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(A minute ago...)
RUMBLE!
As Drakeâs battle against Hajun began, everyone watched in awe at the powerful shockwaves released from their blows. A moment later, Drake quickly sent several telepathic messages to all his allies while creating two spiritual doppelgangers from his bodyâfragments of his own soul. Copying Oberonâs technique, he formed Split Souls on the spot and sent them in two separate directions.
"Everyone, I have to take care of Hajun on my own. His power is too vast, and heâll ruin our plans if I let him run wild!"
"However, that doesnât mean I wonât help you right now. There are many things happening, but donât worryâIâve planned everything."
"Oberon is about to resurrect, and that monster Uroboros is near him. We must stop whatever theyâre planning."
"Still, HĂ©luna, the Venerable, will likely interfere. Thatâs why we need a strategy."
"First of all! All DragonsâSurtr, Emerald, Amethyst, Triton, Hrimvaldr, Hydra, Celene, Rootâand also Alma and Hermes, if you can fight, go after HĂ©luna! Iâm sure you can handle her now that youâve grown so strong. If you combine your strength, you can unleash power comparable to hers. And Alma, I know you have a bone to pick with her, especially with your talking weapon."
"Alright! This is it! We canât waste timeâwe have to catch her off guard!" Surtr roared.
"Oh man, I wanted to rest at least..." Emerald sighed.
"Are you seriously leaving her to us?! The strongest revived Venerable so far?! Isnât she stronger than even Deus?!" Amethyst complained.
"Donât complain, just move! Weâre stronger now. If we fight like before, we can handle her!" Triton said confidently.
"Very well, brother! Iâll see to it that sheâs defeated at all costs!" Hrimvaldr declared.
"Hmm, a challenging task indeed, but welcome! I shall do what I must to protect this world," Hydra said. "And I dare say, it will be interesting to fight someone so ancient."
"Despite sharing the same Element, I only heard a few things about her since I never traveled much in Alfheim... but I think I can help everyone understand her abilities!" Celene said, slowly gaining confidence.
"Very well, it makes sense for us to go too," Root nodded.
"Damn it, heâs right! We have to go!" Alma said. "Callon and the twins... Drake, please take care of them inside your Divine Realm!"
"Weâre going then, let me teleport everyone!" Hermes said, unleashing his abilities.
"Second, Yuki, Yudra, Fuyu, and the rest of my allies inside her, along with my familyâplease take care of the Decaying Goddess and the two Samurai trying to kill her. Sheâs being controlled by Hajunâs powers. You must free her and let Yuki reunite with her! Those two Samurai must not be underestimatedâtheyâve slain many Kami in their own world."
"Alright, makes sense itâll be up to me to handle her," Yuki nodded. "And Yudra too. Even though I wish this girl had a normal childhood, sheâs indispensable."
"Mama! Papa! I wowooh!" Yudra tried to say she was ready for anything.
"Leave it to us, Drake!" Fuyu said. "With everyoneâs powers concentrated in me and Augustusâ soul supporting me, I feel like Iâve been continuously evolving."
"I wish we could join you against Hajun, but this is the wisest choice," Benladann said.
"Yeah, I agree," Miranda nodded.
"Weâll join everyone else once weâre done," Logi said.
"Yeah, just wait!" Aegir added.
"Amethyst, I trust you can do this on your own. Youâve come a long way, girl!" Jord said.
"Leave it to us, dad!" Benladra said.
"Weâll finish quickly," Kate added.
"Letâs gooooo!" Drakda roared.
"And third, for Oberon and UroborosâSkadi, Belle, Ruby, Lucia, Chris, and Jake! Iâve also sent two Split Souls to help the dragon team and this team. Why you specifically? Your origins. Lucia, Chris, and Jake come from Earth. You possess an innate power to ânegate fantasy,â something Iâm beginning to realize Earthlings are born with. You may be the only ones who can deal substantial damage to Uroboros and... youâre the ones who can save my niece, Helena."
"It makes sense, weâre the strongest here," Skadi nodded.
"Stopping someone who hasnât revived yet? Sounds easy enough, as long as that moon witch stays out of the way," Belle smiled.
"Am I considered that strong too?!" Ruby gasped.
"We have to rescue Helena!" Chris said firmly.
"Yeah, thank you, Drake, for your support!" Jake added.
"Alright then, letâs do this team!" Lucia said. "And, uh, I hope we can get along, Lady Skadi and Lady Belle."
Both Venerables nodded gently without a word.
But someone protested, someone Drake knew would be upset with his decision, even though he usually agreed with any request.
"W-Wait! Lucia is going with them?!" Surtr panicked. "Drake, wait! Let me go with her at least, I donât want her to almost die again!"
"I knew youâd say that, Surtr, but no! Lucia will be protected by my Split Soul. You donât have to worryâI guarantee her safety! Now go! Hermes, teleport them!"
"Got it, chief," Hermes smiled, teleporting all the dragons.
At the same time, a blazing portal opened by Logi guided Skadi and Belleâs team to their destination, Drakeâs Split Souls quickly following their respective groups.
Meanwhile, Mitsuhide and Maeda glanced around with concern. Both Samurai had been caught in a chaotic battlefieldâordered to slay the Decaying Goddess, then thrown into battle against HĂ©luna, all while Drakeâs army arrived.
