"Is that a helicopter?"
Someone in the crowd voiced the question as they watched the dark shape in the sky.
Some of the more optimistic people even began cheering:
"Thank goodness, it's a helicopter! Someone's coming to save us!"
But something seemed strange: the helicopter's rotor didn't appear to stay fixed above it. Instead, it spun a full 360 degrees around the dark shape.
Was it malfunctioning?
Before they could get a clear look, a streak of blue light shot in from the distance and struck the suspected helicopter dead-on.
The "helicopter" plummeted faster after the beam hit it, dropping straight into Sendai's enormous stadium.
The ordinary people who witnessed it sighed.
What a shame. It crashed after all.
In the center of Sendai Stadium, Lu Yun clambered out of a sprawling, body-shaped crater, covered in dirt and dust.
"Ptooey, ptooey! That goddamn Ryu Ishigori actually hit me with a sneak attack."
Lu Yun dusted himself off while cursing Ryu Ishigori's shamelessness.
That streak of blue light had undoubtedly been Ryu Ishigori's Cursed Energy cannon.
Sensing Lu Yun's considerable Cursed Energy, Ryu Ishigori had taken a moment to greet this newly arrived dessert, even while locked in combat with Takako Uro.
Fortunately, it had only been a probing attack fired from a considerable distance. The Cursed Energy Cannon hadn't injured Lu Yun; it had merely made his landing rather undignified.
"Not bad. They've got some weight to them. Looks like your information's worth something after all, kid."
Hajime Kashimo's consciousness had awakened before they even entered the barrier. Sensing several powerful presences within the Sendai Colony, he spoke with satisfaction.
"Of course. Don't underestimate my intelligence network."
Lu Yun struck Intelligence Agent Jiraiya's signature pose again, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
"But you're far too weak. Even a few trash shikigami had you scrambling."
No sooner had Hajime Kashimo praised him than he mercilessly put him down again.
Lu Yun's face immediately fell.
He was about to defend himself when Hajime Kashimo said:
"All right, hand control of your body over to me. Just watch what happens next."
Lu Yun froze for a moment, then looked up and spotted the gaunt figure sitting cross-legged in the stadium stands. He immediately understood what Hajime Kashimo meant.
Dhruv Lakdawalla had clearly heard Hajime Kashimo's assessment of his shikigami. He snorted from the stands, his voice rasping:
"Hmph. Let's see what you're capable of, then."
Dhruv Lakdawalla's words dispelled Lu Yun's hesitation.
"Then it's all yours, Deer God. Don't let me down."
With that, he relinquished control of his body.
His clear eyes instantly sharpened, and "Lu Yun" grinned.
"Keep your eyes wide open, brat. I'll show you what a real fight looks like."
Dhruv Lakdawalla didn't sit idle while they switched control. He immediately recalled the shikigami he had sent out to expand his domain's range.
The nearest rodent shikigami had already reached the stadium's perimeter. Standing over ten meters tall, its every movement carried tremendous destructive force.
The mole shikigami charged into the stadium and stomped down at Hajime Kashimo.
With such an enormous difference in size, it looked as easy as an elephant crushing an ant.
But was Hajime Kashimo, a powerhouse from four hundred years ago, an ant?
Of course not.
At that moment, a battle spanning the ages officially began: Hajime Kashimo, the strongest man in his village four hundred years ago, against Dhruv Lakdawalla, the strongest in the archipelago, who had once quelled the civil war in Japan.
The strongest versus the strongest. Who would prevail remained to be seen.
An enormous shadow engulfed Hajime Kashimo. Even the sky dimmed beneath the shikigami's massive bulk, yet he paid it no mind.
In his eyes, this mole with nothing but size was the ant. He, Hajime Kashimo, was the elephant possessing absolute strength.
Casually resting his electric staff across his shoulder, Hajime Kashimo pushed off with his toes and flashed out of the shadow like a bolt of lightning.
