Goukei's one gold eye stared blankly. There was nothing where his other eye should've been… or for that matter, a good chunk of his head. The sash torn away, his brown hair unraveled to its full length—a wild expansive mane almost reaching the ground. His mouth moved, uttering silent unintelligible words, and then he fell forward to the cavern floor with an ugly splatter.

  The cave shook. Destabilized by the constant beating, the cavern was beginning to collapse in earnest. Massive chunks of rock fell and crushed Goukei's forge. More and more pieces broke free from the ceiling and rained down. Magma burst from the growing cracks in the walls as they propagated higher and higher towards the crumbling ceiling. Black chains broke. The fleshy, half-mechanical egg fell from its bearings and crashed to the lake of fire with a great splash, sinking slowly under the surface.

  "We gotta go!" Akira grabbed Erina's hand and pulled her along into the tunnel.

  "What about Kirigami?" Erina stumbled, tripping over herself several times before finding some shaky balance. It was all she could do when the whole world seemed to be spinning around her so much. Her lungs burned. Her face was covered in sweat.

  "No time for a double tap!" Akira came to a stop, biting her lip as she looked up the long, long shaft they came down. "Hold on tight!"

  She swept Erina's feet off the ground, picking up the larger girl in her arms before jumping up the shaft. Akira kicked off of one side of the hole to repeat the process on the other side, the wind rushing by as she gained greater and greater distance with each successive leap. Erina clung on for dear life, her heart feeling ready to give out at any moment.

  Akira set her down at the top and they ran the rest of the way, the ground trembling underfoot all the while. Mere seconds after they escaped the cave into open air, it collapsed completely behind them. Erina kept sprinting several more paces before slowing and simply dropping to the floor, her chest heaving with each breath. Akira leaned on a nearby tree, her eyes still upturned.

  The earthquake hadn't stopped. If anything, it was growing stronger with every second.

  "Erina," said Akira. "You okay over there?"

  Erina managed to get some handle on her breathing and wobbled to her feet as well. "What's going on?"

  They looked around as the ground shook under them. Erina lost her balance and fell back onto her behind. The buildings at the encampment came undone and collapsed, torn apart with bricks scattering as thick clouds of dust swept out from their foundations. The huge barrels looked like toys rolling back and forth across the grass.

  A cataclysmic clamor whipped their heads around. The top of the mountain burst, landslides rolling down from the thick cloud of dust, ash, and smoke that enveloped its peak. The lip of the summit crater gave way, collapsing in on itself. Lava poured from the peak of the mountain, oozing down the steep descent in thick gelatinous flows.

  "It's erupting," whispered Erina in awe.

  "You gotta be kidding me," muttered Akira. Mouth dry, her tongue briefly darted out to moisten her lips. Her boot kicked up a small cloud of dirt as she traced it behind her, subtly readying for battle once more. ""

  A deep noise rolled through the world. It wasn't just the air. It was a vibration so low that it traveled better through the solid ground than it did the air. Erina felt it rattle her organs more than she heard it. Amidst the gargantuan plume of black smoke rising from the volcano were glimpses of something more—a massive thing, writhing and twisting in the darkness.

  The head of a dragon emerged from the cloud. Soot coated its scales, painting it black. Its eyes were a pure blood red devoid of any trace of humanity. Erina realized the rumbling wasn't just a tremor caused by its massive bulk. It was the closest sound this thing could make to roaring—a vibration so deep it bordered on impossible to hear, propagating better as an earthquake that slithered into their hearts than any animal noise.

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  Another head emerged from the cloud. And then another. And then another?! Erina counted them, ice filling her veins with each one she spotted.

  Eight heads. Some tasted the air with their forked tongues. Others twisted about, working their massive serpentine necks to view the mountainscape from the summit. One glared directly at the two tiny morsels below them.

  The vibrations stopped. One clawed hand emerged from the plume, and then another. Thin whip-like tails lashed the air, just as numerous as its many heads. The legendary dragon began its descent. Glowing lava clung to its serpentine body, heating its scales and filling the cracks with an infernal glow. If it were to unfurl the full length of its body right then and there, it would easily stretch all the way from the summit to them and then some.

