Chapter 3: Goddess Battle! Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto vs Uke Mochi!
"Already here? No choice then, boy, lend me your body for a moment!!!"
With that, the girl reached out and wrapped her arms around Kasugano Haru's neck, pressing her lips against his. Their lips connected in an instant!
Kasugano Haru stared blankly at the perfect face so close to his, his pupils shrinking. Before his eyes, the girl's body slowly dissolved into light particles, merging gently into his own.
Kasugano Haru's eyes changed, the originally dark gray pupils gradually shrinking, replaced by eyes as red as rubies—the very same eyes that belonged to the blonde girl from before.
"It's here, my fated adversary, Tsukuyomi!" Haru—no, at this moment, it was the girl's clear, melodious voice that spoke.
In an instant, the full moon hanging in the sky disappeared, replaced by a blonde beauty clad in a traditional white *jūnihitoe* kimono, the attire of ancient Japanese princesses and nobles. She appeared to be in her early twenties, with cascading golden hair reaching down to her waist, sparkling ruby eyes, and jade-like, translucent skin. Apart from her longer hair, she looked almost identical to the blonde girl from before, just a bit older.
She hovered above the shrine, exuding an aura of reverence and majesty, as if a multitude of voices were chanting in her praise, celebrating her divinity.
**Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto**—the lunar deity had descended!
"Are you done running, Uke Mochi?" After a moment, Tsukuyomi, standing in the sky, chuckled softly, her voice tinged with a sense of bewilderment.
"In my condition, where could I possibly escape to?" A bitter smile crossed the face of Uke Mochi, who had taken over Haru's body, as golden blood began to seep from her abdomen, slowly staining her clothes.
"If that's the case, then return to me, my other half." Tsukuyomi smiled sweetly as flowers bloomed across the land, trees swayed in the wind, and the entire world seemed to celebrate her smile.
At the same time, the ground of the shrine began to tremble violently. A low rumbling spread out as a slight earthquake shook the entire area. Suddenly, a sharp spike emerged from the ground, transforming into a golden 'spear.' The spearhead resembled a rice ear, with the shaft appearing identical to a rice stalk. It was about two meters long, five centimeters in diameter, and glowed with a brilliant vitality.
Uke Mochi grasped the spear, swinging it a few times as if familiarizing herself with its weight, before pointing it at Tsukuyomi above.
"Sorry, but this is the one thing I can't do." Uke Mochi's face was resolute, her voice calm.
Tsukuyomi's smile gradually vanished, her eyes igniting with fury as she gazed expressionlessly at the boy below, or more precisely, at the god hiding within him—Uke Mochi.
"Moon!" Tsukuyomi suddenly thrust out her hand, shouting sharply. A massive, proportionally scaled-down moon abruptly appeared above the shrine, about twenty meters in diameter, spinning in the sky like a real moon. Then, it suddenly plunged downwards, crashing into the shrine as if it were a comet hitting Earth.
With a deafening roar, the shrine shattered as if made of paper. In the next second, the debris was crushed into powder by the moon's immense pressure.
As the moon struck the ground, a shockwave followed, uprooting trees around the shrine, shattering stones, and spreading the impact as far as the torii gate at the shrine's base. The gate emitted a green light, forming a dome-like barrier that shielded the shrine's surroundings from the shockwave.
Once the tremors subsided and the dust settled, an aerial view would reveal that the shrine had been replaced by a massive crater over fifty meters in diameter. The heat from the intense friction still radiated through the atmosphere. The impact was terrifying!
With a thunderous boom, Uke Mochi suddenly appeared behind Tsukuyomi, her spear aimed directly at Tsukuyomi's head, thrusting with all her might, piercing through Tsukuyomi's body.
'No sense of reality!' Alarm bells rang in Uke Mochi's mind, and she quickly deployed a defensive spell.
Suddenly, Tsukuyomi appeared above Uke Mochi, surrounded by twelve orbs, each a meter in diameter, rotating around her like satellites. These were miniaturized versions of the moon, just like the one that had just been summoned.
Tsukuyomi raised her right hand and pressed down forcefully! The twelve orbs spread out, positioning themselves around the shrine's barrier. An invisible wave spread out, causing the surrounding wood, soil, and stones to either float into the air or suddenly shatter. Some trees even floated mid-air, their three-meter-thick trunks compressed to just one meter in diameter under tremendous pressure.
Within the confines of the shrine's barrier, Tsukuyomi had altered the gravity!
As the gravity shifted, Uke Mochi's body froze for a few seconds.
Another full moon appeared in the sky, pressing down mercilessly on the immobilized Uke Mochi.
With a dull thud, the impact reverberated, and the spear in Uke Mochi's hand glowed golden. Uke Mochi gripped the spear tightly and swung it forcefully. The moon above, along with the clouds in the sky, was suddenly split in two, the atmosphere cracking open like a gaping wound. This strike tore through the stratosphere, allowing cosmic rays to pour down unobstructed onto the Earth.
