"The one who sealed Orochi?" Asuka was confused by Orochi's words.
She glanced over her shoulder at Mallory, and her eyes widened. What she saw truly surprised her.
"Are you kidding me? Why did you appear right now?" Asuka said to herself.
June did not understand what she meant by that.
Rumble! Rumble!
The ground continued to shake heavily, causing all the buildings to lose their stability and collapse.
"GRRR! ROAAAR!"
Orochi looked desperate to free itself. It then had no other choice but to cut off its heads. It pushed its front limbs forward to pull its body backward.
"What is it doing? Why did it suddenly become aggressive?" June asked.
"It's trying to free itself, Princess!" Byakko said as its eyes sharp as always on Orochi.
'Damn it! I used Moonlight Sonata for nothing. I thought that since it was just released after hundreds of years of being sealed, its body would be weakened and unable to regenerate. But after seeing that boy, it seems it's willing to sacrifice itself to go after him.' Asuka thought, looking at Mallory.
"That boy, he's such a nuisance!" she mumbled.
Thump!
Suddenly, all of Orochi's heads were severed from its body, leaving only the stumps of its necks. Blood splattered everywhere. But within seconds, new flesh began to grow from the amputated parts, reshaping into its original heads.
ROAR!
Orochi started moving, its first movement after all these years. Its target was Mallory.
"Run, kid! Run!" Asuka shouted.
Boom!
One of the buildings in front of Mallory collapsed as it was struck down by Orochi's heads.
Mallory glanced at the towering monster before him. Its yellow eyes stared straight into his, piercing through to his heart.
"Arggh!" Mallory started to run as fast as he could. All the memories from his running days flashed through his mind. Each stride was long and powerful, every step perfectly efficient.
"We need to help him! I admit he's fast, but he's up against Orochi!" June leaped onto Byakko's back and sped off after Mallory.
Asuka followed close behind. In her mind, she was already planning her next move. Letting Orochi remain in this world any longer would only make it stronger. She had to end this quickly before no one in the town could stop it.
"Huff… huff… huff! Why is this thing chasing me?!" Mallory shouted as he ran for his life.
After ten minutes of intense sprinting, his legs began to grow heavy and stiff. Two years without training had left his muscles weak and unprepared.
"I, I can't run anymore!" Mallory gasped as his speed slowing down. His breathing became shallower.
Orochi was closing in fast. Its many eyes gleamed menacingly like those of a predator locking onto prey.
"I CANNOT FORGET YOUR FACE! THE FACE THAT I HATE THE MOST!"
"I don't even know what you're talking about! I've never met any giant serpents before!" Mallory yelled back in desperation.
One of Orochi's heads reared back, ready to strike. Its neck tensed before it lunged forward with terrifying speed.
Just before it hit, June swooped in on Byakko and yanked Mallory up onto the tiger's back.
Boom!
The ground where Mallory had just been standing cracked open from the impact. Had he been even a second slower, he would have ended up as nothing but crushed into flesh porridge.
"Thank you, June! You saved my life!" Mallory shouted as both of them leapt between crumbling rooftops, trying to get as far away from Orochi as possible.
"Don't relax yet! It's still chasing us!" June warned, gripping Byakko's fur tightly.
Mallory held onto June from behind with his arm wrapped around her waist to keep from falling off.
"Hey! Watch where you're holding!" June snapped, her cheeks flushing red.
"Do you want me to fall to my death? How else am I supposed to hold onto this... tiger?" Mallory shot back. He clearly embarrassed but with no other choice.
June's face grew even redder, but she said nothing. Given the situation, she decided to tolerate it, for now.
Byakko continued its relentless leaps, its muscles straining as Orochi persistently behind them, leaving utter destruction in its wake. Other exorcists maintained their distance, attacking from afar while awaiting Asuka's command.
High above, Asuka soared through the air on Kirin as she scanned for solutions.
"Come on, brain. Think. Think!" she muttered through gritted teeth.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN FROM ME?!"
One of Orochi's eyes flared with a sinister purple glow locking onto Mallory and June.
"Damn it! What's it trying to do?" Asuka's voice trembled with concern.
Shhk!
Suddenly a chain of cursed energy erupted from the air and coiled tightly around Byakko's limbs immobilizing it mid-leap.
The sudden stop sent Mallory and June hurtling forward from the force of momentum. They crashed onto the rooftop of a nearby building. June's head struck a railing and the impact knocking her unconscious instantly.
Mallory tumbled and rolled only for a broken rail to pierce straight through his abdomen. His bag flew from his shoulder. All his school books and papers scattered across the floor.
The ground trembled violently as Orochi drew closer. The monstrous quake became louder and heavier.
Mallory's eyes fluttered open. His entire body screamed in pain as blood streamed from his wound. Through his blurred vision, he spotted June lying motionless on the cracked concrete.
"...June…" he whispered weakly but his voice barely audible.
Boom!
Orochi's massive body loomed above him. Now just a single stride away. Sixteen glowing eyes fixed on him. All filled with hunger and malice. Mallory tilted his head upward as his eyes meeting the creature's gaze with two dimming eyes of his own.
"So… this is how I go, huh?" he murmured with a faint bitter laugh. "People will say I died… eaten by an eight-headed serpent. What a stupid story."
He coughed violently, blood spilling from his lips. "Mom… I'll see you soon."
One of Orochi's heads lowered as its enormous mouth opening wide. It fangs gleaming as it prepared to devour him whole.
From above, Asuka was preparing to unleash Moonlight Sonata once more.
'That kid… he doesn't stand a chance,' she thought grimly as the serpent's shadow swallowed Mallory.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a brilliant red light erupted between Mallory and Orochi.
The serpent recoiled as its massive heads staggering backward from the blinding radiance. Mallory's half-lidded eyes flickered open in confusion. The source of the light… was one of the papers scattered from his fallen bag.
"That paper… from the box last night. When did I put it in my bag…?" Mallory wondered faintly but his consciousness began to fade again.
The red light grew stronger, pulsing rhythmically like a heartbeat. Then, as if alive, it extended outward in tendrils of energy. One wrapping around Orochi, another reaching toward Mallory. In an instant, the two were linked by the crimson glow.
"What is that light…?" Maki whispered in awe from atop his spirit owl.
Asuka froze midair as realization dawning on her face. "An ancient sealing technique…? Don't tell me, that boy had it on him all this time?!"
Her lips curved into a grin. "But this… this is our chance. That boy can be saved!"
"Maki! I'm sealing Orochi now! Don't let anything interrupt me!"
"How? We don't have enough people for the Seventy-Two Edges of Encirclement!"
Asuka's eyes gleamed with determination. "No," she said while smirking.
"I'll use that boy."