章 10: The Serpent and The Elephant

"How are you here?! How did you leave the Netherrealm?!" Shin growled. The snake man grinned darkly.

"I never told you who I was, Nahobino. Throughout that desecrated realm…I was called Okuninushi, the mind eater. Think of me, and I shall appear. It's because of you. I really ought to thank you. Your thoughts of me opened a passage away from that disgusting realm. I'm truly grateful."

"............" The Nahobino was silent…disturbed by what he was hearing.

The elephant humanoid was like a statue. Dressed in royal cloth, a fighter's cloth. Bracers on the forearm and legs. This wouldn't be an easy battle.

"We've evolved since then, youngling. Just as you have. Do you remember why I ssspared you?" Okuninushi asked, his forked tongue darting from his lips.

"............" Shin remained silent. His senses were on high alert, waiting for them to make a move.

"The power that I would get from eating you now. I'm sssure it would be exquisite. Hehehe. Show me if you can keep your head from leaving your shoulders, youngling." Okuninushi said.

"...I am not a youngling."

The slender man's hand reached for the katana at his hip. Shin immediately clenched his fist, the almighty force trapping both the snake and elephant in place. Only then did he ignite his saber.

VRRRRM

Electricity danced on the blade. Not because it was unstable, but because the element of lightning itself flooded the blade. The mind eater smiled in disdain. Waving his sleeve, the almighty force disappeared like a gust of wind.

"The almighty is useless here. Don't bother." Okuninushi stated.

".............."

Shin was no longer the only person capable of wielding the almighty element. If two combatants could use it, the difference between a winner and loser changed. It now depended on who had the better technique, battle prowess, and the application of the almighty.

"Hmph." The elephant finally grunted.

"Giri. Let's enjoy thisss meal." The slender man said.

"Hmph!" Giri, the elephant, accelerated in speed. To a normal human it was teleportation.

His fist rocketed toward the Nahobino. It would gore the young man if it connected. Shin leapt over the blow, doing a single palm handstand on the tree-trunk sized arm. Flexing his abdomen, he spun with his legs, flipping upright in the air and finally swinging the photon blade down. It was a beautiful display of skill.

CLANG

His blade connected with Okuninushi's barely unsheathed katana. Definitely not a normal weapon. The slender man instantly drew the rest of his weapon in a quickdraw slash. Sparks shot everywhere as the blades rubbed materials. Shin leaned extremely low to the ground, dodging the Iai slash.

An unfavorable position. With his back so close to the ground, the Nahobino needed to regain his footing. It was unfortunate that Giri wouldn't give him the chance. A powerful foot kicked Shin's side, launching him into the sky and out of the city.

BOOOM

As Shin soared through the sky, he made a seal with his left hand. A thin barrier of translucent energy covered his body like skin. It would lessen the damage from their attacks.

'Kannabi Veil.' He thought. With it being a 2v1 with similar speed and agility, he knew he would take hits.

It wasn't even a second after the skill was cast. Giri teleported above him, ready to slam a fist down onto his chest. Shin used the almighty force to spin his own body, evading the attack. This allowed the Nahobino to reach the elephant's neck. His blade swung quickly, ready to chop off the demon's head.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't come to be. Okuninushi's katana cleaved at the perfect moment, ready to bisect the young man. This forced the Nahobino to back off. The demon elephant had been saved from death. Twice now.

All three figures came crashing down into the Ikeda prefecture of Osaka. For the civilians, it came without warning. Sonic booms could be heard moving throughout the city. Swords scars quickly covered the prefecture, and humans were chopped into pieces just for standing at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Wind pressure, energy sword slashes, fist pressure, fire, ice, lightning, darkness, and light. All of these elements were thrown around, annihilating the landscape. It was like a tornado had gone through the city in seconds before leaving.

The battle brought them from Osaka to Kyoto, then Nagoya to Yamanashi, finally reaching Tokyo. Shin's body crashed through the ceiling of a mega arcade. Multiple civilians who were playing games quickly ran in fear, the dumbest ones pulling out phones to record.

