Just as Onimaru Kunitsuna had suspected, Ye Xing indeed had a backup plan.
The creation of Mask's identity and his image in the hearts of all of Japan's citizens was precisely for this moment.
"I suspect your power, like that of evil spirits, originates from human hearts."
Ye Xing dismissed his Susanoo, his bloodshot eyes weeping crimson tears, revealing a smile that chilled the Weather God to the bone.
"Whether it's fear of weather... no, fear of torrential rain, or the desperate hope for sunny skies..."
"I can't be bothered to guess which specific emotion it is - it doesn't matter anyway."
"What matters is..."
Ye Xing casually picked up a small portion of the rainbow-coloured giant's body he had severed earlier, stuffed it into his mouth without hesitation, chewed twice, and smiled contentedly.
"You, this twisted creature hiding in dark corners, have now become the villain in the eyes of nearly everyone in Kyoto."
"The support for Mask has overwritten all emotions towards you so-called god."
"Rainy days? Sunny days? Nobody cares anymore."
"Everyone in Kyoto only wants to see Mask's victory."
The rainbow-coloured giant, formed by the Weather God, feeling its spiritual power replenishing much more slowly, immediately adapted despite not understanding how Ye Xing had severed its power source.
The rain serpents battling Tamamo-no-Mae and the Goat-Headed Deity, along with the massive whale swimming through the clouds, suddenly dissolved into scattered droplets.
The giant, radiating seven-coloured light, suddenly shrank considerably in height, stabilising at around 2.5 metres.
"Ridiculous."
On the Weather God's main form, distorted, squirming human faces continuously morphed and shifted. The spiritual light surrounding it had lost its previous mesmerising beauty - the viscous, extreme rainbow hues now evoked a sense of revulsion.
From its eye sockets flashed a piercing brightness akin to lightning.
"You dare challenge me, a deity, in a contest of spiritual power? Utterly laughable."
On Ye Xing's black mask, a white, smiling pattern appeared with upturned corners. He pressed his palms together, forming a circular shape with his hands aimed directly at the Weather God before him.
Just as Hina Amano, Tamamo-no-Mae, the Goat-Headed Deity, and Onimaru Kunitsuna assumed he was about to unleash some terrifying ability capable of harming even a deity, they heard Ye Xing speak at an incredibly rapid pace:
"I simply don't understand what you're trying to prove here."
"I have severed your spiritual power source, yet you still put on this tough act. Just watch me eliminate your entire legacy."
"After devouring you, I'll return to uproot your shrine completely. Whatever legend of the Sunny Girl exists, I'll have the Metropolitan Police Department ban its dissemination."
"You're nothing but a fallen stray dog using a derelict building's rooftop as your shrine - not even comparable to the Goat-Headed Deity."
"What gives you the right to act arrogantly with me?"
"Hm?"
"Speak, damn you!"
Not only were Hina Amano and the others stunned, but even the Weather God found itself momentarily speechless under this sudden verbal assault.
The technique Ye Xing employed was indeed powerful.
While Hina Amano felt exasperated by his abstract behaviour, she couldn't help but admire Ye Xing's innate talent for psychological warfare through words.
In human conflicts, hurting another party is simple - everyone has their vulnerabilities.
For instance, Rio Futaba disliked comments about her... exaggerated proportions that far exceeded typical high school girl measurements.
As for Yukino Yukinoshita, she possessed a strong competitive spirit and despised hypocritical and sycophantic relationships.
Regarding Kazusa Touma...
She seemed perpetually balanced between emotional stability and anger - her expression alone made it impossible to determine her current emotional state.
Yet undoubtedly, she too had topics she preferred others not mention.
But Ye Xing's remarkable ability lay in...
Whether dealing with humans, evil spirits, or so-called deities...
He could precisely identify the most painful subject for his opponent, using it as a foundation for his relentless verbal onslaught.
