At that moment, he saw Susanoo shatter the ice that had trapped him.

  The eastern god raised his katana.

  “No matter what tricks thou mayest employ, thou shalt not deal me sufficient harm, Rodrigo-san,” the god declared, showing Rodrigo his open palm while holding his blade horizontally.

  Susanoo’s face had twisted into anger, crimson lines painted across his features.

  Rodrigo then shouted, “Raios de Luz (Rays of light)!”

  The young tannin fired a barrage of attacks at the eastern god, striking him with tremendous force. Even so, Susanoo managed to keep himself from falling, bracing against the ground with one hand.

  “Watatsumi no Ibuki (Watatsumi's Breath)!” Susanoo cried, and behind him appeared the watery form of an eastern dragon with wings. The dragon opened its maw, unleashing a massive marine tornado that rushed toward Rodrigo at terrifying speed.

  Rodrigo tried to teleport, but the attack was too fast and struck him. The young tannin invoked his freezing wind, encasing the aquatic storm—and the sea dragon itself—in ice. However, Rodrigo was trapped within the frozen mass as well.

  Seeing Rodrigo immobilized, Susanoo dashed toward him, leaving shadowy afterimages behind as he proclaimed, “Mayonaka no Wōkingu!”

  Upon reaching the ice structure, he delivered an impossibly swift slash with his katana, cleaving it in two—with Rodrigo inside. The tannin was split at the torso and waist, his face contorted in pain.

  Yet Rodrigo reformed and teleported away.

  Susanoo drove his katana into the ground and shouted, “Shi no Ame (Rain of death)!”

  The rain transformed into swords that stabbed into the ground. Realizing the danger, Rodrigo teleported far from the eastern god.

  “Ike!” Susanoo roared.

  From the soaked earth rose marine veins, erupting from the surface as sword-shaped blades.

  Rodrigo teleported into the sky to avoid them, only to see the rain itself morph into birds—then into swords—that flew toward him at great speed.

  He rapidly unleashed Raios de Luz to destroy the attack. The avian blades evaporated under his technique, but Rodrigo failed to notice that the swords on the ground were forming a towering column. In the end, they converged and impaled the serpent god.

  Rodrigo screamed with all his strength as a barrier of wind shattered the lance piercing him. His wounds closed once more. He then summoned his scorching wind again, drying the water in the area, and returned to the ground.

  To his surprise, Susanoo was no longer where he had been and had vanished entirely.

  Directly above Rodrigo, Susanoo—having once more used Mayonaka no Wōkingu (Night walk) to move without betraying his presence—attempted to strike him. Rodrigo reacted instinctively, covering his arms in scales to block the blow. This time, however, Susanoo’s katana was stronger, severing one of Rodrigo’s arms.

  Rodrigo teleported away, but Susanoo sprinted toward his new position. Rodrigo seized the moment to unleash his full power.

  “Esfera de Venus (Sphere of Venus)!” he shouted.

  Susanoo realized his mistake too late and was struck head-on by the technique.

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  A colossal explosion of light shook the surface of Mars, though it caused no lasting damage to the planet.

  As the light faded, Susanoo lay on the ground, breathing heavily and supporting himself with his katana.

  “We are evenly matched, Rodrigo-san,” the eastern god said with a smile as he struggled to his feet.

  “We’ll be here until our manná runs out,” Rodrigo replied, frustration etched on his face.

  “Nay. I shall end this contest with my finest technique,” Susanoo declared.

  “Very well—there is a record within my mind of an abysmally powerful technique. I’ll use it too!” Rodrigo shouted.

  Susanoo began performing precise acrobatic motions with his blade, then raised his katana skyward with both hands. Behind him, a gigantic wave began to rise.

  “This tide doth not merely flood—it annihilates all in its path. One might say it is millions of water blades bound as one,” Susanoo proclaimed, then brought his sword down, shouting, “Kamikaze no Tsunami (Divine wind of the great wave)!”

  The colossal wave surged toward Rodrigo.

  The young tannin, meanwhile, struggled to control several small tornadoes with both hands.

