Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Suzuka Gozen leaped to the top of the tower, her naginata raised high. With a solemn chant, golden runes transformed into golden magic swords, which, guided by their blades, rained down on the demons and evil spirits that had invaded the city like a meteor shower.

In an instant, thousands of swords rained down like curtains, pinning one vicious monster and demon to the ground. Then, the golden runes on the swords burned fiercely, completely purifying the locked targets.

In a short while, Suzuka Gozen single-handedly cleared out most of the aliens who had flooded into the city.

It is said that she was a dancer from the Heian period who, based in Suzuka Mountain, went to exterminate the demons alongside the samurai Sakanoue Tamuramaro.

Because of her magnificence and power, she was hailed as a celestial maiden and also called a peerless beauty among demons.

However, her true identity is actually the beloved daughter of the Fourth Heavenly Demon King, sent by the Heavenly Realm with the mission of destroying the human world.

Although he was later moved and abandoned his mission.

However, this "celestial maiden" is no less powerful; even among demons and ghosts, she is among the top tier.

Seeing that the scum had been successfully cleared out, Miyamoto Musashi, who had set out from the streets and alleys, approached his target with a devout attitude of almost worship, his accumulated sword momentum nurturing an unparalleled sharpness.

One strike, three bows—breaking through infinity to reach zero!

The moment the Yamata no Orochi sensed a sharp aura approaching and lowered its head to observe, the Heavenly Origin Sword Saint, who was only thirty steps away from the calamity, no longer hesitated and suddenly drew his sword.

"Namo, O Great Perfectionist God—severing all evil with wrath. This strike is my path of emptiness, my very life! Ishana, Great Celestial Phenomenon—!"

The phantom of the four-armed, glaring King of Benevolence appeared behind Miyamoto Musashi, its four giant swords carrying the turbulent earth, fire, wind, and water, smashing towards the calamity wheel dozens of meters away.

With a series of thunderous sonic booms, a ferocious serpent head as large as a mountain was pierced through its scales, torn apart its flesh and bones by the sword's edge, and finally rolled down.

"Roar!"

However, accompanied by a painful roar, the snake's head, which had rolled to the ground, transformed into a pool of reddish-black liquid, which, as if alive, flowed back into the towering, mountain-like body.

In an instant, the flesh and blood on the severed neck of the Yamata no Orochi began to writhe and grow wildly.

In just a moment, the hideous snake head returned to normal, and its scarlet eyes reopened.

Immortality!

Upon seeing this, the heroes' initial excitement at having successfully seized the initiative vanished, and their hearts sank to the bottom.

"Struggle! It's all in vain!"

A gender-ambiguous mixed voice came from the open mouth of the snake's head, and eight pairs of scarlet vertical pupils opened and closed sinisterly.

"You parasites of this planet, listen to this divine pronouncement—you are condemned to death!"

Instantly, the earth shook violently, and torrents gushing from the earth's crust transformed into serpentine shapes, sweeping towards the Shogunate army.

Wherever the waves passed, whether it was buildings inscribed with spells, bricks and stones with magical properties, or black warriors clad in full armor and demons wreaking havoc everywhere, they all dissolved and disintegrated, turning into the purest magic.

Eight mountain-like heads opened their massive mouths to suck in the tangible streams of ethereal light, drawing them away from the surrounding area and into the mouth of the Yamata no Orochi.

Instantly, the scales on the snake's body became even darker and shinier, and the wounds left behind healed one by one. The ether gathered nearby formed a tangible flame, distorting the surrounding scenery and space.

The demon in the flames was like a god descending to earth!

Amidst the storm, the three heroic spirits who remained stationary were uncontrollably slid inch by inch toward those gigantic maws. Even with their magic power burning, they still could not extricate themselves from this terrifying vortex.

“The mourning clothes are pale in color because of the observance of mourning, and the sleeves are filled with tears as deep as the river of grief. — The Tale of Genji, Aoi, The Strange Things.”

Just then, a mournful whisper echoed, and pentagrams, large and small, upright and inverted, drawn with ink, rained down on the giant snake's head.

At the top of the tower, Murasaki Shikibu, who was a Caster, was drawing talismans in the air with a brush.

She is the kind of writer who "would actually learn magic in order to write a novel featuring magic," making her a more pragmatic, experiential writer.

Therefore, through continuous learning, this author gradually gained some understanding of Yin and Yang, and there are chapters in "The Tale of Genji" that incorporate related elements.

This knowledge, once acquired, was elevated to her Noble Phantasm after she became a Heroic Spirit.

