The Branch of Annihilation, the blazing demon sword!
Racing through the forest, Samael shot past the stunned Tamamo-no-Mae, drew the crimson greatsword, and brushed his right hand along the flat of the blade. Scorching runes flared to life, rising into a visible torrent of blazing fire that blasted toward the savage beast-shape lurking in the bushes ahead.
In an instant, the night sky lit up.
The burning greatsword blazed like a sun descending to earth, scorching the land into cinders and turning the mortal world into a fiery purgatory.
The flaming demon sword Laevatein, the divine weapon once wielded by Surtr, king of the fire giants, was also known as the Branch of Annihilation. During Ragnarok, it had been the supreme weapon used to sever the roots of the World Tree and burn the Nine Realms to ash.
Back then, the Aesir, the Vanir, and the frost giants had joined forces to trick that fire giant king into the prison of the gods.
Loki then carried this blazing divine weapon to the core of Niflheim, the land of frost and mist, where he sealed it inside the Chest of Despair, fitted with nine locks, through the chanting of Rune spells.
But as a god who loved stirring up trouble, Loki had naturally left himself a back door so he could steal it out again whenever he felt like causing mischief.
Later, Hela reported the matter, and Samael found out.
So the Ancient Serpent very unceremoniously confiscated the dangerous thing and added it to his own collection, if only to keep Loki from making more trouble with it.
During this trip to Greece, Samael had taken it out on a whim to conceal his identity.
After all, heaven was high and the land was far away. This place was not under Odin's control. That old man could not possibly spend every day doing nothing but secretly watching him.
The only problem was that this thing was, in the end, still a top-tier demon sword. Once unleashed, the effect was outrageously flashy. The noise could be heard for miles, and the pillar of fire could be seen from far away.
Something this showy clashed badly with Samael's usual principles of staying low-key and striking from the shadows, so it was destined to be little more than a toy to fool around with.
Yet the moment the flaming demon sword lit up the surroundings, the vertical pupil reflected in the fire suddenly shrank. The burning Branch of Annihilation lifted a few inches at once, skimming past the beast-shadow's head before crashing somewhere else.
"Friendly advice, little foreigner. Don't lose focus in a fight. Big sister here won't go easy on you."
At the same time, a bright laugh rang out. A long, powerful arm hooked around Samael's wrist, and with a lowered stance and a sharp stomp, the attacker borrowed the force of the spin and executed a clean throw.
Boom boom boom boom!
Caught off guard, the Ancient Serpent flew backward like a meteor slamming into the earth, smashing through dozens of towering trees and kicking up clouds of dust.
In the blazing firelight, the figure walking forward while clapping his hands was tall and bursting with explosive vitality, like a sun rising from the horizon in the dead of night. But the farther he walked, the slower he became, until he finally stopped, raised his head, and looked ahead, a strange gleam flickering in his eyes.
"Ahaha, Kukulkan! You saw it, he attacked first. That means I can finally join in and have some fun, right?"
Behind the tall figure, the bushes rustled. Amid a triumphant cackle, a feline shadow flashed back and forth, and sharp sonic cracks tore through the air.
"You picked the wrong opponent, bastard! Regret it now. Let me show you what a Jaguar can do!"
At the same moment, a certain canine creature who had been treating this like a game stepped forward into the firelight. Her teeth were clenched tight, fangs bared, and grinding sounds came from between her lips. In her narrowed golden eyes as she stared ahead was nothing but the cold gleam of a predator eyeing prey. Beneath the darkness, her ten fingers crossed and danced, forming one obscure, mysterious seal after another, and the space around her began to warp in eerie silence.
Damn it! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a decent meal ticket? Do you really think a good wife never gets angry? Tamamo is seriously mad now!
Spell Layer: Dark Heavenly Cave!
"Jaguar Kick! Jaguar Flip! Jaguar Speed Up! Watch my Jaguar Jump..."
Bang!
Bang!
But just as the two substitutes were about to clash, two heavy impacts rang out almost at the same time.
In that instant, the orange-haired, orange-eyed forest goddess in a tiger mascot suit was swatted aside by a suddenly raised arm as she leapt past the tall figure. She shot away like a cannonball, smashed through seven or eight large trees, and then plunged headfirst straight into the dirt. Her tail, sticking up like a weather vane, twitched upright for a moment before drooping limply.
And at the same time, that trashy fox was crouched on the ground, clutching the huge lump on her head and pitifully drawing circles.
At that moment, the two figures exchanged a smile under the flickering firelight.
"Long time no see, Quetzalcoatl, big sis!"
"Yo! It really is you, Sa… Uruk's little brother…"
"It's Ezio. You've forgotten my name again…"
As their eyes met, Quetzalcoatl cast a meaningful glance toward the pink-haired girl crouched nearby, sulking and drawing circles on the ground. With a teasing wink, she tacitly helped Samael cover up his real identity.
Without missing a beat, the two, still perfectly in sync as ever, stepped past the others and moved into the open space.
"Come here, my cute and reliable little Ezio. It's been so long. Let big sis give you a nice, warm hug!"
With a bright smile, Kukulkan spread her arms and pulled Samael into her embrace without hesitation.
In that instant, after ten thousand years, a sensation both familiar and unfamiliar, soft yet firm, enveloped him. The suffocating pressure around his neck was both intoxicating and overwhelming.
After fully experiencing the so-called "chest execution," Samael struggled for a while before finally managing to break free from that imposing embrace.
Meanwhile, the Jaguar had just managed to pull her head out of the dirt pit. The moment she recognized him, she rushed over excitedly, clearly intending to recreate Kukulkan's signature greeting.
"Me too, me too! How could a Jaguar miss out on this? Sama—"
Bang!
Carried away by excitement and speaking too quickly, she was slapped right back into the pit by Kukulkan before she could finish.
"Ezio… Ezio is fine, okay?"
The Jaguar finally pulled her head out again, muttering timidly. She carefully circled around Kukulkan, then came up from behind, locking both arms around Samael's neck in a tight hold. Laughing carefree, she patted his shoulder.
Unfortunately, her lack of restraint nearly strangled him on the spot. Only after Samael tapped her arm several times did the careless goddess awkwardly loosen her grip.
That was close. If he were still his old self, this dangerous reunion might have turned into a full-blown tragedy.
Having endured the "affectionate torment" of the two Maya chief deities, Samael quietly set his slightly misaligned bone back in place, rolling his eyes inwardly.
"Quetzalcoatl, Jaguar, what are you two doing in Greece?"
Once he steadied himself, Samael turned to his old acquaintances from Uruk and asked the question on his mind.
"It's a long story…"
"Grr…"
Quetzalcoatl frowned slightly, her eyes flickering as she prepared to explain, only to be interrupted by an odd sound.
Samael instinctively turned to look at Tamamo-no-Mae behind him.
The fox, still crouched on the ground drawing circles, wore a pitiful, aggrieved expression.
"Do I really look that desperate?"
Samael gave an awkward smile. Following the earlier hint, his gaze met Kukulkan's, and the two of them silently turned to look at the feline nearby, who was rubbing her stomach by the fading fire, complaining weakly.
"Uh… after drifting at sea for more than half a year, I'm practically starving into a Jaguar pelt. Sama… Ezio, do you have anything to eat?"
Samael glanced up at the moon, then pointed toward the road ahead and smiled faintly.
"The camp is just up ahead. Why don't we eat first and talk after?"