Pov Narrator.
"If you have to be a bullfighter, put your soul into the ring."
While the song played in his head for a moment, like a mocking echo accompanying the situation, Isagi dodged Piercing Ox, tilting his body at the last second while the enormous figure passed by with brutal force.
As its name said, this shikigami was a large, robust ox, with short curved horns, white fur around the mouth and a long, thin tail that swayed with each movement.
On its forehead, a symbol that resembled the Honeycomb, standing out on its skin. It was not that difficult to deal with, despite being an ox that, with a single charge, could shatter anyone's bones without the slightest effort.
But its charging ability only worked if it ran in a straight line, so predicting its attack was not difficult for someone like Isagi, who was already reading its movements calmly. Using his fingers, he formed the shadow puppet in the shape of a snake's head, concentrating his cursed energy at the exact point.
The shadow beneath the ox began to bubble, stirring as if something enormous was trying to come out, and only a second later, a gigantic white serpent emerged with its mouth completely open, showing sharp fangs.
The jaws closed around the ox, who was lifted upward by the serpent's momentum, leaving its toasted yellow belly completely exposed.
When both hit the ground with a heavy impact that made the terrain vibrate, Orochi, Isagi's serpent shikigami, wrapped its body around the ox, squeezing tighter and tighter, its muscles tensing as it began crushing it with its strength, typical of a constrictor snake and not a venomous one, gradually reducing the resistance of its prey.
With one final dry and heavy crack, Orochi crushed all the bones of the Piercing Ox, the sound briefly echoing through the clearing before fading away. Thus ending the ninth purification ritual of the day, Isagi, of course, had worn down the ox before summoning Orochi to deliver the final blow, making sure not to take unnecessary risks.
Raising his gaze, Isagi looked at the purified shikigami counter shown by the system, the screen floating in front of him with its characteristic faint glow.
[Shikigamispurified: 9 /10]
Isagi dropped to the ground, his body slightly heavy from the accumulated effort, sighing while he looked at the counter with a satisfied smile forming on his face. He still lacked 1 shikigami, but that one was the most dangerous: the Divine General of the Eight-Handled Sword: Demon Mahoraga.
The shikigami that was never purified within the Zenin clan, the only one who had done that had been Sukuna after stealing Megumi's body, a feat that spoke for itself about the absurd level of that being.
"I'm not ready yet, but now with 9 of the 10 shikigamis under my control, I can continue with my attack plan." Said Isagi while bringing his hands together in front of his face, his expression becoming more serious and focused. "The only moment when Mahoraga stays completely still is when he is first summoned, it takes him a few seconds to come out of his... cocoon? Whatever that thing was that he came out of during Shibuya."
Isagi's plan basically boiled down to camping him and filling Mahoraga's spawn point with explosive rabbits, saturating the area before he could react, so that when he woke up, he would be greeted with a Hiroshima–Nagasaki of detonations loaded with cursed energy.
And if that wasn't enough, well, that's why he had obtained the bull; he would place it at a fairly long distance, on a clear route it could travel in a straight line, accumulating speed with each step, charging its attack as much as possible to ram the wounded Mahoraga, using all that brutal inertia to try to finish him off once and for all.
And if even after that he survived... Well then, we're scre-
"I'm risking way too much with this plan."
Said Isagi, aware that if something went wrong, Mahoraga would be set free and wouldn't stop until he killed him, an idea that slightly tightened his jaw.
"Well, although I can always end up hiding in my shadow."
He joked, although he clenched his fists knowing the risk the purification ritual of Mahoraga would bring; it wasn't a normal fight, it was practically a death sentence if he failed. Letting out a long sigh, he stood up and looked upward, the sky beginning to tint with orange and golden tones as the sunset began, the air becoming cooler.
It wasn't that it had taken him all day to purify his shikigamis, it was just that Isagi had taken his time between each summoning, resting, thinking, carefully adjusting his strategy. He brought his hands together imitating the shape of wings, concentrating his cursed energy into the form.
His shadow stretched backward, lengthening across the ground as if gaining depth, and from it came out Nue.
A large owl, with orange feathers reflecting the sunset light, a white mask that gave it an unsettling appearance, two pairs of sharp claws and human-like teeth that slightly showed. Isagi smiled upon seeing it, feeling a small satisfaction grow in his chest; now he had aerial transportation.
It was the "small" Nue, in quotes, not the giant Nue that was the combination of Nue and Orochi, but even so its presence imposed enough to dominate the sky over the clearing.
.
.
.
.
.
Upon landing in his backyard, Isagi got off Nue, feeling the light impact against the ground under his feet. With a few final pats on the owl's head, running his hand through its warm feathers, it dissolved into shadows that slowly faded away, returning to Isagi's shadow, as if it had never been there.
Isagi took the keys to his house and, opening the back door, entered lazily, letting out a tired sigh.
He went straight to the kitchen, opening the fridge, the white light illuminating his face while he hummed distractedly, looking for something to snack on among the shelves.
"Let's see, let's see, here it is." Said while taking out his Gansito that he had left in the refrigerator, holding it like it was a treasure. "I waited all day for this."
Removing the wrapper, he took a big bite, sinking his teeth into the cake, closing his eyes while a small groan of pleasure escaped him, enjoying the sweet taste after the whole day.
Ring, ring.
The house phone pulled him out of his small moment of pleasure, the sound echoing in the quiet of the place. Isagi, still with his mouth full, walked over to the phone; it was the first time it rang, he had even forgotten he had it.
He swallowed the rest of the Gansito quickly and then picked up the phone, bringing it to his ear while wiping a bit of cream from the corner of his lips.
"López Chicken Shop, where we show you the cock." He answered while holding back laughter, remaining calm on the outside.
"Alright, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
Aki's voice came out of the phone, making Isagi raise his eyebrows, surprised to recognize it instantly, since he didn't expect it to be him calling. How the hell had Aki obtained the number of his house? As far as Isagi knew, not even he himself knew the number.
"Hey, how did you get the number of my house? This violates my right to privacy."
Isagi leaned against the wall, slightly crossing one foot over the other, waiting for an answer while taking another bite of his Gansito, chewing calmly, as if the conversation wasn't urgent at all.
"I had to talk to Miss Makima to get it."
Aki replied from the other side of the call, with his usual serious tone, while in the background Denji tried to make Power get into the bathroom, muffled shouts and complaints being heard.
Isagi made a poker face at the response, remaining silent for a second. That Makima had the number of his house already seemed disturbing to him, since at no moment had he given it to her.
He looked everywhere, as if expecting to find some hidden camera or some mouse or bird that might be nearby, and crossed himself remembering those disturbing images of Makima he had seen in his other life, feeling a slight chill run down his spine.
"That's scary, man… and I don't have the mighty machete to defend myself."
"Machete? No, I don't want to know." Aki sighed on the other side, clearly having no interest in continuing that line of conversation. "Tonight there's a meeting, it's a welcome party for the rookies, Miss Himeno gave the idea, do you want to come?" He asked, getting straight to the point.
Isagi remained silent for a few seconds, taking another small bite while thinking, his gaze drifting slightly into the distance.
The truth was, he didn't really feel like going, nothing important or interesting happened according to his memories of the anime. Isagi thought about it in silence; it would only be hanging out with people who would die the next day, except for a very few.
Some randoms without importance, that Isagi didn't even know if they had names, that's how irrelevant the Devil Hunters at that meeting had been.
---
End of the chapter.