"Well, shit!" Goukei laughed. "If it ain't the woman of the hour!"

  Erina didn't know how she didn't pass out on the spot. First it was Goukei, now Asayuki too? Erina didn't know whether to run, cry, or play dead.

  Asayuki didn't pay her any heed. Kicking the bike's stand out, she dismounted her ride and strode past Erina and Akira. Her head turned, eyes behind the visor flicking over them, then the toppled Lynchpin, then Goukei, then Orochi, and finally to the cracks in the sky. She didn't know exactly what had transpired here, but she'd seen more than enough to know what to do.

  "Commencing extermination." Asayuki dashed forward, hand hovering at her blade's handle and her eyes on the writhing dragon—

  A huge blood red slash was parried by two flashes of scarlet. Asayuki backed up, her blade at the ready.

  "Kehahaha!" Blood oozed from the cut across Goukei's chest as he strolled in her way with a wide grin. "What kept ya? Shit, this was the moment I was waitin' for! Fuck me if I'm gonna let it slide by!"

  "I'll deal with you later," she said. "Out of my way!"

  They exchanged blows. Waves of red flames rushed across the encampment with every swing of Goukei's scythe, denying Asayuki an easy way past as they clashed. She blocked a strike and quickly sheathed her blade while Goukei snapped his weapon in half. The dual flaming swords locked their blades into place, and Asayuki's omnidirectional flurry of slashes made an earsplitting ruckus as they met Goukei's swords. Dozens of shallow cuts tore into his arms, none of which slowed him down as he threw himself at her with a gleeful cackle.

  Goukei's aim shot off course as a green laser struck his neck, followed by another cut to the chest. The blades whirled, forcing Asayuki to give him space as he shot a death glare at the interloper.

  Green light glowed at Erina's pointed fingers. Goukei snapped the ends of his swords together and retracted one. The twin blades became one spear. He made to approach the girl before Asayuki slid in front and demanded his attention again. The burning ivory spear struck and slashed, keeping Asayuki well out of her blade's effective range while she and Goukei jostled for a way in on each other.

  What was going on? What in the world was going on?! Erina had no idea! All she knew was Goukei seemed like the bigger threat, so she shot him first!

  Akira recovered enough strength to stand up beside Erina as the latter provided her support fire to Asayuki's fight. Orochi was still writhing in a tangle of necks. Blood continued to pour from the neck Asayuki had decapitated, with no signs of growing back.

  One of Orochi's heads twisted around, bit into another neck, and tore off its own head. One severed head after another crashed to the ground. For every head it ripped off, the stump boiled and split, erupting into two more heads.

  Erina's spear hit the ground beneath Goukei as he exchanged blows with Asayuki. The branches of light flung him into the air, and Asayuki seized her opportunity to escape and hunt the dragon. Goukei hit the ground hard and quickly got up with a manic cackle, his eyes on Erina. The cuts left by the red katana had yet to close. Even the burns left by Erina's attacks were growing more severe.

  "Ohoho, now you've fuckin' done it!" cackled Goukei, the scythe striking forth as Akira rushed to intercept him.

  Asayuki tore open a huge gash along Orochi's chin and then turned with one momentous swing that decapitated another head. The land around her rotted away as Orochi's blood soaked into the earth and poisoned everything. The noxious fumes drove her to jump onto one of the lifeless stumps, running along it as she severed more heads and left grievous wounds in more still.

  One head lunged straight along the lifeless neck. Asayuki faced it and slashed it aside in a spray of blood, a flurry of slashes tearing it apart and then decapitating it. Faint red light pulsed over her body as boiling blood sprayed over her and washed off.

  Another head struck. Asayuki blocked the giant monstrous draconic jaws with her blade, staggering back with the force of its blow. A pair of heads fully grew back from one of the stumps Orochi made itself. They struck in unison, pushing her further back.

  If Asayuki's blade denied it regeneration, Orochi would just do it on its own. A growing swarm of jaws struck again and again, headbutting Asayuki further and further back until it launched her away. She flipped through the air and landed on one knee, her sword carving a path through the earth as she skidded to a halt beside Erina. Akira blew back Goukei with one well-placed kick and then backed up to join them, gasping for breath.

  Orochi tore off one more head and dropped it to the ground, eyeing them warily. A veritable ocean of boiling poison surrounded its body now, flowing down the mountainside in droves. Erina counted two dozen heads before she lost track as they swayed and tangled around each other. There had to be at least a dozen more lifeless in the pile in front of it, and more still strewn about where Orochi had tossed them aside. Green eyes moved to the crack in the sky and then to the mountain summit. Orochi's body had grown larger still. Its tails waved on the other side of the volcanic plume, obscured by smoke as they swayed at the far end of the summit crater.

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  She furrowed her brow. Orochi kept growing… As time progressed, its size increased…

  "I get the feeling you're cooking up something," said Akira. "Let's hear it."

  "The chances of success are low," said Erina. "I'm not sure if the hypothesis even applies."

  "Does it look like we have a plan with better odds right now?"