And evidently, judging by the increasingly ferocious expressions on the Weather God's multiple faces...
It had truly been broken.
On one hand, having lost its primary spiritual power source and greatest reliance, it felt profound panic.
On the other hand...
Ye Xing's words were simply too insulting... too demeaning for a deity!
Not even comparable to the Goat-Headed Deity!
In terms of pure power, the Goat-Headed Deity was utterly insignificant before the Weather God - a feeble existence it could eliminate with a casual gesture.
But that being... at least possessed a proper shrine.
Though dilapidated from years of neglect, though covered in dust, though receiving few worshippers...
It remained a legitimate shrine.
As a famous philosopher once remarked.
Lies don't hurt people; truth is the sharpest blade.
The Weather God's behaviour differed from the Goat-Headed Deity. Rather than drawing power from the concept of divinity itself, it derived strength from humanity's longing for sunny weather and the negative emotions generated by endless torrential rain.
Though the Goat-Headed Deity couldn't speak, it understood human language.
Seeing Ye Xing use it, who also bore the name of a god, to provoke this powerful Weather God, it finally understood why it, whose power was currently inferior even to Hachishaku-sama's, had been brought here.
So it was just a tool to break the enemy's defences.
Fine.
At least it wasn't being treated as reserve rations to replenish Ye Xing's power.
"You..."
Just as the Weather God reached the peak of its fury, trembling uncontrollably, Ye Xing delivered the final blow - the most damaging strike that instantly robbed the deity of reason and composure.
"By the way, your divine envoys... were quite delicious."
The Weather God's multiple faces contorted grotesquely as it descended into madness, losing all capacity for rational thought. Accompanying a piercing, whale-like cry, a woman appeared behind it - clad in long robes, holding a paper umbrella, with deathly pale skin and damp hair dripping with water droplets.
"Kill this human!"
This woman was clearly not human, but the Weather God's divine envoy.
Simultaneously, she was the final and most powerful of the divine envoys.
Watching the umbrella-holding envoy emanating mournful energy while rain continuously fell around her, Hina Amano felt a chill run down her spine.
If Ye Xing hadn't come...
Would she have ended up like this?
This was truly more terrifying than death - becoming a mindless puppet that only followed that creature's commands.
Along with her fear, Hina Amano also felt anger rising within her.
Every girl chosen by the Weather God to become a Sunny Girl was like her - willing to work hard to bring sunny weather and see smiles bloom on people's faces.
They...
Should never have met such a fate.
"Playing with humans... You twisted creature..."
Hina Amano stared at the divine envoy beside the Weather God, clenching her teeth, her usually gentle eyes now burning with fury.
"I will never allow such disgusting things!"
As her words faded, a soft voice suddenly echoed in Hina Amano's mind.
[Finally facing your true heart?]
[Seeing people smile because of clear weather is indeed satisfying.]
[But is it truly right to sacrifice innocent lives just for that?]
[Are you willing to destroy this twisted being, even if it means flooding Kyoto, or even all of Japan?]
[Have you truly prepared yourself for this?]
The voice in Hina Amano's mind differed from those heard by Miko Yotsuya and Rio Futaba during their awakenings.
This was because one final, unanswered question still lingered in her heart.
If she slew the god controlling the weather, and Japan's rain never ceased, eventually submerging the entire country...Was it truly worth it, just to save one person?
"Hina."
Ye Xing, who was tightly gripping the restored Onimaru Kunitsuna while battling the Weather God and their divine envoy, detected the faint spiritual power fluctuations emanating from Hina Amano and softly called her name. He then turned his head, the black mask vanishing from his face.
He looked towards Hina Amano, who stood there somewhat bewildered, a faint smile appearing on his face as he slowly spoke.
"Rather than clear skies, I would choose you."
"So now, rather than clear skies, choose me!"
Upon hearing these words from Ye Xing, which were no different from a confession, Hina Amano first froze momentarily, then two clear tears overflowed from her eyes as she nodded.