Uke Mochi's soot-covered figure shot up from beneath the split moon, now surrounded by orbs resembling mini Earths, just like the ones Tsukuyomi had summoned earlier. The orbs shot forward, colliding with Tsukuyomi's moons, shattering them both in a fierce explosion. Gravity slowly returned to normal with a crunch, and the floating debris fell to the ground with a series of crashes.
Another full moon appeared in the sky, and Tsukuyomi waved her hand, pressing down once more.
Seeing this, Uke Mochi vanished from where she stood, replaced by a miniature Earth that shot up like a cannonball towards the descending moon.
The clouds split by the earlier impact were dispersed by the shockwave from the collision of Earth and moon, clearing the sky of clouds for miles around.
The cool moonlight, along with specks of starlight and cosmic radiation, bathed the land without restraint.
As Earth and moon collided, twelve more moons appeared around Tsukuyomi.
The Earth and moon simultaneously disintegrated, dust filling the air, reducing visibility to less than a meter.
A flash of cold light swept by, and Uke Mochi was suddenly at Tsukuyomi's left side, her spear darting towards Tsukuyomi's temple like a dragon emerging from the sea.
The twelve moons scattered, followed by an intense repulsive force that pushed the air out, creating a powerful shockwave and forming a vacuum around Tsukuyomi.
Caught off guard, Uke Mochi was flung high into the sky.
In a flash, Uke Mochi twisted her body with all her might, focusing all her strength into hurling the spear towards Tsukuyomi's head.
This move caught Tsukuyomi off guard, forcing her to tilt her head to the side at the last moment. The spear left a shallow cut on her right cheek, narrowly missing its target. The spear continued...
The cold moonlight, carrying starlight and cosmic radiation, illuminated the earth without restraint.
As the earth and moon collided, twelve moons reappeared around Tsukuyomi.
The moon and the earth disintegrated simultaneously, dust filled the air, and visibility dropped to less than a meter.
Swish! A flash of cold light, and Uke Mochi had already appeared on Tsukuyomi's left side. Her spear, like a dragon emerging from the sea, stabbed toward Tsukuyomi's temple.
The twelve moons suddenly scattered, followed by a strong repulsive force. The air was abruptly expelled, forming a strong shockwave, creating a vacuum around Tsukuyomi.
Caught off guard, Uke Mochi was flung high into the air.
In an instant, Uke Mochi twisted her body with all her might, focusing all her strength, and hurled the spear in her hand toward Tsukuyomi's head.
This move caught Tsukuyomi off guard. In a panic, Tsukuyomi dodged to the side, but the spear grazed her right cheek, leaving a shallow bloodstain as she narrowly avoided the strike. The spear continued past Tsukuyomi, piercing deeply into the distant ground, embedding half of its shaft into the earth.
Tsukuyomi frowned and suddenly reached out, pulling the twelve spheres back toward her. They began to revolve around her, emitting intense gravitational waves, subtly distorting the space around them.
Uke Mochi, who had been flung away, abruptly halted in mid-air, her bones and flesh crying out in agony as she was forcibly pulled back.
She spat out a mouthful of golden blood mixed with bits of flesh, clearly suffering severe internal injuries from the sudden switch between repulsive and gravitational forces.
Driven by the overwhelming gravitational pull, Uke Mochi's body rapidly approached Tsukuyomi. The twelve moons orbiting Tsukuyomi spun faster and faster until they became a silver band of light, emitting a screeching sound like a cutting blade.
Just as she was about to be sliced, the blood Uke Mochi had previously spat out transformed into a blood-red rope. One end wrapped around her waist, while the other dug deep into the earth. With a fierce tug, she plummeted toward the ground.
Boom! Uke Mochi slammed into the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust that obscured Tsukuyomi's vision.
Swoosh! A piercing sonic boom followed, as a streak of golden light shot out from the smoke, heading straight for Tsukuyomi.
The fallen Uke Mochi had used the blood-formed chain to bind the spear that had been knocked away earlier, pulling it back into her hand. Gripping the spear tightly, like an Olympic javelin thrower, she hurled it with all her strength!
As the spear rapidly approached Tsukuyomi, the light band around her spun even more fiercely, sweeping up the surrounding air and forming a micro-typhoon.
Creak, creak—the spear, drawing closer, was inevitably affected by the airflow, creating friction with the light band. Yet, the intense currents eventually lifted the spear, causing it to spin around Tsukuyomi.
Tsukuyomi suddenly reached out and grabbed the spear, her entire body emanating a silver light akin to moonlight. This was Tsukuyomi's divine power, and as it infused into the spear, the golden spear was instantly transformed into a silver lance.
She hurled it forcefully.
The spear pierced through Uke Mochi's body...