Tokyo was now at a tangible threat, a dark silhouette against the purple-tinged sky, only miles away. Kaito, Maria, and Alpha stood on a desolate stretch of ground, the earth churned by distant explosions. Tamamo no Mae was in a relentless charge toward the city, her massive form filling their vision.
Without a moment's hesitation, Alpha's bladeless hilt erupted. With a sharp hiss, raw energy coalesced, forming a crackling, vibrant energy blade in the form of a magnificent greatsword. With a swift, powerful slash, the weightless weapon in Alpha's grip, cut deep into Tamamo no Mae's side. The energy blade sheared through the air, carving a visible scar across her already charred and damaged golden fur. A slow, golden glow immediately began to heal the wound, the fur knitting itself back together, but the attack had achieved its primary objective. Tamamo no Mae abruptly stopped her advance, her golden eyes narrowing as she realized the true danger now directly in front of her.
Kaito, not to be outdone, surged forward. Tamamo no Mae, her attention split, noticed his approach. One of her colossal tails whipped out, a golden blur aimed to swat him from the sky. But Kaito parried the blow with Durandal, sparks showering the miasma-filled air, and continued his advance by stepping on thin air, using it as solid ground. Multiple tails, enraged, then aimed at him, a flurry of golden blurs converging.
From the rear, Maria acted. She hurled a super-compressed sphere of ferrofluid-like material. The dark, metallic orb streaked through the air with incredible speed, intercepting the converging tails. Its overwhelming force slammed the tails away from Kaito, diverting their attack.
Kaito seized the opening. He unleashed a rapid series of slashes with Durandal, a blur of holy energy. Tamamo no Mae recoiled, letting out a sharp, surprised yelp of slight pain as a few new, shallow cuts appeared on her hide, still slowly mending. Enraged, she lashed out with her tails, simultaneously casting more Fox Fire. As her massive paws pressed against the churned earth, a guttural roar erupted from her immense maw: "大地の柱! (Daichi no Hashira!)"
With her cry, the ground before her tore open, and multiple colossal smooth pillars of stone burst forth from the earth. Around the base and top of each pillar, thick, sacred shimenawa ropes materialized. The pillars didn't stop. They floated into the sky, hovering for a moment before abruptly aiming themselves directly at Kaito and his companions.
Kaito, seeing the new threat, didn't hesitate. He began to run directly up one of the approaching pillars as it lunged towards him, using its smooth surface as an improbable path to gain altitude, his intent to strike Tamamo no Mae again clear. Alpha, meanwhile, split the pillar into two identical halves as she charges. Maria, from her position, manipulate the trajectory of the pillar, enough for it to miss her. The intact pillars began to move again, ready to float and plunge toward them, as a barrage of Fox Flame weaved in between, homing onto them.
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Sir, the fox... it's stopped!" The communications officer's voice cut through the tense quiet of the command center.
General Brandt's eyes snapped to the main holographic display, which zoomed in on the distant battle raging just outside Tokyo's defensive perimeter. Indeed, the colossal golden nine-tailed fox was no longer hurtling toward the city. It was engaged, locked in a ferocious struggle. "Who is that?" Brandt demanded, pointing at the screen where a figure in dark, armored equipment moved with impossible speed, wielding a blade of pure energy. "The one with the laser sword."
"We don't know, sir," an operations officer responded, scrambling to pull up identification protocols. "They just... suddenly appeared on our sensors."
A Paranormal Department agent, standing a little apart from the military brass, leaned closer to his own console, his expression tightening. "Wait, General, there seem to be more." He tapped furiously at his wrist communicator, attempting to override a jamming or masking effect. "Our sensors are struggling, but... it seems they possess some kind of masking spell."
As the agent spoke, the main screen flickered, a temporary bypass of the magical interference revealing two additional figures fighting alongside the unknown armored being. They moved with unnatural grace, both clad in dark tactical gear, their faces obscured by featureless white masks.
