"The gods do not arrive to stop wars. They arrive to witness who survives them."
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The Gate That Still Stands
Location: Kusanagi Shrine, Main Gate
The Kusanagi Shrine's main gate stood still.
Cracked. Scorched. Choked with debris and bodies. But standing.
The massive torii loomed beneath a smoke-stained sky, its ancient wards flickering weakly as blood soaked into the earth below.
Sandata regrouped beneath it.
They gathered as soldiers did after impact. Tight. Alert. Weapons lowered only long enough to breathe.
Shrine Guardians fell back from shattered lanes, bleeding and exhausted. Some dragged wounded comrades into the gate's shadow, laying them against the stone like offerings no god had asked for.
Gregorio Aguilar stood at the center.
Kamay ni Bathala hummed faintly around his forearms. Ready. His breathing was controlled. His eyes never stopped moving.
Tsubame Hayashi-Hime planted the Tombo Giri against the ground. Electricity crawled along its edge. She did not look away from the ruined corridors.
Marian Dela Fuente emerged from the river path, veil darkened, Sundang ni Makiling held low. Mist clung to her ankles.
Agosto Santos wiped blood from his jaw and rolled his neck once. Heat radiated steadily from the Kampilan ni Lam-ang.
Renato Ramirez planted his feet and raised the Kalasag. His armor was dented, yet he stayed planted.
Min-Jun stepped into position without a word, Bonguk Geom angled down, white resonance pulsing softly.
Ari stood forward of the line, Tombak Nagasasra across his shoulders. Blood dripped from the spearhead.
Sutera emerged from the river, water streaming from her armor. The Keris Lautan Niskala pulsed in her grip.
Han Wei knelt among the wounded, Nine Meteor Needles orbiting as he worked with military efficiency to heal the injured.
Lastly, Prasert Rattanachai stood on a raised step, golden aura dim but steady. The Phra Saeng Khan Chaiyasi rested against his shoulder.
No one spoke.
The battlefield had gone quiet for a reason.
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The Coalition Advances
The silence broke with footsteps.
Measured. Layered. Advancing.
Ahas ng mga Lakan's main force emerged first from the forest entrance. Disciplined. Rifle teams spread wide. Blades stayed low.
Behind them came the Fang of the Naga. Heavier. Broader. Armor scarred. Weapons built for close killing.
Intermixed among them, Orochi Group units advanced. Myth-Tech optics glinted beneath visors. Rail rifles locked forward. Blades unfolded from forearm housings with mechanical precision as they took flanking positions within the formation.
Then the leaders stepped forward.
Raja revealed himself from the smokes of war.
Haring Sawa flicked once. The whip-blade uncoiled. Pamana ni Lakan answered with restrained crimson lightning that crawled and vanished.
Shinken Amakiri followed. Masamune bare in his hand. The air around the blade felt wrong. Heavy with waiting Echoes.
Phaya Khamdee strode beside him, Khîaw Nāk gleaming with venomous sheen. His gaze locked onto Agosto.
Natalia Saavedra rolled her shoulders and dropped into a loose stance. Karambit ni Kain settled into reverse grip.
Kalawit dragged the Dugong Itim behind him. Voidsteel carved black scars into stone.
Putik followed, Balisong ng Dahas snapping open and shut, grin feral.
Maximo and the remaining enforcers spread outward, completing the arc.
They stopped just outside melee range.
The coalition had arrived.
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Arrival of the Babaylan
The ground trembled.
From the far end of the shrine grounds, torches ignited in unison. Not fire. Stabilized plasma cores housed in reinforced casings.
The Babaylan Army entered the scene.
Warriors clad in hybrid ritual armor and Myth-Tech plating marched forward in perfect steps. Energy shields shimmered. Blades and rifles hummed with powered conduits. Visors flickered with targeting overlays.
At their center walked the Babaylan Saints.
Hermano Lopez led them, Banal na Parusa grounded with each step.
Juan Luciano followed, posture calm, dangerous. The Habagat ni Silang dragging gusts of wind and sparks of electricity. The air around was moist as if it is heralding a never ending rain.
Magdalena Ramos moved with measured precision, Tanikala ng Guniguni pulsing faintly.
Mia Torre walked in silence, Aklat ng Katotohanan flipping pages on its without the help of air or hands.
Crispulo Toledo brought up the rear, Anino resting across his back.
They halted opposite the coalition.
A three-sided standoff formed around the gate.
Sandata stood between gods and monsters.
The war inhaled.
