"Uwooooooohhhhh!!!!" I roared and released pale flames from my whole body. It burns the area around me to a crisp, then turns into a vortex and attacks the youkai in front of me in an avalanche. Kamaitachi swung both arms, trying to blow it away with a wind strike, but the flames swallowed it up.
The half-human, half-wolf creature, who confirmed the results, grabbed Kamaitachi and hurriedly jumped away from the spot. A moment later, the flames scorched the area where the two had been.
"This... It's probably some kind of dangerous flame if I touch it, right!?" Kamaitachi declared while blowing away the sparks with the wind. It seemed more like an animalistic intuition than analysis.
And that's why Kamaitachi noticed my presence behind them just before the moment.
"...!?" Kamaitachi exclaimed as they spun around to face me.
As for me, I grunted, "Gahh...!?" as Kamaitachi struck me with dozens of wind blows in an instant, showing that their previous attacks had just been playful.
To top it off, the werewolf broke a tree trunk with a spinning kick and slammed it into me. However, I could see the torn tree trunk looming up in front of me with the sound of cutting through the air.
Yes, I could see it slowly and...
"Gruaaah!!" I used the approaching tree as a foothold and kicked it up to get even closer. But the wolf's jaws opened before me and I quickly took a defensive stance with both arms. Then, with a momentary delay, I received the shock wave of the impact sound covered in flames throughout my body. Still...
"Is this guy attacking me in rapid succession...!?" I thought to myself as Kamaitachi continued their barrage of attacks.
The roar looked like a single blow, but it was actually multiple blows. The roar was made to look like a series of short roars all at once. The compressed, condensed bullets of air hit me in rapid succession. They penetrate my flaming armor and blast me backward before my flame armor was completely 'annihilated.'
"Haah... don't underestimate me...!!" I shouted.
The sound of air being torn apart echoes in my ears. Thrown backwards at a speed that blurs my surroundings, I bend my legs and take to the air. And then... I kick the air with all my might!!
"Ugh!!?" I groaned as I heard the sound of muscles being ripped to shreds. The burning pain dominates my lower body, but it quickly recedes. Then I force myself to turn around.
...Well, the next moment I saw was a massive tree trunk filling my field of vision.
"Guaah!!?"
An overwhelming amount of trees, total suppression, a bullet-hell game. It was impossible to deal with more than ten giant trees that were closing in on me in an instant. So, as soon as I kicked back one or two trees, the rest rushed in. I was slammed into the ground together with the trees.
"Heh, well, I suppose it's better to be able to speak calmly like this, huh?" I chuckled at myself as I crawled on all fours like a beast, bloodied and battered. I punched the tree that had fallen on me like a substitute for my frustration.
In front of me were two calamity youkai that had landed on the ground. One was expressionless, but the other twisted its face and showed surprise at the sight of my battered body.
"Hey, what's up with that? You just took my slash attack from up close, didn't you? I'm depressed to be honest," Kamaitachi sighed and chuckled at the sight of my wound that had been perfectly inflicted, but was slowly closing up like a video in reverse. If anything, all the wounds I had received so far were regenerating. The pain is still there, though.
"What in the world, what is the meaning of this? Why do I sense that crazy fallen goddess aura from you? Are you kidding me? A family member? Stop joking around. We haven't received any information about that," Kamaitachi said with their face tightened in confusion, astonishment, and above all, annoyance. They are members of the Youkai Salvation organization, after all.
"Well, you know," I replied, "I don't have to explain it to you. ...Besides, it's pointless. I have to kill you guys here."
I mean, I've gone this far. To protect my little sister and keep my family away from death, I had to kill these guys here.
"Yes. this is my real last resort," I thought to myself.
Despite the intense headache and dizziness, I gritted my teeth and glanced at the thing briefly.
It was a spider. A white spider, buried in black body hair that grew from all over my body. It clung to me with its eight legs, biting my skin. When it noticed my gaze, it stopped sucking my blood and looked at me. It raised its first two legs in a victory gesture and it pisses me off.
The existence of the baby spider that feeds on the sticky residue of the Earth Mother's body was the key to maintaining my current form and sanity.
I intentionally awakened my genes and went berserk. Naturally, my body becomes deformed, and my mind is rapidly invaded. The stopper was this baby spider. By continuing to let it suck my blood, I could prevent myself from becoming a youkai while enhancing my combat abilities. The drawbacks? There are too many to list. It was literally a last resort, a reckless and thoughtless plan. Even now, every part of my body, inside and out, my muscles, my blood vessels, are being torn apart. I'm constantly regenerating only to be torn apart again. It hurts, no kidding. Moreover, the curse's effect still remains, tightening all over my body. I feel nothing but pain. It's the worst state to be in.
'Even though you're still in the middle of youkai transformation, you're quite reckless. You won't last long in that state,' a voice whispered in my ear. I looked and saw a hummingbird perched. I couldn't feel my shoulder, so I didn't know it was there.
"I'm going to kill them all before then," I replied and forced a smile from my tight muscles.
It was probably a distorted smile. I mean, I could feel my cheeks twitch and convulse. And the hummingbird didn't answer and remained silent. Anyway, I look in front of me. The weasel that had descended from the werewolf was crawling on all fours, watching me.
