Chapter 13: Fighting and Flying
Di Jun took a step forward.
His aura was powerful, and his figure shone like the sun… although, in truth, he was glowing.
A strong radiance spread in all directions, light and darkness intertwined between heaven and earth, forming a hazy interplay of light and shadow.
Then, Hikigaya heard Di Jun speak.
"The wind is My envoy, the mandate of heaven and earth."
Winds arose from all directions — divine winds that brought prosperity to the land.
Di Jun was not only the sun god but also the god of wind. In the Yin-Shang era, the Xuan Niao was both a sun bird and a windbird — both incarnations of the sun and wind, governing the passage of days and seasons, and overseeing the weather of the four directions.
It represented ancient people's understanding of time, seasonal changes, and meteorology. It was also a reflection of their views on time and the astronomical calendar. The vitality of all things and the productivity of humanity were expressions of Di Jun's essence as the god of wind.
But Hikigaya had no intention of accepting this "blessing."
Like hell he would! How could a guy possibly accept another guy's prosperity, huh?!
Putting his hands together in a gesture, Hikigaya released his own wind.
However, the wind he wielded was a wind of desiccation and withering — a burning wind.
A wind that spread death across the land.
Two divine winds of completely different natures crossed a vast distance amidst the interplay of light and shadow, and then they "lightly" touched.
Silently, the land became a battlefield between life and death.
The interweaving divine winds blew across the earth — in some places bringing forth vegetation and enriching the soil, and in others, causing all things to wither, turning soil and stone into sand.
Amidst this clash of powers, Hikigaya and Di Jun gradually drew closer. The mutual entanglement and neutralization of the winds prevented either side from affecting the other's movements.
Finally, they stood face to face, close enough to confront each other directly.
"You took the trouble to bring these two women from My domain — surely they must possess remarkable qualities," Di Jun said, his gaze passing over Hikigaya and falling on the unconscious Mariya Yuri and the other girl lying on the ground. "Though you are My enemy, I acknowledge your taste. Then let them bear children for Me."
With that, Di Jun reached out to seize the two women. His other hand raised up, effortlessly deflecting a hand-blade strike from Hikigaya aimed from the side.
Is martial arts effective against gods or not — this is a question without a definitive answer.
But to Hikigaya, facing Di Jun — this overpowered primordial creator god — martial arts might actually offer more of a chance than divine powers.
Unfortunately, his sneak attack failed. Di Jun's reaction speed was fast enough to make one never want to fight him again.
And soon, Hikigaya realized that wasn't even the most outrageous part — because right after that, Di Jun's body split into three forms. It looked like three torsos melded together, sharing one neck and one head. No matter how you looked at it, it was bizarre.
Still, that bizarre three-bodied form didn't hinder him at all in combat.
Besides the original hand still descending toward the two women, Di Jun's other five hands all came crashing down toward Hikigaya.
In this flurry, each of his hands manifested a different force of nature.
Those were wind, thunder, rain, and snow.
It was Hikigaya's first time experiencing the raw impact of weather forces in this manner.
In an instant, he was in complete disarray, overwhelmed and miserable. Forget stopping Di Jun from capturing the women — he was almost blown away himself.
In that chaos, Hikigaya failed to notice that Di Jun still had one hand motionless. By the time he realized it, that hand had already struck him.
The next moment, blazing solar energy erupted from the fifth hand. Unlike the previous elemental attacks, this force was fundamentally different.
Not only was it powerful and full of vitality — it also seemed to counteract Hikigaya's own solar energy.
Just like when he used "Set's Sun" before, the divine power from Osiris was almost defenseless against Di Jun's solar might. If there was a sun inside Hikigaya, then now, that sun was desperate to sink below the horizon.
At the same time, the hand Di Jun had extended earlier had already seized the two women.
The light that Hikigaya had previously dispersed now reappeared on the two women's bodies.
Clearly, Di Jun was very persistent when it came to finding women to bear his children…
And Hikigaya? He was even more passionate when it came to destroying such perverse interactions with girls!
So when he saw this, he immediately unleashed a full-force gust of wind, sweeping toward Di Jun's girl-grabbing hand—
And wouldn't you know it — he actually knocked one of them loose!
Suddenly, Hikigaya felt like the Monkey King visiting Zhen Yuanzi's house — stealing ginseng fruits in every possible way.
But then — bam! — a sharp pain burst in his chest. Di Jun had landed five simultaneous palm strikes right on target.
Hikigaya flew like a cannonball far into the distance. His solar energy scattered, and the surrounding darkness gathered once more.
"Get lost!" he roared, enduring the pain and once again activating Osiris's fertility power. With Di Jun no longer suppressing him, radiant, life-giving light once more shone from his body, scattering the encroaching darkness.
At the same time, he stabilized himself mid-air. A gust of wind blew in from afar, carrying the girl he had snatched back — but now she was shrouded in darkness, completely blackened.
Hikigaya glanced at her. Damn, he couldn't even tell who it was anymore. Maybe this is what the suffering people in Di Jun's mythology looked like.
He placed his hand on her chest, letting warm solar energy flow into her body to drive out the darkness.
And then…
Oh damn, it was Mariya! Looks like her luck turned around — he had thought she was the one who got recaptured earlier.
Hmm… what a beautiful figure. Better find a cloth to cover her up…
After making this deadpan mental note, Hikigaya decisively dismissed the wind surrounding Mariya Yuri and lifted her in a bridal carry.
He looked back toward the direction he had been sent flying from. He had been launched far — he could only just make out the outline of Phoenix Mountain. Di Jun didn't seem to be following, but Hikigaya could see that at the mountain's peak, a vast brilliance was rapidly contracting.
Clearly, Di Jun had no intention of leaving Phoenix Mountain.
That guy really prioritized procreation above all else...
But Hikigaya couldn't bring himself to laugh. As the foremost pre-Qin creator god, Di Jun's method of creation was entirely different from the later figure of Pangu.
Di Jun's creation was achieved by continuously bearing children. Through this, He brought light from darkness, and then created gods and humans.
If this cycle were to repeat, then everything that already exists must be destroyed.
Hikigaya raised a hand and wiped his forehead — it was drenched in sweat.
In his arms, Mariya Yuri remained unconscious, but her complexion looked a little better.
Hikigaya then looked in the direction opposite Phoenix Mountain. In the distant borderlands, sunlight still poured down like a shimmering curtain — a stark contrast to the darkness blanketing this land.
Even Di Jun couldn't plunge the world into darkness in a single instant. But as the saying goes, water can wear away stone — and he was a god, no less.
Given enough time, stripping the entire world of its light was only a matter of time.
Hikigaya took a deep breath, held Mariya Yuri tightly, and walked toward that distant light.
This girl didn't belong here. He needed to get her out and revive her first. Besides, his most potent solar attack had little effect against Di Jun — he needed to think of another way.