"Who are they?" General Brandt pressed, his frustration clear. "Do they belong to another organization? Not one of ours, certainly."
The Paranormal Department agent finally looked up, his face a mixture of surprise and recognition. "We do not know their affiliation. However, I recognize that sword, General. It's Durandal."
General Brandt's eyes widened. "Durandal? The one at London half a year ago?"
"Correct," the agent nodded. "It seems its wielder joined an unknown organization afterward."
Brandt leaned back, his gaze fixed on the screen as the figures fought against the enraged fox. "Hm," he grunted, a flicker of pragmatic assessment in his eyes. "It looks like they are helping us right now. For now, we consider them allies and assist them. All available fire support, focus on suppressing the beast, but ensure no collateral damage to those three."
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The sky above roared as the U.S. military's coordinated assault continued. Missiles rained down, some triking hte massive pillars of earth that Tamamo no Summoned, shattering the smooth stone monoliths into debris mid-air.
Other warheads slammed into Tamamo no Mae's layered paper barrier, tearing through several defenses before detonating against it. A few, however, found their mark, striking the colossal fox directly, causing concussive blasts that visibly shook her immense form and left raw, gaping wounds on her golden hide. Yet, as before, a faint golden luminescence shimmered over the damaged fur, and her body began to slowly regenerate, knitting itself back together.
Kaito striked Tamamo no Mae again with a ferocious downward slash. The divine blade, imbued divine power, cut through the Kitsune's miasma-infused form. The wound inflicted by Durandal was far deeper and healed much slower than any from Alpha's energy blade or the countless military attacks.
Tamamo no Mae roared in a mix of pain and fury. Her massive form flickered, and she roared, "狐火踊り! (Kitsune-bi Odori!)"
Her giant form shimmered, flickering in and out of existence between numerous spectral blue fox fires that erupted around her. Suddenly, she reappeared directly before Kaito and clawed at him, a massive paw swiping with astonishing speed. Kaito, taken by surprise by the unexpected close-range teleportation, was struck by a heavy blow, sending him careening through the air. Before he could recover, Tamamo no Mae vanished again, dissolving into a cluster of swirling fox fires.
The blue fox fires swirled menacingly around Kaito, forming a vortex. Tamamo no Mae then disappeared and reappeared again in rapid succession, a devastating "dance" that seemed to juggle him in the air. Each reappearance was accompanied by a swift swipe, followed immediately by a biting fox fire.
Just as Kaito struggled to regain his bearings, Alpha cleaved through the swirling fox fires with her energy blades, the sheer force of her attack blowing them all away, scattering the spectral flames. Tamamo no Mae appeared not long after, her expression now a mixture of fierce concentration and a grudging recognition of Kaito's unique threat.
She spoke, her voice rich and commanding, carrying effortlessly across the devastated landscape to reach Kaito.
"A warrior bearing a divine blade... Compared to the nuisances I've faced since my resurrection, you are undeniably a threat. It seems my plan to once again walk among humanity stands at a crossroads. But this time… I will not fail."
Tamamo no Mae's golden eyes flared with feral intensity, a terrible, regal resolve crystallizing in her gaze.
"Consider it an honor, mortal. Your defeat shall be the tribute for my enjoyment of this new era."
As she spoke, the purple miasma from across all of Japan began to surge directly toward her. A visible, rushing tide of dark energy converging on her location. Her heavily damaged body, which had been slowly regenerating, now began to recover at an astonishing pace. The luster of its golden fur shone with a renewed brilliance as golden flames coated its body, radiating intense heat and power. Above them, the sky, which had been a perpetual twilight, cleared for the first time. The afternoon was long gone, replaced by the newly risen evening moon, casting an ethereal glow upon the transformed beast.
Tamamo no Mae's roar shook the very air, filled with ancient power as she declared, "千年不信! (Sennen Fushin!)"