The snow stopped.
[Seino Raimei]
[Remaining lifespan: 215 days]
Seino Raimei didn't know how much strength he had left.
It was nearly evening now, with large patches of bleak clouds spread across the mountainside, layered in rippling patterns.
The great serpent coiled above the cloudy mountains, slowly writhing, swallowing clouds and spitting mist. Its red-gold scales clashed against the forest, producing metallic clangs.
Of course, it was already dead, just the lingering consciousness of an archon.
This was the first time in 400 years it had shown its form—it had been hiding for 400 years.
But Seino was an old man too.
They were both remnants abandoned by time, this was a duel between old men.
His stamina was still sufficient, he wasn't coughing much, his body wasn't very cold, and his heart was beating fast—this was enough.
This was a long-forgotten feeling. He had been an old man for many years, today he wanted to feel young again.
The great serpent, the deity named 'Orobashi', was an ancient archon worshipped by the Watatsumi Island Sangonomiya Shrine.
It once plucked out its own coral, made it into stairs to help the people of the depths leave the abyss. Since then, it became the deity worshipped by the people of Enkanomiya.
Four hundred years ago, for unknown reasons, it launched an invasion against Inazuma.
"Mortal, you've grown old," the great serpent said, slightly squinting its crimson eyes. It clearly sensed the decaying aura emerging from Seino's body. Wear and tear was truly an eternal curse. The last time it saw him, he was as vigorous as a youth. Five hundred years had passed, and now his temples were graying.
"I still have over 200 days to live."
Strangely, despite being mortal enemies entangled for 400 years, there was no hostility between them. Their words were like old friends reuniting. Seino looked at the great serpent:
"We can put an end to the matter between us. God of Enkanomiya."
After these words, they fell into a long, long silence.
The wind howled, blowing off the accumulated snow. The first to move were the clouds. The thick layers of clouds were stirred, spreading outward in ripples. The serpent's body was too enormous. As it raised its head and extended its body, it drove the surrounding clouds.
Countless impurities were extracted, converging at the center of Yashiori Island. The serpent's form became more and more solid, clearer, the majesty unique to a deity pressing down on this world, so vivid—as if it had come alive.
Then, it pressed down.
The sky instantly darkened. In Seino's eyes, only those blood-red eyes remained.
Huff...
He exhaled white breath through his clenched teeth, entering that state again. Everything in the world slowed down. Seino slightly hunched, lowering his form to the extreme. Between the scabbards, thunder rumbled faintly, lightning snakes coiling around them.
The dust floating in the air, the water droplets dispersing in the snowy mist, briefly paused.
[Your lifespan has decreased by three days]
By the time the water droplets fell and the dust scattered, Seino's figure had already disappeared from his original spot.
The great serpent slammed violently into the cliff. A loud crash echoed through the clear sky, clouds shattered, the mountain body collapsed, raising huge boulders and snow mud.
Seino stepped on those airborne rocks, his toes lightly touching. In an instant, thunder roared, his figure disappeared again, falling straight down.
Two bloody lines clearly appeared in the great serpent's eyes, then swept across its cheeks, continuously extending downward. Lightning rose from the cracks of the wounds. Seino fell along the snake's back, his speed so fast it left afterimages.
One could only see a slender silver lightning shadow piercing through the giant serpent's spine downward, shattering all scales it passed, finally blood gushing out!
In an instant, it was several hundred meters.
This was a life-for-life fighting style.
Seino rolled down with blood, heavily crashing onto the snow. He felt as if his internal organs had been turned upside down. His throat sweetened, and he coughed up blood.
[Your lifespan has decreased by two days]
It was difficult for his body to harness lightning now. Just by guiding it onto the scabbard, Seino's remaining lifespan began to decrease.
The great serpent, in pain, its eyes full of crimson, shed trickling bloody tears, showing a maddened state—it was originally the collective resentment of an archon, formed by absorbing 400 years of impurities to become the ultimate impurity. Once in pain, it completely lost its sanity.
Its current state, compared to 400 years ago, was more like an evil god.
What Seino didn't expect was that Inazuma had been deeply polluted by the great calamity 500 years ago. The remnant consciousness of the great serpent had lurked in Inazuma for hundreds of years, absorbing who knows how many impurities. Its strength was not comparable to ordinary archon remnants.
Now it had completely gone mad, roaring, its fury echoing through heaven and earth. Its snake body, as thick as a small mountain, rolled, shattering the thick ice layer completely. Even "world-turning" couldn't describe this archon's might.
It lowered its head, opening its upper and lower jaws towards Seino.
Deep in that gaping maw, echoing screams resounded, and countless hands reached out.