I followed that unmistakable curse signature, that pressing pressure emanating from Mahoraga, the strongest shikigami.
The ritual was still intact, and I could tell that from the pressure alone. This shikigami had gotten stronger. I couldn't help but gulp at what this implies.
"She was defeated? That Makima woman?"
I muttered to myself. That strange woman was powerful in ways I couldn't comprehend, no doubt about it. I wouldn't like to cross paths with her again. However, it's also possible that she may have escaped and was licking her own wounds.
"Hmmm..." Either way, Mahoraga has adapted, becoming stronger.
Now, I don't know how it got here, but it's here, and that means our chance of escaping this whole new pool prison has improved.
A soft, almost-silent shrill echoed around the tiled hallway. The shallow yet brightly illuminated pool slightly rippled, the first time in probably forever inside this isolated place.
"What's wrong?" Midoriya asked as I stopped walking, eyes bulging in fear.
Then Midoriya instantly snapped forward, also sensing the danger. He lowered his position, body quivering in anticipation. When Kakeru noticed our positions shift, he instantly got an idea that something was coming.
He instantly sprinted away in the opposite direction — a smart move from him.
"It's coming." Midoriya said while taking a few steps back. I also did the same.
The pool rippled violently now. The whole place seemed to vibrate with each incoming step from whatever's coming to us. Though it was obvious who it was.
"Run or fight?" Midoriya said as tendrils and lightning streaked from his figure.
"Run or fight!?" Midoriya asked again as the wall in front of us exploded, sending rubble everywhere.
"Both!" I shouted.
A cloud of smoke rose, then faded, and there it was, the unmistakable sight of the strongest being with the ability to adapt to anything and everything. It stood at a towering height, with an eight-turn wheel floating above its head, and wore an infuriated grin.
"Mahoraga."
"I can't see it but I can sense it." Midoriya muttered.
"Rabbit escape!" Thousands of rabbits shot forward, enveloping the hallway and Mahoraga.
"Quick, into that room we found earlier!" I shouted, then Midoriya grabbed me and ran in the opposite direction.
Mahoraga, behind us, roared and easily decimated the army of rabbits with a single swing of its bladed arm. However, the rabbits persisted. They kept piling on Mahoraga and even attempted to fight it.
Midoriya grabbed the running Kakeru on the way and then finally made his way into the spacious room that we chanced upon earlier.
At the center lay a deep pool, with a slender pillar hovering gracefully in the middle. The pillar appeared to be embedded in the ceiling, suspended strangely above the pool.
Midoriya dropped us two as we then took our positions. Mahoraga then quickly arrived, destroying the small entrance as it charged forward. There were rabbits flying around.
"Merged Beast: Round Ox!" I summoned the shikigami, and it charged forward from behind me, stopping Mahoraga in its tracks. Round Ox was using its horns to pin Mahoraga against a wall, but Mahoraga was already slowly overpowering it.
Merged Beast: Round Ox. It's not even a deer or an ox at this point. It's a horrifying mix of both physical forms, forcefully combined.
The horns were near its eyes, while its body had swollen. It barely had any fur, almost a pure pitch-black form, while the horns emitted some positive energy.
"It can't pin it down forever!" I shouted, signaling Midoriya.
"Kakeru, go run away!" I shouted at the collapsed student, but my words didn't have any effect.
"Violence is the dominant language of the world, whether natural or supernatural, and those who comprehend its rules must respect them." Instead, Kakeru started picking up small pieces of ceramic debris and hurling them towards Mahoraga.
What is this retard doing!?
Midoriya sensed the opportunity and then used his tendrils to grab onto the pillar. He then started running, building up speed, using the pillar as an anchor, and then ran on the walls. He circled once, then twice, then thrice, and then, as he was about to finish the fourth revolution, he let go and shot forward like a bullet, feet first.
I then instantly summoned Nue and grabbed Ryuen, creating some distance as much as possible. "That kick will have a lot of force, hold on!"
Midoriya straightened his posture and crossed his arms; his boots' soles seemed to spark, almost catching fire.
Mahoraga looked up and was then blasted with a heavy kick to the face, producing a loud boom that hurled it backwards at blinding speed, destroying several walls.
"Did that do it!?" Midoriya shouted, landing in front of me, producing a crater.
My face soured; that wasn't enough. More force should've been applied. We could've killed it. We could've had an easy victory. "NO! You should've made more revolutions."
Mahoraga, in the distance, rose from a pile of debris and smiled as it forcefully contoured its face back to normal. The wheel above its head jittered.
Round Ox charged forward as I then summoned thousands of rabbits. Mahoraga then twitched and, with a single swing, completely obliterated Round Ox.
I couldn't help but cringe in some phantom pain. Losing a shikigami didn't really hurt, but at that level of force and power, it felt like watching someone take a bad fall and sensing their pain.
Nue then circled back and returned us to our original positions.
Midoriya shot forward, sending me backwards. "Shit!"
That power! He's beyond Itadori and Maki combined. "United States of Smash!" He shouted, completely obliterating the general direction along with some hundred rabbits caught in the crossfire.
"Delaware Smash!" Another heavy cloud of smoke appeared. Then next, a literal cloud of smoke appeared. That was one of his mentioned abilities!
I can't just stand here and do nothing. I dispelled Nue.
I summoned the new merged beast.
"Merged Beast: Max Chimera!" A name I made up on the fly. It seemed fitting, three shikigamis in one figure. A pool of shadow formed in front of me. Revealing a hulking muscled creature with large horns on its head, with huge pointed tusks coming out of its mouth. It had four eyes: two small and two large.
Max Chimera then let out a cry as it produced a powerful stream of water from its snout, shooting straight like a laser, hitting Mahoraga. Midoriya swiftly dodged the laser-like stream and then channeled more energy in his body.
Then, the wheel turned.