Susanoo vs Xipe Tótec

Susanoo had avoided Xipe Tótec's bloody daggers with great ease, and he had effortlessly beheaded the Toltec god. The Oriental god sheathed his sword, saying, —Totemo yowai— at that moment.

Xipe Tótec's head rolled on the ground, staining the red-painted volcanic stone path with blood, though it was scarcely noticeable. Nevertheless, the Toltec god's body remained standing, despite being decapitated by Susanoo's far superior power, which should have resulted in the death of the deity, but it was not the case.

At that moment, it seemed as if a layer of bloody skin was peeling off from Xipe Tótec's body and falling to the ground. The god's body was now completely bathed in blood.

Susanoo quickly turned to look at the Toltec god just as he turned around, picked up his head, and reattached it to his neck. The skin that the god had shed had already disappeared, leaving a puddle of blood. Xipe Tótec walked toward Susanoo as drops of blood dripped from his entire body, leaving a trail of blood. His eyes seemed lifeless, and his gait was slow but relentless.

—It seems you are just a yokai who doesn't realize he's already dead— Susanoo commented as he unsheathed his katana again and swiftly sliced the Toltec god from his left shoulder to his hip. Once again, the god dismembered himself, and the right part that was separated from his body fell to the ground, but the god remained standing.

Once more, a kind of human skin peeled off from Xipe Tótec's body, leaving a puddle of blood. The god reattached himself and continued walking as if nothing had happened.

—Is he immortal?— Susanoo wondered as he launched several cuts, shredding the Toltec god into hundreds of particles that scattered on the ground. His totema, along with his internal organs, lay scattered on the earth.

However, once again, a layer of human skin fell to the ground, emanating from the pieces of the Toltec god. These pieces then rose and rejoined, reshaping Xipe Tótec once more.

—Now I understand why he calls himself 'the flayed one,'— Susanoo commented as he prepared to attack again. —I assume you use those human skins as lives, and every time I kill you, you lose a life—

Xipe Tótec continued without saying anything and conjured bloody daggers in front of him to attack Susanoo.

The Oriental god then raised his katana with both hands and said to the Toltec god, —That means I'll have to cut you until all your lives are eliminated—

Susanoo lowered his weapon and said, —Shi no ame— The light rain falling on Teteocán turned into a downpour, and every drop of water turned into a small sword, tearing Xipe Tótec's body apart more and more. Layers and layers of human skin fell from the god's body and dissolved into the soaked ground of the planet.

However, Susanoo began to notice an interesting phenomenon. Each time Xipe Tótec lost a layer, it seemed to make him more resilient.

—Shimata!— Susanoo exclaimed when he realized his mistake and removed the rain with a slash in the air. But Xipe Tótec had disappeared.

The Oriental god realized that the Toltec god had finally entered an attack mode and remained alert for the possible onslaught. However, he could no longer sense his presence.

From the ground, large bloody knives began to emanate. Sensing the attack, Susanoo immediately jumped to dodge them. The knives were green, shaped like unopened corn cobs. Soon, the entire ground of Teteocán was covered in these peculiar blades. The leaves of these plants then opened, revealing a red cob filled with sharp spikes.

Susanoo realized he couldn't touch the ground, or those blades would swiftly pierce him, so he remained floating in the air, trying to locate the presence of the flayed god.

Xipe Tótec emerged from the ground as if he had been planted beneath it. Despite the spikes piercing him, the god showed no sign of pain. His body was drenched in blood, but he was just a small red dot on the ground now entirely covered with spiky red cobs. In his right hand, the Toltec god held a kind of staff with a tip that ended in a red rattle, which began to sound.

Susanoo didn't give the god time to use his weapon against him and shouted: —Mizu no Yari— The Oriental god threw a water spear at the deity, but it was absorbed as if he was a plant.

—Naruhodo— said Susanoo. —My water attacks only made him stronger because he is a Chikyu god and can absorb any liquid attack—

The Oriental god again moved his katana to unleash a devastating attack on the flayed god, using air instead of water. But Xipe Tótec drove his staff into the ground, starting an earthquake. This caused the cobs to release their seeds, and millions of spikes were expelled from the sword-like plants, racing towards Susanoo.

—Kaze no koka— shouted Susanoo, creating a tornado that protected his body. However, the spikes grew as they advanced, easily piercing the wind shield of the Oriental god. There were so many that they drenched him in blood. Weakened, Susanoo fell towards the spike field, and upon impact, he was impaled on the spiky cobs.

At that moment, Susanoo looked up at the sky and saw that on the dimensional shield, which prevented them from leaving the planet, these cobs had also grown, and their horrific spikes were all pointed towards the Oriental god.

—He intends to crush me with these plants— commented Susanoo, trying to rise. He then noticed that all the blood he had lost from his wounds had vanished. Looking down, he realized that all his blood was being absorbed by the endless field of bloody cobs, which were growing at an alarming rate.

