The True Orochi

The fake Orochi's eyes reminded Ren of the serpent inside the Kusanagi Sword.

Not in power. Not in origin. Not even in intelligence.

Only the stubborn violence remained.

That alone made it worth a second look.

Ren let the pressure recede.

Across the ruined district, every survivor gasped as if they had been dragged back from drowning. Dorin and Koyuka lay on the ground, eyes wide, lungs fighting for air.

The manufactured serpent rose first.

It had been pressed into submission, but the moment the pressure disappeared, its sixteen eyes locked on Ren with renewed brutality. The scales along its massive body shifted in rhythm, white surfaces catching the sunlight.

"Your aura is disgusting," Ren said, smiling faintly. "But your eyes are not bad."

The eight heads hissed together.

"Mute too."

The imitation was well shaped on the outside. Everything else was crude. The faith inside it burned too hot, feverish with the Divine Kingdom Cult's obsession.

Sunlight crawled across the ground and reached the serpent.

The fake Orochi's scales lifted.

Light struck them and burst outward in blinding lines.

The serpent attacked through its own glare.

Eight mouths opened at once. Fangs like towers dripped venomous breath that corroded cars before the jaws even reached them. The creature understood instinctively that it had one chance. If this attack failed, Ren would not allow another.

The street collapsed beneath the impact.

Cracks spread like a net through pavement and buildings. A nearby second-floor structure, already damaged, began to break apart.

Dorin and Koyuka had taken shelter there.

"Run," Koyuka said.

There was no time for the stairs.

She lifted Dorin in both arms and jumped from the balcony.

Dorin stared at her, dazed. "Koyuka, you are actually strong."

Warm cursed energy moved from Koyuka's abdomen down into her legs. She landed, kicked off, and carried both of them ten meters away as the floor behind them split open.

"From now on, I am yours," Dorin said solemnly. "Please be gentle with me."

"This is not the time."

They continued until a group of black-clad personnel came into view near the edge of the danger zone. The men stood in a loose line, watching the district with grave expressions.

"Please remain calm," one said. "This area is under temporary control. Were there survivors inside when you escaped?"

Survivors.

The word scraped against Koyuka's thoughts.

She remembered the people who had begged, cursed, and stayed still.

"We only know that Ren Zenin is inside fighting the serpent," she said. "I do not know about anyone else."

The man's expression changed.

Ren Zenin.

If that man was inside, the evacuation might not be impossible after all.

"Thank you for the information. There is a rest area to the right. You may wait there or leave by the route you came from."

Dorin and Koyuka nodded and moved away.

Only after they reached the road did the gore they had seen return to their minds with full force.

Both of them bent over and retched again.

The black-clad man reported to Yaga immediately.

The order that came back was simple.

Hold position.

Everyone near the perimeter breathed easier.

"Ren Zenin is fighting Yamata no Orochi in there?"

"It is just a special-grade imaginary cursed spirit, right? Satoru Gojo has killed special grades too."

"That is Yamata no Orochi. A legendary monster. An ancient demon."

"And you are planning to help?"

The group fell silent for a beat.

Then someone muttered, "Someone hit him."

Inside the battle zone, the dust slowly thinned.

The fake Orochi raised its heads and stared at the crater where Ren should have been.

Did we succeed?

Eight mouths worked at once, confused by the lack of sensation.

"Looking for me?"

Ren crouched on the serpent's back, one hand touching the place where the necks divided. The scales were hard and sharp, not far from a Grade 1 cursed tool in quality.

The fake Orochi stiffened.

"Enough playing."

Ren stepped down from its back and landed on the broken street.

He did not need to absorb this thing. With Yamata no Orochi's source inside him, his standards for cursed spirits had risen. This artificial product was not worth keeping.

Space cracked.

Black mist poured out and rolled across the sky. Cursed energy gathered in the void, condensing into a head. Then a second. A third. Eight different heads emerged, each carrying an older and deeper malice than the imitation could understand.

A mountain-like body forced itself into the ruined district. Eight tails swept outward and crushed what remained of several buildings.

The fake Orochi lowered itself to the ground.

Soul-deep suppression crushed its will.

Ren looked up.

"This is the real Yamata no Orochi."

The true serpent did not speak before it ate.

Three heads descended and tore into the imitation. The fake body dissolved into cursed energy and fear, then flowed back into Ren through the true serpent's feeding.

The real Orochi lowered its heads.

"My master," it said, voice like stone grinding under deep water. "May we remain in this world a little longer?"

It wanted to rage. It wanted to destroy. It wanted, most of all, to tear Ren apart.

Power did not permit desire.

Ren checked the time.

"Fifteen minutes."

Orochi's scarlet eyes lit with savage joy.

For fifteen minutes, the serpent played.

Towers, cars, bridges, steel frames, and concrete piles meant the same thing beneath its tails. Everything was crushed flat. The ruins of the district became smaller ruins.

Then the time ended.

Ren recalled the serpent and appeared back at home.

He turned on the television.

A new drama had started recently, and he did not intend to miss it.

By the time Satoru Gojo arrived at the edge of the commercial district, the battle was over.

The sky was gray. The air stank of blood, rot, and dust. Black-clad personnel lay scattered around the perimeter with their eyes rolled back, saliva dripping from their mouths.

"Can you hold on?" Gojo asked, crouching beside one who seemed conscious.

"Ah... ngh..."

The man trembled too badly to speak.

Gojo's expression darkened.

Suguru Geto arrived moments later from the other side of the battlefield. The usual calm had left his face. He looked at the ruins in silence.

If hell existed, it might not look much different.

"Geto," Gojo called. "Do you know what happened?"

Geto shook his head. "The Window personnel were unconscious when I arrived. The sorcerers inside the zone are unconscious too. Only that one is somewhat awake, but he cannot talk yet."

The trembling man suddenly rolled onto his back and began gulping air. The breath he dragged in was foul with blood and decay, but he drank it like a man saved from suffocation.

After half a minute, he managed to sit up.

"What happened here?" Gojo asked.

"Snakes," the man whispered. "Two snakes."

"Explain."

The man slapped himself hard enough for his cheek to swell.

Pain steadied him.

"I was helping civilians near the edge. Then I moved deeper to pull out people who were injured and could not walk. The first Yamata no Orochi did not notice us at first."

He swallowed.

"Then pressure came down. I was pinned to the ground. It felt like eyes in the sky were watching everything. For a moment, I thought I had already died."

Gojo and Geto exchanged a look.

"Then it vanished. I barely breathed before another Yamata no Orochi appeared."

His voice broke.

"Bigger. Worse. More evil. It looked at me once. Just once. When I woke up, I was here."

Geto's mouth tightened.

Gojo looked across the ruined district.

"Your Cursed Spirit Manipulation..."

Geto laughed softly, without humor. "You think too highly of me. I can handle Grade 1 curses easily. A monster like that is another matter."

He did not need to say the rest.

Gojo took out his phone. "Gather the unconscious sorcerers and bring them to the perimeter. I will call Yaga and have more people sent."

Geto nodded and formed a hand sign.

Cursed spirits appeared behind him in dense numbers. Most were Grade 3, with some Grade 2 mixed in. The Grade 4 curses burst apart the moment they emerged, unable to withstand the residue left in the district.

Even the surviving curses trembled.

Gojo finished his call and glanced over. "You brought out your savings account."

"Do not joke."

"Yaga is sending people. They will be taken away."

Geto looked at Gojo for a moment.

Then he said, "Let's go."

They vanished from the ruined edge, leaving lesser curses to carry the injured out.

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