  Only one name could be ascribed to the eight-headed, many-tailed, wrathful divine dragon of legend.

  "Yamata no… Orochi," breathed Erina.

  "Definitely on-brand," Akira said, her mouth twisted into a half-smile.

  Orochi crawled down the mountain, its many heads undulating. They took turns looking at the tiny creatures, some merely observing while others bared their fangs. They all seemed eager to feed as soon as possible.

  Erina's eyes flicked back up to the summit. It was halfway down to them. It hadn't unfurled at all. So why was its lower half still up there no matter how far it walked?

  She jumped as the ground burst not a dozen feet away. One huge arm stuck out of the earth. It found purchase and heaved. The dirt lifted up as the arm's owner unearthed himself, bits of earth rolling off as he exhaled.

  "Now you've done it," growled Goukei. His head had fully regenerated. His hand, covering the side of his face that had been hidden by the sash, now fell away.

  Green light pulsed to life. Glowing markings like splitting branches of lightning ran over his face and neck, all emanating from his right eye that burned with unnatural emerald light. The scars and discoloration were clear as day now. Erina didn't inflict this damage. He looked as if an emerald meteor had crashed into his skull and forced itself into his empty socket, scorching him black and red but imbuing him with another unearthly power.

  Blood red hellfire sparked and ignited, consuming him in a column of flame. It died down moments later, the flames still clinging to his body. They settled, solidified, and darkened. The inferno became shining gold and deep maroon robes, long and flowing. For an instant, the wild mane of hair and the newly formed attire brought kabuki theater jumping to the forefront of Erina's mind.

  The ivory staff rose from its grave alongside its master. Goukei lifted it from the earth, but the earth continued to shift and stir. Something else poked out of the dirt, and he rammed the end of his staff into it. Twirling the staff over in hand, Goukei slammed it down a second time and then held the staff before himself.

  Freshly attached, the human skulls at the ends of his staff cracked. Red lights flickered to life in their hollow sockets as they distorted and stretched, their jaws unhinging and opening far wider than any living human could. Goukei's knuckles tightened, and a massive curved blade erupted from both ends with a ringing metallic noise. Black steel caught ablaze, burning with the fires of hell as Goukei whirled his double-ended scythe. One blade retracted, and the weapon came to rest over the shoulder of the demonic reaper.

  Erina realized she'd been backing away for some time. She forced her feet to hold fast, even if she really wanted to run more than anything else in the world right now.

  "Cute toy ya got, Akira," said Goukei. He waved his arm in the general direction of the mythical dragon. "This here's my pet. He's a little under the weather—just woke up from a very long nap 'n all—but he still wants to play!"

  Orochi took one more immense stomp and stopped. Its body stretched from the encampment to the summit, still furled up. There was no question about it now; it definitely got larger. One huge head hung low, looming at Goukei's back while the others glared down upon them. If Akira were to stand on her own shoulders four times over, they would still all fit in the dragon's jaws at once.

  "Bastard," said Akira. "Where the hell do you find these things in the first place?"

  "Perks o' the job," he shrugged. "Everything dies. I just lease 'em back out."

  "Enma's gonna have your ass on a platter," she said in disbelief. "No wonder you got fired."

  He grinned. "Jokes on you. I always wanted to fuck around and find out with him."

  Akira kept her eyes on Goukei and the glowing lines across his face. She muttered, "So War's out to play, huh…?" Static crackled as her feet began bouncing back and forth. "Calm down, Erina. One problem at a time."

  Easier said than done… Even so, Erina brought her focus to the oni right before her. "Yes, sir."

  "Feeling scared?" said Akira.

  "Very." Erina's voice was shaking. "I feel like I might pass out at any second."

  "Good. Means you haven't lost your head under the pressure. Let's wrap this up and be home in time for supper!"

  "Y-Yes, sir!"

  "Yer really, really lookin' down on me," chuckled Goukei. All trace of humor vanished in an instant as his eyes zeroed in on her. "I'll fuckin' gut you like a fish for that."