"Yes, rather than clear skies, I would choose Ye Xing and everyone else!"
As her words fell, Hina Amano felt her field of vision before her eyes crack like shattered glass, fractures spreading everywhere before finally breaking apart completely with a soft sound.
"I've already made my resolve."
[Then now, call out my name!]
Hina Amano took a deep breath, gazing at the divine messenger woman entangled in combat with Ye Xing, and softly chanted.
"Here and now, I call upon my true name!"
"Dispel the gloom, Hiyoribo!"
As Hina Amano uttered her soul's true name, a woman dressed in a loose white gown with a white veil covering her head appeared behind her. Her appearance somewhat resembled a teru teru bōzu doll, though far more pleasing to the eye.
"What is that!?"
At that moment, the entire Divine Territory began to tremble.
From Hina Amano's Hiyoribo, warm yet not blinding sunlight radiated outwards, scattering the surrounding clouds and rain.
Witnessing the spiritual power fluctuations surrounding Hina Amano that resembled sunlight, the Weather God was utterly shocked.
Ye Xing, however, showed no surprise.
The black mask reformed over his face, a flicker of killing intent in his eyes. The Onimaru Kunitsuna in his hand, like a black crescent moon, arced through the air and struck the Weather God's body.
"Ah!"
The Weather God cried out in pain, quickly retreating a distance away.
Although its body, which had condensed with high-intensity spiritual power, was quite resilient, it couldn't achieve complete defence against a famed blade of Onimaru Kunitsuna's calibre, especially when wielded by a powerful psychic like Ye Xing.
Ye Xing had previously explained to the members of the Supernatural Society.
The Weather God itself was not skilled in combat, or rather, didn't know how to fight at all.
It was merely relying on its nearly limitless spiritual power to barely hold on.
And now...
The rate at which the Weather God could replenish its spiritual power was far outstripped by its consumption rate.
"Go, Hiyoribo."
As the girl chosen by the Weather God to be a living sacrifice, although Hina Amano had never shown it before, but just as Rio Futaba and Ye Xing had suspected before she joined them...
Hina Amano's talent in spiritual power... was on the same level as Miko Yotsuya's.
"Go, Hiyoribo!"
Heeding Hina Amano's command, the dazzling Hiyoribo, radiant like the sun, swiftly moved to Ye Xing's side. Using her own spiritual light, she began to interfere with the attacks of the divine envoy.
For Ye Xing, being bathed in Hiyoribo's sunlight felt only warm and comfortable, even dispelling much of his mental and physical fatigue.
But for the Weather God and its envoy, that warm, gentle sunlight was like ultraviolet light to a vampire, rapidly depleting their spiritual power and causing a deep, soul-rending pain.
'A range-based buff for allies and a debuff for enemies... A very good Soul Materialisation type.'
From his own sensations and the reactions of the Weather God and its envoy, Ye Xing quickly deduced the nature of Hina Amano's Soul Materialisation ability.
Though it was a support-type ability, in a team setting, its value was immense, capable of producing a synergistic effect greater than the sum of its parts.
"Then now..."
Ye Xing watched as the Weather God's body slowly began to heal and the divine envoy guarding it. He took a deep breath and softly chanted once more.
"Domain Expansion..."
"Demon-Slaying Divine Purification."
As he uttered these words, the black mist behind him rapidly expanded. In just a few breaths, it had already occupied roughly one-tenth of the vast Divine Territory.
"Damn it..."
Seeing his Divine Territory at risk of being overridden, the Weather God immediately snapped to attention, mobilising all his spiritual power to resist Ye Xing's Domain Expansion.
Simultaneously, his divine envoy brandished her paper umbrella, intending to assault Ye Xing and distract him.
"@!&&@!"
Accompanied by a series of peculiar, Down Syndrome-like utterances, the Goat-Headed Deity, with its faint golden glow, interposed itself between Ye Xing and the divine envoy.
