Orochi I

Serpents lunged at me as the cloaked young man lifted his finger in my direction. I slashed through them while closing in on the Deceit. A fiery aura surrounds my blade, and I slice one of the Deceit's arms off. 

"Good guess, but that's not where the control is from." He grows a large tail. It sends me flying into one of the trees without any time to react. 

I cough before saying, "Cheap tricks aren't gonna win you anything." I thought that the serpents were being controlled by his hands, but that's not the case, it seems. If I could find out where he is controlling them…

A barrage of serpents came once again. All I could do was cut down each one of them while listening to the Deceit's hysterical laughter. I create an outline of fire that circles the forest before snapping, killing the serpents. 

The deceit stops laughing. His expression becomes infuriated. "Yamata no Orochi's forest. Why? HOW COULD YOU!?" 

"Damn, you're loud. I'm just carrying out my duty as a vessel and executioner. No need to fuss about it." 

"Yamata no Orochi!" He's summoning his deity powers already?

The ground shakes as two massive serpents arise. Their necks were so long that the moonlight shined on their heads and on the deceit standing on top of them. Isn't there supposed to be eight heads? This inconsistency may be a cause of him not having his complete strength over Yamata no Orochi yet. 

The Deceit commands them. "Decimate that damn crab!" 

Electricity was absorbed into one of the serpents, and water was absorbed into the other. My body started to tighten up. Hiding in the burning forest would have been a decent option if the attack's proximity wasn't so massive. My fire shinkuro might as well be gas. 

Beams of electricity and water fired from the serpents at tremendous speeds. Shocked by the short window of reaction time I had, I held my hands out at the combined beams and used my regular shinkuro energy to split the beam. 

The rapid shocks of electricity make progressively lose control of the shield. The conducted beam of water still damaged me. Cracks in the shield slowly developed. My feet slide back, but I'm able to maintain my balance. However, this gave me an idea.

 I positioned one foot behind me and kept one foot forward. The continuous attack causes me to almost slip. Despite the pain, I was able to launch myself through the beam by placing my shinkuro energy in my foot for lift-off. The shield breaks midway. The intense affliction was insufferable. 

My body arrives outside of the beam and at the heads of the serpents. The Deceit wears a shocked expression on its face. 

I leer uncontrollably at his dumbfounded face. My sword materializes into my hand. While aiming my sword, I say, "What a waste of potential!" My sword darts into his chest. 

The Deceit falls in tandem with the serpents. The serpents dematerialize into the air, and the Deceit's body plops onto the ground. A sharp pain scatters through my body as I land. The Deceit was still breathing. No wonder he's a vessel for such a strong deity.

The Deceit rips the sword out of his chest. It coughs up blood as it begins to speak. "This… was only a trial of strength… got that?" 

I take one large breath before replying. "Call it whatever you want. I still… kicked your ass." I breathed heavily as I spoke.

The Deceit scoffs. "Anguis!" 

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Anguis. I'll find Yamata no Orochi's last 6 heads to gain the title of a deity! A god!" Anguis slowly picks itself up, and it limps from the wound. "Your head will be served next time we meet!" Anguis vanishes into his cloak. 

I look back at the now watered-down forest. No flame was sparking from my fingers. The pain from the intense strain and the serpents became more pronounced as I stood. The trek back to DES Headquarters was pure agony without the healing of my flames. 

I stumble into the boss's office. His desk saved me from collapsing from my declining balance. They made an unknown expression. It looked like a mixture of worry and anger. 

The boss rises from his chair and asks, "Is this the reason for the commotion down there and why it took you so long to report back?"

"That expedition that you sent me on…" The annoying pain causes me to groan. "The investigators were right. It's a Serpent Deceit. It's S-rank currently, but it could become something beyond that of Hazard Level."

The boss's expression darkens. Nurses come out of the elevator and strap me on to an emergency stroller. The boss opened his mouth before the elevator closed. "I'll be sure to report this to the news! We will talk about this once you've recovered!"

———————————————

All people have been talking about at school today was the huge cloud of smoke from the forest that was filling the air. 

Chikao speaks to me while chewing his food. "I heard that this executioner fought a Serpent Deceit in that forest."

"Who was it?"

"I think his name was… Mayumi?"

"Is he okay!?" I accidentally shout.

Chikao looks at me startled and replies, "They said that he is in care and it won't take long for him to recover. He won, but the deceit is still on the loose." 

Relief washes over me. "That's good. The Deceit sounds powerful. Could it be—"

"One of the evil gods? I think so. Electricity, fire, and water shinkuro were traced at the scene. Three shinkuro is impossible for an executioner. Even two would be hard to achieve."

"So which god could it be?" A god that can control multiple elements and a serpent. That sounds a lot like…

"Yamata no Orochi. Though this is only a theory. I'd need to investigate more before I come to a complete conclusion." 

Yamata no Orochi. The eight-headed serpent that was defeated by Susano'o, god of the storms and sea. This certainly was a reasonable conclusion to come to. The bell rings, cueing the end of lunch.

I and Izanagi had another talk in the bathroom. "Do you believe that this could possibly be the work of a vessel for Yamata no Orochi?"

[No doubt about it! There is a vessel out there roaming around somewhere unknown as we speak. I had a feeling that bastard was still around.]

"Why Mayumi though? Why would the vessel target someone with no relation to the deities?"

[Well, there is something very attractive about him for sure. Even I felt a strong power emanating from him when we first encountered him. He was this bright aura that is also full of fire and passion. It's as if his heart is a sun with an internal blaze.]

"That's what could have possibly attracted the evil gods to him." I mutter, talking more to myself than Izanagi. 

Izanagi suddenly shouts, [It seems our first target is the serpent, Yamata no Orochi! Let's cleanse this beast together, New Kami!]

The case of Yamata no Orochi begins.