  "It's simple," said Asayuki. "Get me in at the base of its neck and I'll kill it faster than it grows."

  Erina and Akira shot a look at her, and then at each other. Coming from Asayuki, that sounded terrifyingly valid. But moreso, Akira was under orders from Hiro to secure what Goukei was doing for himself. It didn't matter how absurd it sounded. It was Akira's job to do it. And as much as Erina wanted to go home, she also wanted to help Akira.

  If they didn't live up to orders, Erina got the feeling a simple apology wouldn't suffice for Patriarch Kano.

  "Can you buy us time against Patriarch Kirigami?" Erina asked Akira. "To stop him from interfering."

  Her gold eyes were already on him. The oni had one end of his scythe staked in the ground, subtly leaning his immense bulk on it. He was careful not to show it, but she got an idea why he took so long to resume his offense.

  "Just stop him from interfering," she repeated sarcastically. "Yeah, I can take him."

  Goukei scowled. "Fucker. Saya-chan's right there. Don't go 'n blueball me now of all times."

  "Problem?" Akira rolled her neck and grinned. "Do something about it, why don't you?"

  As they clashed, Erina turned to the swordmaster. "Asayuki-san."

  "Emisane," she said. Erina couldn't see behind her visor, but Asayuki's head was forward and her attention on Orochi. "You're no youkai."

  "Erm. Yes?"

  "Then there's no issue. We're allies today."

  Erina shifted. Asayuki might not have an issue with her, but Erina certainly had an issue with her… Aloud, she said, "That sword—"

  "Severs magic," Asayuki cut her off. "Youkai, demons, gods… anything born of magic is fodder to me." She turned her focus back to the dragon. "Distract it and give me a way in."

  Erina's eyes hardened. "Only if it's convenient for me, Asayuki-san."

  Asayuki's fingers slowly drummed along her scabbard, one after another. Annoyingly, this girl had some spine in her. Fine.

  The swordmaster kicked off, racing across the poisoned land and vaulting from one lifeless head to the next. Just because they weren't attacking each other didn't necessarily mean they were working together. Asayuki came here on her own. She could clean up this mess and everyone involved on her own.

  A column of flame chased her as she traversed the steaming rivers, outrunning Orochi's aim as it burned down what remained of the forest. She launched from the pile of severed heads onto the one breathing fire, the red katana stabbing deep into its skull.

  Asayuki sprinted down its length, her sword cutting open a long deep gash as she went. Another head swooped in to stop her and her blade flew free to meet it, mangling its face before severing its neck. She leapt from one head to the next, tearing them apart without slowing down.

  Erina ran along the edge of the encampment, hopping over lava flows and poisonous rivers of blood. The earth shook with Orochi's deep rumble, resonating in her chest and pounding deep inside her ears. Grunts, yells, and the rushing of displaced air told her Akira and Goukei were still fighting as she looked for it… there!

  She came to a stop on the other side of the demolished building, pointed two fingers down, and opened fire. The sharp sound of wood snapping and splintering filled the air.

  "You little shit!" As soon as he heard it, Goukei's head snapped around and then actually snapped back as Akira's boot collided with his cheek. He went spinning across the earth, tumbling and then flipping onto his feet.

  Akira slid in his way and engaged him again, a shockwave of air rushing out as her kick was blocked by his arm. "Where you looking? I'm right here!" She met the snarl on his face with a catlike grin as she goaded him, "What's the matter? Something got you all worked up?"

  Another lifeless head splashed in the ocean of blood with Asayuki still standing on it. Another came in to dive at her and got an eye and half its face torn apart in an instant. Asayuki drew back her sword as another massive head reared up. As the titanic dragon struck, she held her ground, and parried straight into it. Steel rang out, mana burst, and the head carved a trench through the land as it crashed aside. She leapt atop and sprinted down its neck, slashing and ripping at it as she went.

  She couldn't quite reach the base of its necks. Massive sinuous flesh twisted and turned and knotted around itself, constantly shifting and threatening to crush anything that got closer. Asayuki would have to settle for this for now. She sheathed her blade in a low stance and focused. Three heads finally caught glimpse of her and unleashed their jets of dragonfire.

  The katana erupted forth in a massive flurry of red slashes. Vast crescent arcs lashed out in every direction, blowing away flame, tearing flesh, and severing necks. Five huge heads crumpled, lifeless. Asayuki kicked off, backflipping away from the mass of writhing muscle.

  Seven more heads made sure she kept moving back, attacking one after another without pause. Her sword flashed again and again, greeting each one with a cut to the mouth as Asayuki flew further and further back until she landed on the pile of severed heads again. Suffocating fumes surrounded her on her little island in an ocean of poison.

  They entered a brief standstill, Orochi bit into its own necks, ready to replace the heads she destroyed. Asayuki hoisted her blade, ready to force it to give her its full attention again.

  Orochi suddenly stopped, all of its heads turning away from her. Its massive claws lifted from the earth, blood pouring from its talons as it took one massive step along the edge of the encampment.

  Towards the barrels of alcohol pouring their contents upon the earth, and the girl in black shooting more holes into them.