Narrator's POV.
Isagi delivered a direct kick to Mahoraga's face, and the latter responded almost instantly with a powerful punch. Without breaking his rhythm, Isagi used Mahoraga's own arm as a foothold. He planted one foot on it and violently launched himself backward. At the same time, he used the Governor's Hand like a whip or grappling hook, swinging through the air to abruptly change direction and position himself directly behind the Divine General's back.
Blood began gushing from Isagi's arms thanks to Convergence and, under the control of his Blood Manipulation, hardened into thick crimson chains. They shot out around Mahoraga, wrapping tightly around his arms, torso, and waist, temporarily restricting his movements. Taking advantage of the chains' tension, Isagi pulled with all his strength, dragging the enormous shikigami's body directly toward him.
"Black Flash!"
When Mahoraga was close enough, Isagi unleashed another brutal punch. The impact distorted space once again for a fraction of a second, and an explosion of black energy erupted around his arm.
However... Mahoraga had already been struck by a Black Flash before. And he had begun adapting to Isagi himself.
Instead of trying to stop the blow head-on, he crossed both arms in front of his body at the last instant. He had begun developing a sort of ability to absorb part of the force behind physical impacts.
But the adaptation was not yet complete. Since he had only received one Black Flash so far, the wheel had not fully analyzed the phenomenon. As a result, Mahoraga only managed to absorb part of the impact.
The rest of the force broke through his defense. This time his body didn't explode like it had during the first Black Flash, but the internal damage was devastating. A violent shockwave tore through his entire body, and the gigantic shikigami was launched toward the ground at terrifying speed, streaking through the air like a meteor.
Of course, Isagi had dissolved the blood chains just before unleashing the Black Flash. Had he not done so, he would have been dragged along with Mahoraga by the impact, and his entire plan would have fallen apart.
Mahoraga slowly rose from the ground. His wheel had already turned once more, and his adaptation to Black Flash was nearly complete. He had developed a new ability: Impact Absorption. Just as the name implied, it allowed him to absorb the force produced by physical attacks, greatly reducing the damage he received. That ability had specifically evolved to counter the overwhelming power of Isagi's Black Flash.
Just one more. A single additional Black Flash. And Mahoraga would finish adapting completely, becoming practically immune to Isagi's Black Flashes as his newly developed ability reached completion.
At that very moment, a rain of enormous sharpened pillars descended from the sky. All that could be seen were flashes of an intense crimson color, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of flesh being pierced over and over again.
The gigantic hardened blood pillars struck with terrifying precision. Several pierced Mahoraga's chest and abdomen straight through from one side to the other. Others, slightly smaller, impaled his hands and arms, pinning them in place. And one especially thick pillar drove through his head from top to bottom, exiting through his mouth and preventing any sudden movement.
Isagi remained standing atop a platform made from his own blood, suspended several meters above the ground. From there, he watched the Divine General completely impaled by dozens of crimson pillars. He knew they would only buy him time.
Inside Mahoraga's body, the pillars began branching out. Dozens of smaller spikes started hardening and expanding from within, embedding themselves between muscles, joints, and bones to restrict his movements even further. It was as though an immense cage of thorns were growing inside his body.
Isagi had made sure to pour an enormous amount of cursed energy into that attack. Because of it, the pillars were extraordinarily durable. Even Mahoraga would need several precious seconds to break them all.
The heavy rumble of hooves pounding against the earth. Louder and louder. Closer and closer. The Piercing Ox had finally arrived as well.
Aware that Mahoraga had already developed an ability to absorb powerful impacts, Isagi immediately descended. He couldn't allow the Piercing Ox to strike an enemy who had already begun adapting to that kind of attack. He landed beside Mahoraga and, without wasting a single second, placed his hand on the back of the Divine General's head.
"Rewind."
He activated his gift.
A strange energy enveloped Mahoraga's body and, for a brief instant, it seemed to reverse through time. His body was restored to the state it had been in before the adaptations he had gained during the battle. His Impact Absorption ability vanished completely, and Mahoraga was returned almost to square one, losing every adaptation he had developed up to that point.
With a swift motion, Isagi summoned the rest of the rabbits he had been holding in reserve. Ten in total. Using his Blood Manipulation once more, he created several crimson ropes that wrapped around Mahoraga's body, securing each rabbit tightly against him to prevent them from being separated prematurely.
"All or nothing!". Isagi shouted as a manic grin spread across his face.
Mahoraga's wheel began turning slowly above his head once again, restarting the adaptation process.
But now the adaptation was directed toward Isagi's Blood Manipulation. The enormous crimson pillars began cracking little by little. Mahoraga was rapidly regaining his strength.
