The silver veil coming from the moon shining in the night sky, bathes the surroundings and lets observers appreciate the battle taking place below.
The contest seemed to be in a clear draw, but if someone with experience were to observe in more detail, they would easily accept that the lady controlling the roots is winning.
It is not a matter of having greater strength or being brutally beating the enemy, but rather she maintains control of the battle and her skills give her the advantage in a defensive battle.
"How many more will you be able to cut, ten, a hundred, a thousand? I'll tell you, I can create hundreds of thousands!"
Raising his voice in the air, the green hair that is seamlessly joined with black, begins to glow and from the depths of the ground even more roots emerge.
Clearly she was bluffing that she could create hundreds of thousands of roots, but that doesn't negate that she has the advantage if we're talking quantity.
"We're going to have to split up."
"No, absolutely not, Kikyo."
Quickly jumping from one root to another without losing his balance, a blonde-haired young man dressed as Onmyōji, soars into the sky with a lady on his back.
Clearly the blonde-haired young man is Asahiko, while the lady on his back is Kikyo.
"Don't be irrational, you need to use all your power."
"You're right, but I don't plan to leave you on the ground. Just watch, they seem to come out from anywhere."
Dodging the odd root that tries to go after them, Asahiko waves Cloud Fang and with a slash clears their field of vision, before pointing downwards.
The entire village had completely disappeared, now awash in a sea of twisted green roots that look ready to tear everything apart.
"They mainly come out of the ground, plus that from under the sakura trees... Everything is connected... Leave me there."
Considering a certain situation in her mind, Kikyo keeps holding onto Asahiko's neck with one hand and with the other she points towards a particular place.
It was the mountain from where they saw the village when they arrived, a place that delivers a strategic advantage of height and distance, perfect for Kikyo playing the role of a ranged attacker.
"Understood. Hold on better, this is going to be a bumpy ride~"
Directing his falling body from the air, Asahiko avoids one or another root that tries to catch them and in a few minutes of escaping, he finally arrives at the appointed place.
...Christopher/Asahiko pov...
I have a strategy, well actually we have a strategy and it's no small thing in this situation.
"Ahhh!"
Doing the same stupid shouting to the sky as usual, I fed my energy into Cloudy Fang and released a reddish slash forward.
The Attack was surprisingly inefficient; it certainly managed to cut a few roots and open a path in the sea, just like Moses, but it was quickly closed.
The scariest thing of all was that Eine-Yaeko has always stayed in the same place, never even acted to handle the movement of the roots and still has us cornered.
"I need more strength... Something much stronger."
"Wow, you really managed to think... I had already categorized you in the same group as those stupid demons."
A small shiver ran through my body as soon as I heard his words, no exaggeration, I had whispered... Then how did he hear me....
"That last thing did come out with more hate than necessary."
"Hate, do they even deserve it? But that's not what's important, but... Have you figured out how I was able to hear you yet?"
Dodging to the side without giving importance to his words, I see how my previous site is full of roots.
This was not normal, I didn't just stand there talking just because, but it was a "Safe Zone" in the pattern of attack that was sustained over time.
"Maybe you can give me a little help?"
"Sure, just let me stop that arrow first."
"Tsk."
Clicking my tongue at his quick reaction, which was inspired, as that arrow he stopped was the real one and not the illusions I've created.
That has cleared several possibilities, I have noticed the flaw in my illusions, literally every time I use them they end up affecting everyone and not just who I wish.
I must seriously practice that skill at some point, not just use it on myself to avoid feeling the pain of the hits. But well, this has left me with two possibilities: The body I see here in front of me is fake, that's why it's not affected by the illusion, or this is all your body.
"It's all your body, isn't it. You are every root, thorn and tree here."
*Plap* *Plap* *Plap* *Plap*
"Well done, what you said is absolutely correct! Let's give our winner a prize…"
Not only did Eine-Yaeko's smile suddenly become sinister, but the roots that follow a certain pattern stop any movement and gather into several pillars towards the sky.
There are things that give off bad vibes, but seeing a large number of twisted pillars soaring skyward, while human bodies are seen inside, certainly has the winning horse.
"Just so you know, they're all alive. Only they're infected by the foul experiment Kazuya did."
"You..."
I grit my teeth together, getting to the point where I can even feel them rub together. Lifted my eyes, only to see the thorns grow out of those roots and get bigger and bigger.
I had to retreat... I don't plan to attack those pillars with humans... Hell, the worst thing is that I can't feel any resistance to launch an attack on them.
"Hahaha... What a shame. Rain of thorns."
She said it so reluctantly that I could easily pass it off as her not wanting to, though those thoughts don't stop me from even before she finishes speaking, I run off towards Kikyo.
Following the idea that even something small with enough speed can be lethal, I manage to hear the tearing of the earth behind me and also of the air being pierced by the thorns.
All of the above was not to be considered at this instant, so upon arriving in front of Kikyo, she quickly raised a wall of flames in front of us.
*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*
For a few moments all that could be heard were the explosions created by the thorns, forcing me to keep my shield up in case of any unforeseen events.
"It's finally over... For a few moments I thought they were going to be endless in their attacks."
"I don't think you would have withstood that."
Laughing at Kikyo's dry response, I tried to lift my body off the ground, though I was pushed back down by Kikyo.
"Stop, it'll only make it worse"
"Umm... What are you saying."
Seeing the seriousness in Kikyo's words, I stopped my nonchalant words and observed my body.
It was bad, not fatal, but it was pretty bad. A few thorns seemed to have pierced the shield along with my body, causing me to have several minor bleeding wounds.
"Hahaha, the deficiencies of not being able to feel the pain. You never know you've been hurt."
"Stop."
Surprisingly Kikyo didn't bring herself the little importance I gave to the issue, so again she forces me to stay seated.
"Come on, let me get up, there's still fighting to be done."
"Do you think he'd give us time to talk? He's already gone."
Remaining static at the reasonableness of his response, I follow his hand with my eyes and look down. The entire sea of roots has disappeared, leaving only scorched earth and a few bodies.
"Tsk, he's escaped."
"Demons and their pride... I guess it has escaped."
You just called me a sore loser... Are you serious, Kikyo.