Chapter 247: Natsuba Hanae: “!!!”
Yamata no Orochi didn’t want to answer any of the new god’s questions.
This body, although still important, was also listed as a consumable in Its plan, and could be dispensed with.
But if It answered Natsuba Hanae’s questions, it would be a matter of benefit to her.
Moreover, in a battle with Yamata no Orochi…
It had originally thought that Natsuba Hanae would ask questions closely related to this battle, to gain some strategic advantage.
When Natsuba Hanae had asked about the god Amaterasu…
It didn’t understand. To be able to become a god in an era where supernatural power had not yet expanded and divinity had not fully manifested, and to be a high-level god at that…
Natsuba Hanae’s aptitude was absolutely extraordinary.
How could she ask about a god that didn’t exist?
So, because this god had nothing to do with this battle, It had subconsciously answered.
Moreover, if It could preserve this body, it would still be of some use.
“Amaterasu.”
“If it’s a god born after my death, then you’ve asked the wrong person.”
After all, Yamata no Orochi felt that there was a new god before It, so it was not impossible for there to be a second.
And a god born at this time, how could It possibly know?
However, when Natsuba Hanae had gotten Its answer, her deep red beautiful eyes flickered with an unfathomable light.
Its answer had completely exceeded Natsuba Hanae’s expectations.
Amaterasu of course could not be a god who had appeared after Its death. In fact, if calculated by strength, Amaterasu’s appearance would only be more ancient than Its.
Of course, it was not impossible that Amaterasu’s aptitude was also extraordinary, and that Amaterasu could, as a latecomer, advance to a level above a god.
But Amaterasu could not possibly be a new god.
If what Yamata no Orochi said was true, then It simply did not know Amaterasu’s rank.
If Yamata no Orochi had known that Amaterasu’s rank was above a god…
Then It would have completely understood that in an era where divinity was withering, it was simply impossible for anyone to break through the ranks and advance to a level above a god.
However, Natsuba Hanae had of course also thought that perhaps Amaterasu’s name a thousand years ago was not Amaterasu, so Yamata no Orochi didn’t know the name Natsuba Hanae had spoken of.
But this possibility was also extremely small.
Because the origin of the name Amaterasu had come from Kamishiro Hime, and was stored in the ancient texts of the Kamishiro imperial family.
And the correctness of a name was also very important to a god, as it could be used to gather divinity.
Of course, Natsuba Hanae had thought a lot.
The prerequisite was still that what Yamata no Orochi said was indeed true.
After all, from Its mouth just now, Natsuba Hanae had learned that this was just one of Its snake bodies, and Its tone was not grave, but a hint of heartache.
This meant that this snake body was perhaps something that could be lost.
Then, if Amaterasu’s status was as lofty as a god, and Yamata no Orochi knew Amaterasu, but was unwilling to reveal Amaterasu’s information, it was also very likely to happen.
In that case, what this snake body said was not guaranteed to be true.
Natsuba Hanae could only use more drastic means. To truly threaten Its life, a person or a god who had died once would cherish their life even more.
Natsuba Hanae believed It would not be an exception.
Her voice came from within Its massive maw, still as gentle and soft, but the words Natsuba Hanae spoke were so bone-chilling.
“What a pity.”
“Your answer does not satisfy me. I hope that when we meet next time, you will tell the truth.”
“Otherwise, I will be very disappointed.”
“This time, I’ll just give you a little lesson.”
Natsuba Hanae was still inclined to believe that Yamata no Orochi was lying to her.
Amaterasu was known as the strongest god in this world.
How could It be unknown a thousand years ago? Could it be that It had suddenly appeared during the slumber of a large number of gods?
It seemed Natsuba Hanae needed to use a certain means to pressure Yamata no Orochi into telling her the information about Amaterasu.
Then…
Enjoy the pain.
A faint smile appeared on Natsuba Hanae’s lips, and a hint of cruelty appeared within.
Since she had confirmed that this Yamata no Orochi was not the complete It…
In that case, even if she killed It with lightning, the benefits would not be great.
Rather than that, it was better to leave a great shadow in Its heart, to make It feel fear.
And thus, in the future, It would be hesitant to make a move against her.
Thinking of this, the black and red lotus floating around Natsuba Hanae, with its terrifying power, slowly evolved and became the original form of the Sanctuary Flame.
