"Where others see another challenge… I see opportunity. Possessing Absolute Devil Magic will definitely help ya… in the fight ahead." Ryuya Ryudo called out to El, who had received the same information.
Anyone attempting to absorb the corruption would have to face a battle of souls alone against the lingering soul of the demon, but the victor could walk away with a terrifying reward called Absolute Fire and Ice Magic once wielded by the highest-ranking demons.
"Ya know as well as I do… ya alone cannot defeat the dreadful things lurking in the underworld," Ryuya continued calmly. "Ya will need as many strong companions as possible."
"You're right… and there's one more thing I need to check."
El summoned the S-Rank card of Mahoraga once more, though this time the description had changed slightly, causing a faint smile to appear on his lips.
[S-Rank Ability Card: Divine General Mahoraga Successfully Tamed]
Ability: Summon Mahoraga
Original Holder: Ryomen Sukuna / Zenin Clan (Ten Shadows Technique) / El
Effect: Summons Mahoraga, the Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General, a cursed entity capable of adapting to any attack or phenomenon it survives. With each rotation of its wheel, Mahoraga evolves resistance and eventually develops counters even against overwhelmingly superior opponents.
Weakness: The entity may prioritize killing its summoner.
Condition to Copy: Defeat and tame Mahoraga solo during its summoning ritual.
[Please set the summoning incantation: ??]
"Arise… Mahoraga "
[Recorded]
[Spent 1,000 Xeni Coins to adapt alongside Mahoraga against the ability of opponent it is fighting]
A massive white humanoid demon nearly ten feet tall slowly emerged from El's shadow, towering over his six-foot frame completely silent and unmoving while the massive wheel behind its back stood frozen.
Even without any moment just by him being there, the pressure in the surrounding instantly shifted.
Ichika Yami immediately rushed past Ryuya and placed herself protectively in front of the him while gripping her katana, sweating nervously.
Meanwhile Mahoraga, despite lacking visible eyes, slowly tilted its head toward her with a menacing creepy smile spread across its face.
El suddenly felt his mind split in two as his senses connected with Mahoraga's, allowing him to see and feel everything the summon was thinking.
'KILL EVERYONE…'
The murderous intent flooding through the connection was so overwhelming and direct that El immediately ordered Mahoraga to stand down before things escalated further.
"No need to worry, Ichika…" Ryuya calmly stepped past her before approaching the gigantic shikigami himself, looking less like a ruler facing a monster and more like a child discovering a new toy.
"How strong are the Ryuzen Seven exactly, if I may ask?" El questioned.
Behind Ryuya, Ichika visibly frowned at the casual tone he used toward the Shogun.
"Some of them are comparable to Captain level from your kingdom, while two of them may even surpass them," Ryuya answered while glancing back toward Ichika.
El could tell he wasn't exaggerating because Ryuya's Ki remained perfectly steady.
"Oho… what exactly is this thing?" A loud voice suddenly echoed from above.
A tall man descended from the sky with a katana resting over his shoulder, his overwhelming momentum making it seem like he would crash, yet he landed lightly beside the Shogun without disturbing anything with one arm casually resting over Ryuya's shoulder.
"Oh, you're here," Ryuya said with a smile before gesturing toward El. "Come meet our guest from afar."
Straightening slightly, the Shogun made the introduction.
"El, meet Yosuga Mushogatake, the strongest of the Ryuzen Seven… and my best friend." El extended his hand calmly toward the man whose Ki he couldn't read.
The same thing happened with the lady behind Ryuya, they seemed to be masters of Ki while El was rookie in that regard.
Yosuga grinned and firmly grabbed El's extended hand, but his eyes remained completely fixed on the summon standing behind him as if he had just found his better half.
Ryuya looked between Yosuga and Mahoraga for a few seconds before letting out a helpless sigh, understanding where this was heading.
"…There is no helping it," the Shogun muttered while sensing excitement rising from both sides.
Beside him, El could already feel Mahoraga's intentions through their shared connection.
The shikigami wanted to fight the man.
"…You are correct… Let us change the location." El replied.
"HAHAHA! Then what are we waiting for?!" Yosuga suddenly burst into laughter.
Not long afterward, the group moved far away from the city toward the shore of a massive lake, the entire area surrounded by towering bamboo forests.
The calm water reflected the morning sky while wind rustled through the bamboo leaves.
Each fighter stood at the opposite end of the lake and the next second, without any signal the fight began.
BOOOOM!!
Yosuga vanished from his position and instantly appeared before Mahoraga, his steel blade falling vertically with enough force to seemingly split the shikigami in two as the pressure behind the strike parted the lake surface behind him.
Mahoraga barely moved.
CLANG!!
The giant summon swung its massive white blade upward and blocked the descending strike head-on, the collision forced Yosuga's small figure to leap backward.
"HAHAHA!! GOOD!!" Yosuga's laughter only grew louder.
This time Mahoraga moved first.
The giant summon jumped forward, and its attacks had changed from before, becoming heavier, sharper and far deadlier as the wheel above its head slowly rotated.
