At the last second, Takemikazuchi pivoted, stepping into Ayami's lunge instead of away from it. Her massive claws tore through his side, shallow but sharp, drawing thin lines of blood. But he didn't even flinch.

Instead, he drove his knee straight into her ribs.

Crack! rang through the trees.

Ayami let out a sharp snarl as the impact sent her sprawling. She hit the ground hard, rolling across the dirt before twisting back onto her paws in one fluid motion. Her tail lashed, ears pinned back, but her golden eyes burned with something dangerously close to excitement.

Up on the ridge, the lone hiker stared, frozen in place. His fingers twitched toward the hunting knife strapped to his belt, his mind racing.

What the hell am I looking at?

A saber-toothed tiger locked in battle was something straight out of a myth.

His grip tightened. He had been in the military. He had faced war, seen things most people never could imagine.

Takemikazuchi barely had a second to react.

The ground beneath him suddenly gave way—not by accident, but because Ayami had made it happen. She had been circling him too fast, her massive paws pounding against the earth until the weakened soil finally gave in under his weight.

"Wah!"

For the first time in their fight, he stumbled.

"Got you!" Ayami didn't waste a second. The moment his footing faltered, she pounced.

With the full force of a prehistoric predator, she slammed her enormous paws down, aiming to pin him against the shattered ground. Dust and debris erupted around them, the earth trembling from the sheer weight of her impact.

But even as he lay beneath her, Takemikazuchi resisted. His muscles strained, arms locking against her paws, his body crackling with suppressed power. He gritted his teeth, forcing back with raw strength alone.

That was when the hiker made his move.

From his position above the fight, he had seen enough. A man—just some unlucky guy—was getting mauled by a beast straight out of prehistory. He didn't know how it was here, didn't know why, but that didn't matter.

His instincts as a soldier took over. He charged forward, throwing his full weight against the massive feline's body, shoving as if trying to move a boulder.

"Huh!?"

"Who—"

Both Ayami and Takemikazuchi froze for a split second, equally baffled that a human had just barged into their fight.

"Aghhhh!" the man yelled.

Takemikazuchi saw an opportunity. A human with enough bravery to throw himself into a fight between gods and monsters, that was exactly the kind of follower he needed. If this man believed in him, even for a moment, it would be enough to regain some of his power.

As a god of martial arts, I shall bless this warrior with strength.

The hiker, still straining against Ayami's massive body, suddenly felt something surge through him. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced. His muscles tensed, his senses sharpened, and a heat, almost electric, rushed through his veins.

His grip on Ayami's saber-toothed form tightened, and to his own shock, he actually managed to move her. It was only for a split second, but it was enough to make her shift her focus to him.

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"What the hell?" Ayami's golden eyes widened as she felt his strength increase. She leaped back, putting some distance between them, and watched him warily. "You…"

It talks!? The hiker's mind reeled at the sound of her voice.

He stumbled backward, his breath heavy. Looking down at his hands, he flexed his fingers. He felt stronger than ever.

"What… did I just push that thing…?"

Takemikazuchi dusted himself off, rolling his shoulders as the last bits of debris crumbled off his body. His sharp eyes locked onto the hiker, a smirk creeping onto his face.

"Stand tall, warrior. You have been blessed by Takemikazuchi-no-Okami, god of martial arts," he declared, his voice filled with authority. "With my power, you will strike down that ugly human inside a cat's form."

The hiker blinked, his adrenaline-fueled brain struggling to keep up. "Uh… what?" He looked between the imposing man crackling with divine energy and the massive saber-toothed tiger standing a few feet away. "Did you just say… ugly human?"

Ayami, still in her beast form, let out a low growl. Then, with a shimmer, her fur melted away, limbs shifting as she returned to her human self. She shook out her dark hair, golden eyes gleaming with amusement as she crossed her arms.

"Ugly?" she repeated, tilting her head. "That is what you call me after all these years?"

The hiker's mouth fell open. His brain short-circuited.

What is actually Happening!?

The hiker took an unsteady step back, rubbing his eyes as if that would change what he was seeing. Nope. Still there. The massive saber-toothed tiger had just transformed into a woman. A very unimpressed-looking woman.

Takemikazuchi scoffed, rolling his shoulders. "Do not act so surprised, mortal. You stand in the presence of beings far beyond your understanding. Now, stop wasting time and use my blessing to destroy her."

The hiker snapped his head toward him. "Destroy her?!" He pointed at Ayami, still trying to process what was happening. "You mean the talking cat lady? I—what—why?!"

Ayami chuckled, clearly entertained. "See? He has more sense than you give him credit for," she said, smirking at Takemikazuchi. "Not everyone you pick up is just going to blindly follow orders."

Takemikazuchi's expression darkened. "He has received my blessing. That means he is my warrior."

The hiker threw his hands up. "I didn't sign up for this! One minute I was hiking, and now I'm in some godly fistfight with a prehistoric shapeshifter! What even is my life right now?!"

Ayami gave him a thoughtful look. "Well, you did jump into a fight you knew nothing about."

He opened his mouth to argue, but… yeah, that was fair.

Takemikazuchi sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Enough. You have been chosen. That means you fight."

Without another word, Ayami shifted into her cat form and leaped nimbly from one tree to the next, disappearing into the forest before they could say anything more.

Takemikazuchi sighed and sat on the ground, frustration written all over his face. He had been so close to killing Ayami, but once again, she had slipped away.

The hiker, still trying to make sense of everything, looked between him and the spot where Ayami had vanished. "What… just happened?"

Takemikazuchi exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple. "That woman was offered a blessing from the gods… but she rejected it. She refused to serve."

The hiker blinked, still trying to process everything. "So… what, she's like some kind of rogue chosen one?"

Takemikazuchi scoffed. "Chosen one? Hardly. She was offered a gift, a chance to stand among the blessed, but she rejected it. Now she clings to her own power, defying the gods who once gave her a place among them."

The hiker ran a hand through his hair, still feeling the strange energy buzzing through his body. "And you're telling me I got this 'blessing' just by stepping in? I didn't exactly sign up to be a warrior for the gods."

Takemikazuchi shot him a sharp look. "You accepted it the moment you acted. The divine do not waste power on the unwilling. You stood against her, and now you carry my strength."

The hiker let out a sigh, then sat down, rubbing his temples. "But… is this real?"

Takemikazuchi raised an eyebrow, his tone firm. "What's your name, kid?"

The hiker hesitated for a moment before finally answering, "Takeshi… Takeshi Mori."

Takemikazuchi nodded as if committing the name to memory. "Takeshi, you have been granted my power. Whether you intended it or not, you now stand among those blessed by the gods."

Takeshi let out a dry laugh, shaking his head. "Yeah? And what does that mean exactly? Am I supposed to start fighting ancient shapeshifters now? Because that is not what I planned for today."

Takemikazuchi crossed his arms. "You are meant to serve. To wield the strength given to you and strike down those who oppose the will of the gods."

Takeshi frowned, glancing in the direction Ayami had disappeared. "And by 'oppose,' you mean people like her?"

"She is dangerous," Takemikazuchi said firmly. "She has lived too long, gained too much power. She defied the gods and refuses to submit. That is why she must be eliminated."

Takeshi wasn't so sure. From what little he had seen, Ayami didn't seem like some villainous force of destruction. If anything, she just seemed… irritated. Like someone who had better things to do than fight a god on a mountainside.

"Look, I don't know what kind of divine drama you've got going on, but I didn't come up here to get involved in a war. I was just hiking."

"A blessing cannot be undone."

To Be Continue.