Yamata no Orochi had been heavily wounded by Susanoo in their first fight. Not only had Susanoo taken away Kusanagi, but also the Core of Yamata no Orochi. It was the reason Basil dared to risk his life on fighting it.
Unlike any other low class Beasts, higher class Beasts wouldn't die if their core was taken. Therefore, to kill a higher class Beast one needed to do it meticulously. One miss would let the Beast one had defeated escape.
Basil guessed it might be the case with Susanoo. Even though people called him a God, he believed that Susanoo was no different than any other human. Therefore, he made a mistake. He must have thought Yamata no Orochi had been dead.
No one knew that Yamata no Orochi had had its Core plucked out, until Mujō Bushi sought it out and killed it with his own hands. Mujō Bushi was another idiot who had thought his subpar skills could bring him to face the entire world.
Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, he had been lucky. Encountering a Core-less Beast wouldn't pose much threat to one's life. The origin of power from a beast came from its Core. As long as the core was plucked out, its power would drop by two-thirds.
To say it simply, the Core-less Beast was an easy prey amongst the Fourth-Circle Mage and above. Then, come the question, would Basil be able to face Yamata no Orochi with his meager level? Yes, he could!
He didn't have the power, however he had the experience. He couldn't face Yamata no Orochi head on for sure, however he could use some tricks. He would be stretching himself to the point of breaking surely, but he wouldn't break easily.
Clenching his hand tightly he got down from Deacon. He had been devising many plans on his head since then, and he was ready to put them into action. Thrill washed through him. He felt excited for no reason.
It had been such a long time since he had faced this kind of challenge. His heart beat excitedly. He knew it would be hard, however the situation wasn't desperate.
"Huuh..." He sighed to calm down himself and looked at Deacon, "You are going to be the decoy, Buddy. Just jump onto each of their heads." At this, Deacon merely puffed his chest and nodded vigorously.
"Well... Let's start."
Thus, the battle began.
...
{Familia Inn}
Familia Inn was rowdier than usual. It had been so since a week ago. The business was running good because of it. Surely, the sudden rise of popularity was caused by something.
"Hey.. have you seen the one in the rumour?"
"No, I haven't. It's just a rumour anyway. Why would you believe that?"
"There might be some truth in it. Who knows?"
Two young women were talking among themselves quietly while eating their dinner in the inn's cafeteria.
"Pfftt.. if there was truth in rumours, the world would be bathed in golden rain."
"Ehh.. you know it is stupid to believe that."
The second woman looked absurdly at the snorting first woman. The rumour she was talking about wasn't as extreme as the former had said. She felt like she was wronged.
"Eii.. chill, girl. I was just messing with you."
"I know. But, don't you think it would be awesome if we can see the extremely handsome young man while we're talking about him?"
"..."
"Jess?"
"Uhum.. I think you want to look at your back."
"What are you...?"
Jessie's friend, Nathalie, followed her advice. And by the time she turned her head, she looked at the person in front of her in a daze. Standing in front of the doorway was a handsome man, while looking at the surrounding quietly.
Some people had already turned their heads at him. Since he fitted the rumour, everyone thought he was the rumoured person. By everyone, meant all the ladies in the inn. The men couldn't care less.
"Excuse, me.. can I know where is the owner?"
"I am here. May I know what is your business...?"
Danzel came out of the kitchen and responded the man's question. He looked at him in silent contemplation. There was something familiar about the man in front of him.
"Do I know you?"
"Ah! Of course, you must have forgotten me. It has been such a long time."
The man smiled awkwardly as he bowed his head briefly. Then, he looked at Danzel squarely in his eyes and smiled amicably.
"I am Davine, Sir. James' former party member."
Danzel just stood there quietly. His expression was unreadable. He had no particular reaction toward his late son's former party member. After all, none of his late son's friends had showed themselves after the funeral.
However, Danzel wasn't such a petty person. He was a very understanding person. He knew Davine might have some things to settle. In the first place, Davine had no obligation to pay him a visit anyway.
"Good. How many rooms do you need?"
"I need only one."
"Follow me then."
Davine just nodded his head while smiling pleasantly. While following behind Danzel's back, he looked at his surrounding. It was filled with women. He was slightly curious to what caused this phenomenon to happen.
Still, he couldn't hold his little prankster side. He waved his hand and winked at some of the people there. The crowd was in an uproar after his little stun. The women were busy fussing over him.
'Well, that's easy.'
He shook his head as he faintly smirked. After a while, Danzel finally stopped himself in front of an empty room's door. He turned his back and looked at Davine.
"Here is your room."
"Thank you."
Davine bowed deeply before looking to the side. When he saw a fairly big room that seemed empty, he couldn't help but ask.
"Excuse me, is that room empty?"
"Yes, it is currently. But, it won't be long until the owner of the room came back."
Danzel answered him with the most tender expression he could have seen from his face. Davine was slightly surprised as he unconsciously asked.
"Who is that room belonged to?"
"My son..." Davine widened his eyes at the unexpected answer. However, Danzel hadn't finished his words yet. "My another son. He is out there, challenging the world," continued him.
Danzel regained his composure back as he realized he was getting sidetracked. He looked at Davine and nodded his head lightly.
"Have a good night."
"Yes..."
He left just like that. Therefore, he couldn't see Davine's face darkened slightly. He looked at Danzel's back with a weird glint in his eyes.
...
Boom!
Screech!
"Gah! This overgrown snake is troublesome!"
Basil had just destroyed another weapon he had collected in his way to Lone Mountain. He had been attacking Yamata no Orochi for a quite some time, however he couldn't land a proper hit on it.
Its regeneration is too superb!
He clicked his tongue slightly. He had been looking for an opportunity to take Kusanagi form the fourth tail, however it seemed to have learnt from its mistake. It guarded it heavily.