"@#!&...&...!@"
For some reason, the umbrella-wielding divine envoy seemed to comprehend the Goat-Headed Deity's speech, lowering her head and murmuring.
"As a fellow deity... You aid humans... Come to our side, slay this individual."
Without hesitation, the Goat-Headed Deity's mouth split into several segments, revealing sharp fangs as it uttered another phrase incomprehensible to humans.
"!@@...&#...!"
"Huh?"
The divine envoy paused in confusion.
"Fuck... my... mother?"
Only then did the envoy realise the Goat-Headed Deity was insulting her, a glint of murderous intent flashing in her eyes beneath her damp, long hair.
"Since that's your choice, perish then!"
Thud!
With a dull impact, the Goat-Headed Deity's abdomen was struck by a bolt of lightning summoned by the paper umbrella woman.
Its faint golden form flickered visibly, clearly severely wounded by this lightning strike.
Even so, the Goat-Headed Deity refused to yield an inch.
Seeing this, Tamamo-no-Mae swiftly leapt forward to join the Goat-Headed Deity in battling the divine envoy.
"What to do... what to do..."
Observing how even combined, Tamamo-no-Mae and the Goat-Headed Deity were being overpowered in their struggle against the umbrella-wielding divine envoy, while Ye Xing contended with the Weather God in a battle of spiritual power and territory, Hachishaku-sama grew deeply anxious.
Though somewhat naive, she recognised the gravity of their situation.
To override the Weather God's Divine Territory with a Domain, there were only two methods.
The first: gradual attrition, a test of endurance.
But for Ye Xing, still recovering from injuries, to match spiritual power reserves against a deity who'd existed for centuries?
Even Hachishaku-sama, who had complete confidence in him, doubted this approach could succeed.
The second method...
Was to overwhelm the opponent in formation speed, directly breaking the stalemate.
Clearly, Ye Xing was attempting the second approach - forced domination.
Crimson blood slowly trickled from the sleeves of his black coat, even dripping onto Onimaru Kunitsuna's hilt.
The blood vessels in his eyes multiplied, two streams of nearly black bloody tears tracing paths down his dark mask.
The swirling black mist intensified dramatically even as it grew increasingly unstable.
All these signs indicated...
Ye Xing was exerting his full power.
"Come..."
Though his body and soul neared their limits from the violently surging spiritual power output, Ye Xing's eyes still shone with excitement and anticipation, fixed upon the rapidly shifting faces displayed across the Weather God's visage.
"Stake everything, and contend with me!"
The Weather God shuddered, a single thought dominating his mind.
Madman.
A complete, utter, through-and-through madman!
Betting everything?
The Weather God was genuinely terrified.
This human's mental state was not normal!
"Boss..."
Hachishaku-sama gritted her teeth, forcing herself to try and use the power of her Domain.
But this wasn't something that could be achieved quickly through sheer determination alone.
Just then, Hachishaku-sama heard a familiar voice speak up behind her.
"Really now..."
She turned her head and saw Miko Yotsuya, Mai Sakurajima, Yui Yuigahama, Haruno Yukinoshita, and Rio Futaba - who had removed her glasses with one hand while using a hair tie with the other to pull her hair into a high ponytail.
Rio Futaba looked towards Ye Xing, who was confronting the Weather God with pure spiritual power, and sighed helplessly.
"What a stubborn guy."
Miko Yotsuya merely glanced around, saw the slowly expanding black mist that was gradually devouring the Divine Territory, immediately understood the situation, and, without hesitation, whispered as golden light flashed in her eyes.
"Domain Expansion."
What surprised both Hachishaku-sama and the others was that as Miko expanded her domain, with numerous eyeballs appearing around them to help Ye Xing resist this Divine Territory, Rio Futaba actually stepped forward and calmly spoke.
"Domain Expansion."
"White Bone Prison."