Mount Oe's northern palace.
This orderly and magnificent structure originally lay peacefully on the northern side of the youkai city, like a giant beast undisturbed and unaffected.
But now, this giant beast has awakened.
Though it is damaged, half-collapsed, in utter disarray, it has truly awakened. It extends flesh, spreads scales, merging with the Ibuki Great Snake that had also slumbered for a long time, filled with rage, mindlessly destroying everything it can touch.
It brings wailing, suffering, death, and towering flames to Mount Oe.
"Hiss—"
The palace and the serpent deity roar as one.
On the body of this monstrous construction of flesh and stone, at the junction where the serpent's midsection extends upwards forming six "heads," a narrow and sharp sword fragment is embedded deeply, buried into the serpent deity's flesh, rendering it indistinguishable from the exterior.
The broken blade is intertwined and fused with flesh, scales, and stones, seamlessly.