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The Clash Begins
No signal was given.
Violence simply happened.
Shinken Amakiri struck first.
Masamune passed once and two bodies separated at the waist before sound caught up. He stepped forward, cut again, and shrine guardians collapsed in pieces at his feet.
Kalawit followed, Dugong Itim ripping a void-black crescent through packed defenders. It left mirror-like trails as it divided the air and its targets.
Putik vanished low and reappeared inside the press. Balisong ng Dahas flashed. Throats opened. Knees folded backward. He kicked a dying guardian aside and kept moving.
Maximo raised the Sumpit ni Dumalapdap and fired. The sonic burst ruptured armor and organs alike. Babaylan Soldiers dropped screaming, then stopped. A second shot erased those still standing.
Hermano Lopez slammed Banal na Parusa down once.The impact pulverized the ground and everything standing on it. Shrine guardians and Ahas soldiers alike were smashed flat, bodies broken into the stone. Its golden chains lashed out and whipped charging assailants.
Juan Luciano surged forward, his weapon punching through one enemy and carrying through into another. He ripped it free and struck again without slowing.
Magdalena Ramos snapped Tanikala ng Guniguni. The chain wrapped, tightened, and tore. Two bodies collided midair and hit the ground in a heap of shattered limbs.
Mia Torre lifted the Aklat ng Katotohanan.
A page turned. The ground inverted. Fighters were hurled down headfirst, skulls cracking as they struck stone.
Crispulo Toledo moved through shadow.
A blade appeared. A throat opened. A body fell. Crispulo was already gone.
A Fang warrior lunged.
He was fast. Faster than the Shrine Guardians he had carved through moments earlier.
Ari met him.
The Tombak Nagasasra punched through the Fang's chest, tearing through plating, muscle, and spine. Ari stepped through the corpse and drove the spear again, and again, carving a straight path through the formation.
Agosto collided with Phaya Khamdee in a crash of heat and steel.
Khîaw Nāk struck first. Kampilan ni Lam-ang intercepted. Stone fractured. Heat blasted outward.
They separated.
Then charged again.
Orochi units surged.
Tsubame launched into them.
Electricity detonated. Tombo Giri screamed. Bodies split and fell.
Marian met Natalia.
Steel kissed steel. Mist thickened. Blood flecked stone.
Gregorio caught Haring Sawa mid-snap. Lightning crawled and died. He countered with a straight. Raja defended with an X-blade. Haring Sawa cracked, Raja retreated to his flank in awe.
Renato redirected rifle fire through the Kalasag. The shockwave broke bodies against walls.
Min-Jun carved through repositioning squads with surgical precision.
Sutera tore moisture from air and stone. She fabricated aqua arrows, and launched them like a rain of water missiles towards attacking Ahas and Babaylan foot soldiers. Their bodies were impaled to the shrine walls like hunted trophies.
Han Wei's needles flew like darts tracing targets with no chance of escape. Upon impact, blood flowed where it should not.
Prasert struck once. Gold arcs flared and passed through a unit of Orochi enforcers without friction. Their numbers multiplied by two.
The Shrine Guardians, Babaylan Army and Ahas units annihilated each other at the flanks.
The battlefield drowned in blood.
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Killing Intents Given Name
Minutes stretched.
The gate held.
Barely.
All three factions slowed, the time has come.
Synchrony at 100%.
Relics glowed brighter.
Auras thickened.
Hands tightened on weapons that had not yet spoken their true names.
Gregorio felt Kamay ni Bathala surge, to Gintong Asero screaming in chorus.
Marian's mist whispered, the Itak ng Mamamaslang answered.
Raja's Haring Sawa Coiled, the Pamana ni Lakan's crimson sparks turning into a blood red lightning storm.
Shinken's Masamune screeched, Echoes snarling from within.
Hermano Lopez raised his Banal na Parusa slightly, gold chains lashing out.
Everyone felt it.
The moment before annihilation.
The war held its breath.
And the gods leaned closer.
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The Names were Spoken
The shrine grounds shattered into distinct killing lanes.
Stone cracked. Pillars split. The ancient floor of Kusanagi Shrine groaned as relic pressure warped the earth itself.
Gregorio and Raja faced each other at the heart of the grounds, debris lifting around them as if gravity itself had grown uncertain.
Gregorio spoke first, eyes locked only on Raja.
"Kisap Mata."
His body vanished in a blur, reappearing a breath closer. Broken tiles burst upward where his feet touched down, shards spinning harmlessly past Shrine Guardians who had already withdrawn from the lane.
