NOVEL NEXT Although Chiya lacked divinity, her formidable sword technique allowed her to overpower the mighty Itakeru.
"Who are you, really? I've never encountered such a powerful woman in this era!" Itakeru exclaimed in disbelief.
"Hmph! Leave now, and I might still spare your life!" Chiya declared sternly.
Itakeru, the Sumo Kunitsukami, though not among the most powerful gods, still possessed a divinity. Unable to tolerate humiliation, he was enraged, causing power to surge within him and the ground to tremble around him.
Even as Chiya continued to suppress him, she took care not to underestimate Itakeru, confronting him with a serious demeanor.
Suddenly, Itakeru's expression sharpened; he spun around and charged toward Lily, who was engaged in combat with the wounded and disadvantaged headless guard.
"What?" Despite being intensely involved in a battle with a septuple-soul Big Dipper guard and warding off several Archdemons, Lily's keen senses immediately alerted her to an ominous presence.
Reacting instinctively, Lily dodged a demon's baton and leapt to the side, only to be caught off guard as Itakeru launched a dark golden rope from his outstretched palm.
The rope, imbued with Itakeru's power, moved with astonishing speed, swiftly ensnaring Lily from behind.
"Eh?" Startled, Lily struggled to free herself, only to find the rope extraordinarily strong and binding. It was impervious to her efforts; even her Oborozuki Muramasa couldn't sever it quickly enough as she was unable to apply sufficient force.
"Golden Charm Bindings!" Chiya exclaimed in dismay. "Itakeru possesses a supreme-ranked Spirit Treasure designed to target women! He's a vile predator!"
Spirit Treasures are classified into low, mid, and high ranks, with the legendary supreme rank standing above all others.
Given that Lily was at the Big Dipper Stage, escaping from a supreme-ranked Spirit Treasure was impossible.
Her limbs tightly bound, Lily plummeted from the sky. Anticipating her trajectory, Itakeru had already positioned himself to intercept her. He caught her deftly and hoisted her onto his shoulder, then with powerful bounds, he quickly retreated to a considerable distance.
"Stop!" Chiya shouted as she gave chase. She swiftly dispatched several demons that attempted to block her path with a single sweeping attack. By now, Itakeru had put several kilometers between them. Realizing he couldn't outrun her, he leapt into the air and produced a talisman from his sleeve, which emitted a powerful spatial energy.
Chiya's expression turned grave at the sight of the talisman—a high-ranked Spirit Treasure with teleportation abilities. She knew that even if she managed to catch up to him, she could not prevent its activation.
Should Itakeru succeed in teleporting to an unknown location with Lily, the implications would be dire.
Itakeru had activated the talisman; Chiya was too late to stop him.
Lily, perched fearfully on his shoulder, understood her disadvantage. Being taken to an untraceable location meant no chance of escape, despite her desperate struggles.
"Hahahahaha! You're brave to travel through Yomi, especially being so beautiful. I won't confront you directly; the fairest is also the frailest1! So, I'll simply take her! My dear! Hahahahaha!" Itakeru laughed maniacally as he activated the teleportation talisman.
Space around them began to fluctuate, signaling Itakeru's imminent teleportation thousands of miles away with Lily.
Suddenly, an unusual pulse emanated around him, halting the process.
The talisman flared up and was consumed, but surprisingly, both Itakeru and Lily remained stationary. The teleportation failed.
"What?" Itakeru exclaimed, shocked. "A Spatial Prison?"
In Yomi, only a select few wielded this rare ability, not even accessible to some of the mightiest gods. Such a spatial restriction was more characteristic of powers found in Takamagahara.
Sweating profusely, Itakeru glanced towards the epicenter of the Spatial Prison and saw the tall woman, previously reliant on others and yet uninvolved in the combat, holding a golden jade branch beneath her jacket.
The branch emitted waves of potent spatial energy.
"A Golden Jade Branch… a Spatial Prison… You… who are you?"
The Golden Jade Branch in Queen Kaguya's hand emitted a golden glow, casting numerous golden and silver threads filled with formidable power despite their delicate appearance. Swiftly, they enveloped Itakeru, binding him tightly as he plummeted through the air.
Although the threads appeared gentle, they were unyielding, pulling Itakeru’s arms apart and liberating Lily. Meanwhile, Itakeru, completely immobilized, exerted his full Kunitsukami strength, causing the earth to tremble and winds to howl, leading to the near-total destruction of Grudgeless Town's buildings. Despite his efforts, he remained ensnared and motionless.
With a swift motion, Chiya dashed forward and, undeterred by the possibility of another strike from Queen Kaguya, she slashed at Itakeru's back, causing a great spurt of blood.
