“Susanoo, what do you think you’re doing?” Ogun asked, his expression dark with irritation.

  “What do you suppose I am doing?” Susanoo replied as he shoved Ogun several meters back with his katana.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re betraying Lord Ares” Ogun snapped.

  “You are mistaken, Ogun-san. I cannot betray Ares-sama, for I never swore fealty unto him. I merely joined this company to find a rival worthy of my blade. Now that I have found such a one, I have no further interest in this group” Susanoo answered, calmly sheathing his sword.

  “Thanks, Susanoo” Rodrigo said as he finally stood.

  “The honor is mine, Rodrigo-san. And… pray tell, who might be the gentleman I just rescued?” the eastern god asked, turning toward Khine.

  “His name is Khine. He’s a member of Orniskem, but he never speaks. He was attacking Ogun with lightning, though without much success” Rodrigo explained.

  The Yoruba god scowled at them both.

  “If you think I’ll let you leave so easily, you’re mistaken.

  “In truth, I do not intend to flee, Ogun-san. I shall be your rival” Susanoo said serenely.

  “Wait, Susanoo, I don’t want you to throw your life away for me” Rodrigo said, troubled.

  “Did I ever claim I would sacrifice my life for you, Rodrigo-san? I am here so that you may reach Ares-sama. I desire that you grow stronger, that we might one day share an honorable duel” Susanoo replied.

  Ogun burst into laughter.

  “I fail to perceive the humor, Ogun-san”Susanoo said.

  “Didn’t they teach you mathematics, Susanoo? You’re Keres Twelve, and I am Keres Four. The gap between us is abysma” Ogun sneered.

  “The reason is simple, Ogun-san. I deemed none of you worthy rivals. Perhaps only Menrva-san or Ishtar-san might have been honorable foes. The rest of you are but genocidal relics, shackled to the past, obsessed with returning to senseless slaughter. Your tamashi—your souls—are dead. You are driven only by bloodlust and destruction. Children who refuse to grow. I know this well, for I once was as you are in a former life” Susanoo replied.

  Ogun snarled and slashed the air with his sword. Two guillotines erupted from the walls beside Susanoo, snapping shut to cleave him in two—but the god arched backward, wedged his katana between the massive blades, and severed them with a reflected wave of water.

  “I shall remain here, Rodrigo-san. Make haste—confront Ares-sama and grow stronger” Susanoo said, rising calmly.

  “Alright. I’m leaving this to you” Rodrigo answered, sprinting past Ogun, who watched him with a defiant glare.

  “Khine, let’s go!” Rodrigo shouted. The Soninke god did not move.

  Khine began to dance once more.

  “I don’t think he can understand me. What do I do?” Rodrigo asked.

  “Leave him here and proceed. I shall protect him” Susanoo replied.

  “I won’t let you pass, boy!” Ogun roared, swinging his sword as spears burst up around Rodrigo.

  The weapons were sliced cleanly in half as Susanoo leapt in, clashing his katana against Ogun’s blade and halting the motion.

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  Rodrigo fled the forge chamber.

  I need to keep moving until I sense Athena and Horus, then teleport to them—but this labyrinth blocks all presences, he thought.

  Meanwhile, the force of Ogun’s strike hurled Susanoo back. The eastern god flipped through the air and landed in a fighting stance, katana in his right hand. Khine continued his strange dance.

  Ogun shouted, “Iham?ra ni kikun (Full Armor)!”

  Iron plates rushed onto his body, forming a massive, grotesque suit of armor that left only his eyes visible. A horned helmet sealed his head; a tall, ringed collar covered his neck to the mouth. His exposed skin turned metallic and gleaming, chains wrapped his chest, and a metal skirt covered his legs.

  “I’ll crush you here and now, Susanoo, and you’ll regret using us as you did!” Ogun bellowed as his sword transformed into a gigantic, curved saber with a spiked hilt.

  To everyone’s surprise, Khine began to laugh.

  “What’s so funny?!” Ogun roared.

  Khine floated upward and transformed into a sphere of pure electrical energy.

  “Lord Susanoo, is it?” a voice spoke in Susanoo’s mind.

  “Art thou… the dancing gentleman?” Susanoo answered inwardly.

