Impermanence Heron

Whoosh—

Mo Bai glanced at Impermanence Heron as she dissolved before his eyes, then looked at the holographic display beside him.

He had cleared every difficulty from Holographic One through Holographic Four.

Impermanence Heron hadn't been too hard to fight at those levels, and her attacks were fairly predictable.

But on the final two stages, Holographic Five and Holographic Six, Mo Bai saw two red exclamation marks.

They probably meant high danger.

He checked the holographic rankings again. Only three people at the Academy had cleared Holographic Five so far.

Moqu, Lynae, and an unfamiliar student named Siglica.

As for Rover, she could probably handle her old enemy with ease. But she'd been roaming outside the Academy lately and likely had no time to take on this challenge.

Mo Bai and Lynae had envied her permission to skip class whenever she wanted. But whenever Mo Bai considered that Rover might be carrying out some dangerous mission, his envy vanished.

Bzzzt!

While Mo Bai was thinking, electronic data coalesced into a new Impermanence Heron.

Facing the enemy in Holographic Five, Mo Bai chose not to rush into close combat this time. Instead, he formed the hand sign to summon his Shikigami.

Rustle.

He could still use his abilities in the hologram. That made things easier.

"Toad from the Bottomless Well, Divine Dogs."

The plan was simple: several fused Toads from the Bottomless Well would support him from the sidelines, while the Divine Dogs attacked alongside him.

Thud!

To be safe, Mo Bai charged toward Impermanence Heron before she could make a move.

Bang! Crack!

She's tough.

Neither his fist, reinforced with Cursed Energy, nor the fangs of the black and white Divine Dogs managed to hurt her.

I don't have enough firepower. Maybe I should've subdued Max Elephant before coming here...

Fwoosh!

Impermanence Heron didn't care what Mo Bai was thinking. Sensing the threat, she fired the flames that formed her wings at him.

"Ribbit!"

Fortunately, the Toads from the Bottomless Well he'd summoned earlier sprang into action.

Snap!

They wrapped their tongues around Mo Bai and the Divine Dogs, then yanked them out of danger.

Once he'd retreated, Mo Bai began reconsidering his strategy.

He lacked a powerful means of attack.

Both Jujutsu Sorcerers and Resonators usually had weapons suited to their abilities.

Resonators used two kinds of weapons: ones that enhanced their abilities, and ones used directly in combat, like Rover's Blood Pact.

Jujutsu Sorcerers' Cursed Tools worked much the same way, though some also had special abilities.

Mo Bai's problem was that he had neither...

Bzzzt!

While Mo Bai was thinking, Impermanence Heron stirred again.

Rather than attack immediately, she gathered purple energy in her hand.

Whoosh!

In an instant, she swept her arm out, and a sharp scythe appeared in her hand.

It looked almost exactly like an enlarged version of the one Rover had wielded.

Having seen what Rover could do, Mo Bai didn't dare let his guard down.

Rustle.

The Toads from the Bottomless Well around him dissolved into pools of shadow and disappeared. Mo Bai had dismissed them himself.

In a one-on-one fight, that Shikigami wasn't much use anymore.

The most powerful Shikigami he could summon now was obvious.

"Nue, Great Serpent, Feathered Serpent."

"Hiss!"

As Mo Bai completed the hand signs, a massive figure appeared in the Holographic Strategy arena.

It was a giant serpent that took up a quarter of the field.

After summoning it, Mo Bai patted the heads of the two Divine Dogs beside him.

Whoosh.

As he channeled Cursed Energy into them, they grew considerably larger.

Thud!

With his preparations complete, Mo Bai charged straight at Impermanence Heron again.

Whoosh!

Fwoosh!

Impermanence Heron's giant scythe and Mo Bai's fist struck at the same time. Their clash left them locked in a stalemate.

She's so strong!

Mo Bai had concentrated all his Cursed Energy into his fist, yet he could only match her strength.

Is the gap between Holographic Five and Holographic Four really this big?!

"Arf!"

With Impermanence Heron pinned in place, the black and white Divine Dogs lunged at her from behind.

Whoosh!

But her enormous, twisted wings blocked their attacks.

Fortunately, Mo Bai still had one more Shikigami.

"Roar!"

The Feathered Serpent, which had been circling outside the fray, seized its chance and whipped its huge tail at Impermanence Heron.

"Heh."

As the tail's shadow grew larger on the ground, Mo Bai didn't panic. He laughed.

Boom!

When the Feathered Serpent's massive tail came down, Impermanence Heron was the only one left at its point of impact, struggling to hold it off with her giant scythe. Mo Bai and the Divine Dogs had vanished.

But the Feathered Serpent was still there. As long as his Shikigami remained, Mo Bai hadn't been eliminated.

Plop.

Beneath the shadow of the Feathered Serpent's tail, several patches of darkness were deeper than the rest.

Mo Bai had slipped into the shadows to dodge the Feathered Serpent's attack.

That was why he'd chosen not to use Toad from the Bottomless Well in this one-on-one fight.

Compared with a toad's tongue pulling him to safety, diving into the shadows was much faster and safer.

Clang!

Seeing that her target had vanished, Impermanence Heron gathered her strength and swung her scythe, knocking the Feathered Serpent's tail away.

Bzzzt!

She then gathered energy along the giant scythe and sent a wave of Blade Aura toward the Feathered Serpent's massive body.

A body that large and powerful had to have drawbacks. She was certain her attack would hit.

Whoosh!

But the Feathered Serpent didn't try to withstand the attack. It shifted its body and used the multiple pairs of wings on its back to dodge with surprising agility.

[Feathered Serpent]

A Fused Shikigami with Great Serpent's massive body and Nue's agility and ability to fly.

Ordinary Fused Shikigami were much weaker than the originals because they couldn't be permanently destroyed and could be summoned in numbers.

But Mo Bai had spent a great deal of Cursed Energy to summon the Feathered Serpent alone. Its strength was not to be underestimated.

In the opening after Impermanence Heron swung her scythe, Mo Bai and the Divine Dogs emerged from the shadows again.

Crunch!

This time, the Divine Dogs sank their teeth into Impermanence Heron's legs, pinning her firmly to the ground.

That gave Mo Bai his opening.

Fwoosh! Bang!

His Cursed Energy-coated fist struck the hollow in Impermanence Heron's chest.

That was her weak point.

"Aaagh!"

For the first time, Mo Bai heard her let out a shrill scream.

Boom!

His punch had hurt her. The force of the blow sent Impermanence Heron flying backward.