"Argh!" Itakeru cried out. His divine body was immensely powerful; while the blow inflicted severe pain, it was not fatal. Undeterred, Chiya unleashed a flurry of strikes upon his immobilized form.
Each of Chiya's strikes significantly drained the divine essence from Itakeru's flesh.
"You b?a?s?t?a?r?d?!" Although Itakeru endured the pain, he was helpless to resist or flee. Despite his strength, he faced inevitable death by dismemberment.
Reaching the Empyrean Stage and acquiring a divinity fortifies one’s body and soul through the world’s essence. Lacking the overwhelming power needed to shatter a divinity, inflicting fatal damage to the soul is unfeasible.
Typically, a mortal’s soul is their weakest element. However, upon obtaining a divinity and the world’s protection, it transforms into their most fortified and resilient attribute. It was exceedingly challenging to kill a god who possesses a divinity.
Such a divinity cannot be shattered unless the opponent possesses an overwhelming superiority. Under such circumstances, the only strategy is to inflict continuous damage, gradually depleting their divine energy. Eventually, whether they are alive or dead becomes moot, as they would be rendered entirely powerless.
The key distinction between Celestial or Infernal Stage powerhouses with a divinity and those without lies in their mortality. The enhancement in their strength may not always be visible. For instance, Chiya could defeat Itakeru despite lacking a divinity. Yet, possessing a divinity rendered him nearly invincible.
Queen Kaguya's Golden Jade Branch emitted a soft pulse toward Lily. Subsequently, the binding rope slackened and flew into her hands.
At this point, the encircling demons refrained from advancing and instead retreated in fear, with some of Itakeru's underlings fleeing the scene without hesitation.
Given that Itakeru, the God of wrestling, was immobilized by merely a wave of her jade branch, it was clear she could annihilate them all with minimal effort. They stood no chance against her immense power.
Itakeru's resilience was notable; over a dozen potentially fatal strikes depleted less than half of his divinity. However, such a loss significantly weakened his strength and defensive capabilities.
Should he lose most of his divinity, it would parallel a mortal losing a substantial amount of blood and falling unconscious.
Nevertheless, gods surpass mortals in endurance. Where a human might die from significant blood loss, a god can remain conscious despite nearly exhausting their divinity, only truly perishing when it is entirely depleted.
Despite Itakeru's formidable nature, he had sustained an assault for nearly half a minute. Should the onslaught persist, he would succumb within two minutes.
"Spare my life, Goddess, please! I am a Kunitsukami. Killing me would invoke divine retribution! I swear never to trouble you again and will offer all my treasures in exchange for mercy!" Itakeru pleaded, bloodied and desperate.
"Spare you? Hmph, and risk exposure?" Chiya questioned as several purple jasmine flowers, crystalline and icy, whirled around her blade, casting a beautiful yet lethal aura.
"I swear on my divinity, I won't reveal anything!" Itakeru cried out.
"Forget it," Queen Kaguya dismissed, "Our location is likely compromised due to this disturbance. Even eliminating him wouldn't matter; the demons and vengeful spirits, with their surveillance capabilities, would have already relayed our presence."
"Seize his treasures, and let's depart. He has abandoned his divine dignity by pleading for his life, so we shall spare him. As Amatsukami, destroying or seizing his divinity would provoke further ire from other Kunitsukami," the Queen instructed.
Chiya resignedly demanded, "Hand over all your treasures! Don't dare conceal anything!"
Though Kunitsukami and Amatsukami are eternally at odds, they maintain a delicate equilibrium. Killing Itakeru, despite his pleas, could incite retaliation from other Kunitsukami. Yet, should Itakeru attempt to conceal his treasures now, while bargaining for his life, such treachery would warrant his demise.
Realizing the gravity of his situation, Itakeru refrained from any deceit and relinquished all his treasures. Subsequently, Queen Kaguya unbound the severely wounded Itakeru, permitting him to flee.
"This feels like we're releasing a tiger back into its den," Chiya remarked, her reluctance evident.
Queen Kaguya responded, "We must cross the bridge quickly and leave this place behind."
"Yes," Chiya agreed.
Despite their victory over Itakeru, they adhered to the rules for crossing the bridge. Retrieving a bell, they maintained the prescribed pace, crossing steadily.
Indeed, Queen Kaguya knew that facing a river monster in the River of Oblivion would not be to her advantage.
As Queen Kaguya had anticipated, despite Itakeru's vows of secrecy on his divinity, numerous demons and factions had observed the battle through various means. Her identity was swiftly uncovered.
The news of her identity spread through Yomi like a hurricane, reaching far and wide with astonishing speed.