"The Tale of Genji: The Origin of Aoi" is a waka poem recorded in the ninth chapter of "The Tale of Genji," titled "Aoi."

This is a waka poem of regret recited by Genji (Hikaru Genji) when his wife, Aoi no Ue, passed away shortly after giving birth to their son, Yugiri. Aoi no Ue's death was caused by the resentment of Genji's lover, Rokujō no Miyasudokoro, which can be considered a form of curse.

—The magician Murasaki Shikibu mourns the fate of her subjects by chanting mournful songs containing resentment and curses.

That is, the upgraded poetry-type Noble Phantasm.

The waka poems sung along with the release of one's true name can act as a curse, leading the target to destruction, causing damage and weakening effects.

But this applies to ordinary people and ordinary magicians.

If the target of the curse is a genuine calamity, then the outcome is self-evident.

Even though Murasaki Shikibu spent a long time drawing incantations, she could only interrupt the Yamata no Orochi's swallowing action.

However, this sorcerer also attracted the attention of monsters.

In an instant, a pair of scarlet vertical pupils swept over her, and with just a glance, the crazy and chaotic mental shock poured into Murasaki Shikibu's brain.

"puff!"

The female writer was struck dumb, her face turned deathly pale, blood seeped from her nose and ears, and she even spat out a jet of blood.

A ferocious snake head rose into the air, its scarlet tongue flicking out.

"Projection, begin—Pseudo-Spiral Sword!"

Just as the severed head was about to pounce down on Murasaki Shikibu's location, a fierce bolt of lightning shot into the monster's head in a spiral trajectory, and then exploded violently.

It worked!

Chloe, watching from the rooftop in the distance, saw the severed neck fall, kicking up a cloud of dust, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Boom!"

However, before she could catch her breath, the building beneath her feet suddenly tore apart and collapsed, and a snake's tail swept across like a blade.

"Covering the Seven Rings of the Scorching Sky (Rho Aias)!"

In her haste, Chloe instinctively raised her right hand as she fell, projecting the legendary Shield of Ajax.

This weapon possesses absolute defensive capabilities against projectiles. Its maximum deployment consists of seven petals composed of light. Each petal provides defense equivalent to a city wall.

However, Chloe can only deploy a maximum of four shields at present, and she is not sure whether her shield, which has absolute defense against thrown weapons, can withstand close-range blunt force trauma.

Fortunately, the knife-like black snake tail only shattered the three petals that had opened in front of Xiao Hei before veering off course and sliding to the side.

so close!

The girl touched the half of her body that had been numb from the shock. Just as she caught her breath, cold glints flashed from both sides, making her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

The Yamata no Orochi, a calamity-inducing serpent, has eight heads and eight tails, allowing it to simultaneously deal with enemies from different directions.

And now, it's not one of her coccyx vertebrae that's being targeted, but three!

"boom!"

At the critical moment, a red and black cursed bullet, accompanied by an air explosion, came hurtling towards Jingwei's right coccyx, its powerful impact deflecting the bullet.

"Flame is the beast, the dragon is in my hand. Break the wedge, shatter the chains of fate. A single strike to kill—burn away the laws of heaven, slaughter the dragon!"

At the same time, a rather dramatic shout rang out, and a powerful pink fist wrapped in red and black flames was thrown out, the ethereal light stream roaring like a swimming dragon as it slammed into the other coccyx on the right.

Chloe turned around at the sound and saw Artoria Alter, dressed in a black trench coat, riding on a black motorcycle speeding down the street, raising the SVD sniper rifle engraved with unique red and black patterns. On the back seat, Jeanne Alter had also changed her outfit, wearing a cool swimsuit and carrying two samurai swords at her waist.

The two arrived at this singularity through the beach in Akihabara. During their journey, their spirit origins seemed to be overwritten by the environment, and their Noble Phantasms and Mystic Codes also underwent some mutations.

Artoria Alter repeatedly pulled the trigger to suppress the billowing smoke and dust.

However, the "thud" sound of flesh being pierced gradually turned into a clanging and clattering of metal.

A ferocious snake head regenerated from the broken neck and rose up, while the other heads also turned in unison, beams of red and black light shooting out from the scarlet vertical pupils.

"careful!"

Chloe felt a chill run down her spine, hurriedly dodged, and didn't forget to turn back and shout a warning.

The speeding black motorcycle, facing the dense, rain-like streams of ethereal light, was instantly blown away by the blast wave.

"Roar!"

