The air dragged in by Banshō Ten'in was hurled back in an instant, curling into a ring-shaped wall of wind.
The moment the repulsive force touched the sea, it flattened everything at the point of contact, raising a wall of water as smooth as a mirror.
When Imu's axe came down, its blade met Shinra Tensei's repulsive force. Dark-gold light collided head-on with an invisible barrier.
There was no sharp clang of metal, no explosion. Only a deep, muffled crack, like thick glass breaking.
The Xingtian Axe's blade shuddered violently against the repulsive force. Its dark-gold patterns flashed wildly, and the blade's cutting edge scattered force like waves breaking against rock.
The axe was driven back, wrenching Imu's entire right arm up behind him.
Shinra Tensei struck Imu head-on.
He flew backward like a boulder launched from a catapult.
His Demon Wings beat frantically as he tried to steady himself, but within Shinra Tensei's field of absolute repulsion, they might as well have been trapped in a deep-sea current. Every stroke was forced back.
His long tail traced an ungainly arc through the air, while the wind pulled his black goatee straight behind him.
He was driven back hundreds of meters before he finally steadied himself at the edge of the field.
Imu hovered in midair, his chest heaving. He gripped the Xingtian Axe in his right hand. The dark-gold patterns along its blade had dimmed considerably, and the axe was still trembling.
His gaze locked on the figure suspended at Susanoo's brow. Turbulent emotions churned in his enormous scarlet eyes.
Banshō Ten'in. Shinra Tensei.
He had never heard the names of those techniques, but he had just felt their power firsthand.
When Banshō Ten'in pulled him in, he had lost all control of his body, as though the world