And it no longer possessed a powerful explosiveness.
However, under Natsuba Hanae’s control, the blackness of the Sanctuary Flame grew more and more intense, without a single bit of impurity. A single glance would seem to suck one’s soul.
A deathly stillness boiled and spread.
Before it had officially started to burn, Yamata no Orochi had sensed a bad premonition from Its mouth. That deathly stillness had made It instinctively feel very uncomfortable.
This discomfort was from the instinct of life, and not Its fear.
A hint of unease appeared in Its snake pupils.
And It said,
“What are you doing?”
“A meaningless attack will only make you die a more ugly death. You…”
Before It could finish Its sentence…
Natsuba Hanae didn’t want to listen to Its trash talk. After purifying all the Sanctuary Flame, she willed it.
Several balls of Sanctuary Flame surged into Its esophagus.
The first ball, when it reached Its throat, exploded like a firework, brilliant and loud.
“Boom————!”
The Sanctuary Flame spread and filled every area of Its throat and burned.
Like a maggot on a bone, it was absorbed and spread. A faint black flame penetrated to the outside of Its scales and burned fiercely.
“Ugh—!”
When the first ball of Sanctuary Flame exploded, Yamata no Orochi subconsciously let out a muffled groan.
Its snake pupils couldn’t help but narrow, but It forcibly endured the pain. A thousand years ago, the wars It had fought and the gods It had confronted were countless, and there were not a few gods who had made It feel pain.
It had long since developed a resistance to it. This pain was barely tolerable for It, and It would not lose Its composure.
However, in the next second…
Another explosion was heard in the middle of Its esophagus.
“Boom————!”
This seemed to be a signal, and then a series of explosions continuously sounded in Its body, filling every corner of Its body.
In the next moment, Natsuba Hanae spread her hands and grabbed Its fangs.
The power of the Old God frantically wrapped around Natsuba Hanae’s body.
The crimson divinity covered the armor formed by the power of the Old God, and formed a series of strange and twisted demonic markings, mottled and intricate.
Natsuba Hanae gritted her teeth, and her two hands suddenly used their strength!
“Boom! Boom! Boom!——————!!”
In an instant, the earth shook.
The massive stones on Mount Fuji continuously fell, and the clouds in the sky couldn’t help but start to spin. A dense lava slowly boiled out of the crater.
Yamata no Orochi’s remaining body, which had been hidden in the crater, under Natsuba Hanae’s unparalleled great strength, was fiercely pulled out.
A very small figure, like a black dot, lifted a snake beast that was as large as the heavens and the earth.
An epic and magnificent scene was displayed here.
In the distance, Kamishiro Hime, who had this scene deeply imprinted in her eyes, her heart was extremely shocked.
In the next moment, Natsuba Hanae, in a shoulder-throw posture…
Fiercely threw Yamata no Orochi on the ground.
“Boom—————————————!!!”
As if an earthquake had formed, like an earth dragon turning over, the ground trembled frantically.
With Yamata no Orochi as the center, a deep and invisible chasm opened up. The land in this area tilted slightly, and countless gravel and trees fell into the chasm like a landslide.
But Its body was large enough and did not fall down.
However, a massive crater had already appeared under Its body, as if it had been formed by a meteorite impact. Countless gravel and stones had been cracked, like a huge spiderweb.
In an instant, Its back was covered in blood.
But It had no chance to cry out in pain.
Because…
In the next moment, countless Sanctuary Flames exploded in Its body and began to burn Its snake body from the inside out.
A black flame enveloped Its entire body.
“Ugh——————!”
Yamata no Orochi closed Its snake mouth tightly and forcibly endured the intense pain.
This was not just a physical injury. This injury went straight to the essence of life, and destroyed every cell as if it were being dismembered.
And completely wiped it out.
Most importantly, the Sanctuary Flame was not burning intensely, as if it were being deliberately controlled, to raise the pain to the extreme, but not to quickly annihilate all the cells at once.
Instead, it waited for It to regenerate Its flesh, and then annihilated a part of it again.
This was not killing an enemy. This was torture.
It was a torture like peeling off every single one of Its scales, one by one.
And this feeling, as time passed, was constantly getting stronger.
“Hiss—”
“Roar——————!”
