As an incarnation of Amaterasu aspect, Tamamo-no-Mae should have occupied the same side as the gods and demons of Yamato. Even though she had stolen the precious Yasakani no Magatama, the fact that Yamato had shown no significant reaction to recover it for centuries spoke to the lingering, ambiguous ties between them.
Similarly, this attack did not seem to be an act of revenge by the former Shinjin who had been forcibly transformed into Oni by Ninigi. No matter how one looked at it, those tragedies had nothing to do with the Nine-Tailed Fox; in fact, it was highly likely she had chosen to leave precisely because she could not stomach such horrors.
The complex expression Hoderi wore as he gazed at Tamamo-no-Mae testified to this entanglement. As the eldest son of the Tenson, he had undoubtedly seen her when he was a child. They could even be called acquaintances, yet their reunion after a hundred years opened with a baptism of blood.
Hoderi arrival marked a stark dividing line. From the shadows behind him, as if connecting to another world, Oni of all sizes began to emerge. Their foreheads bore horns of varying shapes and sizes—some robust, some agile—but the commonality among them was the bloodthirsty hunger etched upon their faces.
They yearned to carve their names into this new era after centuries of confinement—to etch the name of the Oni race into the collective memory of all other youkai. Beings like them did not need honor, but they craved a strange form of recognition.
Unlike the halfway state Sū ěr and Think had seen in the depths of Yamato, the impure youkai energy mixed with heterogeneous particles had finally vanished from these emerging Oni. In the time since Yamato had been upended, they had molted into true youkai at lightning speed, no longer standing in the grey area between god-men and demons.
These Oni did not possess flashy abilities. They didn't need to breathe fire or weave poisonous curses to eliminate their foes. Relying solely on their physical forms—whether through brute frontal collisions or agile harassment—the youkai opposing them found themselves in a helpless plight.
It was as if they had been reduced to mere mortals, while these sudden arrivals were like wild boars charging down a mountain. With every impact, one could hear the unbearable groan of snapping bones. A graze was an injury; a touch was death. This was the raw reality for the youkai belonging to Tamamo-no-Mae. Some had already perished in the first wave of the charge, their skulls driven straight into their own chests.
The entry of the Oni instantly reversed the disadvantage Izumo had faced while Tamamo-no-Mae rampaged through the battlefield. The initial shockwave of their arrival threatened to rout the Nine-Tails' forces. However, what truly sapped their morale was the heavy wound inflicted upon the jade fox.
Golden, shimmering blood was still dripping slowly. As it struck the soil corrupted by youkai energy, it emitted a sizzling sound and wisps of green smoke.
Loyal youkai occasionally charged toward Tamamo-no-Mae, desperate to rescue their besieged master, but these suicidal charges were suppressed by the combined forces of the Oni and Izumo.
The scales of victory tipped violently the moment the Oni joined the fray. Tamamo-no-Mae was well aware of her subordinates' plight, yet she could no longer attend to them. Her missing organs and the relentless waves of pain forced her to gasp for air; however, every heave of her lungs only accelerated the blood loss. A faint, imperceptible sense of weakness had begun to surface—slight, but undeniably real.
"You're finished, Nine-Tails," Takeminakata grinned, already savoring the fruits of victory.
The fur that would boast of his valor to future generations was beckoning to him, and he didn't mind indulging in the lingering arrogance of a victor.
"Is that so?" Even in such a state, her words did not lose their elegance. Tamamo-no-Mae sneered at the cowardly god. "Then why not step forward?"
"..." Takeminakata face darkened, his fists clenching and unclenching. He remained silent, uncertain if the fox had truly lost the strength to retaliate.
If he strode over arrogantly only to be dragged down with her in a final, mutual destruction, he would become the laughingstock of Izumo. Even to ensure Izumo did not bear such a stain, he had to be cautious.
Takeminakata let out a cold snort.
"...Though I did not see you just now, the moment my radiance was breached, I knew it was you..." Neither Tamamo-no-Mae nor Hoderi paid any mind to Takeminakata. Their eyes were fixed on each other. Even toward the enemy who had just dealt her a grievous blow, Tamamo-no-Mae's voice held no anger or hatred; instead, she was startlingly calm.
Hoderi mouth twitched, his lips forming the shape of an apology that ultimately dissolved into a sigh.
"...I suppose so," the towering Oni mocked, not her, but himself. "Protection derived from the sun's radiance is Amaterasu most direct power. Naturally, only the bloodline of Amaterasu can breach it... How ironic. My father was like this, and so am I."
Even if the bloodline had been twisted and fallen, it was still etched with the shadow of Amaterasu at its root, an indelible mark.
Hoderi shook his head forcefully, unwilling to dwell further on such questions. The Shinjin he once was had died; standing here now was the Oni named Hoderi. He had come to terms with this identity countless times over the past centuries; no more words were needed.
"Are you ready?"
He was asking if she was ready for death, but the question left Hoderi mouth as casually as if he were asking what was for dinner. Tamamo-no-Mae answered him with equal detachment:
"Come."
The massive Oni transformed in an instant into a lightless shadow, appearing to swallow even the daylight. This shadow was his body, and it was his fist!
"Gwahahahaha!" Takeminakata roared with excitement, having finally waited for this moment. He hefted a massive boulder from the ground and strode toward the jade fox, the earth trembling violently beneath his heavy steps.
Finding mere running insufficient, Takeminakata spun his body, putting his full weight into a colossal heave, hurling the boulder!
The massive stone tore through the air with a sound like ripping silk, its surface heating up rapidly until it glowed a dull red. In the blink of an eye, the monolith had reached Tamamo-no-Mae's fur!!