Hephaestus sliced through the air with incredible speed. Mama Ipoh quickly stepped to her right, narrowly avoiding the strike. The moment the red katana hit the ground, it created a massive crater, sending smoke and debris flying everywhere.
Hephaestus' eyes widened as he caught a blur at the edge of his vision. Before he could turn around, a fist crashed into his face with incredible force. His jaw was completely shattered, and his body was sent flying through multiple trees.
"This time, there will be no escaping your fate, spirit!"
As she removed her black sunglasses, her intense blue eyes gleamed with determination.
Still inside the cage, Viora thought to herself in shock, She's completely different this time compared to the last time I saw her fight… She's overpowering him! And I've never seen Mama Ipoh this angry before…
Hephaestus emerged from the shattered tree, his jaw completely gone. The sight was disturbing—especially for Viora, who had to look away. Roots began to protrude from his face, twisting and writhing as they slowly reconstructed his jaw. Once healed, he spat to the side and sneered:
"Tss… You may be a frail, sickened version of your former self, but you're still a shaman who reached the Taiyō rank of the fourth tier. With or without your spirit, you'd still be a pain to deal with."
Viora, still watching the fight from within the cage of roots, thought to herself, Again with those complicated words… What do they even mean?
Mama Ipoh smirked. "I'm nowhere near as powerful as I was in my younger days… But believe me, even if I'm frail and sickened, I'll send you right back to hell with just these fists."
Hephaestus grinned as he took a few steps forward. "Don't worry, I believe you. It'll only make watching your blood spill from your decapitated corpse all the more satisfying."
He suddenly turned his body in a full rotation, hiding his right arm beneath the long sleeve of his black kimono. In an instant, something pierced through the fabric with blinding speed—a red katana, extending so fast it far exceeded the speed of a bullet, perhaps tenfold.
Mama Ipoh's eyes widened as the blade came within inches of piercing her chest. But with incredible reflexes, she moved her hand at lightning speed, shattering the blade in a single instant. Blood dripped from her palm, yet she gripped the broken katana with immense strength.
Coldly, she said, "If you want my head at your feet, you'll have to do better than that… Second Zone Spirit."
With incredible might, she yanked the extended blade behind her, pulling Hephaestus off his feet and into the air before he could react. With her left arm still pulling him in, Mama Ipoh clenched her right fist into a punch and struck him square in the head. The impact sent Hephaestus crashing into the ground with brutal force, leaving a massive crater where he landed.
"You damn old wretch!" the spirit snarled, clutching his head as pieces of his brain spilled out and rivers of blood poured down his face. Yet, despite the gruesome injury, the wound was already beginning to heal.
Mama Ipoh took a few steps toward Hephaestus before stopping, her gaze locked onto him.
"You sure heal pretty fast," she said with a cold smirk. "Let's see if you regenerate faster than I can beat you down!"
Hephaestus began to extend his sword again, aiming to sever Mama Ipoh's legs. But with precise timing, she lifted her right leg and brought it down with incredible force, shattering the blade into pieces before it could reach her left leg. She continued walking toward him, unfazed.
"The fact that I was more hurt from using my spirit than from you actually landing a hit is comical…" she said, her voice sharp with disdain. "In fact, you haven't landed a single blow on me—today or even one year ago. If you're supposed to be the strongest of the Ten, then I could take all ten of you down on my deathbed!"
As she spoke, she clenched her fist and drove it downward, aiming a devastating punch toward the spirit sprawled on the ground.
Hephaestus raised his sword to block the incoming blow, but Mama Ipoh sneered.
"Can't you see how easy it is for me to shatter that blade every time?"
With a single strike, the blade shattered into pieces. Before Hephaestus could react, her fist crashed into his face, sending him flying through the air once again.
Hephaestus' face was covered in blood—his nose shattered, teeth either piercing through the flesh of his mouth or scattered across the ground, and one of his eyeballs hanging loosely. Yet somehow, he was able to speak, his voice filled with raw fury.