Yamata no Orochi let out a painful roar. Its massive snake body trembled nonstop, and with each twist, the earth shook violently.
It knew some information about the deathly stillness. Although It didn’t know where it came from, this information was engraved deep in Its soul.
It knew this was an existence completely different from life.
However, It had suffered countless pains in battle before. Even Susanoo’s lightning punishment had not made It roar a single word of pain.
But now It was in a state of utter disgrace.
“New god!!!!”
“You’ve completely angered me! I’ll tear you to pieces! I’ll curse you! I won’t let you die! I’ll let you live forever and suffer my curse!”
“And I’ll return this pain with interest!”
In Its snake pupils, the originally painful expression transformed into an endless, furious rage, filled with a malicious aura.
“You deserve to have me use this plan. With your flesh and blood, your power, let me step into a higher realm!”
In a mix of pain and fury…
Yamata no Orochi roared.
In the next moment…
“Boom——————————!!!”
Its entire snake body instantly exploded. A black blood, as if it were a torrential rain on this gray land, splattered.
A look of surprise appeared in Natsuba Hanae’s eyes.
And she murmured softly,
“It self-destructed?”
Yes, from beginning to end, Natsuba Hanae had only wanted to torture this snake body of Its, but she hadn’t expected that It would rather self-destruct than endure this pain.
What a pity.
She had spent a little effort to refine those few balls of Sanctuary Flame, but it had only lasted for this period of time.
However, Natsuba Hanae also felt a slight admiration for Its ruthlessness.
It probably also realized that if It were to feel the terror of the Sanctuary Flame for too long, in the subsequent battles, Natsuba Hanae would very likely just use the Sanctuary Flame, and It would instinctively avoid her.
And thus lose the opportunity to attack.
And to only feel it for a moment, and then to self-destruct to avoid the pain, and then even if It knew the terror of the Sanctuary Flame, It would indeed have a slight retreat.
But the psychological shadow would not be serious.
This kind of retreat could be forcibly changed by Its consciousness.
From this aspect of decisiveness, Yamata no Orochi was very likely the most troublesome enemy Natsuba Hanae had encountered so far.
And…
A look of gravity appeared in Natsuba Hanae’s eyes.
That one snake body, although Yamata no Orochi had clearly felt a little heartache, now It had very decisively and willingly self-destructed. This meant that this mid-level god’s snake body was not particularly important.
Then, the complete Yamata no Orochi, what strength had It reached now?
Peak mid-level god?
Or… had It already reached high-level god, or even the peak of high-level god?
If It had reached the peak god level…
Then this trip, Natsuba Hanae would have to use all her means and go all out.
But if she could avoid it, she would. Natsuba Hanae was afraid that among the gods who were beginning to revive, what if there was a god with a prying ability, or simply Susanoo himself, and Susanoo would thus learn Natsuba Hanae’s means.
Then the effect of her first use would not be so good.
However, if Yamata no Orochi, from that situation, had recovered to the peak of a high-level god, or even a peak god, in such a short time, Natsuba Hanae also felt it was impossible.
Of course, it also depended on Its peak god’s ability, whether It had means related to this.
No matter what, she had to prepare for the worst.
Natsuba Hanae had already made up her mind.
And prepared to deal with Its next strategy. She was passive, and could only counter Its moves as they came.
However, just then…
At the center of Its self-destruction, besides the foul blood shooting outwards and transforming into countless filthy auras that merged with the air, making the filthy aura even thicker…
And the remaining flesh and blood completely atomized. With a soft rustling sound, as if a low whisper, it rose.
In the next moment…
“Hiss—hiss—!”
“Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!”
Countless dense, purplish-black snake heads, and small snakes with bodies of mist, appeared from the mist, looking very strange.
Their crimson snake pupils all firmly stared at Natsuba Hanae.
Seeing this, her brow furrowed slightly, and a sense of unease came over her. She prepared to strike first.
She condensed a black and red lotus in her hand and threw it, its target the area of the purplish-black small snakes.
And at that moment, the dense purplish-black small snakes soared into the air and shot straight at her. In the process, the countless purplish-black small snakes’ smoke wrapped around each other and frantically fused.
Until they became one.
Just as it was about to collide with the red and black lotus…
—It passed through!
Natsuba Hanae: “!!!”