Shin immediately rose to his feet, an orb made of lightning, light, and wind covered by a film of almighty force in his hand. Pointing at the hole he fell through, a strong hyper beam exploded into the sky. The clouds parted. Both Okuninushi and Giri, who were falling from above, twirled around the beam and landed on each side of the Nahobino.

A pincer attack. Shin's left hand ignited, now a blade from each hand. The battle continued inside the arcade. Flawless displays of skill between three fighters. One wrong move equalling certain death. Both the Nahobino and Okuninushi had incredible footwork, the snake man preferring to sheathe his sword after every few exchanges.

By the time the majority of civilians had evacuated the building, it was ready to crumble. A creaking sound could be from the pillars. The three fighters didn't even notice, as their exchanges had already brought them miles away.

News helicopters, the special assault team (police), and organizations all over the country were now actively watching what they could grasp of this clash. The most they could do was bring innocent bystanders to dedicated shelters and bunkers.

…

The Ancient One appeared in the clouds of Japan. A frown adorned her face as she made symbols with her hands. Destroyed buildings across the land were repaired, gutted streets and fields renewed. Looking towards the battle, she saw the three about to clash again.

"To the mirror dimension. Fight freely." Her voice sounded in the Nahobino's ears.

…

Shin's surroundings changed, buildings turning upside down. The sky reflected the ground and the ground twisted sideways. Everything was constantly shifting. While everyone did notice the change in locale, they were too locked in to care.

"Don't want to harm the humans? How noble of you." Okuninushi mocked.

"Hmph." Giri huffed in disdain.

Then the battle continued. Buildings were blown to dust, the sheer power of their attacks annihilating all material in the way. Shin sped across the side of a bending skyscraper. Okuninushi and Giri were on both of his sides, ready to make another pincer maneuver.

Throughout the entire battle, the elephant had been on the offensive. He would force the Nahobino to stay on the defensive due to his overwhelming brute strength. Shin had already grown used to expecting his attack first. That was why everything went wrong.

Okuninushi was the first to make a move. He disappeared like a ghost, materializing on the complete other side of the building. The slender man drew his sword with refined elegance. A beautiful stroke…a quickdraw. Just like that, the entire megastructure was cleaved in half. That wasn't all. The sword pressure went on to reach Shin.

Due to his location, the Nahobino was forced to either defend or attack. Sometimes an offense is a good defense. Especially for swordsmen. Shin cleaved his thin light blade at the massive sword pressure and held it at a stalemate.

"Ughf!" He grunted at the weight of Okuninushi's sword wind.

It forced the young man to stay in place which Giri took full advantage of. His fist rocked into Shin's stomach, blowing him up into the reflected sky. A powerful uppercut. Blood trailed from the Nahobino's lips. His Kannabi Veil had broken.

Unfortunately, that was not the end of the team attack. Okuninushi had already sheathed his blade, ready to draw again. Another heavy slash was sent up toward the rising figure. It connected with Shin's shoulder and neck, trying to bite through.

Before it could cut through the Nahobino….before it could kill Shin…the surroundings went dark. It happened as quickly as the snap of a finger. Neither the snake nor the elephant could see clearly. As dark as the Netherrealm all over again.

That was…until they noticed the bright moon shining with resplendent light. The entire mirror dimension basked in its glow, but for some reason it was hard to see five feet in front of them. Shin's silhouette could be seen on the moon. His form had changed.

His long black hair had turned as white as purest snow. The pulsing blue glow had been replaced with purple. An armored breather now covered the bottom half of his face. The photon blades sprouting from his hands now stretched upward behind his elbow and head like crescent fins. Arm blades in their finest form.

"This is my true form." Tsukuyomi's gentle voice carried over to the enemy duo.

A vast pressure descended upon the two. As they looked at the Nahobino, they finally understood the depths of his evolution. There were traces of lineage here. Divinity. Had Shin reached the throne at one point? It was unknown. An urgent sense of danger screamed at Giri and Okuninushi.