"Temporal Insight."
The world fractured into glimpses. Raja's whip-blade twitched before it struck. Crimson lightning coiled before discharge. Gregorio stepped where the strike was not present.
"Godfist Strike.", Gregorio roared.
"Hydra Coil Defense!" Raja answered.
Kamay ni Bathala and Gintong Asero surged as his aura fist slammed into the Hydra Coil Defense. The impact did not spill outward. It drove inward. Serpent coils screamed as force rippled through them. Raja slid backward, boots tearing trenches through stone. A nearby shrine pillar collapsed from the shockwave, crushing Fang fighters who had strayed too close.
Raja snarled and retaliated.
"Crimson Storm."
Lightning erupted upward and outward. Shrine roofs detonated as bolts struck ancient beams, sending flaming debris crashing down among retreating Shrine Guardians. Gregorio crossed his arms and absorbed the core strike, stone behind him pulverizing into dust. Blood streamed down his face, but he did not fall.
"Reality Weaving."
Illusory Gregorios split outward, drawing Raja's follow-up strikes away from exposed Shrine structures. The real Gregorio surged in low.
"Aetheric Resonance."
The air rang like a struck bell. Defensive wards around Raja destabilized. Decorative ward-stones embedded in the ground shattered, their enchantments dissolving harmlessly instead of exploding.
Gregorio followed up with a backfist supercharged with violet and golden aura.
Raja blocked. The Haring Sawa and Pamana ni Lakan shook in defiance.
Gregorio's eyes glowed violent violet as he launched the Serpent Emperor into a wall.
Raja was buried in debris but not for long. He shouted in rage as he blew the rubble outward.
They reset. Breathing hard. Still standing.
At the western courtyard, mist swallowed the area.
Marian's voice cut cleanly through the fog.
"Mist Assassin."
The vapor thickened into a killing veil that hugged the ground and walls. Natalia remained inside not by choice.
Inside the mist, blades sang. Battling Babaylan Acolytes and Orochi enforcers were shredded to fragments.
Marian struck Natalia next with shallow and precise slash. Blood sprayed across shrine lanterns, extinguishing their flames. Natalia countered, carving a line across Marian's side. Marian staggered once, then moved faster.
The Itak ng Mamamaslang drank deeply.
Stone statues cracked as the mist pressure warped around them. A shrine wall collapsed inward, burying Fang foot soldiers who had attempted to flank. Neither Marian nor Natalia noticed as they continue the duel.
From the central lane, fire answered.
Agosto planted his feet before Phaya Khamdee.
"Flame Vortex Spiral!"
Kampilan ni Lam-ang ignited. Flame and steel twisted upward, tearing roof beams free and hurling them ablaze into Babaylan ranks. Orochi enforcers caught at the edge were incinerated instantly. Phaya braced, Khîaw Nāk cutting a narrow path through heat to avoid being consumed.
Agosto vanished.
"Flame Blade Macabre!"
He reappeared from three angles in succession, each slash sending arcs of fire into the shrine floor. Stone liquefied. Phaya blocked two strikes and took the third across the ribs. Burning debris collapsed behind him, crushing Fang soldiers who failed to retreat in time.
Phaya struck back, venomous blade biting into Agosto's arm. Agosto snarled and stayed in motion.
Han Wei slid into the edge of the engagement without breaking stride.
Nine Meteor Needles snapped outward in a precise orbit around Agosto's wounded arm.
"Reverse Meridian."
The toxin's spread halted instantly as pressure points flared. Discolored veins faded. The venom was forced back, neutralized, and sealed. Han Wei was already moving again before Agosto could look back.
At the gate approach, Renato stood alone.
"Wall of Giants!"
Force barriers erupted as Ahas rifles and Babaylan shock units fired simultaneously from opposite angles. The wall absorbed it all. The shrine gate behind Renato fractured further but held.
"Kinetic Refraction!"
Renato released the stored force forward and upward, deliberately angling it away from Shrine Guardian fallback routes. The blast tore through Ahas assault teams and Babaylan attackers alike, flinging bodies into collapsing scaffolds and shattered columns. Stone rained down, crushing the fallen.
A bullet grazed Renato's thigh. He grunted and reset his stance.
Beyond the main grounds, Hermano Lopez advanced with measured steps.
"Chain of Heaven!"
Golden chains lashed outward, wrapping Ahas Coalition foot soldiers and Shrine Guardians. Hermano pulled once. Bodies slammed into the ground hard enough to crater stone. Shrine buildings behind them cracked but did not collapse.
