Chapter 35

[Third Person's PoV]

"It's time to rock and roll, baby!" Isanari shouted with a grin as he expelled a large earthy aura that swirled around him, causing particles of dirt to become visible.

"Please don't tell me he says this every time he goes hunting," Futarou facepalmed.

Raiha just looked in her father's direction in surprise. "Has Dad always been this powerful?"

"Apparently," Futarou retorted.

"Please bear with me as I haven't fought in a long time; I'm a bit rusty," Isanari said as he reached out to his side, causing the earth to move up towards his hand as it formed a spear in his hands.

'Are we all just one big spear family?' Futarou thought in amusement as he watched his dad start to twirl the spear around, trying to get used to it once more.

"Futarou, count us off!" Isanari yelled out.

"3…2…1…Begin!" As soon as Futarou finished, both Isanari and Gordak rushed towards each other.

Isanari's aura surrounded his spear, which he used to stab Gordak with, his previous playful expression gone as he focused solely on fighting.

Gordak swung his tail, which had a large piece of rock attached to it, towards Isanari.

Isanari stomped on the ground as a large piece of earth appeared next to him in the shape of a wall, stomping the tail. As Isanari stabbed his spear, all it did was create sparks due to his aura and was unable to penetrate him.

'At least I tried,' he thought before summoning rectangular pillars from behind him, making them fly towards Gordak.

Gordak swung his tail, destroying the pillars before letting out a loud roar, creating tornadoes made out of sand.

Isanari jumped back, avoiding the tornadoes. Luckily, he had shades on, so the sand wasn't bothering his eyes. He casually swung his hand with a smirk, causing a fist made from the ground to fly towards Gordak.

Gordak stood on its hind legs before smashing down the incoming fist into the ground. He let out a roar as he pressed down harder, causing giant spikes from the ground to pop out in a trail towards Isanari.

Isanari lifted his fist quickly to his chest, causing a pillar to grow underneath him and take him to the sky, avoiding the spikes.

Godark made the spike shoot out from the ground and go flying towards Isanari. Isanari, in order to dodge, jumped off the pillar he made and created another one behind him.

As the spikes followed him, he ran off the side of the pillars as he made more beneath him.

He then jumped off completely from the platform he created and let the spikes come close to him. As they did, he took control of them and spun around, making the spikes fly back towards Gordak at an even faster pace.

As Gordak dodged the spikes, Isanari landed, cracking the ground due to the force. The earth behind him then moved towards his feet as it started to rapidly carry him towards Gordak.

As he was being carried, Isanari lowered his posture, causing his fingers to touch the ground.

As they did, the earth started moving to his arms, forming gauntlets on both arms that went all the way towards his shoulders. From each shoulder, spikes of earth emerged, enhancing the gauntlet's design.

When Gordak finished dodging the spikes, Isanari was already in front of him with both his gauntlet-infused arms radiating an earthy yellow color. Isanari's chest puffed out as both his arms were drawn back.

Godark's eyes widened, 'Ah, oh,' he thought as Isanari took a step and leaned forward, punching both his arms towards him.

Gordak was sent flying due to the power, causing him to skid across the ground. He stopped himself by clawing the ground, then used that grip to push himself forward using all four limbs, making it Isanari's turn to widen his eyes.

All he could do was create a wall in front of him and cross his arms as Gordak's head smashed through the wall and into his arms, causing Isanari to grunt in pain from the force, which caused his gauntlets to be destroyed in the process and send him flying back, skidding along the ground.

'I haven't used this move in a while, as it takes a lot out of me. I can't look weak in front of my kids,' he thought as he grinned through the pain of his throbbing and now purple-bruised arm.

The ground around Isanari started to shake as a golem started to rise from behind him. As the golem formed at the same height as Gordak, at 10 meters, it rushed towards Gordak, causing the ground to shake with every step.

Gordak wasn't standing still either as he rushed towards the golem. As Gordak jumped towards him, the golem stood in a boxing stance and maneuvered its way through Gordak before uppercutting him, sending him flying back.

As Gordak lay on his back, the golem didn't let the opportunity slide and started raining down punches on him for a couple of seconds before clasping its hands together and hammering down its fist on Gordak's stomach, causing him to let out a loud roar which shook the ground.

Gordak started beating the golem with his mace-like tail, causing chips to fall off of it. He used all his strength to push the golem off and switch positions. As he held the golem down, he went and ripped its head out with his sharp teeth before pressing all his weight on it, causing it to crumble.

Both Gordak and Isanari looked at each other before Gordak lowered his head towards Isanari. "You have impressed me, human. I do not doubt you would be an amazing contractor," he said.

Isanari winced as he patted Gordak's head with a smile.

"Gotta say I'm impressed, old man. I didn't know your old bones could still move like that," Futarou said with a smirk as Raiha looked at her dad with stars in her eyes.

"You were so cool! You went bam! And then he went boom! And then you went flying, and then, and then…!!" Raiha excitedly said, punching the air.

Everyone started chuckling at Raiha's explanation, while Isanari gained a smug expression after hearing his daughter's praises.

"My name is Gordak, human. May I know yours?" Gordak asked curiously.

"Isanari, Isanari Uesugi," he replied with a nod.

"Hey Gordak, do you know any spirits that may be interested in contracting with my little sister? We're looking for something that could possibly protect her," Futarou asked curiously.

"What does she specialize in?" Gordak asked curiously.

"I can do this!" Raiha extended her hand and started healing Isanari's injuries, causing him to let out a content sigh.

"I see… I think I might just know the perfect person for you. She symbolizes both healing and guardianship, just the thing you need. Follow me," Gordak said as he finished forming a contract with Isanari.

…

Futarou and the others approached a small forest, the trees were spaced out with a pond not too far away.

By one of the trees, there stood three spirits talking about themselves happily.

One was a long white snake with a difficult width to measure, its red eyes and markings contrasting against its pale body. It rested through the trees while its head was lower, occasionally sticking out its tongue and laughing.

(Image)

A knight with golden armor and helmet, a shield, and a sword resting on his lap sat on the ground, leaning against the same tree as the white snake.

(Image)

Meanwhile, a woman made entirely out of yellow lightning floated leisurely around them, with dark clouds over her shoulder like a sash.

(Image)