"Our Lord has completely given Hajun-sama the power to govern his body..." Mitsuhide said.
"If not for Hajun-samaâs powers, we would never have gotten this far... Yet our lord was never satisfied with what he gained," Maeda muttered.
"Despite how things turned out, it is our duty to fight for his honor and destroy those in our way," Mitsuhide smiled, his snake-like eyes glowing red.
"The goddess is under Hajun-samaâs control. Should we employ her instead of trying to slay her now?" Maeda asked.
"That would be wise. The Dragon King of Yggdrasil left quite the group to handle just the two of us... It shows how much he respects our strength," Mitsuhide said. "Still, Iâm disappointed he didnât confront us in person. I once clashed swords with him... Itâs a pity, Maeda."
"Indeed, I agree," Maeda nodded. "But this is the life we chose. We will show our enemies what we are truly made of."
"Decaying Goddess, Amaterasu, obey our masterâs will and fight them with all you have!" Mitsuhide roared, his blade pointed at her.
"GRAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Amaterasuâs living corpse screamed, chains of blazing karmic flames covering her body and forcing her to comply. The flames merged with her cursed miasma, creating purple and black fire shaped like yokai specters, rushing toward Fuyu and the rest.
"Here they come!" Yuki shouted. "Damn bastards, they think they can control my body?! Iâll show them! Yudra, stay behind mama!"
"Ooohh!" Yudra nodded, transforming into her big, fluffy dragon form. Her aura of sunlight surged, and she released a giant beam from her jaws.
"RAAAAARRRR!"
TRUUUM!
The beam pierced through the swirling tsunami of miasma and cursed flames, clashing against the Decaying Goddess and pushing her back!
"Yudra?!"
Yuki was shocked. Her daughter had attacked immediatelyâand she wasnât holding back. The little dragon roared angrily as her breath intensified, plasma and sun flames combining into a spinning vortex of burning destruction.
BOOOMMM!!!
The beam pierced through the goddessâ barrier of specters, striking her chest and leaving a hole that sent her crashing to the ground, shocking both Samurai.
"Hahaha! The girl isnât holding back," Benladann laughed, flying nearby with her daughter, Benladra.
"Yudra, that was amazing! Keep it up!" Benladra encouraged.
"So weâre up against these two jackasses now?" Miranda asked, rushing forward. "Drake said they shouldnât be underestimated, but are we sure?"
"Theyâre weak!" Drakda giggled.
"After fighting two Venerables one after another, itâs difficult to gauge just how strong they truly are..." Andromeda commented. "But they are already powerful and rememberâthey can all transform. When they do, they usually become dozens of times stronger. Drake accounted for that as well."
"Well, if thatâs the case, itâs time to break some skulls," Miranda smiled, cracking her knuckles. "Fuyu, everyone! Are you ready?"
"We are!"
Fuyuâs crew released their combined auras. Although many of the warriors wanted to jump out and fight on their own, they knew it would be suicide.
Through their combined power, and with Fuyu carrying them, they could make a sizable difference. Even more, everyone gained divine armor from the three Primordial God Orbs imbued into Fuyuâs body, wielding divine weapons formed from those bonds.
The thing about Fuyu was that she was massive and slow, but Logi, Aegir, and Jord were there, alongside Charlotte, working to minimize that weakness as much as possible.
"Theyâre truly confident in their strength. This is getting more fun~" Mitsuhide smiled. "Who should I kill first?"
"The giant ship should be left for the goddessâsheâs big enough to stop it," Maeda said, as the ground trembled. The Decaying Goddess emerged, the hole in her chest already regenerated, filled with crystallized cursed miasma. "Letâs face the rest."
"I heard that fluffy eared one is the reincarnation of Amaterasu or something? I want to kill her," Mitsuhide said with a grin.
"Go ahead," Maeda replied. "Letâs begin."
RUMBLE!
The moment the right and left hands of Oda Nobunaga prepared themselves, they unleashed immensely powerful auras, warping space around them with overwhelming energy.
Yuki and the others were taken aback by their power. The Samurai possessed immense quantities of Heaven and Earth Essence at the Divine Level.
Whatâs more, they wielded dozens of Divine Authoritiesâthe powers Kami were born with after being created by Amaterasu.
This meant that many Kami in Zipangu had opposed Oda Nobunagaâs rule, only to meet their end against these two, who then stole their powers.
"Well, you arenât that big of a deal!" Miranda roared angrily, as she and everyone else released their own auras. Unlike the Samuraiâs corrupted essence, theirs brimmed with magic and divine power.
"Hmph."
"Very well."
Both Samurai stepped forward, unsheathing their weapons...
And then vanished the moment they took a step.
"Huh?"
Miranda looked around, confused.
"Did they teleport somewhere else orâ"
"{Voidflower Waltz: Kokake no Rinbu}"
Akechi Mitsuhide suddenly appeared in front of Yuki, Yudra, and Drakeâs family.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
TRUUUM!
In that split second, thousands of crimson linesâhis slashing attacksâdivided space itself, shattering the dimension around them and turning everything into a white limbo where endless slashes came from every direction.
"W-Wha...?!" Miranda was completely shocked, and so was everyone else!
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