CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Battle of Ninetails
Our battle was fierce and intense, two powerful canine and vulpine creatures battling amidst the terrible storm around us. Our paws scrabbled over the slick roof, and we looked for opportunities to throw the other fighter off balance. She was a worthy opponent, larger and stronger than I, yet still quick and agile- but not moreso than me. Ninetails swung at me with her giant pronged sword, and I lashed at her with my string of divine, carved beads. She had plenty of tricks up her sleeve, and tried to use them all against me. Spitting acid with her tails, sending them under the ground to try and spear me, as well as mercilessly slashing with her blade. The fox attempted to use her false brush-power against us, which I countered. She in turn tried to block my attempts to use my brush. One time I wasn't fast enough to stop her, and she drew a giant snowflake-mark which sent flying ice shards through the air, whipped around by the frenzy of the storm. I used Divine Insurgence as a shield against the frozen onslaught, which worked fairly well as defense. The few shards that made it past were absorbed by a layer of my godhood taking the hit. "Try that again and I'll personally take out your other eye!" Hiraku yelled at her, which made her snarl, lashing her tails at us to try and trip me.
She charged at me three times, and I leapt over her, the last time dragging my claws on her back. She howled in anger and stopped for a moment, panting and losing color while recovering from her swift attack, and I drew a line over her. She wasn't fast enough to block it, and the power-slash took effect. She staggered backwards with a yelp. "No!" She howled, regaining her stance and glaring at us, face full of hate. No matter how much I attacked, she didn't seem to be taking any damage. "No!" She cried, climbing up the statue of flames, staring at us with an eye burning like fire. "You think you can stop me? No one can defeat me! I am immortal, a god of darkness! No puny celestial being can defeat me! You hold no power that can kill me!" She reared back and perched on the tip of the flames, sitting regally on the top. Lightning flashed, setting the sky alight behind the great vixen and making her dark form seem to grow. "No living being can ever defeat me! I am eternal! I am the Lord of Darkness!" She howled, reaching upward into the sky. "I am Ninetails, and I am the ruler of Sei-an! Now, in my might I shall rule forevermore!" She howled to the stormy clouds, and they echoed her in thunder.
"Oh, I'm sorry Ninetails!" I shouted, taking a step forward in the storm of rain- but I paid it no mind. "This is where our little fighting match ends." She looked down menacingly upon us, singular red eye glowing in anger. "Hah! What can you do, puny wolf? You have lost!" She roared. "Yet still I stand. And I have a query for you Ninetails. You're a very clever demon, aren't you? But beyond that, you have some sort of spell on you, tying you to the mortal realm. You aren't dead, you've somehow tied yourself to life using something as an anchor. So from what I can tell, at least- it would take a huge blast of energy to 'kill' you. Something beyond a single god's power alone. Clever, very clever." I looked at her, impressed, and she still stared down at us, waiting for me to finish. "Now, since you're a great and powerful demon, and quite ancient too, you're old enough to have figured that out. Well done. However, you can yet be reduced to little more than evil shadows again; waiting in the dark for the chance to trip someone. Being the powerful, ancient demon that you are, you clearly have a taste for drama, but is dramatic effect really worth your life?" I separated my sodden tail into three, even tips as I spoke. "And since you're great, powerful, and ancient, you're also old enough to know a few things about the gods. And I'm disappointed you've forgotten that Gekigami's power is magnified and in fact drawn to metal…" I shook my head disappointedly, staring at the giant structure the vixen was perched on. "Also that I, like my mother, wield that power." I grinned. The clouds above us stirred, thunder rumbled and Ninetail's smile vanished. "No! Noo!" She scrambled and tried to jump down, but it was too late.
Three bolts of lightning struck the statue with a thunderous sound that made our ears ring. It was so loud that the whole building shook with the vibration. We heard a shriek and cries of pain from the figure that was Ninetails in the blaze of light, then we saw her break apart. The lightning was too powerful for even the demon lord to keep her form. The light faded, everything returned to darkness. All that was left of the fox-demon was just a small patch of black mist. It was quite harmless, but I heard the mist as it moved along. It grumbled and hissed, in a low growl, until it turned into a voice laughing: "Hohohohoho…" I flattened my ears.
"You still think you can defeat me little god?" The voice of Ninetails echoed in the wind. "This isn't over, Okami. Though my body is broken and my spirit will fade, my evil will outlast all. I have assurance of my survival in Sei-an, and I shall never relinquish my grasp on Ryoshima Coast!
My child… It's time…
The city will be ours.
Hohohohohoho."
The shadow moaned to itself as it scooted along the ground, laughing maniacally. 'Her… Child? What does that mean? What- what's her plan? What have we missed, and set in motion? Who could she be talking about?' The shadow slipped away in a couple seconds, then the rain began to fall once more. The howls of the storm-wraiths faded as they fled away from the rooftop. I shook and ruffled my coat. One evil was taken care of, but it would take more than that to allow Sei-an to be in peace. We needed to find this 'child', and find out their plan.
(AN: Wooo that was intense! That's all for now, sadly. But I love working on this story and I'll try to get the next one done as soon as I can- life permitting.)