The sky burned a deep crimson, as though engulfed by an unseen fire. The earth trembled violently, and the mountains themselves seemed on the verge of collapse.

  Rodrigo and several malakim were flying through a narrow mountain corridor when the cliffs around them began to crumble, shattered by the immense power that Tania was releasing on the opposite side of the planet.

  “We have to get out of here, now!” Rodrigo shouted to the malakim as they flew, desperately avoiding falling debris and tearing mountainsides.

  “Tania… that power—it’s Tania’s. What could have happened to her?” Rodrigo wondered.

  Suddenly, the sky darkened, and rain began to pour. The overwhelming heat slowly faded. The downpour was brutal, like a torrential storm, and Rodrigo could barely see through it. Then he felt it—an enormous presence drawing near.

  Rodrigo raised his arm, signaling the angels to stop.

  The silhouette before them was tall. He wore what appeared to be a masculine kimono or gi, his long hair wild and untamed. At his left side hung a sheathed sword.

  “You should continue onward,” Rodrigo said to the angels. “I’ll distract this man.”

  “There is no need for distraction,” the man replied calmly as he emerged from the rain. “The malakim may withdraw, should they so desire.”

  “I have come for one purpose alone—to cross blades with you, Ryujin-san,” the man concluded.

  “Are you serious? You’ll let them leave? No trick?” Rodrigo asked, never lowering his guard.

  “Sō de gozaimasu, Ryujin-san,” the man answered.

  “…What? Sorry, I don’t understand. Don’t you speak the divine tongue like the rest of us?” Rodrigo asked.

  The man’s lips curved into the faintest smile, though his face remained mostly hidden by the rain.

  “It is the language of my homeland—Takama-no-hara, which rules over the human land of Yamato, Ryujin-san. I honor the tongue of that realm, though I am but an exile,” the man replied.

  I’ve never even heard of those places, Rodrigo thought.

  “What I mean to say,” the man continued, “is that the malakim are free to depart. I have come only to fight you and restore honor to my name.”

  “Sir Rodrigo… is it wise to leave you here?” one of the malakim asked.

  “Don’t worry about me. If you find Areopagus, remember to inform the others,” Rodrigo replied.

  The malakim bowed and withdrew. Rodrigo watched the man carefully, but just as promised, he did not move an inch.

  “By the way, my name is Rodrigo—not that Ryujin-san thing you keep saying,” the young tannin added.

  “It is an honor, Rodrigo-san. I am called Susanoo-no-Mikoto, though you may address me simply as Susanoo,” the man said, bowing lightly.

  “You seem like a good person, Susanoo. Why do you fight for Ares, then?” Rodrigo asked.

  Susanoo’s voice grew solemn, his words heavy with formality.

  “I committed a grave dishonor in Takama-no-hara and was cast out.

  My sister, sovereign of that realm, demanded of me a great deed within the world of mortals ere I might return.

  Thus did I pledge myself to the god of war, believing such allegiance would grant me redemption.

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  Now that I behold thee, Rodrigo-san—a Ryujin—I know full well that thy head shall open the gates of my homeland once more.”

  “…I’m a Ryujin?” Rodrigo asked, confused.

  “A serpent god,” Susanoo replied.

  “I witnessed thee deflect Khonsu’s strike by cloaking thine arm in scales.

  Therefore have I chosen thee as mine adversary—unto death.”

  “Wait! Yes, I’m a tannin, a serpent god if you like—but I don’t want to fight someone like you. Can’t we solve this peacefully?” Rodrigo pleaded.

  Susanoo slowly shook his head.

  “Nay, nay, Rodrigo-san.

  Be not deceived by appearances—for I am no virtuous soul. That truth is the very reason for my exile.

  Moreover, there is no honor in fleeing from battle.

  Among the gods, to fell a Ryujin is reckoned one of the highest glories.

  Think not ill of it—it is not personal.”

  Looks like I have no choice, Rodrigo thought as energy gathered in his fists.

  “You won’t use your ofuda… or what you call a totema?” Susanoo asked curiously.

  “I don’t have one… sorry,” Rodrigo admitted.

  “Uso tarō!” Susanoo exclaimed in surprise.

  “Yet if thou shalt fight with bare hands, then so too shall I forgo mine ofuda.

  There would be no honor otherwise.”

  With that, Susanoo drew his sword with his right hand.

  It was a magnificent katana, its blade glowing with a cold blue light.

  He advanced a few steps, gripping the weapon with both hands. Only then could Rodrigo see him clearly.

  His hair was black as night, his eyes narrow and sharp, crimson markings painted upon his eyelids. His expression was stern, almost wrathful. He wore a white gi with red borders and a matching red sash. Wooden sandals with raised heels supported his stance.

  Rodrigo readied himself.

  Greenish scales spread across his arms. His eyes shifted to a yellow-green hue, and his hair lifted slightly as his power awakened.

  “Alright… I’m ready,” Rodrigo said.

  In the blink of an eye, Susanoo charged like lightning, slashing at him.

  Rodrigo barely managed to block the strike with his left arm. The katana struck his scales and failed to cut through.

  But Susanoo was relentless.

  He vanished and reappeared behind Rodrigo, striking again. Rodrigo twisted midair and leapt backward, narrowly avoiding the blade.

  Again Susanoo lunged, aiming for his head. Rodrigo blocked once more and countered with a right-handed punch—but Susanoo evaded effortlessly.

  This time, however, Susanoo’s blade pierced Rodrigo’s chest, forcing him back.

  The cut was clean and agonizing.

  Rodrigo gathered white energy in his fist to retaliate—but Susanoo vanished, reappearing several steps away.

  “Thou dost acquit thyself not ill, Rodrigo-san,” Susanoo said calmly.

  “Yet thou art no match for my katana—Totsuka.”

  Rodrigo’s wound healed quickly, but he knew the longer this fight dragged on, the worse his odds would become. The rain blurred his vision.

  Suddenly, Susanoo’s blade shone with an intense blue light.

  He sliced through the air and cried out:

  “Mizu no Kiru (Water Slice)!”

  A crescent of energy tore across the ground at terrifying speed.

  Rodrigo barely dodged it—only to see Susanoo leaping above him, repeating the strike.

  The blade tore into Rodrigo’s chest as the ground behind him split in two.

  Rodrigo fell into the fissure.

  Susanoo landed beside the chasm and flicked the blood from his blade with a swift motion.

  Rodrigo burst back out of the crack, his wounds regenerating—but the damage this time was far greater.

  “Now you’ll see what I can do!” Rodrigo roared, his body blazing like a star.

  “Raios de luz (Beams of light)!”

  He fired a barrage of white energy spheres—but Susanoo sliced every single one apart with precise, fluid motions.

  Susanoo charged once more, leaping straight upward toward Rodrigo, who was still airborne.

  He became a blue arrow.

  Rodrigo couldn’t evade it.

  The katana struck clean through the center of his chest.

  Susanoo appeared behind him and wiped his blade through the air once more—

  —and Rodrigo’s chest exploded in a spray of blood.

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