The supermassive monstrosity, or otherwise called Shinigami by the Japanese in that era, was an S Class beast the likes of which Akira had never fought before.
Even the bull demon that had sent him to his death in his previous life could not compare in terms of size and sheer destructive power.
The bull demon had been sneaky, its use of illusions was perfectly timed to cause Akira's most powerful attack to miss completely, and it only appeared right after that in the moment of Akira's downtime to deal him a devastating blow.
Its cunning coupled with extraordinary strength was the reason Akira died so quickly under its hands.
Akira wasn't sure if the Shinigami was as cunning as the bull demon..
But the thing with strength was, once it reached a certain level above us, there was simply no need for a lot of intelligence and cunning.
How much intelligence is required to aim a god damned nuke on a map and press the red button that had the words "FIRE" printed on it in capital letters?
If the Shinigami was strong enough, even if it was lacking in cunning and intelligence, it wouldn't mean anything.
Akira would still be mincemeat.
Judging by the incredibly horrifying energy waves that were rolling off the Shinigami, Akira was quite worried that he was facing exactly that sort of situation.
But Akira didn't become the strongest and most powerful King of Shinobi by cowering in the face of impossible situations.
He was supposed to be dead countless times under countless dangerous situations and enemies more powerful than him.
And yet here he was.
Still alive, while his enemies (except the bull demon) all lay dead.
"I must find its weak spot and unleash a full powered tornado within its head. I do not believe this monster could live with a shredded brain!" Akira thought coldly.
Rahh!
The Shinigami moved.
Its serpentine body, covered in layers of blackened bone plates and glistening scale-like armor, shot forward with crushing speed.
Dozens of jagged crimson eyes blinked in rhythm along its sides, and its breath carried the scent of scorched metal and rotting flesh. Segments of its massive frame twisted like coiled blades, its long tail slicing deep trenches into the ground as it curved.
It attacked straight toward Akira, ignoring everything else in its path. The Ninth Battalion, Princess Yuki, and Princess Sora were completely invisible to its eyes.
"Raise the barrier!" the Battalion Commander ordered calmly.
His ability to remain cool in face of fatal danger was absolutely commendable.
The soldiers obeyed at once. Shields slammed into the ground. Every type of elemental energies flared in tight formation. Defensive walls rose in layers, humming with reinforced earth energy.
"Sora, layer the barrier with a basic C Class Ice Shield. Save your energy for smaller A Class Ice Shields cast at specific points of enemy attack, on my command!" Princess Yuki said in a calm voice.
"Understood sis. Leave it to me." Princess Sora replied in a similarly calm voice.
The two girls were the pride and joy of their respective countries, and had gone through comprehensive battle training.
Like the Battalion Commander, they were able to remain calm under fire.
Princess Yuki sent out a pulse of space energy that wrapped around the shield edges, strengthening the foundation. Princess Sora followed a second later, her ice spreading across the gaps, freezing the structure into place.
The barrier glowed with silver and frost-blue light, and looked extremely sturdy.
Akira nodded in approval.
Even in his peak form, he would be hard pressed to make a stronger barrier.
The ninth battalion was truly exceptional!
At the next moment, the Shinigami struck. The impact sent cracks running across the marble floor and forced a wave of heat and pressure into the air. But the barrier held firm under the combined strength of the Battalion and the two Princesses.
The monster stopped moving and swivelled all of its eyes to the barrier, as though it was surprised that there was such a thing in the first place.
Reeeeaaaaah!!!
It screeched angrily and a fearsome glow of dark energy appeared on its massive maw.
"Sora, now!" Princess Yuki cried as she unleashed a powerful space barrier in front of the Shinigami's jaw.
Crackle.
A thick super compressed ice shield appeared right behind the space barrier in an instant.
Not a moment too soon.
With a heart wrenching blast, the dark ball of energy slammed against the double shield and exploded in a fearsome manner!
And much to everybody's dismay, despite being smashed into smithereens, there was still a substantial amount of the dark energy ball that was left hurtling in their direction.
"Again!" Princess Yuki cried out desperately and summoned yet another powerful space barrier, this time right in front of the battalion.
Crackle.
A second ice barrier shimmered into existence, the air around it snapping with brittle cold but its surface wavered slightly. It wasn't as strong as before.
Clearly Princess Yuki was stronger than Princess Sora.
Kablam!!
The remnant dark energy ball slammed against the triple barrier of space, ice and the 9th battalion's combined barrier.
Splash.
Princess Yuki and Princess Sora spurted blood out of their mouths as their barriers were destroyed without a trace. The violent collapse of their spells had sent a harsh wave of energy backlash crashing into their bodies.
Thankfully, the final barrier held and the Shinigami's dark energy ball dissipated into nothingness.
But it was in bad shape and many soldiers had fainted due to all of their energies being drained all at once to keep the barrier up.
The next attack would definitely wipe them all out.
"It is now or never." Akira thought as he felt the gentle waves of wind energy coiling within his body. It was very mild and very lacking in quantity.
By his generous estimate, he would be able to overpower a very big dog if he was to face it head on strength against strength. Against such a monstrosity, it was as weak as a needle.
But even needles could kill Gods if used in the correct and most effective way.
At that moment, Akira decided to make his move.