Also, —
Swish!
"Darn! That one almost took this Lord's head."
— the ability of Kusanagi was really troublesome.
The superior control over wind was the ability of Kusanagi. Everytime it was swung, wind would follow up. He had been swiped like a fallen leaf because of it.
He looked at one of the two dead bodies that belonged to an idiot who had managed to take Kusanagi back in his past life. He looked at the body in a silent contemplation.
'How did this idiot manage to take Kusanagi?'
He soon erased that thought cleanly from his mind, and took something out from his Spatial Bracelet. It was a black marble. He threw it to the ground in the next moment, producing a black smoke when it shattered.
It was a Smell Bomb he had bought before arriving here. The only way Yamata no Orochi could navigate itself was through smell. It couldn't see its surrounding due to its injured eyes. Therefore, he would make it fully blind for a short time.
In truth, he had tried this a couple of times already. However, he still couldn't land a proper hit. If only he could fight it inside [Bloody Mist], he could have taken Kusanagi long time ago.
[Synchronization]!
His sword shone in a dark blue light as he swung it toward one of the necks.
Slash!
Boom!
The air was split creating a loud boom that was reverberated through the area. The sword he had in his hand lost its light and disintegrated itself in the next moment. Now, he had only a pair of Jaden Daggers. All of his weapons were destroyed already.
He was really lacking a weapon that could bear Vagus' soul inside. Everytime he used [Synchronization] every weapon he used couldn't bear the pressure and got destroyed in the process.
"Huuh..." He sighed as he took out Jaden Daggers from his Spatial Bracelet. "Do I have to retreat this time?" He silently wondered to himself.
Everything so far had been smooth sailing. Therefore, he had thought this time would be the same too. He shook his head bitterly. It seemed his ambition sent him off the track a little bit.
"I, Basil Pacifer, never give up!"
He took a leap toward one of the coming heads and attacked it. Everytime he landed on the ground, Deacon was busy being a decoy. He couldn't stay idle, lest he wanted to get Deacon killed.
While attacking Yamata no Orochi to the best he could in his current meager prowess, he was devising a plan inside his head.
'Tsk! Just what could I possibly do to get Kusanagi?'
[Ding!]
[Advice function has been unlocked!]
[Covering the Host's incompetence...]
Basil was so bewildered that he couldn't see properly the attack of one of the tails. He had to block it with his daggers, which in turn threw him back to the ground.
Crack!
The ground made a crater as he landed on the ground. He had used his Qi to reinforced his body, surely the ground wouldn't be able to bear the impact his body caused.
Basil focused on his mind. He didn't think about the function he had unlocked that he hadn't known existed. He was paying close attention to the information embedded in his mind.
[Yamata no Orochi is already in its brink of death. Without Core, it can not maintain its system to work the same way forever. It ages, and it is close to its end. The Host could defeat it by killing it from the inside...]
Basil's face lit up in silent glee. He had just gotten an interesting information and equally a brilliant method. He looked at the overgrown snake with a smirk.
'Retreat!'
He informed Deacon to come his way via [Link]. Deacon did just that as he sped from Yamata no Orochi's head to the ground. By the time he arrived beside Basil, he was mounted by Basil and they quickly distanced themselves away.
After some distance was made, Basil patted Deacon on his head gently.
"We are going to spin, Buddy."
Deacon had a bad premonition, however he steeled himself in the next moment. He would follow wherever his master went.
'Envelope us.'
Deacon could control wind to a certain extent. However, it wasn't perfect. Therefore, Basil had been teaching him the proper way to use Magic, along with training his combat ability. Due to his intelligence, he was quite fast in learning them all.
Therefore, he could already envelope them with wind, which in turn lessened the wind resistance while they were moving.
They sped together like a Bullet toward Yamata no Orochi. Basil was busy trying to delve deeper into their [Link]. By the time they almost reached it, Basil finally opened his eyes.
[Synchronization]!
[Drill]!
A Technique and an Art was activated, creating a fearsome combination of Mage and Knight. Along with Deacon, Basil was enveloped with a drill like wind that shone in blue light due to Jaden Daggers in [Synchronization].
However, it didn't end just like that.
[Slip]!
Flash!
They reappeared instantly in front of Yamata no Orochi's stomach. Then, like Basil had said, they spun their body along with the whirlwind enveloping them. Yamata no Orochi was too bewildered to to do anything as it could only stare at the scene dumbly.
Boom!
Shrrk!
A gruesome sound was reverberated through the entirety of the area as Basil and Deacon pierced Yamata no Orochi's stomach. Although it had many heads, its stomach was still one.
Inside that stomach was the sole reason it could live without its Core. Its heart belonged there.
Screech!
It screamed painfully as Basil finally got inside its stomach. Luckily, it's agony didn't last long as Basil finally exploded all the energy he had contained withing Jaden Daggers.
Boom!
Basil pierced through the stomach and exited through its back. Its innards splattered on the ground, painting it gruesomely.
Crash!
Basil couldn't land on the ground properly as he had exhausted every kinds of energy inside his body. The same case also happened to Deacon as he just laid on the ground in exhaustion. They had fought a long fight, and they were tired.
"I did it!"
Even with his exhaustion and bloody state, Basil had a triumphant smile on his face. As if he didn't want to be left behind, Deacon also howled in triumph. Basil turned his head at the still standing overgrown snake and grinned a bit cheekily. He felt alive.
He looked at his hand and found a quite short sword that resembled a calamus leaf. The middle of it had an appearance like a fish spine. It was no other than Kusanagi.
His smile couldn't get any bigger. He looked like a child who had gotten a new toy.
Thud!
Along with the fall of Yamata no Orochi, Basil closed his eyes as exhaustion finally took over him.