Although they had learned from Vali that Loki was planning to make a move against Odin, neither Ren Kuroda nor Yasaka had expected the strike to co this quickly.
Yasaka's original intention had been to notify the three great factions of the Bible—Heaven, the Underworld, and the Fallen—so they could prepare and strengthen their defenses.
But just as she was about to depart for the Underworld, her steps suddenly halted.
A sharp sensation ran through her, and she turned toward the direction of Kyoto. In the next instant, her expression twisted with unmistakable fury.
Kyoto had already fallen under the influence of Loki's spell. Rias and the others couldn't contact either the Norse realm or the Underworld—and likewise, the yokai of Kyoto had been cut off from Yasaka.
However, Yasaka was the supre commander of Kyoto's yokai. More than that, as the one who safeguarded the city's harmony and prosperity, she had, through years of receiving the श्रद्धा (offerings) of its people, effectively beco sothing akin to the land's guardian deity.
The shrine in Kyoto—after enduring multiple assaults from Jörmungandr—had already sent her warning signs.
And now, with Kyoto itself—bound to her very spirit—under attack, Yasaka, as its guardian, could feel it all too clearly.
And she was furious.
Even at top speed, the journey from Tokyo to Kyoto would take at least an hour.
But the barrier protecting Kyoto—left behind at the shrine—had already been shattered. Yasaka knew the situation was far too critical to waste even a mont.
So she turned her gaze toward the one person she trusted above all else.
Her elder brother—Ren Kuroda.
As it turned out, Ren had never once failed to et expectations.
After grasping the situation in an instant, he pulled out a teleportation crystal and gestured for Yasaka and the others to gather close.
Before coming to Tokyo, Ren had spent so ti living in Kyoto. Back then, just in case, he had set up a spatial anchor point there.
Crushing the crystal in his hand, a burst of light enveloped them.
And when the light faded, they found themselves standing inside Ren's old apartnt in Kyoto.
The mont Yasaka looked out the window, a terrifying surge of demonic power erupted from her body.
Since the day Ren had t her, this was the first ti he had ever seen her this enraged.
And it was no wonder.
The once-thriving city of Kyoto had been transford into a vast expanse of water.
Famous landmarks had been reduced to ruins.
Scattered across the streets were the bodies of fallen yokai—so drowned, others slain—and even a few unfortunate humans who hadn't managed to escape in ti.
This was the Kyoto Yasaka had called ho for centuries.
After the decline of yokai, they had chosen to retreat into a corner of the world. To preserve what they had left, they had even chosen to coexist peacefully with humans.
And now…
All of it had been nearly destroyed.
Faced with the chaos before her, how could Yasaka not be consud by rage?
"RAAAAAAAHHHH—! Jörmungandr! I will tear you to pieces!"
With a deafening roar, Yasaka's demonic energy exploded outward. The mont she landed outside, her form shifted—
—into a colossal, jade-faced, golden-furred nine-tailed fox.
The gigantic kyūbi stood over a hundred ters tall.
Yet even at that size, she still seed small compared to the imnse body of Jörmungandr coiled in the sky.
But size did not determine power.
If it did, Jörmungandr would not rely be one of the Five Dragon Kings—he would stand among the Two Heavenly Dragons or even the Dragon Gods.
With a piercing fox's cry, the clouds above Kyoto began to churn violently, spiraling together into a massive vortex.
The sky darkened.
Thunder roared as lightning flashed within the rolling storm clouds.
The floodwaters that had subrged Kyoto began to surge, drawn toward Yasaka as if obeying her will. They rose into the air, forming dozens of massive water tornadoes—like dragons drawing water from the earth straight into the heavens.
The towering nine-tailed fox stood firm on all fours, surrounded by pillars of water that pierced sky and land alike. Above, thunder rumbled endlessly.
It was a breathtaking, apocalyptic sight.
As the supre leader of yokai, Yasaka already possessed power on the level of a Dragon King. And as Kyoto's guardian deity, fighting within her own domain granted her an even greater boost.
This was why, in the past, it had taken the combined might of two Dragon Kings—along with the divine power of the Black Evil Dragon King Vritra's Sacred Gear—to suppress her when she went berserk.
Yasaka possessed dominion over the weather itself, ensuring Kyoto's prosperity and balance.
And now—
She turned that power against Jörmungandr.
Despite his massive size, ordinary attacks ant little to the World Serpent.
But now, the entire sky had fallen under Yasaka's control.
Kyoto's heavens had beco a sea of lightning.
And Jörmungandr, flying within it, bore the full brunt of the storm—his colossal body scorched by relentless bolts until he was seared inside and out.
Yet as one of the Dragon Kings, passively enduring punishnt was not in his nature.
Even as lightning tore into him, Jörmungandr opened his jaws and unleashed a high-pressure torrent of water toward Yasaka below.
Facing the incoming deluge, a magic circle flared beneath Yasaka's feet.
In the next instant, she exhaled a blazing stream of azure foxfire.
The descending pillar of water collided with the ascending vortex of flas.
A violent reaction erupted as the two forces canceled each other out, engulfing the battlefield in a dense, blinding cloud of steam.
Unable to withstand the storm of lightning in the sky, Jörmungandr let out a furious roar and plunged straight into the white mist.
If he couldn't win in the air—
He would crush her in close combat.
Everyone knew foxes couldn't fly.
In aerial combat, a nine-tailed fox would never be a dragon's match.
But once the dragon abandoned the skies—
On the ground, how could it possibly outmaneuver a fox?
Even with her vision obscured, Yasaka's keen senses had already locked onto her enemy.
With a single push of her powerful limbs, she darted aside, effortlessly evading Jörmungandr's charge—
—and slashed toward his eye with a claw brimming with demonic power.
No matter the creature, the eyes were always the most vulnerable.
Her strike pierced through his defenses with ease.
A bloodcurdling roar tore from Jörmungandr, echoing across the heavens.
"This is nothing compared to what you've done to Kyoto!"
Yasaka's voice rang out, cold and filled with killing intent.
"The pain and fury I feel right now surpass yours tenfold—no, a hundredfold! Even as one of the Five Dragon Kings… you will die here today!"
Jörmungandr's screams did nothing to slow her.
If anything, they only fueled her assault.
She pressed forward relentlessly, each strike carrying deadly intent.
The colossal serpent twisted violently, trying to shake Yasaka off and take back to the sky.
Even enduring the lightning would be preferable to facing this crazed fox at close range.
But—
What ca easily before was no longer possible now.
Standing atop Jörmungandr's massive body, Yasaka had already seen through his attempt to escape.
Her claws continued their rciless barrage—
while her fox's maw began to chant in human speech.
"Iron sand forms the wall, a tower in the image of a monk—burning iron glows, resolute and unyielding, until all falls silent!"
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