CLANK!!
A thick black metal shield suddenly materialized out of thin air in Mahoraga's path, stopping the shikigami's strike halfway before slamming into its body hard enough to send the giant skidding backward across the ground from where it had jumped.
Soon, spears, blades, daggers, and a myriad of steel weapons covered in the same black layer of Zetten as the previous shield materialized around Yosuga spinning violently, the visible dark coating enhanced both their attack power and durability.
The weapons moved without mercy as if possessing wills of their own and attacked Mahoraga all at once.
SHRRAAKK!!
Mahoraga deflected nearly half of them with its massive blade while the rest pierced directly through its body before vanishing deep within its flesh as if dissolved into nothingness.
Enduring the continuous assault, not a trace of pain appeared on the Shikigami's face.
Its wounds regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"What is that thing… does it not feel pain?" Ichika Yami asked while watching the horrifying scene unfold.
"It's a demon," El replied calmly while looking toward the battlefield that had already shifted deep into the bamboo forest. "And to answer your question… no, it doesn't."
The battle had long stopped resembling a normal spar and instead looked like two maniacs trying to tear each other apart.
Even El found himself genuinely enjoying the spectacle now that he wasn't Mahoraga's target for once.
The pressure released by both fighters was absurd.
Yosuga grinned wildly while blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, countless wounds scattered across his body from the relentless exchanges.
Meanwhile, Mahoraga calmly regenerated the entire side of its half-severed head casually.
"Hahaha… I like you, demon. An infinitely adapting punching bag… if only you were a woman, I would've married you." Yosuga's remark unsettled everyone present.
Then slowly… the atmosphere changed, the playful excitement vanished, replaced with killing intent.
CLANG!!
Mahoraga's strikes suddenly became monstrously heavy, surpassing even the physical limits of what Yosuga's body could endure as the steel within his bones rang violently from the impacts.
"I'll have to go all out as well."
The moment those words left his mouth, enormous shell of metal erupted outward and engulfed Yosuga completely.
Within seconds, a massive twenty-foot iron golem stood in the middle of the forest, its appearance resembling a steel Buddha covered in layer upon layer of reinforced metal and black Zetten.
BOOOOOOM!!
Another collision erupted across the forest hard enough to send shockwaves crashing into the nearby lake while tremors spread toward distant cities.
Far away in the capital, several members of the Ryuzen Seven slowly lifted their heads toward the distant presence.
"What the hell is happening over there?"
Back within the ruined forest, Mahoraga's body, which had moments ago been crushed into meatpaste, began adapting once again to the increasing intensity of the battle.
The tide of the battle shifted again.
The steel constructs Yosuga created no longer possessed the same effectiveness as before as Mahoraga's blade began cutting through them like paper.
Yet each time a wall shattered, an even sturdier layer of metal replaced it immediately.
Mahoraga had adapted to the density behind Yosuga's Metal yojutsu, reducing the damage more and more with every exchange.
CLANG!!
But instead of becoming frustrated… Yosuga only laughed harder.
His zetten continued adapting mid-battle as he repeatedly pushed beyond his own limits, compensating for the loss of effectiveness through pure combat instinct and overwhelming skill.
For once, the man looked completely alive, meanwhile Mahoraga looked equally thrilled.
By this point the bamboo forest had already been destroyed several times over when Ryuya finally spoke.
"That's enough." At Shogun's voice, Yosuga didn't stop.
Instead, with manic laughter echoing throughout the forest grew louder, he continued attacking Mahoraga while the giant shikigami responded in kind.
Ryuya sighed helplessly.
"This is embarrassing. Ichika, El… if you would."
At the Shogun's words, El immediately understood what he meant and casually picked up a nearby stone before pouring mana into it.
Understanding El's intention from reading his Ki, Ichika shrouded herself in a majestic black demonic Samurai armour and disappeared.
El threw the stone nearby and
Clap!
Using boogie woogie, El summoned mahoraga back while in her demonic form Ichika appeared in front of Yosuga slashing open his turtle shell.
"The Shogun has spoken, this is enough." Her cold words brought the fighting to a halt.
"Grrrrrrhhh…" Mahoraga growled at El's intervention but contrary to his expectation, El's shadow stretched and met Mahoraga's and his body started sinking inside it.
"Don't worry mate… we have no shortage of people to kill back at home." Hearing that line Mahoraga's lips curled sinisterly while Ichika and Yosuga appeared again.
"Well that was refreshing…" Yosuga stretched his shoulder nearing the group.
"Yes… we should head back to Humito. You still need further treatment," Ryuya said as the group began returning toward the town.
"Thank you for your hospitality, but healed or not… I'll have to leave for the Clover Kingdom tomorrow," El replied respectfully.
"Hm… that's perfect then. I'll tag along."
Yosuga chimed casually, causing everyone present to turn toward him in shock.
***
Author Note: Sorry for the lack of daily updates, my final exams are currently ongoing. This week will be a little hectic, but starting next week the updates should be back on track.