  Then Rodrigo shouted, “Tlapopolistli Ejekamalakatl (Destructive tornado)!”

  By bringing his hands together, he created an enormous tornado. With great effort, he released it, and the phenomenon tore through everything in its path.

  The tornado and the tidal wave collided, producing a devastating explosion that hurled both combatants far away. The destructive force carved a massive cliff into the Martian surface.

  Both gods rose from the impact, badly injured, yet still retaining enough ichor to heal.

  “Thou art extraordinary, Rodrigo-san,” Susanoo said with a broad smile.

  Rodrigo returned the gesture, raising his right hand. He was on all fours, breathing heavily.

  “I suppose you still have manná left, don’t you?” Rodrigo asked.

  “Very little,” Susanoo replied.

  “Then you’ll keep fighting until it’s gone, right?” Rodrigo pressed.

  Susanoo shook his head.

  “I have confirmed that thou art a magnificent rival. I would wish to face thee again under different circumstances,” he said.

  “You’re no longer interested in my head?” Rodrigo asked, surprised.

  “There must be other Ryūjin in this world—wicked ones—whom I may defeat with pride. But not a great warrior possessed of so noble a heart as thine,” the eastern warrior replied.

  “Then…?” the young tannin asked.

  “From this day forth, thou shalt be my rival, Rodrigo-san. I shall not permit thy death nor thy defeat—save by my own hand,” Susanoo declared, bowing deeply.

  “O… okay… my rival,” Rodrigo replied, bewildered.

  “Daijōbu.” Susanoo answered, lifting his head and turning his back to Rodrigo as he began to walk away.

  “Grow stronger, Rodrigo-san. I shall do the same, that we may cross blades again,” he said.

  “Sure. I’ll win next time,” Rodrigo replied with a smile.

  Susanoo raised his hand in farewell, still facing the horizon as he walked away.

  Rodrigo then collapsed to the ground, utterly spent.

  “I nearly exhausted all my manná in that last attack… I thought I was going to die,” he muttered in disbelief.

  He rose slowly and reflected on what had distracted him.

  “I can feel Tania’s divine power stabilized… and Ana is still fighting an enemy,” he thought.

  Rodrigo also sensed the presence of Athena and Horus, and once more felt Maahes and Montu.

  “It seems we’ve survived after all,” he mused.

  He looked down at the totem he was wearing. It felt strange—heavy—as though it wished to overtake his consciousness.

  “Who was this being? For some reason, I can remember his name, even though it’s difficult to pronounce,” he thought.

  “Perhaps he is a link to my past,” he continued pondering.

  Far away, Epona—after defeating a group of enemy malakim—saw before her a gigantic mountain towering above all others. Halfway up its slope stood a massive white palace.

  “That must be it… Areopagus,” she whispered in awe.

  Immediately, Epona began raising her divine power to speak telepathically.

  “I found it,” she said. “Follow my energy and come here!”

  Rodrigo instantly felt Epona’s power.

  “Ep did it!” he exclaimed.

  He prepared to fly, then remembered that during his battle with Susanoo, he had been able to teleport.

  “What if I do it all the way there… will it work?” he wondered.

  Focusing on Epona’s energy, Rodrigo teleported—and to his surprise, appeared directly in front of the goddess.

  “An enemy!” Epona shouted in alarm, summoning her winged horses.

  “No, wait, Ep—it’s me, Rodrigo!” the young tannin cried, waving his hands to calm her.

  “Ro… Rodrigo? Is that really you? What is that… totem?” the goddess asked in astonishment.

  “I don’t know. It told me its name was Ehécatl and that it came to help me. Thanks to this power, I won my fight,” Rodrigo replied.

  “I’ve never… seen a totem like that,” Epona said, stunned.

  “Maybe by learning its origin, I can learn more about my past,” the young tannin said.

  “Well then, Rodrigo, we can’t waste any time,” Epona replied, pointing toward Areopagus.

  “That is our objective. Ares and Anpiel are there. We must give everything we have to win, don’t you think?”

  Rodrigo nodded.

  Three hours remained until Anpiel’s execution.

  Watatsumi was a sea dragon-shaped god in Japanese folklore.

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