  “I am Khine, true king of the Ghana Empire. I lack the strength to defeat Ogun, but I wish to lend you my energy so that you may” Khine replied.

  The sphere settled upon Susanoo. He flared blue as crackling electricity burst from his body.

  Susanoo’s appearance changed drastically: white-blue lightning wreathed him, thunder arced from his form, vapor like a flowing mantle rose from his shoulders, his eyes turned blue, his hair white, and his horns grew larger.

  “What is this? How can a Moon like you control his electricity?” Ogun asked, stunned.

  “Because I am, in truth, a Mercury, Ogun-san” Susanoo replied.

  “You hid that too?! Wretch!” Ogun roared, charging.

  Susanoo slashed, and a rain of thunder struck Ogun, electrocuting him as he cried out.

  “I had no cause to reveal my true element, Ogun-san. Heed this counsel: this energy has multiplied my power manyfold, yet I may command it but for fleeting seconds. If thou wouldst defeat me, thou must endure until it wanes” Susanoo said.

  Ogun fell to his knees, gasping. Susanoo flashed silver-white and streaked forward like lightning, driving his electrified katana through the armor. Ogun tried to seize him, but the shock forced his hand away.

  Ogun collapsed and shouted, “Orin ?r? (Machine Music)!”

  Hundreds of chains tipped with blades lashed at Susanoo. He surged with power; electricity coursed through the weapons and back into Ogun, who screamed in agony.

  Snarling, Ogun dispersed the current and slammed the floor. Spikes erupted, pinning Susanoo’s feet—yet Susanoo electrified the ground itself, shocking Ogun again.

  Still reeling, Ogun raised four steel walls around Susanoo, sealing him in a massive cube. He lifted his sword and turned the chamber into a storm of weapons—swords, spears, shields, daggers, chains—that pierced the cube from all sides.

  “Ina alagb?d? (Blacksmith's fire)!”

  A colossal explosion engulfed Susanoo. Metal melted throughout the chamber as Ogun panted, the heat turning everything a blazing red.

  “Well, Susanoo? See what a Keres Four can do? Did you think borrowing that old man’s power would change anything?” Ogun crowed, just as rain fell, extinguishing the flames.

  From the smoke, Susanoo emerged, still crackling with electricity.

  “I told thee, Ogun-san, thou canst not prevail. Steel is, in truth, the poorest element with which to contend against thunder” Susanoo answered.

  Ogun laughed madly.

  “Then it’s time to finish this” Susanoo said, raising his sword and lunging like lightning.

  Mid-air, Ogun struck him down. Susanoo crashed to the ground, bloodied, and saw Ogun’s fists had turned light brown—crumbling into shards.

  “Nani… what is this?”Susanoo asked.

  “Ceramics” Ogun replied. “I forge more than iron here. Fire let me shape them quickly. Insulators can strike you.

  “Raigeki (Electrical discharge)!” Susanoo cried, hurling an electric arc. Ogun raised a wooden shield; the attack dissipated. Spikes burst from the shield and slammed into Susanoo.

  Ogun pummeled him with ceramic fists, seized his throat, and smashed him against spiked wooden shields before hurling him away.

  “Your pitiful lightning trick won’t work on me anymore, Susanoo” Ogun roared.

  “Yet thou hast overlooked a grave error, Ogun-san” Susanoo coughed from the ground.

  “And what might that be?

  “Thy armor—thou hast not yet shed it!” Susanoo shouted, rising and lifting his katana skyward as electric specters formed.

  The room vanished. They stood amid golden clouds beneath a red torii gate atop mountains. Two monstrous ogres—one white, one green—appeared, horned and half-naked.

  “Tengoku no mon (Heaven's Door)!” Susanoo cried.

  The clouds blazed. White light poured from the torii and struck Ogun with overwhelming force. The vision shattered; Ogun fell unconscious as his armor dissolved and melted away.

  Khine left Susanoo’s body. The transformation faded. Susanoo dropped to his knees, bracing himself with his katana.

  “Arigato, Khine-sama” Susanoo said as the masked god collapsed unconscious.

  “Now all rests in thy hands, Rodrigo-san. Pray, do not perish—the eastern god said” and lost consciousness.