[Out stepped a tall, thin woman with disheveled hair, tossing a round, rolling object repeatedly in her hand.]
[When you looked closely, it turned out to be a child’s head. The tall, thin woman lifted her face, revealing a ferocious visage with bulging eyes and fangs, and a pair of long, curved horns sprouting from her forehead.]
[You identified it as the Shikigami – Hannya Masked Demon Woman.]
[Please select the summon you wish to send into battle…]
“So this is the opponent’s strongest shikigami?”
The onmyoji before him had clearly been blinded by rage, summoning his shikigami without any thought of whether Lin Xun might counter it.
[You took out the Refined Copper Sand Maraca and gave it a gentle shake…]
[The Battle Angel – Valkyrie stepped forth from the void.]
[She wore the Valkyria’s Armor and carried a radiant golden longbow across her back. A pair of refined copper wings glead brilliantly in the evening glow.]
[Compared to the ugly and evil Hannya Masked Demon Woman, the Valkyrie was like a goddess fallen to the mortal world.]
[Seeing you summon the rumored girl shikigami, the onmyoji’s furious expression vanished. The corners of his mouth lifted, revealing a trace of smug satisfaction.]
[He ford seals, chanted an incantation, and commanded the Hannya Masked Demon Woman to attack.]
[The hideous demon woman flicked her hand, hurling the bloody child’s head straight at the Valkyrie…]
[The Valkyrie gave her wings a single beat and easily dodged the attack. In the sa motion, she drew the longbow from her back, nocked an arrow, and pulled the string taut…]
[But unexpectedly, the child’s head curved in midair, transforming into a chilling black mist that ford a massive fanged demon face!]
[The demon face opened its maw wide and lunged at the Valkyrie from behind, about to swallow her whole!]
[The Valkyrie sensed the danger, beat her wings again, and the feathered vanes of her armor fanned out. A gust of wind propelled her aside, narrowly letting her evade the demon face’s devouring bite.]
[Seizing the chance, she loosed an arrow. A streak of light flashed, the arrow piercing straight through the demon woman’s chest and leaving a gaping hole!]
[The opposing onmyoji’s smile didn’t waver. A layer of ghostly vapor rippled across the hole in the demon woman’s chest, and in an instant the wound closed up again.]
[He even commanded the demon woman to stand motionless, letting the Valkyrie fire three more arrows.]
[Each arrow pierced her skull or chest, but every wound was swiftly healed by the swirling black vapor.]
[The onmyoji’s smug laughter rang out. “Foreign mage, this demon shikigami is called the Hannya Masked Demon Woman. Surely you know nothing of this kind of demon’s nature.”]
[“The Hannya Masked Demon Woman is ford from a strand of malicious resentnt. It has no true form or substance. Ordinary blades and swords can inflict only the smallest of harm, nowhere near enough to destroy her.”]
[“If you have no other ans, then this match will count as my victory!”]
[The disciples of Iya Palace below erupted into cheers, as though they had finally suppressed the foreign mage’s arrogant montum.]
“So it ignores physical attacks… no, physical attacks can still damage it, but the damage is greatly reduced.”
“Heh… but did you think the Valkyrie only knows physical attacks?”
[The Battle Angel – Valkyrie drew a Hurricane Arrow wreathed in whirling wind from her back. She parted her lips and began to hum an intricate, beautiful lody…]
[The thick arrow was wrapped in a layer of dazzling white radiance, countless tiny characters glimring and flowing across its surface.]
[She drew the bow fully back, like a full moon. With a resonant twang, white light burst forth, wind and clouds roiling. The arrow trailed a wake of pure white runic shockwaves as it hurtled toward the demon woman!]
[The onmyoji didn’t even have ti to chant another spell. He could only watch helplessly as the demon woman was pierced by the arrow.]
[But this ti, the demon woman did not regenerate. Her entire vile form was covered in streaming runes. With a crackling hiss, black smoke billowed around her…]
[The Hannya Masked Demon Woman let out a shrill, agonized scream. Her figure dissolved into nothingness.]
[The cheers and cries from below were cut off in an instant, like a brood hen whose neck had been wrung. The whole arena fell dead silent.]
[You looked again toward the referee below. He was silent for a long while before, unwillingly, he had to announce…]
[“Second round of the shikigami duel, the foreign mage is victorious!”]
[Across from you, the onmyoji suddenly began to laugh quietly. The laugh grew louder and louder, swelling into triumphant laughter that echoed across the high platform.]
[He pointed at the Valkyrie and shouted, “Foreign mage, that girl shikigami must be your most powerful one, yes? Too bad that your strongest shikigami defeated nothing but one of my lesser shikigami.”]
[“The Hannya Masked Demon Woman was certainly remarkable compared to ordinary shikigami, but she was not my strongest.”]
[As he spoke, he ford seals and chanted an incantation. A vast, terrifying figure gradually manifested…]
[It was an enormous humanoid clad in dark monk’s robes. Its skin was a bluish-green, and a single huge eye bulged from its face. From under the hem of the robe protruded two grotesquely deford feet.]
[The towering monster stood as tall as a three-story building. This single yokai shikigami alone occupied nearly a quarter of the spacious platform.]
[You identified it as the Shikigami – Ao-Bozu hitotsu-Bo.]
“This onmyoji really has so acting skills. He actually fooled …”
Lin Xun looked at the Copper Whistle in his inventory.
Now, all he had left was the Three-Headed Lion, his final summon. He had no idea whether the little lion could defeat this monster.
Only one round remained in the three-match duel. If the Three-Headed Lion lost, all his efforts up to now would be for nothing.
“Little lion, it’s all up to you now!”
User Comments
0 comments from readers