"Damn it… damn it… damn it all! I've got the hunger… I feel the hunger more than anyone else! So why… why is my fire so weak compared to everyone else's?! Be it the Wicked and his damn followers… be it this pathetic, terminally sick old wretched shaman… why am I so much weaker than all those bastards who don't have half the hunger I possess?!"
He snarled, his anger building.
"I will show them… I will show you! How much my fire and hunger will burn everything in its path!"
In an instant, his entire face regenerated. His katana arm extended, only to be shattered in half. As his half-arm regenerated into a normal limb, he caught the falling blade with renewed fury. The lower half of the blade wrapped around his arm in a circular motion. He gritted his teeth, his voice seething with rage.
"I will burn anything and anyone that dares oppose me… and that is a promise!"
The blade extended once more, but just as Mama Ipoh was about to shatter it again, it suddenly multiplied into hundreds of blades, moving like tentacles. They surrounded Mama Ipoh from all sides.
Viora screamed in fear, her voice cracking.
"Mama Ipoh!"
The hundreds of blades moved toward Mama Ipoh from all directions, intent on ending her life. Hephaestus let out a sickening, satisfied scream.
"Die!"
As the blades closed in, mere moments from striking her, Mama Ipoh's voice rang out coldly.
"I know it's not wise to use any more of my superflux, but I should be able to manage this much without danger."
With a swift motion, she chanted, her eyes steely with determination.
"By the piercing light of dawn, pierce the target in sight… Fūrinjutsu, Hoshi rank of the first tier: Piercing Light Fang!"
Then something moved with a speed that could only be described as the fastest in the universe… light.
Hephaestus was pierced through by a blade of light, sent flying backward into a tree, unable to move. As he looked down, he saw the blade of light, surrounded by a circular ring of light, wrapping around him and the tree, pulling back toward the blade. All his other blades mysteriously turned to ash.
"Didn't know you'd be foolish enough to waste your superflux…" Hephaestus muttered, his voice filled with shock as he remained unable to move.
Mama Ipoh took a few steps toward him, then stopped, her lips curling into a smirk.
"Shikatsu technique of the first rank, first tier," she replied coolly. "It doesn't consume much superflux. And since you're so weak, I figured it would be enough to deal with you…"
Hephaestus threw a murderous glare at Mama Ipoh, his voice dripping with venom.
"What?"
Mama Ipoh let out a giggle, her expression playful yet deadly.
"Relax, relax. I'll deal with you later…"
In the blink of an eye, she vanished from sight, moving so fast that she left no trace. A moment later, she appeared in front of Viora, still trapped in the cage.
Viora let out a shaky breath, her voice barely a whisper.
"Mama Ipoh?"
Mama Ipoh smiled gently, speaking in a soothing tone.
"Don't worry, sugar. I'll get you out of there, and then I'll finish this once and for all. We can continue your birthday after that."
With one swift motion, she swung her arm, shattering the root cage. Viora stepped back, stepping out of the cage, her gaze still fearful as she looked at Mama Ipoh.
Mama Ipoh knelt in front of Viora, her expression soft and caring.
"Well, I gotta go. Wait for me over there, okay, sugar?"
As Mama Ipoh turned to leave, Viora grabbed onto her clothing, her voice trembling with concern.
"Promise me you won't make your sickness worse…"
Mama Ipoh smiled gently, patting Viora on the head.
"I promise…"
Then, in an instant, Mama Ipoh was right in front of Hephaestus, still trapped in the tree.
Hephaestus' face twisted in fury, his eyes burning with hatred.
Mama Ipoh smirked, her expression confident and cold.
"Well, you regenerate pretty fast. But a combination of these techniques should be enough to finish you off… I'll be a little ruthless this time, so prepare yourself."
She raised her hand, her voice steady and commanding.
"The Circling Hurricane Eight Orbit, grant me the disk of the hurricane that slices anything in its path!"
With a fierce declaration, she chanted:
"Hametsujutsu, third tier: The Eight Circulating Hurricane Disk!"
chapter thirty-six end