With a deafening roar, eight ferocious serpent heads broke through the dust, looked down at the ravaged ground, and opened their mouths to devour everything. The surrounding etheric factors surged into those giant mouths like rivers flowing into the sea, as if the surroundings had been vacuumed.

Even the heroic spirits at the center of the storm began to become unstable, showing signs of disintegration and collapse.

Its scales provide incredible defense, making it immune to ordinary attacks;

It has the ability to manipulate all kinds of poisons and waters. Countless ice spikes swept across the land, leaving behind either rotten or broken remains.

Its immortality is even more troublesome. Even if they manage to break through its defenses and kill one of its heads under their full-force attacks, it will heal completely in just a few breaths as long as it absorbs enough magic power.

The snake's head continued to suck in its prey, and the fierce storm intensified.

Matter is decomposed, life withers, everything is being drained and consumed, reduced to a lifeless void.

On the contrary, the eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent continued to grow stronger, gradually blotting out the sky and vowing to devour everything.

This monster is too strong!

A strong sense of defeat lingered in their hearts, causing these heroic spirits to lower their proud heads, recognize the reality before them, and grit their teeth to fight against the magic and the feeling of their souls being ripped away.

However, this wise and wicked god would clearly not allow the food before him to resist.

"What is life? It is but a fleeting glimmer of light. The time of destruction has come. Bow down and listen to the divine decree, and become my food here!"

With a chilling flick of its tongue, crimson vertical pupils opened and closed, and eight ferocious snake heads slowly, cruelly, and resolutely snapped shut on the group of heroic spirits who were unable to move at the center of the storm.

The pitch-black shadows enveloped the land called the "dining table," enjoying this grand feast.

But just as the Yamata no Orochi was about to bite down, its head and neck suddenly froze in mid-air, and its scarlet vertical pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinholes, all looking at the figure that had appeared in the open space in front of it at some unknown time.

Driven by biological instincts and the snake's premonition of danger, its majestic, mountain-like body trembled slightly.

At the same time, Samael raised his head, his dark vertical pupils meeting those blood-red eyes, and slowly spoke.

"I never expected to encounter a [beast] here..."

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Five-Step Snake vs. Rat Snake?

Samael's dark, vertical pupils split open like flower petals, revealing the true nature of the monster before him.

Bright red eyes are a symbol of the devil;

The rotting trees and moss on its back are a sign of decay.

The idea that demons who attain enlightenment become gods is nothing but a lie.

【Ibuki Daimyojin】, this honorific title is nothing but a false one.

Its true identity is that it originated from Earth, was later nurtured by humans, and is a product of protecting nature in an extreme way.

Among the seven great evils of mankind, Beast V is the beast that governs the principle of 'retribution'.

It despises all living beings, hates each other, and devours everything. On the surface, it claims to be protecting the earth, but in reality, it is satisfying its own desires. This is its bestial nature.

This creature, born from Earth to stop the destruction of nature, has developed its own will and a desire to devour, becoming an 'insatiable black hole of desire in the hearts of living beings'.

If left unchecked, it will devour everything in its path to satiation, even planets.

This is indeed the case.

The Great Serpent existed at the dawn of the Earth, and as one of the extensions sufficient to represent the will of the Earth, its existence allowed humanity to continue as part of nature.

However, as humanity multiplied and the population increased exponentially, the damage caused to nature by human activities was regarded by the serpent as not belonging to nature. Therefore, it began to be hostile to humans and created natural disasters to suppress them, and gradually began to be regarded as evil by humans.

Thus, it devours life while simultaneously trying to experience it; this contradictory behavior makes it even more disgusted with life.

Day after day, year after year, this kind of life caused it to go completely berserk, devouring everything indiscriminately and causing countless sacrifices through its constant rampage.

Until 1800, as human destruction of nature intensified, the Great Serpent began planning to exterminate all humans in order to "purify" the world. Because it needed to descend to earth by breaking the shackles between gods and humans through a catalyst, it led a hundred demons in an attempt to find a suitable sacrifice to obtain a wedge powerful enough to destroy humanity.

—That is, 【Kishida-hime】.

Ultimately, the serpent's rampage drew the combined might of the gods to suppress it.

The war between the two sides escalated and became uncontrollable, and this great war lasted for more than a hundred years.

In the end, Orochi was defeated, beheaded, and sealed away.

However, just in case, the giant serpent also left behind the key to its revival.

—Shuten-dōji, who inherited his demonic side, and Ibuki-dōji, who inherited his divine side.

At this moment, divinity and demonic nature were unified once again, unleashing their power to devour the heavens and the earth, a power that even the gods feared.