"Rouya (werewolf), we drew the short straw. I never thought we'd meet such a troublesome guy right off the bat. This is the worst. Everything's a mess," Kamaitachi sighed. They sigh, exhale, and feel disappointed. They looked at me with a deliberate depression. Then, they stared at me intently.
"Moreover, the person in front of us seems unlikely to allow us to flee miserably with our tails between our legs. I'm a pacifist. but this is cruel," Kamaitachi said.
"At least tell a better lie," I replied.
There is nothing that can't be trusted about the words of a youkai. Releasing the land god is probably their main objective by now... at least that was the goal of the attacking youkai in the original story. Although it may be impossible, it is not feasible to suffer such losses, humiliation, and go back home empty-handed
And these guys are smart. They understand that I am not transforming myself by proper means and that such recklessness will not last for long.
So I have to kill them right here and now. For my family, for my sister, I'll kill them right here. For sure, I'll kill them. Even if it means stabbing them in the back.
"......"
"......"
The weasel and the wolf split up and peer at me from left and right. They seemed to be trying to weaken my mentality. They seem to have noticed that I am desperately enduring being obliterated by my beastly instincts. It's a cunning strategy, knowing that I can't focus on the enemy. It's disgusting.
"Come on, hurry up and come at me! You must be waiting for me to wear down... But time is running out for you too, isn't it?" I taunted.
Even if Kibikagi is eaten alive, in a sense nothing has changed. It is likely that Uemon and the soldiers of the shogunate (court) who have already received the news will hurry to the village. It was a natural choice for exorcists. I don't even know when I'll die. If that were the case, I would have at least reported it before entering the battle.
"You're so impatient. Don't be in such a hurry. Being made to wait can be quite enjoyable, you know?" The weasel in front of me certainly wasn't ignorant of my observation. They chuckled dismissively, but a hint of impatience seeped through their façade.
As the distance between the monsters and me closed in, my forehead became drenched with sweat, my face turned pale, and a dull pain echoed in my head. The youkai were still looking for an opening.
"...!!?" Suddenly, my nerves were shattered by a sharp headache, causing me to momentarily lose focus. At the same time, a cutting sound of air sounded. Without even seeing the preliminary movement, my body was torn apart by the wind blows, and soon after, the wounds began to regenerate.
But the attack was just a sideshow, and a moment later the two monsters were right in front of me. The youkai monster was closing in. Their target was my neck. Even an immortal cannot think without a head. If the skulls are destroyed without a moment's warning, they can be incapacitated. It was a commonplace, reasonable, and straightforward decision that adhered to the theory.
"...Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention," I muttered.
Everything happened in an instant. In that brief moment when the scythe was at my throat, I muttered. I was able to mutter. I raised the corners of my mouth, showing a bewildered expression. The weasel in front of me seemed to have an odd expression on their face.
"You're not very good at living, are you? Iruka?"
"!!?"
The weasel seemed to have sensed the presence at the same time as my words. They turned their attention to their fellow wolves. The wolf person, who was called Rouya, also noticed and turned his head in surprise towards the presence.
Immediately after, Iruka, who had transformed into a complete youkai, bit into the wolf youkai's neck with her sharp fangs, smiling fearlessly.
...
...
...
In the dense forest, an unceasing roar echoed through the trees. The sound of branches being torn apart, the cries of beasts, clashing metal, and dust swirling.
"Don't move so much...!?"
I follow their movement, who leap from branch to branch of the big tree. Even with my enhanced night vision, there were limits to how much I could see in this dark forest with no moonlight. So I strained my ears to listen, trying to distinguish the countless noises. It was no longer a human sensation.
...and I hear something cutting through the air.
"There it is!" I exclaimed.
In the air, I clawed and swung my arms. The sound of metal reverberated as I finally discerned it. Four scythes growing from the right arm of the weasel pierced into my arm. However, the blades of the scythes, which can cut through even large armor, stop at the outer skin of my arm.
"...!!" Kamaitachi upset.
They then dodged my delayed burst of fire with a spinning leap. Not even a spark touched this guy. This guy's movement and their swiftness had even played with me, who had become a half-human monster.
"Is it buying time...!?" I thought to myself.
It had already been more than enough time since I transformed and the battle began. But I'm still stuck in a chase with youkai in front of me, unable to decide the match.
Despite their arrogant attitude, Kamaitachi's strength was definitely genuine. Their bare strength is probably lower than that of other calamity youkai. However, this guy was smart enough to play with me by using their wisdom and tricks.
I, on the other hand, was completely at the mercy of my own power. Although it couldn't be helped since it was a spur-of-the-moment battle, there was a significant difference in sensation between when I was human and now. Moreover, the double impact of the curse and the reaction to the transformation had left me with severe pain and headache all over my body, blurring my judgment.
"I really did something foolish!!" I mock myself for my terrible judgment as I brace myself for the approaching weasel in the darkness. But...
"This is, different...!? I see a glint of a scythe ahead, but it was a decoy. I repel the two cut-off scythes that are closing in on me. Immediately I feel a presence behind me. I move my head to the side, and blood splatters from my neck, followed by a delayed intense pain. I spin and deliver an uppercut to the weasel's head. If it connects, it'll probably turn their upper body into minced meat. Well, they could dodge it though, couldn't they? I mean, the two scythes on the weasel's left arm that were reduced to one pierce my shoulder.