The shikigami's enormous foot slammed down. A violent shock wave instantly swept through the stadium, sending countless seats flying and shaking the entire structure with its tremendous force.
Did that finish him?
Only Dhruv Lakdawalla remained motionless within the stadium.
The blow shattered the stadium floor. An ordinary sorcerer could never have survived such an attack.
Yet the feedback from his shikigami made it clear that Hajime Kashimo had evaded the stomp.
Where was he?
As the dust cleared, Dhruv Lakdawalla's eyes rapidly swept across the stadium, but Hajime Kashimo was nowhere to be found.
What was that?
Once again, the information came from the giant mole shikigami inside the stadium.
Only then did Dhruv Lakdawalla notice a streak of electricity racing upward from the shikigami's foot.
Hajime Kashimo!
That streak of electricity was actually Hajime Kashimo sprinting up its body.
"Hmph. You only just noticed?"
Sensing Dhruv Lakdawalla's gaze, Hajime Kashimo ignored him and continued running toward the mole's head.
"That bastard!"
Instantly realizing Hajime Kashimo's intent, Dhruv Lakdawalla furrowed his brow and summoned Pterodactyl shikigami around himself, one after another, sending them to intercept Kashimo.
Unlike his Pterodactyls, Dhruv Lakdawalla's mole shikigami weren't easy to create. Each one cost him a considerable amount of energy, not to mention that these shikigami carried his primary means of attack.
He couldn't let Hajime Kashimo harm his precious shikigami so easily.
The moment Hajime Kashimo was spotted, the mole beneath him began thrashing, trying to shake him off.
Such a simple obstacle could never stop this powerhouse from four hundred years ago.
With every step, Hajime Kashimo left separated positive charges where his leading foot had landed. At the same time, negative charges gathered in his trailing foot.
Using the attraction between positive and negative charges, Hajime Kashimo clung to the mole shikigami like a stubborn adhesive patch. No matter how violently it shook, it couldn't fling him off.
Meanwhile, the Pterodactyl shikigami's interception began.
He twisted slightly, letting a swooping Pterodactyl skim past his shoulder. Seizing that precise opening, Hajime Kashimo casually punched the attacking shikigami apart.
Another Pterodactyl flew at him. Hajime Kashimo swung his electric staff, dodging the creature while lightly tapping its head. Without wasting even a fraction of his strength, he killed the shikigami instantly.
No matter how many Pterodactyls attacked, Hajime Kashimo effortlessly countered every assault. None could even brush his clothes before he dispatched them with a punch or a strike of his staff.
Hajime Kashimo wasn't a greenhorn like Lu Yun. No matter how many of these mass-produced trash shikigami there were, they wouldn't cause him much trouble. At most, they could slow his advance a little.
Dhruv Lakdawalla clearly understood that. He had only released the Pterodactyls to buy time.
Boom! Boom!
Amid the crashing of collapsing buildings, the other two mole shikigami finally returned to Dhruv Lakdawalla. One from the front and one from behind, they charged toward Hajime Kashimo on the first mole's body.
Now Hajime Kashimo had only two choices:
He could abandon his attempt to destroy the mole shikigami beneath him and jump away to evade the other two, or he could stay, endure their attacks head-on, and finish what he had started.
Dodging might be a good choice, but that was how losers thought!
Hajime Kashimo's lips curled upward, his face brimming with battle lust.
He was no coward who only knew how to flee. He intended to destroy Dhruv Lakdawalla's precious shikigami right before the man's eyes.
What he hadn't expected was that the other two fiercely charging mole shikigami wouldn't ram into him. Instead, they crossed past either side of the shikigami beneath his feet.
The paths of the two shikigami rushing in from front and rear formed a closed circuit. The domain embodying Dhruv Lakdawalla's ability finally took shape: anyone crossing its boundary would suffer invisible slashes.
The light of the path-defined domain flared outside the stadium, etching the achievement of Japan's strongest into Sendai!
In other words, Dhruv Lakdawalla had won!
Before you continue