At that moment, Tamamo no Mae raised her right hand from within the crater. Her slender index finger tapped forward through the air toward the spearpoint, while her moving lips uttered a languid murmur.
"One tail, an omen appears in the void..."
In an instant, Izanami's pupils shrank to pinpoints. Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi in her hand instinctively traced an arcane curve, changing from a thrust to a sweep and knocking aside a luminous fox tail that had risen behind Tamamo no Mae at some unknown moment.
Its snowy fur resembled jade dust, while the red-and-yellow flaming divine patterns outlined upon it were like a golden divine eye filled with flowing magma.
Anyone who stared at it for too long would become dizzy and entranced, their mind stripped away until they became a puppet at the mercy of that beauty.
Yet what burned in Izanami's eyes at that moment was only intense fury and hatred. Her Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi struck forward, sweeping aside the second luminous fox tail extending from behind the Fox Goddess.
But before one wave had settled, another rose. Before Izanami could press Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi onward, the three luminous fox tails behind Tamamo no Mae lit up together, their radiance intertwining.
"Three tails: light, flame, wind!"
In an instant, the vertical markings at the ends of the three tails abruptly opened, like three golden eyes opening in unison, radiating endless heat.
The powers of light, flowing flame, and scorching wind descended all at once!
Caught off guard, the black deathly aura surrounding Izanami was pierced by three brilliant streams of firelight. Like ice and snow beneath the blazing sun, it rapidly melted and dispersed with a series of hissing sounds.
"Ugh!"
The Goddess of the Land of the Dead let out a muffled cry, her face pale as she swiftly retreated, seemingly deeply