In the distance, the Piercing Ox snorted powerfully through its nostrils as it continued charging forward. After seven hours of building momentum without stopping even once, it had reached an absurd level of power. Instinctively, it understood that this was the moment it had been summoned for, and the very reason Isagi had gone so far as to forge a Binding Vow to alter its ability.
Everything culminated in this single attack.
"Do it!"
Isagi immediately leaped away. He knew perfectly well that if he stayed there for even one second longer, he too would be caught in the impact. The Piercing Ox charged with absolutely everything it had. Its head slammed directly into Mahoraga's immobilized body, and all the force it had accumulated during those seven endless hours was released in a single instant.
The Binding Vow further amplified its ability to one hundred and thirty percent.
Mahoraga exploded.
Nothing but a gigantic cloud of blood and chunks of flesh was blasted in every direction, as though Mahoraga had been completely pulverized by the collision.
Even so, the monster could return even if nothing more than a simple puddle of blood remained.
And that was precisely why... Isagi had attached the ten rabbits to his body before the impact.
"It's over". Isagi said as he once again made the gesture of pressing an invisible button.
Several of the rabbits had disappeared in the Piercing Ox's devastating charge.
But three still remained.
And that was more than enough.
The tiny shikigami began glowing once more, gathering every last bit of cursed energy they still possessed.
For a fraction of a second... Time itself seemed to stand still.
Then... they exploded.
The entire forest shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck. The shockwave swept away everything in its path. Entire trees were blasted into the air, some ripped out by the roots and others completely incinerated before they even hit the ground. A gigantic column of black smoke rose into the sky, so immense that it could be seen from several kilometers away.
The temperature skyrocketed, and a rain of dirt, rocks, and shattered vegetation was hurled in every direction. Those explosions erased every last trace of Mahoraga's blood, flesh, and tissue that had remained.
There was absolutely nothing left from which he could regenerate.
The Divine General had disappeared completely.
Silence slowly returned to the now desolate battlefield, which had become a vast stretch of blackened, utterly devastated land. There was no trace left of the forest that had stood there only a few hours earlier.
The only thing breaking that eerie calm was the sound of small pieces of debris striking the ground and the dirt that slowly began to fall back down after being launched hundreds of meters into the air by the force of the explosions.
"Damn... even I got caught in it". Isagi said between heavy breaths as he slowly pushed himself up from the ground.
The shockwave had struck him as well. His clothes had once again been almost completely burned away, and a deep burn covered the entire left side of his face.
He felt a sharp pain spreading across his skin, though it lasted only briefly. Thanks to his extraordinary regeneration, the flesh began rebuilding itself almost immediately. Within just a few seconds, the burn had vanished completely, and his face looked as good as new, as though he had never suffered the injury in the first place.
"Huh?... That's..." Isagi took a few steps forward as he noticed something through the smoke that still lingered in the air.
It was Mahoraga's golden wheel.
It lay motionless on the ground.
It was no longer floating.
A moment later, the wheel slowly began to crumble away, turning into shadows that were absorbed into the ground.
[Ding!]
[Purification Ritual completed]
[Purified Shikigami: 10 / 10]
[You have completed the Ten Shadows Technique.]
[The Divine General Mahoraga... is now yours.]
"Hehehe... hahaha... HAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHA!". Isagi burst into laughter as his eyes began to grow moist, falling backward onto the ground now that all the adrenaline had finally faded away.
The tension he had carried throughout the entire battle vanished all at once, leaving behind nothing but overwhelming exhaustion taking hold of his body. His chest rose and fell heavily while a radiant smile spread across his face. Little by little, the dust and smoke dispersed, allowing the sky to become visible once again above the remains of the ruined forest. Isagi remained there, lying on the scorched earth, not worrying about anything for a few moments.
An immense sense of satisfaction filled his chest as he stared at that 10 / 10 in the system notifications.
Those simple numbers meant far more than they appeared to.
They meant that, at last, every single shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique had been purified and was now under his control.
All the effort, the weeks of preparation, the training, and the risk of dying had been completely worth it.
Now he only needed to obtain a Domain Expansion, and at that point, it would be no exaggeration to say that he had truly reached the level of a genuine Special Grade Sorcerer.
Just thinking about it made Isagi's smile widen even more.
At that very moment...
A loud growl came from his stomach.
"I'm hungry...". Isagi blinked several times, realizing that after everything he had just gone through, the only thing he could think about was food. "Ah, well... it'll be fun explaining to Makima or the forest rangers why half the forest doesn't exist anymore."
He said it in a completely sarcastic tone as he got back to his feet. He stretched slowly and cracked his neck, feeling the last remnants of tension leave his body. Although his injuries had already healed thanks to his regeneration, the mental exhaustion remained immense.
There was nothing left for him to do there.
So he raised one hand and summoned Nue once again, who carried him away through the sky, Isagi hanging from its talons like he was in Fortnite.
---
End of the chapter.