"You look even more exquisite now. It will be worth killing you. Your innardsss are tantalizing to me. The sssmell-" Okunishi started.

"Yes. You feasted on my flesh. Hunted me as your prey. The natural cycle of nature, right? Well…now YOU are the prey. Happy Hunting." Tsukuyomi declared.

His figure slowly faded away into tendrils of shadow. The human snake clutched his sword hilt while looking in all directions. His senses were stretched to the max. Giri grunted once more…but it no longer held that arrogance and sense of disdain.

"Hiding in the darkness? You always were a cowardly little thing." Okuninushi yelled.

VRRRMMM

The sound of the photon blade entered the demon snake's ears. It was extremely silent. Barely noticeable. A few seconds went by with nothing happening. Strange. Upon looking over at Giri, he saw the elephant without his legs. Even Giri himself didn't realize it yet.

A loud cry soon left the elephant's lips. The pain had come unexpectedly. He couldn't even defend. His tormented cry rang in Okuninushi's ears, but it cut off abruptly. Giri's face had been bisected. The upper half of his face slid to the ground before the lower half.

"Giri…damn."

Okuninushi was unable to spot the Nahobino a single time. He even flexed his almighty force, trying to blow away the heavy shadows. There was no effect. Yellow eyes watched him silently before disappearing again.

VRRRMMM

The snake man felt pain in his left arm. His fingers fell off first…followed by his hand…then his elbow…then his shoulder. Okuninushi leapt high into the air. Rage flooded his senses.

"You DARE toy with me?! You are nothing! You will alwaysss be nothing! I will NOT be hunted by my own prey!" He roared.

The human snake's body expanded, quickly transitioning into his original form. A massive blue serpent. Large and covered in golden markings. Truly evolved from the past, though it mattered not. Tsukuyomi's voice sounded throughout the realm. He was everywhere.

"I'm going to eat you as you ate me. There is no rush. Parts of your body will be used as tea…others will be turned into soup. Those lovely scales will be my coat…my shoes. Your skull will be my teacup." The gentle voice said.

Yellow eyes suddenly appeared in the darkness. Okuninushi reacted quickly. The serpent struck its tail, but it only caused the eyes to blow away like smoke. No hit. Was the Nahobino even there?

Okuninushi felt a pinch on his tail. Not painful at all, but cause for concern. Looking at it, he noticed that the tip was missing. That wasn't all. Clean segments of his tail started falling to the ground, looking as if someone chopped them on a kitchen table.

Fear. For the first time in an extremely long time…the serpent could feel it. Fear. His tail was slowly falling away like diced meat. It horrified him, especially since he couldn't see, hear, or sense the Nahobino.

Losing all rational thought, Okuninushi succumbed to his fear. Energy converged around him. It was the almighty element, coalescing at an incredible pace. Ready to explode.

BOOOM

Like a bomb, the almighty washed through the area. Everything burned away like a solar wind. The energy would converge again then explode. Over and over. If this happened in the real world, the city would've been ancient history. There would be no survivors.

BOOM BOOOM BOOOM

"Ssstop!" The serpent screeched.

Despite the explosions, his long body had not stopped falling away. It had started at his tail but was reaching much further. Up to his stomach now…nicely cut portions fell away, ready to be cooked for a meal.

"This can't be how I go. I've barely made it to this world. I want to see all that it has to offer!" Okuninushi cried out.

He didn't expect to die. Not today. Not in a long time. The memories of his life played like a film. Death was coming for him, it felt inevitable. There was nothing that would stop it.

'I made an incredible mistake. His true power was well hidden. What a blunder…' Those were his last thoughts.

The serpent's body was fully chopped into even portions, leaving his skull intact. Tsukuyomi finally appeared beside the diced corpse and retracted his purple crescent blades of light. His yellow gaze paused on the clean chunks of meat…he would make sure it tasted great. Seasonings, vegetables, carbs…a fine meal would come of this.

'...My mind is clear.' He thought.