Juan Luciano surged beside him.
"Razor Hurricane!"
Wind tore through exposed terrain, ripping banners, uprooting trees, and hurling debris into advancing Ahas ranks. Defending Shrine Guardians pointed their weapons to the two as their stances shook in fear.
"Heaven's Hammer!"
Juan struck downward. Lightning detonated against the earth, collapsing a shrine watchtower onto Fang fighters attempting to regroup. The Shrine Guardians scattered bowling pins.
"Plasma Thrust!"
The lance punched through the reinforced barricade, vaporizing Shrine Guardians behind it. Juan took a arrow through the shoulder in return. He tore it free as if he is immune to pain and advanced.
At the pond area, Shinken Amakiri spoke softly.
"Gate of Echoes."
A spirit breach tore open toward the Sandata line. Yokai Variant Echoes poured forth, their blades turning immediately on Sandata operatives, Shrine Guardians, and Babaylan forces alike.
They struck without discrimination, carving through defenders as Shinken advanced behind them.
"Dragonfly Cutter!", Tsubame replied. She thrusted the Tombo Giri to the ground and pivoted herself upwards. Upon her descent, she spun and delivered a horizontal sweep tearing through Babaylan, Fangs, and Yokai Echoes without any hints of resistance.
"Haechi Resonance Cut", Min Jun's blade purified Yokai Echoes with white light. He flashed back and forth, relentlessly erasing anyone and anything that is not affiliated to Sandata and the Shrine Guardians.
"Tidal Assault!", Sutera raised the pond as if it was her own glass of water and poured it to Orochi Enforcers and Babaylan foot soldiers drowning them in the process. Their bodies were left lifeless. Their weapons, scattered and inert.
From above, Orochi enforcers advanced Myth-Tech suits and fired a volley of rail rifle shells at Sutera.
Ari stepped in and spun the Tombak.
"Garuda Tempest!"
The spear generated violent winds blowing away charging Orochi Enforcers who wanted to get up close and personal.
The shells were deflected and struck surrounding Yokai variants and Babaylan Acolytes mid-fight. The targets burned with arcane flame.
On the shrine roofs, Maximo casted "Echo Veil" using Sumpit ni Dumalapdap. "Sonic Doppelgangers" bursted from his shadows afterwards. Under the cover of darkness and mana, he shot sonic darts, curses, and bursts. Some driven insane upon impact, some imploded to their deaths.
For those who survived Maximo's rain of insanity and doom, they were not lucky at all.
"Reaper's Touch!", growled Kalawit swinging the Dugong Itim endlessly as he stitched through the mixed hoard of Babaylans and Kusanagi defenders.
When there is nothing more to cut, he spun and crouched on one knee, resting the bloodied scythe on his back.
Putik landed on it like a bat. He leapt and launched his twin balisongs at the center of a riot between a cluster of Babaylans and Shrine protectors.
"Molten Treachery", Putik whispered.
The ground surrounding the Balisong ng Dahas melted into lava engulfing everybody around it.
Putik snarled in success and suddenly, he lost balance. The roof area started to shift, twist, and fold.
"Reality Rewrite!" Mia Torre casted. The Aklat ng Katotohanan flipped its pages violently as it glowed with ethereal power.
The roof snapped like mouse traps chasing Putik as he did consecutive back flips and a somersault to get to safety.
"Sonic Sphere!", Maximo intervened. Shifted reality crashed against the dome walls.
Kalawit slipped through in a flash and dove in to Mia for a melee combat while evading and deflecting guillotine pages. The scythe grazed through a few pages. Pieces of paper corroded midair. As Kalawit pivot to deliver the fatal blow, his voidsteel met voidsteel.
"Dance of Shadows!"
Crispulo delivered a flurry of slashes being mirrored by two smoky apparitions of himself.
Magdalena joined in synchrony. She swinged and swirled the Tanikala ng Guniguni midair before delivering a mighty diagonal lash towards Kalawit. Illusions chased the chain's trail.
"Lash of Illusions!"
Kalawit defended by twirling his scythe in spirals. The joint attack inflicted gashes on his face before retreating back to Maximo and Putik's position.
They stared at each other for a heartbeat and flickered back to action.
Across the battlefield, the ground was unrecognizable.
Collapsed halls. Burning debris. Shattered stone soaked dark with blood.
The shrine endured.
The gods watched.
None would leave unchanged.