—Shimata!— the frustrated Eastern god yelled. —If I don't act, I'll die impaled right here—

At that moment, Susanoo recalled that Xólotl could use three elements: Fire, darkness, and thunder. Until now, he believed this to be impossible, but if someone could achieve it, then he might too.

—I was born with the power of kaze, wind— the Oriental god continued to think, —but I learned to wield the power of mizu, water. I should be capable of generating electricity, having been in contact with it for so long—

Standing amidst the bloody cob field, Xipe Tótec rang his rattle again and chanted: —Esonitlamanalistli—

From the cobs, obsidian stakes emerged, growing rapidly and lifting Susanoo towards the sky. The cobs on the ceiling did the same. The Oriental god realized he was going to be impaled by these thousands of stakes, and if that happened, it would be the end.

Concentrating on his wind ability, the Oriental god again invoked his wind shield, managing to break the stakes aiming to impale him. Quickly, he concentrated all the wind into his katana, hurling it at Xipe Tótec like a scythe of energy, shouting: —Kagayakashi kaze— However, when the attack struck Xipe Tótec, he merely dissipated. The skin of the Toltec god had become so resilient that Susanoo's attacks could no longer harm him.

The Toltec god once again rattled his instrument, causing the plants to release their dreadful stakes to impale Susanoo. This time, the plants bent towards the Oriental god, and he couldn't deflect all the assaults. —My kaze, wind power, isn't enough— Susanoo thought. —I must use kaminari, thunder—

The stakes grew rapidly again as Susanoo focused, trying to recall the electricity he had once felt: the electricity of Khine, of Hé-no, of Menrva. Yet, nothing happened. Then, he remembered the electricity of Tul and felt a distinct sensation. It was a warm, beautiful energy. His entire body felt harmonious and ecstatic sensing the presence of the Mayan goddess.

The stakes finally impaled Susanoo, who couldn't prevent it. They came from the ground and ceiling, joining when their tips clashed, leaving only a grid illusion. But at that moment, electricity coursed through the entire obsidian network, burning the field of bloody cobs with the effect of thunder. The obsidian stakes then shattered, and a floating Susanoo remained in the sky, his injuries healed.

The ground and sky blazed with the electric power of the Oriental god, who had also adopted his electric transformation. —Tul-chan, once again, your beautiful energy has saved me, just like the day I had the honor of meeting you— Susanoo said with a smile. He descended immediately to the flaming ground where Xipe Tótec stood amid the fire.

Susanoo drew his electricity-wrapped sword, taking a combat stance as he watched Xipe Tótec do the same with his bloody staff. —Even if I can cut him, it won't be enough— Susanoo thought. —I must consider him an intangible deity and target his core. Only in that way can I defeat him—

The Oriental god remembered his younger days, practicing combat with his sister Amaterasu. She could become fire, preventing Susanoo from harming her.

—Onee-san, that's cheating!— a frustrated Susanoo exclaimed as he swung his sword through the flames, failing to hurt his sister.

She replied: —As I told you, ototo, all gods who can turn their bodies intangible have a tiny core that maintains our essence and consciousness. Until you can find it, you'll never beat one of them—

A furious Susanoo sat on the ground, thrusting his sword into it. —That's impossible, Onee-san— the Oriental god retorted.

—You must focus and feel it with your soul, ototo— Susanoo's sister replied. —That's the only way you'll defeat me—

The memories of his past faded from the Oriental god's mind. It was clear that this Toltec god was like his sister, intangible. It was crucial to strike the god's core with a precise attack to prevent him from shedding his skins and increasing his powers.

—I've become much stronger than when I was a child— said Susanoo. —I can combine elements just as Tul did that time in Cahokia, when she merged mizu, water, with shinsei, sacred—

A whirlwind began to emanate from the feet of the Eastern god, while his sword emitted more and more lightning. Susanoo closed his eyes to harmoniously merge his powers, attempting to sense the core of the Toltec god.

Xipe Tótec then lunged at Susanoo with his bloody staff, trying to impale the Oriental deity. However, before he could succeed, Susanoo made a precise cut to the chest of the Toltec god, chanting: —Ten to umi no kami no bunkatsu—

The fires across the planet immediately extinguished, leaving everything in utter darkness, while a bolt of lightning illustrated the path of Susanoo's strike.

Xipe Tótec's staff broke in half, and a cut ran across the Toltec god's chest. The god's core, the size of an atom and precisely located in his chest, split with the attack, making the illusion of the Toltec god emit a potent glow before exploding, leaving only a small crimson sphere on the ground.

Susanoo deactivated his transformation and sheathed his katana.

—The union of wind, kaze, and thunder, kaminari, is arashi; and it's undoubtedly a terrifying power— he said.