the battlefield, saw the dozens of enemies surrounding him, and made a quick decision to retreat.
Mahoraga's aura began to weaken. The summoning would be dispelled the moment the fireball landed.
Rabbit Escape surged forward like a wave. Using it as cover, Eichi began a new summoning.
Several Shadow Servants appeared.
Eichi stepped onto the wave formed by Rabbit Escape and leapt onto Qiongqi.
Escaping through the shadows would be easy to intercept. Airborne was safer.
On the other side, Tamamo-no-Mae completed her charge.
A fireball, dozens of meters in diameter, descended upon Mahoraga like a second sun.
Dhruv and the others tacitly coordinated, restricting Mahoraga's movements.
But right before their attacks landed, Mahoraga vanished.
"The summoning was dispelled?"
They immediately turned to look at Eichi fleeing in the distance.
"Don't even think about escaping!"
There was no way they would let him go after Mahoraga had toyed with them for so long.
Letting Eichi escape without giving him a beating would be unacceptable.
Ootengu acted first, drawing his bow. An arrow wrapped in violent winds shot toward Eichi.
A pitch-black arrow suddenly shot up from the ground, intercepting Ootengu's attack.
Shadow Servant, Archer.
Ootengu looked down at the archer below. The two began an archery duel.
Ryu, in pursuit, was intercepted by a tall figure.
Shadow Servant, Berserker.
Ryu licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, excited by the powerful aura.
"Who the hell are you!"
A pitch-black witch blocked Takako.
Shadow Servant, Caster.
On the ground, the water sprayed by Max Elephant was evaporating rapidly under Tamamo-no-Mae's flames.
White Divine Dog and Black Divine Dog attempted a sneak attack on Dhruv, but failed and were severely injured by his shikigami.
Large numbers of Rabbit Escape were quickly cleared out by the incarnated ancient powerhouses.
The Shadow Servants and shikigami didn't buy much time, but it was enough for Eichi to escape the battlefield.
"Damn it! Don't run, you coward!"
Takako distorted space with her Technique, temporarily ignoring the Shadow Servants' attacks as she gave chase.
"Only an idiot wouldn't run. Get out of my way!"
After shouting back, Eichi even made a face at her.
He slapped Qiongqi's rear hard.
Qiongqi immediately accelerated.
(To be continued.)